Foundations

Four months before I was married, I almost lost everything (including my relationship with Becca).  I chose to confess sin in my life and it started me down the path to healing and restoration.  Even though God did some pretty amazing things in my life at this time, it took Him breaking down everything I had built up in life for it to happen.  God destroyed my life as I knew it and forced me to get back to what I had built as a foundation for my life.  God opened my eyes to seeing I was doing my life without Him.  Sure I worked at a church and maintained a quiet time every day, but it was not real.  I did not rely on God for strength, counsel, or any thing else.  It was during this rebuilding time that God began to build a new foundation in my life.  This foundation is what has been built upon since that time.  Solomon writes about foundations in Proverbs 12.

What stood out to me today?  Verse 3 says, "A man will not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will not be moved."

Why did this stand out to me today?  This stood out to me today because I need to constantly be reminded that my life needs to be built on following God.  And this means my whole life.  This section of Proverbs contrasts the actions of the Wicked with the Righteous.  There is a difference in the outcomes of both of these groups of people.  As was noted yesterday though, being righteous is something you do, not something you are.  It is a subtle difference, but an important one to note.  Being a Christian does not make me righteous.  Living righteously makes me righteous.

How will I apply this in my life today?  I will check my root system today!  My goal is to be an example to those around me.  Not to convict, but to encourage others in their walk with God.  I will check my actions and the reasons behind them.  For example, if I were to take out members of my small group do I take them out because I want to know where they are at spiritually or because I want to be seen as a cool small group leader?  To be honest, most of the time, I want to be seen as that cool small group leader.  Living righteously means checking my own motives at the door and obeying what God has called me to do. 

How about you?  What is God calling you to do?

In His service, Crazy Pete