Matthew 7:24

Matthew 7:24 - Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

This is Jesus talking, but Jesus and God are the same, so that's cool. Comparing his words like a concrete foundation is an interestingly analogy. We all build our lives on something. Sometimes it's on the search for wealth or happiness. Sometimes it's on our heritage and traditions. But if we build our lives with a foundation of God's word, then have a strong foundation, and won't suffer when an earthquake comes.

And of course, it's important that you don't just hear his words, but that you act on them too. No point in reading the Bible if you ignore everything that's there. It would be like stopping by the pub on the way home from an AA meeting. If you're going to have God as your foundation, you really ought to be acting on his word, not just hearing/reading it.

Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 - ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (NASB)

I was reading Scott Adams' blog (he writes the Dilbert comic) recently, and he talked about whose fault it would be if a kid got killed by a bear he was prodding. Scott's point was that it's no-one's fault really. The kid could be seen as being responsible for his actions, but he's just a kid, right? The bear is responding out of his natural instincts, so you wouldn't say it's his fault. Whatever your views are on this matter, it raises an interesting point.

All have sinned. Including that non-Christian over there. I'm not saying it's his fault he's sinned, just like it's not someone's fault if they get cancer. He might be a really good person, but without Christ, he can't make it into heaven. I guess that's harsh, but God is holy and we're not. So to be able to have life with God, we need Christ first. He died so that our sin could be cancelled out. It doesn't matter whose fault it is that we've sinned. That's not the point. The point is that our state of sinfulness can be cured (just like a disease) when we get Christ. Then we can be friends with God. Easy, huh!

Proverbs 1:7

Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge... (NIV)

The fear of the Lord, not knowledge of God or divine inspiration. Not holiness or time spent in worship. Fear of the Lord. I figure this is the kind of fear that I had of teachers when I was in school. If I did my homework, paid attention in class and respected them, then everything would be fine. But if I didn't do this, then I'd be in strife.

It's different with God of course. The teacher was doing a job, but God has made us his children. So it's more like the fear of Dad. I know lots of kids have really valid reasons to be terrified of their fathers, so for them maybe the favourite teacher analogy works better.

So how is this the beginning of wisdom? I think about my own kids here, and I know that if they don't have a healthy respect for when I need to correct them, then they're going to get into all sorts of trouble. I guess Lesson #1 is to understand that the creator of the universe probably knows best (even better than Dad!).

Luke 21:34

Luke 21:34: Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. (NIV)

There are many days when it feels like the day is heavy. I really understand what it is to be weighed down by the anxieties of life. I know that my non-Christian friends will happily give over to drink and/or dissipation (that means wasteful expenditure, diversions). If they want to distract themselves from real life, then they do exactly that - they distract themselves, getting away from reality. I find it much better to get close to God. If I consider His perspective, remembering that my frustrations are really insignificant in the bigger picture, then I can get through much better. I just wish that my own frustrations didn't feel heavy. I know certainly know that when a bad day hits, it's likely to catch me unaware. I need to focus on God so that days don't catch me like that.

The verse before this one says "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (NIV)" So when I'm feeling down, I'm going to focus on God's words.