A Sure Foundation On Which To Build


Yesterday we talked about the blessed hope we have in Christ Jesus. However, that hope has to be anchored to something real, solid, and everlasting. It must be anchored to faith in Jesus Christ, not just a head belief; it takes a heart belief.

Believing in marriage doesn’t make you married; you must commit to your spouse and say “I do.”

Simply believing in Jesus doesn’t make you a Christian; the devil and his demons believe in Jesus. Committing your life to Christ, surrendering your right to yourself and following Christ as Lord…saying “I do” to Jesus is what makes you a Christian. It is at that point the foundation of your faith is laid. The moment of Christian conversion is when Christian construction begins.

This sure foundation was foretold hundred of years before Christ became the God-Man. The Prophet Isaiah told of this promise:

    “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.’” (Isaiah 28:16)

Most of us would agree that some of the worst decisions we’ve ever made were ones made in haste. Isaiah tells us that if we believe in Christ and trust in our Lord, our decisions will become more sound; we will not act hastily. Why?

It is because our spirit will not become desperate and we all know that when we act in desperation it usually works out for the worse. It is in the midst of troubled times we are to trust in Christ Who gives us grace our feet and faith our eyes. Isaiah writes later of a perpetual covenant of peace from God available to those who will believe in the cornerstone:

    “O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.” (Isaiah 54:11-14)

Today is the 15th anniversary of my recommitting my life to Christ. To say this past decade and a half has at times been a tempest would be an understatement. Never was my life more in turmoil than when we got the call that Eddie had been killed in Iraq. However, through all of that the Lord Jesus Christ was laying my family’s foundation of faith with sapphires. My two daughters have struggled with the loss of their brother and yet I’ve seen the Lord bring a great peace to them. It is the peace of God:

    “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)

The peace of God came to my family because we knew that Eddie was a child of God only because of his faith in God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ (see John 3:16). And because each of us has put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we know that we will be reunited with Eddie in heaven. Why? Because the foundation of our eternal future was laid by Christ Jesus our Cornerstone. Matthew Henry commenting on our passage from Isaiah 28 writes:

    Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support His church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A cornerstone, binding together the whole building, and bearing the whole weight; precious in the sight of the Lord, and of every believer; a sure foundation on which to build. And he who in any age or nation shall believe this testimony, and rest all his hopes, and his never-dying soul on this foundation, shall never be confounded. The right effect of faith in Christ is, to quiet and calm the soul, till events shall be timed by Him, who has all times in his own hand and power…

Jesus Christ is that cornerstone; He said that about Himself:

    “Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes”?’” (Matthew 21:42)

Have you placed your faith in Christ or have you rejected the chief cornerstone? If the latter, that explains all of the problems in your life.

On what type of foundation are you building? I pray it is the Sure One.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2011 David Jeffers

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