Things to Come

DECEMBER 18

MATTHEW 7:27_And the rain descended…

I see a connection between the beginning of this verse and verse 25. Do you see it? It’s something we’ve seen all along. Trials, storms, disappointments, sufferings, and hard times come.

They come regardless of whether you’ve built your house on the Rock, or on the sand.

They come to the wise as well as to the foolish.

They come!

Prepare yourself!

Jesus gives wise advice in John 16:13 (KJV), “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear [from God], that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

The Holy Spirit can prepare you for things to come. He speaks as you read the Bible and bears witness of its truth. The Holy Spirit makes you wiser than your enemy the devil, who wants you to fear the rains life can bring. Become a child of God and have the advantage of the Spirit’s teaching and leading. 

Jesus doesn’t teach the Spirit will predict your future.

The Holy Spirit will increase your faith, build your trust, and prepare you for whatever the future has in store. 

PRAYER

Glorious Lord Jesus, Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Help me listen and learn! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.          

Christ prepares me for the future—Whatever it brings!

If There Is No God

DECEMBER 17

MATTHEW 7:26_shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.

Why do we make foolish decisions? Because we make them. For goodness sake, where do we come up with the idea we know what is best for ourselves? We’re sinful people born with a sinful nature. When left to ourselves we make foolish decisions.

Psalm 14:1(KJV) “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” Someone made a foolish decision to make that statement!

If there is no God we are all doomed.

Destined to build life on sandy soil.

No hope.

No secure life built on the Rock.

No becoming salt and light in our dark world.

No hearts filled with genuine, unconditional, compassionate love.

No true wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. 

Most of all, no hope of eternal life.

The one true God gives us, Psalm 16:9 (KJV), “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.”

Psalm 31:24 (KJV), “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.”

Psalm 38:15 (KJV), “For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.”

There is nothing sandy about soil filled with hope!

PRAYER

God of Hope, All my hope is in You! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.          

Christ is true and eternal—He gives me hope!

He Knows Storms Are Coming

DECEMBER 16

MATTHEW 7:26_shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.

Psalm 127:1 (KJV) “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”  Vain is empty and useless—it is foolish. God will never instruct you to build your house on sandy soil. He knows the storms are coming.

Some storms come by God’s design. He designs them to help build your life on the security of the Rock. Everyone has weaknesses. God desires to turn them into strengths. Because He knows individual weaknesses, He knows what is required to strengthen them.

To strengthen the weak requires some type of pressure. Weakness does not have the ability to strengthen itself. An outside force is required. The pressure from a force generally brings pain. If you’ve ever done any kind of strength training you understand—not pleasant at the time, but necessary for a positive result.

You can design your own storms – usually when you try to escape the pain from the God-designed storms.

The combination of your storms with God’s storms causes far more pressure than your life needs.

PRAYER

Eternal God, Please strengthen my weaknesses. Help me be grateful for Your designed storms and keep me from designing my own. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.          

Christ’s storms are good for me—I will learn patience!

How You Become Foolish

DECEMBER 15

MATTHEW 7:26_shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.

Sandy soil is no substitute for rock. The foundation of your life must be rock solid! There is nothing solid about sand. It slides right through your fingers. A gust of wind can toss it away. 

The only way to live out the salty-lit-up life is to live out the teachings of Jesus. Anything else, and I do mean anything, is sandy soil. 

Proverbs 24:10 (KJV), “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” You will lack courage and lose heart if you choose to face life’s storms from the world’s standards. Jesus calls this foolish. A foolish person is someone who makes poor decisions. 

Romans chapter 1 (KJV) says it well, “21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”

Sounds to me like foolish people do not glorify God, because they are not grateful. The foolish imagine themselves to be wise.

That’s how you become foolish. Thinking you’re wise. No need for God.

PRAYER

Wise God, Please give me a grateful heart which glorifies who You are. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.          

 Christ wants me to make courageous decisions—I will!

Egg on Their Face

DECEMBER 23

MATTHEW 7:28_And it came to pass…

Something which came to pass as a part of Jesus’ ministry was—multitudes followed Him. We’ve mentioned the multitudes before, but let’s review these categories.

Definitely among the multitude were the spiritually hungry. Hopefully that is the category you fill. You have not spent a year studying Jesus’ teachings because you are spiritually full. These are people who want their lives to count for good before they leave the earth. 

There were the physically sick. These are people who believe Jesus can heal the incurable. They hope to experience His power.

There were the desperate, held in demonic bondage by the father of lies. They were searching for freedom. Had they found it? 

There were the curious who just wanted to see what all the hoop-la was about.

There were the jealous who sought to destroy the One who had stolen their thunder. And it came to pass that these left with egg on their face.

For those who don’t know what that means, it is to be made to look foolish or embarrassed.  

 PRAYER

Wonderful Counselor, I am spiritually hungry for Your truth. Please feed me. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.          

Christ can keep me spiritually full—He feeds me!