Ephesians 2:19-20 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

If you have ever stood on a sandy beach as the waves lapped at your feet, you know that the longer you remain, the further your feet sink into the shifting sands. Eventually, you'll be up to your ankles! On a rocky coastline in Maine, however, you can stand on the shore with wave after wave rushing over your feet and you won't sink at all. You stand firm on the strength of the boulders beneath you.

Shifting sands don't make a very good foundation - for our feet or for our faith. We need solid rock - strong and unchanging. Like the wise man who built his house upon a rock (Luke 6:48), we can rest secure in building our faith upon the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. When the winds of change blow and the waves of uncertainty rush over us, we can cling to the immovable, unchanging love of Jesus.

For this we have reason to praise, Christ is the solid rock on which we stand. We can depend upon His words, trust in His tender mercies, and praise Him day after day for the grace that has saved us. Praise the risen Lamb and in everything be glad. Our foundation is firm; our salvation is sure. Praise His name!

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.

Imagine how the disciples must have felt on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit literally came down upon them! Picture that powerful scene: God made His presence known with the blowing of a violent wind and tongues of fire. Those who had been touched began to speak in other languages, proclaiming the wonders of God.

The disciples had been on a roller coaster of emotions. They had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, die on a cross, rise from the dead, and ascend to heaven - only to leave them to carry on His work. Now they were expected to go into all the world, preaching the gospel. How were they to accomplish this task? How could God have left such a responsibility in their inexperienced hands? He could do it because He knew, when the Holy Spirit came down upon them, they could change the world. So God sent the Spirit down - and the world has never been the same.

Do you feel weak? Incapable of running the race set before you? You already have the Holy Spirit, but sometimes you need to be reignited with fresh fire; sometimes you need to be refreshed with power sent down like rain into your soul. Ask God to send it down! At your request, He will pour down His power and refreshment to help you do whatever He has called you to do, no matter how weak you feel.

--Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Do we truly believe that God cares for us? We may say that we trust Him, but....

So we work hard to save the money to buy a car, a house, and a quality education for our children. While such planning is not bad, it can become a problem if having our needs met is not enough and we feel that we must assuage all our desires as well.

God our provider promises to supply all our needs. What are our needs? Food, clothing, and shelter are life's most basic needs. Does God provide these? We would probably have to answer that yes, indeed, we have food, clothing, and shelter - that God has provided for us. While He may not have met all our desires, He has indeed met all our needs.

But even more important than God's provision for our physical needs is His provision for our spiritual needs. He has provided grace that is sufficient to fill the longing in our hearts for God. It is by His grace alone that we can come to Him.

Unlike trendy clothes, gourmet food, and fancy houses, grace is free and it is eternal. We don't have to earn it. We can't purchase it. It is offered as a gift. And it is ours forever.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Why do we praise? What causes us to lift our voices and worship God? From the beginning of time, all humanity has had reasons to praise almighty God - from the creation of the heavens and the earth to the promise of new heavens and a new earth, from the gift of the Promised Land to the gift of salvation through the promised Immanuel. Indeed, God is great and greatly to be praised!

How should we praise the Lord? How can we lift Him high upon our praise? We do that when we live to glorify Him, when we thank Him, when we use our gifts to serve Him. How many ways can we praise God? As many ways as we can imagine! David played his harp; Solomon ruled with wisdom; Paul wrote letters to Churches; C.S. Lewis wrote great literary works; Charles Colson ministered in prison; Fanny Crosby composed hymns. But most important, we praise God when we enthrone Him in our lives - making everything we do a sacrifice of praise to Him.

God is great, glorious, and excellent. May our lives reflect His power and glory. May His praise be ever on our lips, for He is greatly to be praised!

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

The work of a potter is serious business. If you've ever watched a potter at the wheel, you know the time it takes to create a clay jar, bowl or pot. The clay must be prepared properly, first removing all impurities that would cause the vessel to crack under the heat of firing. The potter works the clay, cutting, pounding, and kneading in order to remove bubbles. Then he shapes the vessel, working with his hands as the wheel spins. Finally, the vessel is fired to nearly twenty-four hundred degrees. All of this is done to produce a strong usable, high quality vessel.

How blessed we are to have the Master Potter molding us! He prepares us with His Word and sacraments and removes all our impurities through His loving forgiveness. He makes us stronger as we endure the cutting, pounding, and kneading of trials and difficult circumstances.

Then a most remarkable change takes place. He takes us, ugly lumps of muddy clay that we are, and forms us into items of great beauty and usability. He shapes us into exactly what He wants us to be, then He burns His love into our souls.

Undergoing the process of being molded may not always be comfortable, but the end is always worth it. Ask  God to mold you and make you, for when He does, He makes you more like Himself.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 71:3  Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

In ancient Christian iconography, we see the manger at Bethlehem represented often as a cave carved from rock. This representation looks back to the Psalms and stories of Moses and others being sheltered and protected in a "rock of refuge." Moses is placed in a rocky crevasse so that he could catch a fleeting glimpse of God's glory as God passes by. Elijah, in a cave, is sheltered from the whirlwind but hears God in a still, small voice. The representation of the manger as a cave also looks forward to Jesus' burial - the manger anticipates the tomb.

Our God is a refuge to which we may continually return, says the psalmist. Just like Moses, Elijah, and David, and Mary and Joseph, we may count on God to deliver us, ultimately from that which threatens us. When the rock is the manger, the Lord attends the holy family with shepherds and angels. Even when the rock is the tomb, the Son is resurrected and the stone is rolled away. In God's righteousness, we are delivered.

-Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 7:24  Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

In 1834, Edward Mote wrote the hymn "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less." You may know this song, which he intended to describe the "Gracious Experience of a Christian." The same week he penned the words "On Christ, the Solid Rock, I Stand: all other ground is sinking sand" he was met with the opportunity to share them with a dying woman who took great comfort in them.

Whether in fair or stormy weather, we can trust Christ's words from the Sermon on the Mount to be a solid rock for us. And what are these words? To be meek and pure in heart, to not be angry nor objectify others; to forgive others and love your enemies; to pray, to fast, to give alms and to seek after and trust God. To hear these words, and do them, is to build our house on a solid Rock. Christ and his teachings are for us a strong refuge and a steady foundation; all other ground is sinking sand.

-Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,