CHECK YOUR FOUNDATION
Matthew 7:22-23
Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Many years ago, I had a hunter book a hunt with me over the phone. I never met him until he showed up in camp late one night. The next morning he walked down to breakfast looking like a model out of the L.L. Bean catalog. I'm sure that every piece of clothing from his socks to his underwear to the hat on top of his head was brand-new. After a short talk I could tell he had never hunted before. I put him in a stand where there was no possible way that he couldn't be successful, no matter how "green" he was.
He only hunted one year with me, because he was afraid of the dark and being alone in the woods. He ended up being a "poser", someone who looked the part, but was a poor faker.
This week I heard a story about a wooden cross outside of a church that fell down. It didn't fall because it was blown down or knocked down, but because the wood that was in the ground at the foundation had slowly rotted away. On the surface, it still looked like a strong symbol of faith. But underneath, at it's foundation, it was decaying... and eventually, that hidden weakness in its foundation brought it down.
Unfortunately that what we are seeing in popular Christianity today. It might look string and solid, but down deep the foundation is rotten. There might be religion in sight but what the basis is set on has no relationship to Jesus Christ. The story that I read of this cross said there was no, "No root in Scripture. No repentance. No transformation. And just like that cross, when pressure comes, it didn't stand."
I guided a turkey hunt years ago where a "Christian" outdoor writer was the guest of two others that were in the outdoor industry. The "Christian" made the entire trip about him and he played the religion card at every turn. By the end of the week, the other two hunters told me, "if that's what a Christian is, we want no part of it."
In the scripture above we can see those that believed they were right in God's eyes, because they had gone through all the steps to earn salvation, but in the end they were cast away. They wore the cross on a chain around their neck, they put a verse on their Facebook page, they even told others about God.. but they never had a trusting relationship with Jesus Christ. As some might say... "they were all show and no go"
Jesus warned us about this. In Matthew 7, He said that many will say, 'Lord, Lord,' but He will reply, 'I never knew you.' That's not about how we look—it's about who we truly are. We're not called to have the appearance of the cross. We're called to live under its power.
The story I read asked a few pertinent questions;
Are you rooted in Christ, or are you just familiar with Christian culture?
Is your relationship with Jesus active, or just assumed?
Are you being shaped by Scripture, or just surrounded by it?
Check the foundation of the cross that you have out for show in your life. Is it sound and firm, or is it silently rotting, while the rest that everyone can see is nice looking?
CHECK YOUR FOUNDATION
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