shawnethomas

Some of you remember the bad weather we had a few weeks ago, with all the high winds, and a tornado in the area, and the downpour of rain we got — several inches in very short period of time. They put out several weather advisories, including a tornado warning, and also a flood advisory. Cheryl & I were actually on the way to church the Wednesday the tornado warning sounded on our phones — and we looked around at the sky and said, “Well, we don’t see anything …” and just kept on going (that is NOT the wisest course of action to take, by the way!). We did keep on the alert for a tornado, but one thing I did NOT worry about that day was our house flooding. Some of you know we live at the end of a cul-de-sac off of Hwy 70 east of Morganton, and it is situated up on hill. The street drops way downhill from our house and is much lower at the other end — there is a little creek down there; I might worry if I lived there — but our house is set up on high in a safe place from any floods which might come against us.

It is good to have that kind of peace of mind about the security of your house. But it is even more important to be certain about your “spiritual house,” and the storms which might come against you spiritually. And that is what Jesus talks about in this passage. As He brings this Sermon on the Mount to a close, He says there are two kinds of “spiritual houses” you can have: either a house built on the rock, or a house built on the sand. He shows us the importance of having your house “built on the rock” spiritually — and He also teaches us exactly what that means. Continue reading →