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Posted by Brother Jerry (Geno) Berry
January 18, 2013 -
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878 views
Rock Solid: How to Build a Life that Lasts
A good foundation is essential, for buildings andforlives. For the storms will come. Just as a Texas tornado can come up out of nowhere to buffet a building, problems and tragedies can arise unexpectedly in the happiestlives.Jesus tells us that the rain falls upon the just and the unjust, so dispense with the idea that somehowyou're going toescape the stormsoflife. 13 The storms that Jesus teaches us about can take many forms. They can be the storm of thunderous judgment in the future or the periodic and temporary stormsthat arise in all lives. The latter encompass all kinds of tests that try our lives in varying degrees. These can be a financial,a family, a marital crisis. They can even involve a trial of unanswered prayer. But you know what? A faith that can't withstand the tests thrown at it by life is a faith that can't be trusted. So take those storms in stride. A goodstorm will demonstrate the reality and the stability of your faith's foundation. Over the years, I've had numerous churchmembers tell me, "Pastor, we're in a storm, and it's hard. But somehow, I'm not sure how,we're still standing.We're still trusting inGod, and there is peace in His presence in this storm,andwe couldn't live withoutit." The fact is that people whose lives lack a foundation built upon the rockofthe realityofJesus don'tsurvive. Theyhave no stability. If you build your life around toys and trinkets and selfish pursuits, around anything other than Jesus Christ, one of these days a storm is going tostrike andtear your life apart. You'll have nothing to stand on. You'll have no strength of support and stability in your life. We all need to heed what that great old gospel song proclaims: On Christthe solid Rock I stand All othergroundis sinking sand All othergroundis sinking sand14
To confront the seasons and the storms of life, we must stand on the rock that is Jesus.This is how we build a life to last. Building Block #3: The Eternity inJesus Christ The final building block of a life that lasts is the eternity that is in Jesus Christ. I'm talking about a life that lasts forever beyond this physical life in the company of Christ. Building a solid foundation on the rock of Christ in our physical lifetime leads, ultimately, to an eternal future with God. You were built to live forever. God has set eternity in our hearts. Life is brief. It's described in the Bible, infact, as little more than a vapor, a mist, a dew in the morning that comes up and quickly disappears. 15 We're going to spend far more time in eternity then on this earth. That's why Jesus instructs against the foolishness of building a life for here and now withoutthought ofeternity. The Christian lives for eternity, and that priority is life changing. We're to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. 16 This aim alters our values. It revisesthe way we live, because we recognize that the here and now isn't all there is. We live knowing that we have so terrific a future and a promise with God in heaven that it defies comprehension.
