Actions speak louder than words sometimes, don't they? We attended church while we were in Guatemala. Like I mentioned in a previous post, English was not the primary common language. This worship experience, however, was AMAZING! We were greeted with hugs, smiles, and hand shakes when we walked in. Before we knew it, the service started and those there were full of joy. It was so obvious!
I had a mentor tell me once that no matter your age or stage of life, there is always someone looking up to you and watching you when you least expect it. It's so true. The Holy Spirit was filling this church! We were all smiling, humming (singing when we knew the words), clapping, many were crying tears of joy while worshipping Our Lord. These Guatemalans knew they were blessed to come and worship as a community. My heart was overflowing...and was watching them so I saw the love they had for (and from) our Lord! They were into the lesson and scripture being taught. They weren't worried about what time it was...they were ecstatic to just be there! Melted my heart like crazy.
What are your actions, facial expressions, or for that matter, everything you do showing others? My prayer for all of us is that we are producing the fruits of the Spirit…love, joy, peace,… (Galatians 5: 22)
Arriving at our worksite in Guatemala, the foundation was was thankfully already there, dried, and ready for us to build on. Most of us have heard Matthew 7:24-27, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." God reminds us constantly that yes, when building a house, you need a strong base instead of sand. What about our lives and relationship building? Is God the center of your life, marriage, and relationships? (Rock) Or is what every day culture is saying is ok is what is keeping you going? (Sand) Are you in an equally yoked marriage/relationship? (Rock) Are you letting Satan win the temptation of premarital sex? (Sand) Are you keeping time with God as a high daily priority (Rock) or are you too busy for Him (Sand)? Are you turning to temporary materialistic things to keep you happy only to realize that happiness wears out? (Sand) Is your job glorifying Him? (Rock) We could ask many more questions… Depending on how you answered these questions, are your answers falling into the “shifting sand” category or “solid rock?”
The type of foundation we had for the house/have for our lives are so very important because as the week went on in Guatemala, we packed those huge concrete cinder blocks, one at a time, and the walls began to be built, layer by layer. Thankfully, the layers of blocks were strong because they were placed on a solid foundation. Had they been on sand, it would have toppled over after a couple layers. Our relationship with the Lord has layers too...you don't just start an awesome easy life as soon as you submit your life to Him. It takes time, trust, an open mind, motivation, determination, falling and getting back up again because of His grace and forgiveness, and... (Could say so much more here...May see another post later down the road on some of this.)
If your foundation is built on sand, I have good news! It's not to late to focus on Our Rock and Redeemer TODAY and turn things around. We started with only a slate and ended with a house for Cecilia and her beautiful family. Lean on The One who created us and let Him have the reigns and guide you. Let's center every aspect of our lives around Him. Sounds like a challenge to me...Who's in?
