Deeper Higher

Matthew 5:4 (KJV) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

      Every house needs a foundation. The higher you intend to build the deeper and wider you must lay your foundation. Fail to follow that rule and anything you build will be easily felled. A fence six feet tall needs a two foot deep post. A high rise apartment building needs a much deeper and wider foundation then a single story house. We are a spiritual house and Scripture has much to say about foundations. Paul told the Corinthians “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder” Then he exhorts us, “But each one should be careful how he builds.” The foundation principle is as important for Christians as it is for engineers. In that same passage Paul tells us that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Jesus is our Cornerstone, the marker by which we measure everything else and which determines the way to build. 
     
     Here Christ is revealing an important part of the foundation for Christian living. Mourning is not popular and certainly not in vogue today. We want to laugh, we want to party, we want to soar on wings as eagles but nobody wants to build the foundation for those things. Solomon told us that a merry heart “doeth good like a medicine”. There are benefits of humor and laughing. God certainly is not some celestial prude that wants us to scowl at the world and stomp out laughter. The church needs to laugh. The world needs to laugh but in our attempt to build to that height we have despised sorrow. We laugh when there is no reason to laugh and even laugh when we ought to be crying. Laughing at sin and the pleasures of sin instead of mourning the course of this world is not healthy. Medicine is good. Too much medicine is fatal. Taking medicine to mask the symptoms prevents us from fighting against the disease and will only weaken our bodies. We need to build a solid foundation. In our search to fill our churches with laughter there is the danger of removing the tear soaked altars where sinners faced their sins and mourned. 

     There is a song from my youth that I will never forget. It says, “Wasted years, wasted years, oh how foolish. As you walk on in darkness and fear. Turn around, turn around, God is calling you. He’s calling you from a life of wasted years.” I remember my Father, who was a preacher of the gospel and awesome man of God, listening to the words of this song and weeping. I had never known him as a sinner. He was a pastor when I was born. But thank God my Dad had come face to face with sin and learned to mourn. He began to build on the rock Christ Jesus and spent the rest of his life in service for our Lord. Still he understood the folly of those wasted years. If we do not preach sin, sinners will not mourn sin. They may come for the party, for the laughter, for the good time but the result will be an unstable life built on a shallow footing. True Christianity manifests itself in what we cry over and what we laugh about. Too often we laugh at the things that should make us mourn and we weep over the things that should make us laugh. In your heart of hearts what do you mourn? What causes you to weep and what makes you laugh? That speaks volumes about your foundation. If you want to go higher you really must dig deeper.

Spiritual Workouts

Psalm 27:1 (KJV)  - The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

In these times of economic hardship many are losing their jobs, their pensions, even their homes but I heard a report that gyms are booming.  It seems that even when times are hard this generation doesn’t want to give up their workout.  On the same note, have you ever noticed that in January, right after we have eaten our way through the holidays and made those New Year’s resolutions, the stores feature all of the exercise equipment for sale?  There is something within us that desires strength and stamina.  Deep inside our psyche we know that this will somehow make our lives better.  But how do we view our spiritual health?
    The verse for this week is thought to have been written by David when he was exiled and running for his life.  He had lost the throne, his family had turned against him, the people had rejected him and his future was not very sure.  Still David looked toward Jerusalem and poured out his soul unto the Lord.  “The Lord is my light, my salvation, my strength…of whom shall I be afraid?”  In the light of all that David had lost his desire was to seek the Lord.  The “one thing” that he desired was not his throne, his family, or his power, it was to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Psalm 27:4 (KJV)  “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”  This fallen king knew that his strength came from spending time beholding the beauty of God and seeking the Lord. 
     There is not one thing on this earth that will not fail you.  The government, your family, your health, your wealth, your best laid plans will let you down but there is one place that you can invest everything and your time and energy will be held on rock solid ground.  Doesn’t it make sense to invest in the sure thing?  When the Lord is the strength of your life there is nothing to fear.  What is your one thing?  What are you seeking, desiring, and longing for with all of your heart?  Can you say with David, "The Lord is the strength of my Life?"