“There is a characteristic of faith that builds a strong and firm platform. This is a support that carries you through some of the storms of life and allows you to build." Kathy Spampinato

On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground in sinking sand.

Today I awoke with the words of this 19th century hymn, reverberating through my heart and mind. It is talking about building a solid foundation for your life. There is a characteristic of faith that builds a strong and firm platform. This is a support that carries you through some of the storms of life and allows you to build. Jesus taught about this in a parable.

Matthew 7:24-27 ESV "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

The Bible teaches us to pay attention and apply the words of Jesus, not just listen to them. The Bible is our guide to life. Knowing what it says will give us direction.

James 1:22-25 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Knowing what the Word says is still not enough. We can know it in our heads, but be unable to put it into practice. I find it interesting that it compares this to looking in a mirror. Reading the Word is a mirror to the soul. You begin to see your true character. It exposes the thoughts and intents of your heart. If you turn away when you've read your daily devotion or the Word for today, and do not look deeper at what it exposes about your actions and motivations, you are becoming a hearer only. If you read the Bible thinking, "I've read that before. I know that already", you are not allowing Holy Spirit to change your mind or behavior. It is like talking to someone who is totally unaware of their own self-centeredness. They have no self-awareness.

It takes intention and self-reflection to read the Word and see your own weaknesses with humility. When the Word is allowed to renew your mind, and transform your thinking, you will begin to see the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God for your life. (Rom 12:2) You can decide to walk in God's ways and build on the truth. You then are building your life on the Rock of Jesus. The freedom of life in following the Spirit, transforms your heart. The first few lines of this hymn say,

My hope is built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

May each of us decide today, that we will invite God to teach us, and grow us. We will build our thoughts and decisions on God's will and His ways. We will look into the perfect law of liberty and find freedom in Christ.

James 1:2 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."