Digging Deep

⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6: 47-49; NIV 2011 Edition)

 Believe it or not, I grew up as one of the biggest Jimi Hendrix fans of my generation. I grew up trying to play all of his songs on bass, downloaded every single MP3 I could find and accumulated several of his live and studio cds. The man still remains as one of the most talented at his craft of all time. Trust me...this tangent/homage is going somewhere...

One of my favorite songs by Jimi Hendrix is this song called "Castles Made of Sand." In the song, the chorus goes "And so castles made of sand melt...into the sea...eventually." A testament to the fact that building on a flimsy surface or with weak materials will undoubtedly result in your house falling down when trouble comes.

So with that I ask...How's your spiritual foundation?

Have you ever been in a position where you wanted to change something or be more like Christ in a particular area of your life? Sometimes what happens is we make a decision to change but not an effort to dig deep to the core of the issue and rebuild a firm foundation. When God speaks to us like in the scripture above, it's not enough to take it at face value you or keep it on the surface of our minds and hearts.

How to dig deep:


Assess soil conditions. One of the first things that all builders must do before building a house is to examine the consistency and nature of the soil. Is it too wet? Too soft? Just right? I would liken this process to examining the condition of our hearts. When we want to commit to a change, our efforts will only get us as far as the soil will allow. We must condition our hearts to support spiritual change or we'll be right back where we started and wondering why.

Penetrate the soil. If you've ever seen any construction happen, you know that sturdy buildings aren't built just on the surface. Construction workers diligently dig up the soil so that the foundation can rest within the safety of the surrounding soil. Our actions are dictated by what is deeply rooted within us. It will always be this way that what comes to us most natural is what is deepest rooted in our hearts. Committing your ways to the Lord means allowing what God says about it coupled with what we plan to do about it to penetrate the soil in rest in the bedrock. The deeper you allow God's Word to penetrate your heart, the greater chance you have of building a firm foundation.

Brick by brick. Now of course a foundation is important but it's not the only thing needed to build a house. Construction workers work diligently to build with materials that are consistent with the foundation and the blueprint/plans. What does this mean for us? As we continue to build, we must be consistent in our actions. We can't build a house of kindness, forgiveness, sexual purity, financial stewardship, etc. if we allow ourselves to place brick after brick of anger, resentment, sexual sin, greed, and more. The mark of a well-crafted building is the consistency of the work from top to bottom. Notice that Jesus says the person who builds a house on rock is the one who continually puts His word into practice. Not just sometimes or once in a while. Consistency is key.

Deconstruction. In the same way that a house can be built on consistent application of God's word, it can also be destroyed by not following the steps to build a solid house. God loves us so much that sometimes He may cause our man-made lives to crumble because we failed to build a house consistent to His standards. Even worse, the consequences of our own sin-lead actions can result in having to rebuild after being broken/demolished. But don't worry, if you assess the soil, make changes, and allow what you've heard to sink in, you always have the chance to rebuild...

...brick by brick.

Correction Vs. Protection

This is the stuff that gets under my skin 

But I've got to trust You know exactly what You're doing 

It might not be what I might choose 

But this is the stuff you use

- Francesca Battistelli - This Is The Stuff

Today's Window Seat Thought is about correction and protection. God uses both to sharpen us and put us on the path that we are supposed to be on.

Correction/Discipline: In correction, God does not remove the sin (what I mean is that He does not look past them but He DOES forgive them*) but removes some benefit experienced while in our reckless sinful state and inflicts a consequence directly relating to the actions that occurred. This is sort of like the parent who doesn't fight to remove your bad grades on your report card but will put you on punishment as a result of them. Correction is used to allow us to see the errors of our ways and then work at them so that they are no longer a barrier to our right relationship with someone or something. Biblical examples of correction include : 

• Adam and Eve: God didn't remove the serpent, he removed the joy of carefree living. He also made life that much harder for Adam and Eve and well, you know how the rest of the story goes (Genesis 3:16-19). 
• David and Bathsheba, god did not restore David's mistakes but he removed the oneness that David felt with God. Not only that, God set a curse upon his house which had an immediate and public impact (2 Samuel 12: 11). 

Just like in the natural sense where we must work to improve our grades in order to restore our privileges, In spiritual correction it is always our responsibility to learn the lesson and restore our right relationship with Christ.

Protection/Grace: God removes the potential for sin or danger regardless of whether we are at fault for something or not. Ever run late for work and see that you just missed and accident? Ever be somewhere where you shouldn't have been and something bad happened but you were kept safe? That's God's protection. Evidence of His grace and mercy that He willingly pours out to us to protect us from harm. Biblical examples include:

• God protects Lot from destruction (Genesis 19) 
• Saul becomes Paul (Acts 9) 
• Jesus calms the sea (Mark 4: 35-41)

Both correction and protection are forces that god uses to show his unfailing love for us. Sometimes they can happen at the same time (correction protects you from further sin as long as you obey). Also, protection is not always given as a result of a potential or desire to sin. The bottom line is that its a crazy world out there and just as many forces work against you that work for you. Isn't it great to know that someone is working on your behalf to save you from the decay and destruction that the world throws at us?

Might not be what we choose but these are the things he uses.

Francesca Battistelli - This Is The Stuff:

Has you experienced God's correction or protection in your life? Have you witnessed it in the Bible or the lives of others? I want to hear about it!