WHEN THINGS ARE SHAKY, WHERE DO YOU FIND SOLID GROUND?

SCRIPTURE:
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this 
inscription: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who 
confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” 
(2 Timothy 2:19)

MEDITATION:
In an unstable world, 
wouldn’t it be nice to have something solid to cling to?
For those who belong to God, there is a solid foundation.
We know that He stands firm because He never changes.
He has always been the same, is always the same, 
and will always be the same.

We cannot depend on the laws of the land, 
because they are constantly changing.
We cannot depend on the ethics of the world, because they continually 
change to fit the world’s definition of diversity and tolerance.
We cannot depend on the morals of the land, 
because people are constantly finding new ways to commit sin.

We cannot depend on the faith of the world, because that faith points to 
many different idols (including one's self) and the object of that faith 
changes based on any number of circumstances or changing priorities 
and attitudes.
However, we can depend on God because He never changes!

Some have convinced themselves that they belong to God, 
but they really do not.
Satan has duped them into believing that if they are good, 
if they follow their own guidelines of faith 
(instead of the ones God has ordained), 
if they are religious, and if they obey the laws of the land, 
then they belong to God.

However, God knows those who are truly His.
Since He never changes, He has some very clear, 
and unchanging guidelines for those who claim to belong to Him.
This is where is becomes sticky for those who have been tricked by Satan.
There are some established rules God has created 
and He will not change them to fit the minds of men.

A couple of His commands are to meet with other believers 
(even more as the return of the Lord nears), 
and tithing (returning to the God what is rightfully His).
We can see that many are refusing to obey Him in these critical areas 
as churches are closing their doors at the rate of about 17 per month 
for two basic reasons:
Only 17% of those who claim to belong to God 
are attending church on a regular basis.
Only 9% of those who claim they belong to God are tithing.

We can understand why some who believe they are saved, 
will hear the Lord say, “I never knew you”.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of 
heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 
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?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from 
me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

ACTION:
Do you feel like you are being tossed to and fro with no direction?
Or maybe just when you think things have stabilized, 
turmoil rears its ugly head again.
If you are looking for something solid to cling to, 
then make a full commitment to God, so that He will know that you are His.

Stop rationalizing your disobedience 
and start obeying His commands (all of them).
When you surrender to the Lord, 
it means you turn from doing the wrong things,
and turn toward doing the right things 
(the things being done by those He knows are His).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for always being the same. Forgive me for 
failing to follow Your guidelines and commands. Your Word has convinced 
me that when I truly belong to You, I will have a desire to obey Your 
commands instead of treating them like a smorgasbord where I choose to 
obey only the commands that I like, and justify disobeying the ones 
that I don’t like. I know that when I belong to You, my life will stabilize 
and I will have renewed strength to cope with the turmoil that comes my way. 
I find security in Your abiding love.”