LIKE
A ROCK
BREAD
24 “Therefore everyone who hears
these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built
his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and
the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had
its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine
and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house
on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and
the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew
7:24-27 (NIV)
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my
words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug
down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent
struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into
practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.
The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was
complete.” Luke 6:46-49 (NIV)
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as
an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be
careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one
already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold,
silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his
work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It
will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's
work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his
reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself
will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)
32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way
perfect. 33 He
makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. 34 He
trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You
give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down
to make me great. Psalms 18:32-35 (NIV)
2 Some
men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,
from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En
Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD,
and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The
people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came
from every town in Judah to seek him. 5 Then
Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of
the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and
said: “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You
rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand,
and no one can withstand you….12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no
power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do,
but our eyes are upon you.” 2 Chronicles 20:2-6, 12 (NIV)
“This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do
not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not
yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15
(NIV)
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a
messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away
from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace
is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians
12:7-10 (NIV)
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is
to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I
can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)
BUTTER
“When God is our strength, it is strength
indeed; when our strength is our own, it is only weakness.” St. Augustine
“A primary qualification for
serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God’s work well and
triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness.
When God’s warrior marches forth to battle, strong in his own might,
when he boasts, ‘I know that I shall conquer, my own right arm and my
conquering sword shall get unto me the victory’, defeat is not far
distant. God will not go forth with that
man who marches in his own strength. He
who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for ‘it is not by might,
nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’. They who go forth to fight, boasting of their
prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their
armour stained with disgrace. Those who
serve God must serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never
accept their service. That which man
doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the earth He casteth away;
He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by
grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.
God will empty out all that thou hast before He will put His own into
thee; He will first clean out the granaries before He will fill them with the
finest of the wheat……Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and
your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.” C. H. Spurgeon
“I need wisdom daily. I need strength
daily. This side of heaven, the battle is all around us. It’s good to
acknowledge and embrace our weaknesses. It forces us into greater dependence on
the strength that only God can provide. Will we be shaken or unshaken?” Cathe Laurie
“Jesus is the One who shows us the
paradoxical route to meaning in a chaotic and hostile world. It’s the paradox of the gospel: Strength is
found in weakness. Control is found in dependency. Power is found in surrender….God
uses the frustrations of this life and the hurt of relationships to compel us
to look beyond what we can control to the God who controls all things in order
to woo us to himself. As we move from control to surrender, we move from
chasing the wind under the sun to embracing God above it.” Dan
Allender
“Though assaults be many, and my enemies mighty, if God strengthen
me, I have enough to comfort me; for the greater my enemy, the more glorious my
victory; and the more glorious my victory, the more triumphant my glory.” K.H.
Von Bogatzky
“Dear Lord, we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on
You. You tell us our prayers will make a difference. We don’t need to know how,
we don’t need to know when—just please give what we need when we need it. You
are wiser, stronger, and so much more compassionate than we can conceive. We
praise You for who You are. We praise You for what You have promised to do for
us. Forgive us for taking our eyes off of You. Increase our faith and go before
us to vanquish every enemy. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.” Cathe Laurie
“‘I
will help thee’. O my soul, is not this
enough? Dost thou need more strength
than the omnipotence of the United Trinity?
Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than
displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of
the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty
pitcher! Surely this well will fill
it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and
bring them there – thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy
supply; what canst thou desire beside?
Go forth, my soul, in this thy might.
The Eternal God is thine helper!” C. H. Spurgeon
HEART
SAVOR
- ·
Flesh will fail you, Jesus will not.
- ·
It is God Who arms us with strength and makes our way perfect.
- ·
“He is the ROCK, His works are perfect, and all His ways are
just. A faithful God Who does no wrong,
upright and just is He.” Deuteronomy
32:4
