This weeks Purple Book entry

Anyone who wants God's best for their life must begin by building a strong foundation. Jesus said as much when He declared,"Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock." (Luke 6:47-48 NASB). He then contrasted this wise man with one that was foolish, who heard but failed to act and found himself living in a house built on sand.

Both had their works tested by the storms of life (storms that come all the more often in today's uncertain world). And in this real life game of survivor, only one person was left standing. The large number of damaged and/or collapsed lives in today's Church is testimony to the pressing need to once again build strong foundations.

Several years ago I took a team of students to the island of Guam for an evangelistic outreach. Checking into my hotel I was given what would later prove to be a prophetic sign. "Sir," the clerk said as she handed me my key, "your room is 911." Everyone joked about how I would be getting all the emergency calls.

Two days later, one of the century's worst earthquakes - 8.2 on the Richter scale - jolted the island. Even more incredible, it lasted for sixty bone-chilling seconds. Inside room 911, the world seemed to explode. The television hurtled to the floor. Slammed from its perch, the sliding glass door shattered into a million slivers. We ran for the fire escape only to find the route blocked. With nowhere else to go, we stood on the balcony, riding out the most terrifying minute of our lives.With each tremor came a growing certainty that the building would soon collapse.We were about to die!

Suddenly, just as it felt like the hotel would rip in half, all motion ceased. We found a way out and made our way to the street, singing the praises of our God. Never had I found a more humble audience and an easier time telling strangers about the Lord! The next day we toured the island to assess the damage. One of the things that stuck out to me was a brand new hotel that was now on the verge of collapse. Two of its floors had disintegrated and the rest of the structure tilted like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Before the quake it had looked perfectly sound. But the "storm" of this earthquake revealed what was really beneath the surface. Because the foundations were faulty the entire building had to be torn down.

Thankfully, the engineers who designed our hotel did not make the same mistakes. Though it cost them time and money, they took into account the fact that they were building in an earthquake zone and designed and built the foundations accordingly. There is an important lesson in all of this.We, too, live along a "fault line." The tectonic plates of sin are pushing hard against us. From the Middle East to our middle schools, everywhere we see massive upheaval. If we are going to build lives that will stand, not just any foundation will do.