Devotion
Matthew 7:24-29
24 “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. 25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.
Reflection
There are two kinds of people and two types of houses. Wise people who build their houses with Jesus as the foundation will be able to withstand the onslaught of trials and persecution. Foolish people who build their houses with sand as the foundation will be washed away by the floods, storms, and natural disasters of life. When the multitude heard these sayings, they were amazed because Jesus taught with authority, unlike the Pharisees and scribes.
Application
Praying is asking, seeking, and knocking on God. The Greek verbs, ask, seek, and knock are in the present, active, and imperative tense. This is a continuous action i.e. go on asking, go on seeking, and go on knocking. Prayer involves persistence, perseverance, and determination.
We must avoid hypocritical, judgmental, and self-righteous attitudes. We must be able to spot and discern false teachers by inspecting their fruits. Do they have the fruit of the Holy Spirit i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, Galatians 5:22-23?
We must build the foundation of our faith in Christ the solid rock through faith and obedience.
As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus taught with the authority of the Godhead. Jesus is the Word of God, who became flesh and lived with us. He is the Son of God and Son of Man, fully divine and fully human.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your teaching on judging, spiritual discernment, relationship, and wisdom. Help us to build our faith with Jesus as our foundation to withstand the storms of life. Help us to go on asking, seeking, and knocking on You in prayer with persistence, perseverance, faith, and determination, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
