these verses spoke to me recently in a way like never before...
"anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on a solid rock. thought the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the wind beats against that house, it won't collapse because it is build on bedrock. but anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. when the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."
you know, i always read this parable and thought, "oh yes, because i chose jesus, i will be ok. when things get 'bad' i will have Him to lean on." that's ok, but think of it this way...
He says whoever listens and follows His teachings...not just chooses Him. action. like the verses that say, "prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. don't just say to each other ' we are safe'...yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire." matthew 3:8-10
then think about this...i think when He talks of the rain, the floods, the wind...He's not talking about just physical stuff like illness and joblessness and money and marriage problems that come at us. i think He's speaking directly to our fear and faithlessness. He's telling me if i listen and follow His teachings and obey Him and let His Spirit lead me, then when the questions of "what if" and "how will we" and "what will people think" come into our minds, we can know what we built on. and that it is enough.
worries plus wealth equals no fruit.
