“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Yesterday I got the question from Ali: I didn’t get your devotion today. Are you ok? And, well, I had switched the alarm half an hour back because I was tired and cold and hadn’t slept so well and then had to pop out the door quickly to go hang with my dad, so I didn’t write anything. Excuses, excuses. So very full of them. But I thought about these verses a lot yesterday. Putting into practice and the house that was not shaken.
In our culture, the idea of habit seems mostly negative. Sort of mindless reactions to life, what you do without thinking. Who wants to be like that? We want to be intentional about everything, right? But God created us creatures of habit. I am reviewing all that classical conditioning behaviorism stuff with Frederic right now, studying for his Psychology class, like conditioned response and positive reinforcement, and these are observed and quantifiable reactions of our human selves. Now, Mz. Psychologist that I am, I don’t think that this is all that there is to life, but when you want results, behaviorism produces results. And there are few results more concrete than a well-constructed foundation. Lots of concrete that will not move.
So our intentionality steps in when we choose our ruts that we will walk in. Realizing the truth of how we are constructed and deliberately acting. Over and over. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. (GREAT book on spiritual disciplines BTW by Eugene Peterson)
Because the rains will fall. Pounding rains that will leave us tired and cold. And the winds will blow. Powerful winds full of insidious whispers of what should be and shouldn’t be: Did God really say that? And we are so good at excuses, “The woman you gave me... the serpent told me...” And because it is all about fruit. What can be observed and measured shows the true state of things. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Especially in this season of so many words- an overwhelming tidal wave of words (Where there is much talk there will be no end to sin) the real question is how I live moment by moment because of the choices I have deliberately built into my foundation. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Why do we say LORD, LORD and yet do not do what He says?
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