January 27, 2019 - Inscriptions From The Heart

Paul Doug Bennyson

HOW RELIABLE IS YOUR FOUNDATION?

I remember the first day I landed in Canada. Walking out of the airplane I happen to show my passport to the immigration officer and was producing my student visa to him. He looked at me and asked me a very interesting question. He asked me, “Are you a Christian?” I looked at him and said, “Yes, I am!” Since I was a kid, I had a lot of spiritual experiences. Most of my faith was based on experiences and I personally felt that it was something I could boast about. I was grounding my faith based on past experiences.

I didn’t know the spiritual grounds I was getting into going into university. I happen to be a part of a university where atheism was running rampantly. As much as I talked to people about my religious experiences from back home I felt I was missing something in my life. Suddenly I realized though being a Christian for almost all my life I did not know much about this God I believe and serve. I had no basis on what I was grounding my faith to apart from my past experiences. Everything I tried to make sense of God was through my experiences but not through His word. Then I realized as life kicked in how much I needed God, how much I needed to know him and understand His character because my past experiences were not enough. I needed to hear Him. I needed faith. And as per Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of God.”

Matthew 23:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away.” What does this tell us about the word of God? Regardless of the season His word remains the same. There are seasons in our lives that changes the way we feel. Some seasons bring joy, some seasons bring peace. Some seasons bring happiness and some seasons bring sorrow. Some seasons bring loneliness, pain and suffering. Some bring changes for good and some seasons bring changes for bad. But in all seasons God and His word are constant. God is Sovereign! His word is Sovereign! In a world changing so drastically one thing remains constant. And that is His word. According to His will, at the right time He will make things come to pass. And trust me, it would never be too late.

We do know how important foundations are while building a house. I love the way scripture talks about Jesus being a foundation. 1 Corinthians 3:11 makes a very bold declaration of Jesus as it says, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” This foundation is immovable. And the only way you can trust on Jesus is by knowing Him for who He is through His word.

In the beginning of this writing I wrote a part in which I said, “…I was grounding my faith based on past experiences…” I challenge myself and even you to think of this. Would I want my foundation to be based on my experience which always rises and drops on how I feel or the Word of God which is unchanging, eternal and everlasting! How reliable is your foundation?