Monday January 31, 2022

Today is Monday, January 31 and this week we are exploring what the Bible says about foundations.

As I enter a time of prayer, I pause and become still. I calm my thoughts and silence my mind. I breathe deeply and slowly, and center myself upon the presence of God.

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, thank you for loving me. I enter this time of prayer to experience your abiding presence. Break new ground in my heart and soul this year. Teach me to build my life on a solid foundation and bedrock of truth. Come, Holy Spirit, reveal your message to me in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I praise God for his goodness and rejoice in his righteousness with the words of Psalm 97.

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Psalm 97:1-2

Pause and Pray

This week we will explore what the Bible says about building our lives on the right foundation. We begin our scripture reading with a passage from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 28 contains an oracle of judgment and warning directed at the Northern Kingdom of Israel and rulers of Jerusalem. Isaiah predicts that an overwhelming scourge will expose the lies and falsehood of the people, but God will provide a bulwark against the storm for those who believe and stand firm. In Zion, God will establish a stone against which all other stones are tested. This stone will measure their righteous and will be their sure foundation when the storm sweeps through. The deceit and lies of the enemy will be exposed and so will the justice and righteousness of God’s people.

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.” So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.” Isaiah 28:14-17

The prophet Isaiah is speaking to a particular people in a particular place and time long ago. However, his words cross the miles and centuries and speak to me as well. I consider times when I have lived a lie or hidden in falsehood. I reflect on the lies that permeate society and seep into social media. Lies have a way of entangling us, that is why the old adage says, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive.” We can become rapidly and inextricably caught in a “web” of lies unable to find truth. God promises to lay a cornerstone and a sure foundation. That cornerstone is Jesus Christ. He is the tested and precious stone of Zion. I am invited to rely on this chosen cornerstone and rock of ages. The scripture says when I do so I will never be “stricken with panic.” Others translate this phrase as “will be unshakable” or “will not be shaken.” I will not be shaken by what the world brings. God measures my character with a very precise measure – horizontally (the measuring line) and vertically (the plumb line). After examination, whatever I am lacking will no longer be hidden but exposed.

Ask: Do I place my trust in the truth of Christ the cornerstone, or do I put my confidence in the father of lies and things of this world? What will an exacting measurement of my character reveal?

Pause and Pray

Loving and merciful God, enable me to hear your word. Forgive me when I have been deceived and put my trust in the wrong things. Expose the false places in which I find refuge and hide from the truth. Thank you for Jesus Christ, my savior, my rock and redeemer, a sure foundation in which I can place my trust. He is a precious cornerstone on which I can build my life. I read the words of Isaiah again and listen for the message you have for me.

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.” So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.” Isaiah 28:14-17

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

God speaks to me. Scripture is alive and the Bible is a venue in which God chooses to communicate. A normative way God speaks to his people is through his Word, especially in the Holy Scriptures. I only need to attentively listen for God when I read the Bible. This particular passage of scripture from Isaiah evokes an image of refuge. I imagine myself in a place of hiding, confident that I am safe from a sweeping scourge or coming storm. I am unaware I have placed my trust and confidence in the wrong place. The passage juxtaposes two sets of words and I ask myself which speak to me the most today. Words like scoff, scourge, lies, falsehood, shaken, panic. Or words like tested, cornerstone, foundation, justice, truth, righteousness. If a phrase stands out to me – I say it out loud and record it on a piece of paper to reflect on throughout my day.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, thank you for loving me so much you want to speak to me. I invite you to come into my life, measure my spirit, reveal truth, expose lies and divulge falsehood. I place my trust in you. I stand on the sure foundation that is your Son, my redeemer and friend, Jesus. He is the precious cornerstone and solid rock. Amen.

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2:19-21

I leave this time of prayer placing my trust and confidence in Jesus and striving to live a life of truth, righteousness and justice.

Amen.