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“… the rain fell, the floods came and the winds blew…” Matthew 7:25

In the sermon on the mount, which I was thinking about this morning, I was reminded of an old children’s Sabbath School song—“The wise man built his house upon the rock….” The song was based on this illustration given by Jesus Himself. As a child the best part of the song was the ending when the “foolish man’s house” went SPLAT! And we all clapped our hands together with extreme vigor—and noise!!

Now that I am older the best part of the story or song is not the splat, but the realization that bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. Let me explain.

The song is about two people, one called wise and one called foolish. They both built homes. Their wisdom, or foolishness, was determined by the location of their building project and the foundation on which it was built. The wise man built his house on the rock; the foolish man built his house on the sand.

Lesson number one: be wise in where I choose to build my house; foundation is everything. “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation,” says Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “as an expert builder.” He warned, “each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Christ Jesus.” Paul got it! To maintain faithfulness to my belief in God’s grace, the foundation has already been laid! Jesus Christ! The only real building I have to do is the building of my choices focused and grounded in Him SO THAT I can experience the solidity and stability of HIS foundation in my life. My life and my choices in life become the house; every house may look different. The constant is the foundation. That was lesson one.

Lesson two was equally significant: Rain, flood and wind happened to both builders’ homes. When my foundation is solidly in Jesus I still will experience the goods and the bads in life. I’m not exempt from trouble just because I accept Jesus. The world is still full of evil and the devil is still alive, “seeking whom he may devour!” I’m not exempt from the difficulties in life, but I am protected from destruction because my foundation is in Jesus and Him alone.

Though the “house on the sand went SPLAT,” “the house on the Rock stood firm!”

Again today, and every day, I choose to “build my house on the Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s the last verse of the song! That’s the foundation upon which I build all my decisions. It’s also the most important decision I can ever make in my life.

Have a great day anchoring yourself on Jesus’ foundation,

Pastor Rich

Quote for the day: “There was a handful of things that were important to Dad: be hospitable to others, be honest in your dealings, work hard every day so you deserve what you have & love others the way that Jesus loves us.” Josh Heinrich

PS uGather- 10:30am in the church. Join us each week as we come together as a Union College family to build community and fellowship with God and His word. This week in recognition of Black History Month, Pastor John Harris, founder of “Encouragement Unlimited” will be sharing his dream and encouraging us with the value of making a positive difference in our society. We are also asking the campus body as a whole to help us collect items to donate to his care package program. More on this when we meet him.

PPS UC BB AT Kansas Christian W @ 5; M @ 7 https://ugroups.ucollege.edu/events?topic_tags=1756286

PPPS Idahaven Camp still here today! Visit them in the Ortner lobby.

PP..S I told you earlier in the week that Ricky and Brooke Melendez would be looking for a few more camp staff this weekend. They had to delay their visit so plan to see them the first part of next week.