But God

Perhaps my two favorite words in the whole Bible are "But God."


These two words are used together hundreds of times throughout the Bible, but I was reminded of one of my favorite passages in Scripture while working on another post. For this entry, however, I just want to post the passage Scripture. It's a little bit lengthy as far as quoted passages go, but...well, here. I'll let the passage speak for itself.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our traspasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph. 2:1-9

Just a reminder today of the power and sufficiency of the gospel.


Live and trust in Christ alone.


He is our only hope.

The Flood

Have you heard the story of the two men building a house? One builds on the rock and the other on the sand? It's here if you haven't read it. Go check it out. I'll be here when you get back.


Did you read it? Good.


A few things strike me as interesting in this parable.


The righteous man. He builds the foundation of his house on the rock. I can almost see the listeners nodding their approval - this man knows what he's doing! As a result, the storm and flood do not prevail against him.


The unrighteous man. He builds the foundation of his house on the sand. The crowds probably laughed and shook their heads, knowing how dimwitted this man was behaving. As expected, the storm and flood easily prevail.


The flood. Notice that it still came, even in view of the righteousness of the first man. The passage says "when" the flood comes, not "if." The indication here is that the flood is coming, the trials will happen, we will face troubles and persecution for the sake of Christ. Your righteousness (or lack thereof) will not stop the storm. This is because the storm is not the point. The point is the God who is Lord over the storm. He is the One in whom we place our trust. He is the One for Whom we are faithful.


The question is: Will you be found righteous or unrighteous when the storm comes? Will you be found faithful, having diligently prepared for the storm? Or will the crowds laugh at you too, easily recognizing that you have been building on the wrong foundation this whole time?


Don't be surprised when you give in to trials and temptation if all along you have not been diligent to build a solid foundation on the Lord and the principles of His Word. What else do you think will happen when the storm comes?


And don't be surprised either when you withstand the storm and make it through temptation or trials if you have been faithful all along. That's the benefit of being faithful. Just make sure your response is one of praise to the Father for being your strength, rather than pride in yourself for standing firm. You couldn't have stood firm without the Rock on which you stood.