foun·da·tion
Clinton, Mississippi is renowned for their soil problems. They call it Yazoo Clay. And it is just not a great soil to build a house upon. Oh, it will be good for five, maybe even ten years. But eventually sections of the house will begin to sink. As you drive through Clinton, you will see roof lines and eves of houses that have a wave, not the straight line you normally see on a house. My in-laws house had sunken by one inch on one end of the house, and doors would no longer close right – and some would not open at all. So Perma-Jack came out and drove pilings down to bedrock, and jacked the foundation up and made it straight.
When we have a strong foundation, and we attach our lives to that foundation, we become strong as well. The problem is that most people in America do not have a strong foundation.
A common foundation is ego. This is expressed through the philosophy, “I want to do what I want to do”. We see this lived out in communities across our nation who have legalized marijuana. They started the legalization process by claiming that it is medicine. That argument was thrown out when Colorado said it is recreational. I do not take Tylenol because it is fun. I take it because I need medicine.
Another foundation is things. This is expressed through the philosophy, “Things complete my life”. We see this pitched to us daily on TV and other media that things will change our lives. I am still amazed at how people will line up – hours, even days, outside of an Apple store so that they can be the first person to get the new iPhone. Full disclosure, I have an iPhone on my belt, and I am typing this on an Apple computer. If it changes your life and makes your life complete, then why do you have to have another one the next year?
Either one of these foundations are weak, and will give way to any storm in life. Just the slightest puff and there is danger. Just talk to my friend Andy Taggart about how harmless drugs are.
http://mc.edu/beacon/spring-2014/features/finding-truth-tragedy
See how many things are pitched to us as being able to “Change our lives”!
A foundation is important. If your foundation is weak, then you are weak. Hear the words of Jesus about foundation…
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27
When you have a strong foundation, you are strong.
April 27, 2014 Vilonia, Arkansas was destroyed by an EF4 Tornado. Sixteen people lost their lives as a result of that storm, and hundreds of homes were destroyed. There have countless stories written about the personal loss. Everyone in Central Arkansas knows people who have had their lives turned upside down.
As usual, the newspaper has been looking at all the angles of the stories. The pictures have been harrowing to say the least. There was one article this week, though, that made my thought process wander, so I thought I would invite you in on the journey. It seems that when the when the houses were built, they did not bolt the framing to the foundation slab. Every house that was completely removed from its foundation by the twister was missing those bolts.
I thought that was standard practice. When you pour the concrete slab for the foundation, you sink large J bolts into the concrete around the perimeter of the house. Then, when you build your walls, you drill a hole in your bottom sill of your framing, and then drop the wall over those bolts. Once done, then you place large washers and nuts over those bolts, sinching the walls down so that they will not move, thus aiding the strength and trueness of the walls.
We do not know if the bolts would have left the walls standing in that powerful of a storm. After all, it moved the cocrete baracades on Interstate 40 into traffic lanes (those barracades weigh 8,000 pounds each). However, we would all agree that there would be a better chance if those houses would have been better attached to their foundation.
But that is true in our lives as well. We need to anchor our lives on the only strong foundation that is eternal, and that is Jesus Christ.
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
Matthew 7:24-25
Jesus said that our strong foundation is contingent upon us listening to the Word of God, and then living by those words. James was correct. Faith, without works is dead. So when the Bible says “Thou Shalt Not” that means that you DO NOT. When the Bible says “Pray without ceasing”, that means that you pray at all times and in all things. When Jesus says to love your enemies, that means that you love your enemies.
Faith is not determined by your frequency of church attendance. Faith is not determined by the amount placed in the offering basket. Faith is determined by your commitment to Jesus Christ. That is where the phrase faithfulness comes from. It means that there is a fidelity between your words and your deeds.
Quit playing church, or basing your life on weak foundations. Begin to anchor yourself to the only bedrock foundation that is eternal.