God Teaches Us 5

Luke 6:47-49

In my first year in college I took a history course which had several books as required reading. At that time I was not ready to take college seriously and didn’t take the time to read many of the assignments (the books were boring!). Everything seemed to be fine all through the many weeks of the class until the final exam came around. I was unable to answer a huge portion of the questions and got a low grade in the class.

God teaches us in our experiences with His presence. God teaches us through the Scripture and through worship. God teaches us through the lessons of Jesus. Will we take the time to make these teachings part of who we are?

Jesus spent a huge portion of his ministry teaching people about the kingdom of God and how we are to live as believers. But then, like today, not everyone embraced the lessons and lived out what Jesus taught. To whom does Jesus compare a person who lives out his teaching? What about the person who doesn’t live out his teaching?

We may be among the faithful people who attend church, take part in Bible study, and even read our Bible when we can. But God’s teachings involve more than just hearing the words from Scripture and reading them. The lessons from God are there to change us.

We can change into more perfect people when we embrace what is being taught. We must understand what the lessons are that God teaches us. We must comprehend what Jesus teaches. But then we must put these lessons into practice.

Simply having the information available to us does no good if we don’t learn from the teachings. If we can’t live out what is taught, if we can’t change who we are through our understanding of God’s lessons, then we have not given ourselves the spiritual foundation to weather the storms of faith.

We can hear the lessons from God, but we must also internalize them, putting them into practice, living them out in our day-to-day. When we do that then we have the strength to endure the challenges of life and the challenges to our faith.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be certain the foundation of your house of faith is firm?

Teacher 3

Luke 6:47-49

Our nation still has its eyes set on cleaning up after the devastation of hurricane Katrina three years ago. We have watched with anxiety as Gustav and Hanna pounded the coast, and even homes in our area of northwest Ohio are currently without power because the winds from hurricane Ike knocked tree limbs down and tore out electric lines.

We are familiar with the damage a big storm can cause. The image of rising waters and pounding surf and the destruction they can cause are all too real in our minds.

But the forces of nature are not the only troubles we may experience in life. The storms of hurt and anger, the ruin of loss and emotional turmoil can batter our lives much as the ocean can wreak havoc in a hurricane. What can we do to endure such threats?

Jesus, the great teacher, explains it all so very clearly with this simple example. How are the two builders different? What is the result of a firm foundation? What about a weak foundation? What is that firm foundation (see verse 47)?

Jesus is many things to all of us. He is the Son of the Living God. He is our helper. He is the great healer. He is the mediator between us and God, that path of salvation and restoration that we need.

He is also a teacher. He provides us with instruction on how we are to live our lives, how we are to serve the Lord, how we are to order our behavior so that it might be pleasing to God.

Yet, we have the choice to listen and learn, or walk away and ignore the wisdom of Christ. And if we choose to walk away from the teachings of Jesus we are like a man who builds his house without a firm foundation. The storms of life will cause utter destruction.

The teachings of Jesus are a firm foundation for our spiritual and emotional houses. With the firm foundation of Christ’s instruction we have the ability to withstand the challenges that life and other people may assail us with. Diligent study and learning of God’s word can help us build a faith that can withstand troubles and tribulations.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How are you building a foundation on the rock of God’s teachings?