After the Storm

(2 Minute Read)

Last week a storm of wind and rain hit while we were camping. The next morning I was surprised to see what the storm had done to the easy-up canopy pictured here.

The day before it had looked good — well-staked with taut guy ropes and a properly-stretched canopy. But the wind and rain destroyed it, despite all the stakes holding firm. The metal skeleton was bent and twisted beyond reclamation by the storm.

It brought to mind these words of Jesus, at the end of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount:
“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. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

The key is to both hear the words of Jesus and to act on them. Hearing alone is insufficient.

The wind and rain destroyed the pictured easy-up, just as the storms of life will destroy one who does not act on the words of Jesus.

Right before concluding the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had said this:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Hearing and acting on the words of Jesus includes hearing and acting on these alarming words. Obedience to the will of God is essential.
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. (James 1:22)

Questions to Ponder

1. What specific words of Jesus do you need to obey today without delay?
2. Whose life has inspired you by how they trusted God and obeyed through a life-storm?

Share your thoughts on these questions in the comments below. It could encourage or help another reader.

For Christ and His Kingdom. Soli Deo Gloria. Alere Flammam Veritatis.

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©William T. Pelletier, Ph.D.
“contending earnestly for the faith”
“destroying speculations against the knowledge of God”
“for the defense of the gospel”
(Jude 1:3; 2 Cor 10:5; Phil 1:16)
Wednesday September 18, 2019 A.D.

“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.”. (Matthew 7:24)

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