STEP UP DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS: Week of January 19-25
January 19 -(Mat 7:24 KJV) "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock" - There are two steps to the process of preparing for a wise and productive life in the Kingdom of God. The first is to hear. The second is to do. Hearers who are not doers gain nothing. Doers who do not first hear, end up doing the wrong thing recklessly, People who build rock solid foundations for their lives both hear and do. What steps are you taking to more clearly, effectively, and deeply hear the Word of God? What kingdom truths are you practicing daily?
January 20 - "(Mat 7:25a KJV) "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;" - Rain will descend upon the righteous. Floods will come., Winds will blow and beat upon our lives. Count on trouble. Hard times are common for humanity. Christianity offers no exemptions or bypasses. We share a common humanity with all others on this planet. The difference in our lives is not that we have more protection from hardship. It is that we are prepared and equipped to withstand the storms of life. What are you hearing and doing to prepare for life's storms?
January 21 - (Mat 7:25b KJV) ".. and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.." - The house of the kingdom person is not subject to the storms. The kingdom person, who hears and does the words of Jesus, is equipped to stand and withstand at a deeper level. We might be shaken. We are sometimes discouraged. We often forget what we have already understood once, but we cannot be utterly destroyed by hurt, pain, or trials. Your only real hope in this world is Jesus. Everything else may fail, but what is founded on Him will last.
January 22 - "(Mat 7:26a KJV) "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man," The difference between the wise man and the fool is not what he hears, but what he does with what he hears. Jesus is not here condemning the person who has never heard. He is passing an indictment on the one who has been privileged to hear the word and has chosen to ignore it. Are you in danger of foolish living because you are not acting one what you already know to do?
January 23 - "(Mat 7:26 KJV) "... which built his house upon the sand:" The antithesis of wisdom is the foolishness of building a wonderful structure on a foundation of sand. Sand, by its nature, shifts. So do the philosophies and ideologies of this world. The words of Jesus endure and cause us to endure. Perhaps you have been subject the the fads and passing fantasies of our times which change many times within a generation. What is in your life that is so shaky you cannot count on it in a storm? What will you do about it?
January 24 - (Mat 7:27a KJV) " And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell:." - We have all seen lives, ministries, and institutions fall for lack of foundation. The same storms that test and refine people of faith, cause others to crumble. Storms don't have to destroy us. We can overcome. But we must do so by solidifying our lives at the foundational level. Nothing else will do. There is something you can do today about this and you know what it is?
January 25 - (Mat 7:27 KJV) "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." When you fall spiritually you fall significantly. It's a great fall. Some storms are mild, but sooner or later we will all face a humdinger and when that happens, there will be no time to prepare. Only what you have previously invested in Kingdom values will be of any use to you at that time. What will you hear and do today to prepare for tomorrow?
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