By Jerry D. Ousley
I once had a dream that several friends and I were walking through the woods. We came to a clearing and there, in the middle of that clearing, was an old foundation.
It wasn’t very large, probably about the size of a shed, and the building had rotted down over the years, leaving only the foundation. In my dream, I remember stepping over into the foundation to explore what might be there.
As I stepped in, I realized that I had just walked right into the middle of a rattlesnake pit. I could hear their rattles going a thousand miles per hour and I could tell that there were a lot of them.
As I looked around, I began to spot snake after snake, and I realized how fortunate I was that I had worn thick, heavy boots and long pants. But right before I woke up, I looked down and instead of boots and heavy jeans I was barefoot and in a pair of jogging shorts! Bummer! I woke up before I was bitten, and realized it was just a nightmarish dream, thank God!
In 1 Corinthians 3:9-16, Paul writes: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
The apostle was telling us that allegorically, all of us who have been born into God’s kingdom are all a building-in-progress. Each structure is different because each of us has our own place in the plan of God and His kingdom. What Paul means, when he wrote that he had laid the foundation, as a wise master builder, he was saying that his task was to win souls to Christ, and that experience was the foundation.
Any builder knows that before they can build, there must be a sturdy, firm foundation. That is always the starting place. All of us, as Christians, must first have the foundation of salvation in Jesus.
From there, others are constantly building upon our foundation, because our building is never completely finished until our appointed day to leave this world to be with Jesus. The first list of items listed is by no means inclusive of all, but speaks of things of the world – temporary things that have no meaning in our life with Christ. Things of gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw and stubble; these things all are things of stuff that can easily take our attention away from our foundation, the truth that will set us free. Our foundation in Christ needs to have things of faith built upon it.
So many congregations today are looking for the wrong thing. They look for what excites, fills us with emotion, or dazzles our eyes. I saw a video of a pastor who was receiving the offering, and was telling people to give a gift of faith. He was asking them to empty their bank accounts so that God could refill them with His blessings.
Now, I know there are instances when God instructed someone to do this. But not to give thousands, and thousands of dollars to a pastor so he can have luxury automobiles, mansions, vacation homes, jets and such.
The widow was asked to make a cake for Elisha, not so he could eat steak and potatoes while she and her son starved to death, but because Elisha himself was in dire need of food. In the story Jesus told of the widow who gave the last she had, which was only a mite, the smallest amount of money that was recognized, sort of like a penny now-a-day. She did indeed give all she had, not because a preacher told her to, but only because she was inspired by God.
In both these instances, the individuals involved built on good foundations and were blessed for their obedience.
Our foundation should only have those things that bring glory to God constructed on them, because only those things will stand in the end. Paul did say that as long as the foundation was firm that the individual would be saved, but their works would not stand. Our temporary belongings can all be replaced. In Heaven there is no need of them.
What we are really building is a temple – a structure in which sacrificial worship of God takes place. That’s why Paul also wrote in Romans 12:1 that we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice; a sacrifice that fills our temple with worship to the Almighty God. Then we have built something lasting on our foundation who is Jesus Christ!
As in my dream, we don’t want our building rotted to the ground and our foundation filled with rattlesnakes, standing in the middle of it barefoot wearing running shorts.
—————
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.”
I once had a dream that several friends and I were walking through the woods. We came to a clearing and there, in the middle of that clearing, was an old foundation.
It wasn’t very large, probably about the size of a shed, and the building had rotted down over the years, leaving only the foundation. In my dream, I remember stepping over into the foundation to explore what might be there.
As I stepped in, I realized that I had just walked right into the middle of a rattlesnake pit. I could hear their rattles going a thousand miles per hour and I could tell that there were a lot of them.
As I looked around, I began to spot snake after snake, and I realized how fortunate I was that I had worn thick, heavy boots and long pants. But right before I woke up, I looked down and instead of boots and heavy jeans I was barefoot and in a pair of jogging shorts! Bummer! I woke up before I was bitten, and realized it was just a nightmarish dream, thank God!
In 1 Corinthians 3:9-16, Paul writes: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
The apostle was telling us that allegorically, all of us who have been born into God’s kingdom are all a building-in-progress. Each structure is different because each of us has our own place in the plan of God and His kingdom. What Paul means, when he wrote that he had laid the foundation, as a wise master builder, he was saying that his task was to win souls to Christ, and that experience was the foundation.
Any builder knows that before they can build, there must be a sturdy, firm foundation. That is always the starting place. All of us, as Christians, must first have the foundation of salvation in Jesus.
From there, others are constantly building upon our foundation, because our building is never completely finished until our appointed day to leave this world to be with Jesus. The first list of items listed is by no means inclusive of all, but speaks of things of the world – temporary things that have no meaning in our life with Christ. Things of gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw and stubble; these things all are things of stuff that can easily take our attention away from our foundation, the truth that will set us free. Our foundation in Christ needs to have things of faith built upon it.
So many congregations today are looking for the wrong thing. They look for what excites, fills us with emotion, or dazzles our eyes. I saw a video of a pastor who was receiving the offering, and was telling people to give a gift of faith. He was asking them to empty their bank accounts so that God could refill them with His blessings.
Now, I know there are instances when God instructed someone to do this. But not to give thousands, and thousands of dollars to a pastor so he can have luxury automobiles, mansions, vacation homes, jets and such.
The widow was asked to make a cake for Elisha, not so he could eat steak and potatoes while she and her son starved to death, but because Elisha himself was in dire need of food. In the story Jesus told of the widow who gave the last she had, which was only a mite, the smallest amount of money that was recognized, sort of like a penny now-a-day. She did indeed give all she had, not because a preacher told her to, but only because she was inspired by God.
In both these instances, the individuals involved built on good foundations and were blessed for their obedience.
Our foundation should only have those things that bring glory to God constructed on them, because only those things will stand in the end. Paul did say that as long as the foundation was firm that the individual would be saved, but their works would not stand. Our temporary belongings can all be replaced. In Heaven there is no need of them.
What we are really building is a temple – a structure in which sacrificial worship of God takes place. That’s why Paul also wrote in Romans 12:1 that we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice; a sacrifice that fills our temple with worship to the Almighty God. Then we have built something lasting on our foundation who is Jesus Christ!
As in my dream, we don’t want our building rotted to the ground and our foundation filled with rattlesnakes, standing in the middle of it barefoot wearing running shorts.
—————
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.”
