Building on the Foundation

  When God delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, He didn’t take them straight to the Promised Land. They weren’t ready. So first He brought them through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai and gave them His laws. He charged them, saying, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6). There at Mt. Sinai, God and Israel entered into a covenant. The Israelites said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient” (Ex. 24:7). But Israel still wasn’t yet ready to enter the Promised Land. God knew His people needed more preparation, more instruction, and more testing to see if they truly would walk in His ways and obey His commandments. The journey to the Promised Land wasn’t over; it was just beginning. Though the Israelite s ’ subsequent rebellions would prolong the journey many years lo...

“Noblest of goals, brightest of coals, though righteousness is our aim, we have only ourselves to blame.” These words stir something in me, a longing for something, a desire for a purpose higher than myself, and yet also a sense of failure as I sin again and again. No matter how hard I try, I always seem to make the same old mistakes over and over again which prompts the question, how hard am I really trying?  Do I love God with my whole heart and my whole might?  It’s a fair question and it necessitates a deep soul searching to find the answer. It also requires learning what righteousness actually is, and thankfully, there is no better resource for that than the Bible. Serving God is not easy, and it's made that much harder by trying to live with one foot in the world. We want to have our cake and eat it too.  Practically, we cannot serve two masters, for they both require our full devotion. God demands our full loyalty if we set out to serve Him. It turns out, we cannot...