By Pastor Alex Ruelo
Matthew 7:24-27 says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Have faith that does not easily falter. No matter what trials and tribulations life throws at you, stand firm in your foundation. In this parable, there are two kinds of people; two kinds of Christians. The wise Christians listen to God’s word, puts God’s word into practice, builds his house on the rock, and stands firm when shaken. Bedrock is consolidated rock; it is solid and tightly bound, thus, it will not be easily shaken. Build your house on such stuff.
Foolish Christians, on the other hand, only hear God’s word. There is a big difference between hearing and listening. Listening is a voluntary action a person makes wherein full attention is given. Hearing, on the other hand is just that. It goes in one ear and goes out of the other. So when there is shaking, these Christians crumble down and lose it.
1 Corinthians 3:10-18 says, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise.” There is no other foundation you should build on but Jesus Christ. Where are you standing? Fire can destroy everything and melt anything, depending on its intensity. It can reveal what kind of work each builder has done. When you go through fire, will you be able to go through it? Or will you be broken down into ashes?
Your body is the temple of God and it must be taken cared of. But God will destroy anyone who destroys His temples. His temples are holy and you are one of those temples. What are you doing with God’s temple? Make it the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Psalms 139:13-15 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.” When God created you, He thought of everything that comprises your entire body. Everything has a purpose and every part fulfills a specific function. When God created your body, the body that some people add to and subtract from, He made it perfect.
Leviticus 11:44-47 says, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. “ ‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.” God has many reasons why He forbade people to eat certain animals. But Peter said otherwise. God can make clean anything and everything. And what God has made clean is clean in itself.
Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Keep the Holy Spirit happy. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 says, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” When God wrote this to the people of Corinth, he said that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. But before he said that, he reminded them not to team up with unbelievers. They do not not team up with each other. They work on their own because they are scared with co-believers, for reasons nobody and everybody knows. There are so many rules and reasons why believers are divided. Why and what for?
Believers and unbelievers. How do you distinguish the two? Where are the wise Christians and where are the foolish Christians? Christians team up with unbelievers because sometimes, they do things better than the Christians who they are supposed to be teaming up with. The Bible is asking you to make a better team to worship Jesus. Do you not know that all of you are part of the temple of God? You only have one God. Stay together and do the right thing together.
Do you have the right foundation? Are you the wise Christian Jesus is talking about? Is your life pleasing to Him? Is the Holy Spirit happy to dwell in your body? He never leaves. Keep Him happy.
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