Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
My mentor drilled this statement in me. And the statement is this: “Things aren't always as they seem.” Things aren't always as they seem. You know, it's amazing. You can look at a beautiful building that's got all the bells and whistles. I mean, you can even go inside. It's got the beautiful windows, the chairs, the blinds.
But when you get down to the foundation of the building, the foundation is cracked and there's no stability. Things aren't always as they seem.
Well, in our text today, 1 Peter 2 verse 6 tells us, “As the Scriptures say, I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor. And anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
Jesus: Our Cornerstone
This is Peter telling us to build our lives on Jesus, who is our cornerstone. Now, if you know anything about a cornerstone, a cornerstone is the most important stone of a building. If a cornerstone is slightly off, it affects the entire position of the building. And Peter's saying, hey, if you want to build on a firm foundation, you have to build your life on Jesus.
So that raises the question, how do we build our lives on Jesus?
Step One: Come to Jesus
Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28 speaks to this, and it tells us, "Come to me, come to me." This is Jesus making an invitation. He says, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He doesn't say, fix your life up first and then come to me. No, no, He's saying, just come as you are.
The first step to building on a firm foundation is coming to Jesus.
Step Two: Build on God's Word
The second step is this: if we're going to build well, we need good material. And the material is the Word of God. We have to build our lives on the Word of God. And here's what happens when we build our lives on God's Word.
God is going to mold us and conform us into His image as we read His Word. We're going to be challenged, and we're going to understand that following Jesus costs, and if we're going to build on a firm foundation, we have to count the cost. And as we read God's Word, as His Word convicts us, here's what's going to happen. He's slowly going to conform us into His image.
Step Three: Build in Community
We come to Jesus. We build our lives on God's Word. And I want to encourage you with this third point: Build in community, not in isolation. Build in community, not in isolation.
When I just got saved, I had so many questions about heaven, about hell, about suffering, and I'm so thankful that my mentor told me, “you need to join a small group.” It gave me a place to bounce off all my questions, and I understood I wasn't the only one that was asking these questions.
If we're going to build on a firm foundation, we come to Jesus. We build our lives on His Word and we build in community. Because when the storms of life come and they will come, the Bible tells us in John chapter 16 and verse 33 that in this world we will have trouble. And when the storms of life come, if we've built on a firm foundation, our home will last.
