Luke 6:47-48 NKJV
Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
Did you know that generations of American leaders and legal authorities consistently affirmed the Ten Commandments as the basis of civilized behavior in society and as the foundation to our legal code? Did you know that James Madison, our third president, stated, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”18 Yet in 1980 the US Supreme Court ruled that even a passive copy of the Ten Commandments at a school was unconstitutional. The court explained, "If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey the commandments….This is not a permissible state objective."19
James Madison staked the future on our own capacity to sustain ourselves according to God’s word. We too can sustain ourselves on the wisdom that comes from spending consistent time with God. Certainly all of us have faced mountain like challenges that caused our emotions to rock and reel. There is nothing wrong with emotions. But left unchecked, we could find ourselves making wrong choices or deeper in the challenge. Why not go to God first before allowing our emotions to get the best of us? It can be as simple as saying “before I say another word, I’m going to spend some time with God.” Why not start each day with a simple appointment with God? He is the rock! Just as America has been sustained these many years (more than 200 and counting), we can experience the same life sustaining force that comes from God. America’s foundations have been laid on the wisdom that comes from God’s word. Despite some of the decisions our country’s leaders have made in the past few decades, we still have the ability to build our houses on the rock.
Action steps
- Read - Re-read Luke 6:47-48.
- Think - Take a moment to think about being in a house with the floodwaters beating vehemently against it. How would you feel? Now picture the opposite scenario.
- Write - Break down the first part of today’s scripture. There are three steps. What are they? How can we line up our life to reflect that part of the scripture?
- Pray - Remember to keep praying for your leaders.
- Take away - The Lord wants us to come to Him, hear His sayings and then do them.
“Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine. ...Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants.”