Thursday, December 5, 2024

5 December 2024 - the blueprint


Jesus said to his disciples:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Noah was not saved from the flood merely because knew about the God of Israel. He was saved because he actually built the ark. The Lord gives us a blueprint for our lives and gives the grace we need to complete it. But the kind of faith that can actually save us is that which will actually put the blueprints to use. It won't be enough to say that we know the Lord and have the blueprint if we have built something entirely different.

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

The name of Jesus is powerful. But it is not an incantation we can chant over a life that is unrelated to his teaching and hope to gain any kind of stability that way. The obstacles that the name of Jesus can help us to overcome are obstacles to doing his will. And those obstacles may be out in the world. But they are even more likely to be within our own hearts. Belief in the name of Jesus is meant to change us and the world around us. His word is meant to be living and effective, not merely static letters on a page. To truly believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord is sufficient for salvation (see Romans 10:9) when that belief results in trusting him with our lives to the degree that we actually obey him. This is called the obedience of faith by Paul (see Romans 1:5). It is the reason why James reminds us that faith without works is dead (see James 2:17).

The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

The rains are going to fall, the floods will come, and the winds will blow, testing the foundation on which we have built our lives. The difference is not whether we will be tested but whether or not we will stand firm. And whether we will or not is determined by how we respond to the words of Jesus. There is only one foundation firm enough to keep us strong against the storms of this life. It is not merely Jesus' name as a magic word. It is rather the power of his name put to work in our lives.

A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;
in peace, for its trust in you.

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