This post and the last Connecting with God aren’t the flashiest I’ll ever write. But they may be the most important. Why? Because prayer is the most important thing we can do. Period. Real prayer—not empty ritual—is nothing less than communicating with the One who created us, who alone knows the purpose of our existence.
Can anything be more important than that?
Jesus said over and over again that knowing God was literally a matter of life and death. I’m dying, and so are you. You might die while reading this, or fifty years from now, but you are dying. And to wait until death is imminent to connect with God is like waiting until your fuel gauge pings empty before deciding where to land your plane. At that point the destination has already been decided for you.
“But everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them,” Jesus said, “is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. But it stands because it is founded upon rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).
So what is the “house” he’s speaking of?
It’s the thing we call Me, it’s who we are and who we are becoming. We tend to build our lives with haphazard materials: wants, likes, hobbies, things we stumble upon, things that fill our time and then pass away. But when no time is left, those mortal things (money, career, sex, fame, pride, etc.) disintegrate. If we hold them in proper perspective as “just things,” fine, but if we allow them to become the substance of our lives, our “house” will crumble, because it is founded upon the shifting fragments of reality, rather than Reality itself.
If your god is mortal, it will die with you.
If your God is immortal, you will live forever with Him.
Not long after stumbling upon (or more accurately being led to) the idea of reinventing my prayer life by memorizing and meditating upon Scripture, I realized Jesus’ house metaphor provided the perfect framework. So I divided “My Verses” (the ones I was memorizing) into three sections: foundation, walls, and roof.
In the next Connecting With God post I’ll talk about verses that have enabled me to begin rebuilding…
The house I call Me.
Amen
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Amen. I need to get memorizing…haven’t done it properly since sunday school days.
Great word!
I started meditating on scripture not long ago? How do you go about your time of meditation… The steps or approach that work for you?
Just speaking for myself, Stevey: I say my verses aloud in the form of a prayer, sometimes putting them into first person or prefacing them with words like, “Lord, help me to” or “Lord, I will strive to.” Then I think about what those words mean to me this particular morning or evening, about what situations or people they seem to apply to, and add additional thoughts or prayers.
Encouraging. Thank you. 😊
Best foundation of all! It brings one of my favorite passages of scripture to mind… 2 Corinthians 4:18 – “because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”
P.S. I envy that guy’s lawncare routine.
That’s a favorite passage of mine, too, Russ.
P.S. I suspect he’s more concerned about “hurricane care.”
Thanks, Mitch!
Such a good reminder to hide His Word in my heart! Great post- and I love the picture!
It doesn’t have to be flashy. ☺ The simple truth is always amazing. It’s like vanilla icecream. You don’t always have to dress it up. It tastes great on it’s own. Great word!
Thanks, Tina!
In using the photo as the source. The strength of the foundation is based on the number of steps to reach the first floor. Great insight and lesson.
Love the ideas you shared with Stevey about praying the scripture you’re memorizing. Thanks, Mitch!
Very interesting post I got many information from it
I love your use of “haphazard materials”.
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Love the picture
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WOW! I SURE HOPE THE ROCK GOES DEEP….!
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
QUITE THE ILLUSTRATION OF GOD’S TRUTH, EH? 😀
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