Your Daily Devotional for April 18, 2006

April 18, 2006

 

God’s Tools for Making Your Life Count

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.”

Matthew 7:24

 

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to do a job without the right tools. Have you ever tried to hang up a picture at your house on a small nail, but you couldn’t find a hammer? What did you do? You probably grabbed a shoe or whatever else was available. By the time you were done, you had marred the wall and smashed your finger! It is frustrating to try to do a job with the wrong tools. Our God never gives us a job without giving us the resources to get that job done. Two of the greatest tools God has given us are His abundant grace and a sure foundation.

 

I Corinthians 3:10 says, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” Our first resource in doing God’s work is God’s abundant grace. Just as the Lord gave Paul special grace for the founding of the church at Corinth, God will give us special grace for His work wherever we serve Him.

 

Grace is a divine enablement from God. Grace is “God giving us strength when we would have had no strength.” Whatever is done in our lives that is good, lasting, spiritual, or even numerical is only by the grace of God. 1 Corinthians 15:10 says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." It is a team effort! Sometimes we get discouraged when we share the Gospel and witness to others. We may feel that it is somehow our fault when someone does not accept Christ. However, we are a part of the cultivation process of God’s Word in that person’s heart.

 

On any given Sunday, some people take children to their classes, and others teach those children. Some drive the bus, and others give special offerings to keep the buses rolling. Some workers are involved in helping the teenagers. Yet, in all of this, it is God who gives the increase. It is God who is worthy of our praise. It is all because of His abundant grace that this happens each week.

 

Our second resource is the sure foundation God has provided us. Notice verse 11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." This may be basic, but it is a vital truth. The only foundation of biblical Christianity is Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:20 says, “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Our foundation should never be liturgical tradition, secular humanism, or man’s philosophy. Our foundation is Jesus Christ. The song writer said it best when he wrote, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock I stand: All other ground is sinking sand.”

 

Let’s take heed how we build our lives. Let’s make sure we are building them by the grace of God through Jesus Christ—the Solid Rock. When Christians get off the foundation of Jesus Christ, and try to build a foundation based on humanism, rationalization, or the wickedness of this world, their lives will be destroyed. But when our lives are built by the grace of God on the foundation of Jesus Christ, we will be standing firm when the storms of life come. We will be making our lives count for eternity. 

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