A House of Cards, or a Brick House?

"We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord." (Ephesians 2:20,21) NLT

Tonight I received a call from a close friend. Unfortunately, we haven't been in communication with each other as much as I would like, due to "the typical 21st Century turmoil"-- life. As we spoke about our families, jobs, churches and our relationships with God, I realized that here was a relationship that I'd neglected to my own detriment.

Paul reminds us in Ephesians chapter two that when we, as believers, are "carefully joined together" we fulfill the role that God has assigned for us on this earth... we become a "holy temple for the Lord." Our relationships with other Christians are incredibly important. The foundation of these relationships is of prime importance. The foundation is "the apostles and the prophets". To put it plainly, the teachings of the apostles and prophets (the Bible, God's Word) is to be the foundation upon which we build our relationships and subsequently, God's church. A building built upon a faulty foundation cannot stand. Likewise, a building that is not "carefully joined together" cannot stand.

As my friend and I discussed the progression of our Christian walks and the lessons we learned as we worked together in the 90's, I began to get a mental picture of two buildings: one was a house of cards, the other was a brick house. There is a very important difference in how these two types of buildings are constructed.

A House of Cards

A house of cards is typically built by taking two or three cards, standing them on their edges and leaning them against each other. Other cards are subsequently added in the same manner: they are stood on edge and then leaned against one of the cards that was just put in place.

• If one of the first two cards in a card house is suddenly removed, the entire house will collapse.

A House of Bricks

On the other hand, a brick house is built by laying bricks end to end, and then placing layer upon layer. The first layer is put in place, a layer of mortar is applied, and then the second layer is very carefully laid on top of the first. This continues, with each layer being carefully laid upon the preceding layer.

• If one of the first two bricks in the wall of a brick house is suddenly removed, a portion of the structure may be weakened, but the integrity of the entire structure is not compromised (I witnessed this a couple weeks ago, when a car ran into a house down the street from us).

As I look back now on several churches of the 90's, I realize that some were built as a house of cards... they were dependent upon one or two strong personalities for their success. Each subsequent member that was added to the church was dependent upon the relationship they had with the individuals that were in prime leadership positions. The strength of the church was entirely dependent upon how successfully the leaders stood. If the leaders stumbled, or fell (and some did), then the church collapsed.

Successful churches are brick factories. They develop believers that become true disciples--people that are grounded in the Word of God, that can stand strong on their own relationship with God (ever try to stand one card up by itself? Try the same thing with a brick...which stands longer?). These disciples realize that even though they can stand on their own relationship with God their true purpose is to join with other believers to form a true "temple of the Lord."

The two churches that I've attended in the new millennium are awesome examples of brick factories. The leadership of my current church (Crossroads Christian Church) is not a cult of personality, but instead is a group of responsible elders working towards a goal of furthering God's kingdom in our city and around the globe. They are accountable to God and to the members of the church. They take their responsibility very seriously. At the same time, I feel that if any one of the leaders were to step aside, for any reason, the church would continue to grow. The strength of the church is based on the strength of the member's relationships with God, and how they are joined together as a body (their relationships with each other). The leadership is focused on discipling the members--developing/strengthening their relationships with God and each other--building bricks.

Another important component of the church Paul references in Ephesians chapter two is the "cornerstone." When building a stone foundation for an ancient structure, the cornerstone was the first stone laid. All of the other stones were aligned to it. The cornerstone of the true church is Jesus Christ. He provides direction for the church, and determines its layout. In modern buildings the cornerstone has become a ceremonial object--we must think of this scripture in its proper context. To Paul, the cornerstone was not merely a ceremonial object upon which the owner of the building placed his/her name--the cornerstone was instead the most important stone in the building.

So... looking at this scripture and the cards vs. bricks metaphor, we can derive the following practical applications:

Criteria for selecting a church:

1. Is Jesus Christ its source of direction?
2. Is it built upon the foundation of God's Word?
   
3. Is it a brick factory (or is it just a house of cards)?

Vitality of strong Christian relationships

It is very important that we are "carefully joined together" with other believers. It is through these relationships that the true temple of the Lord is formed. We cannot neglect our relationships with other believers! We cannot count on the relationships our leaders have with each other and with God to get us through this life.

1. We have to know the Word in order to have a firm foundation upon which to build successful relationships with God and other believers.
   
2. We have to work to maintain these relationships.

God, my prayer today is that you grant me wisdom. Help me be a brick. Help me form meaningful, God-centered relationships with other believers so that together we can build a temple that glorifies you. Help me exhibit this to my family--use me as an example that they can follow. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

wwwww.fincancialworries.common

"If we spend our time with regrets over yesterday, and worries over what might happen tomorrow, we have no today in which to live." - Author Unknown

The two following paragraphs are excerpted from an article posted at www.Plim.org, entitled Scientific Research of Prayer: Can the Power of Prayer Be Proven? by Debra Williams, D.D.

The August 31, 1998 issue of Jet Magazine questioned whether prayer could lower blood pressure in high blood pressure sufferers, Again the obvious conclusion was reached. The magazine reported of a study conducted by Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. This study had over 4,000 participants over the age of 65. The study found that those who pray and attend religious services on a weekly basis, especially those between the ages of 65 and 74, had lower blood pressure than their counterparts who did not pray or attend religious services. They found that the more religious the person, particularly those who prayed or studied the Bible weekly, the lower the blood pressure. According to the study these people were forty percent less likely to have high diastolic pressure or diastolic hypertension than these were who did not attend religious services, pray, or study the Bible.

Dr. David B. Larson, president of the National Institute for Health Care Research in Rockville, MD, who co-authored the study, also says that prayer can lower high blood pressure. "The at-risk population of people with illnesses, such as the elderly seem to be helped if they have faith and religious commitment." Dr. Larson states: "Faith brings a calming state which helps decrease nervousness and anxiety with coping with day to day stress."

Medical science has proven that one of the results of anxiety (or stress) is an increase in blood pressure. It is a fact that all of us will suffer setbacks and encounter seemingly insurmountable obstacles in our lives, thus providing us with opportunities for stress. It is also a fact that we can choose how we respond to these opportunities. Unfortunately, some of us have a predisposition to view ALL obstacles as insurmountable. I believe that the technical term for these people is "worrywart."

I must confess that at times I get sucked into the wwwww (world-wide worrywart web). In fact, my list of "Favorite Places" includes: wwwww.fincancialworries.common and wwwww.worriedaboutthefuture.common. What's funny (or maybe not) is that if you ask my friends and family members whether I'm an optimist or a pessimist I'm sure that most would say that I'm an optimist to a frustrating degree. But, despite appearances, the areas of finance and my family's future are two areas that I do find myself worrying over more than anything else in my life.

Fortunately, in Matthew chapter six, Jesus provided very specific directions in regards to handling these concerns:

"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.

"Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!

"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes.

'Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.

"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

"And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:19-24 NLT)

I LOVE this section of scripture. I have to pull it out and re-read it from time to time, to remind myself to calm down, put things in perspective, and let God do His work. My favorite observations from this portion of scripture are:

The first portion of these scriptures deals with how we define "treasure." It is very important that we choose wisely the things in our lives that are most precious to us. By choosing heavenly things to focus our eyes upon, we maintain clear vision. When we focus on Earthly treasures we will soon find ourselves walking in the dark.

Verse 24 makes it obvious that God understands how easy it is for us to focus on money as a true treasure. He recognizes that if we focus on it, then money will become bigger in our lives than Him. It is important that we don't allow money to obscure God in our lives.

As a videographer I've spent quite a bit of time looking through lenses, playing with "depth of field" to add impact to scenes. If a telephoto lens is set close to it's subject, and then focused on the subject, everything in the background becomes fuzzy, or unclear. Verse 24 warns us against making money the subject of our shot. Don't allow God to fade into the background!

The next few verses (25-33) tell us not to worry about our everyday needs--God will provide them for us. We must first focus on Him and His Kingdom. In the above example of the telephoto lens, I described the phenomenon that occurs when we focus on a subject immediately in front of the lens. Conversely, when the lens is focused on a subject placed a greater distance from the lens, close objects become "fuzzy" and appear insubstantial. When we focus on the right stuff (or "righteous" stuff), the problems that are right in front of us take on lesser importance. We can put them in proper perspective.

"Worry" is defined as "to harass, to attack repeatedly, to suffer anxiety about." Remember that God has provided food for birds and splendid clothing for flowers... He will definitely take care of us, as well. This does raise a question: Are we absolved from making any provisions for our everyday needs? Can we walk into our prayer closet and expect God to have a table full of groceries prepared for us when we come back out? Of course not (at least not every day)! God provides the avenues or conduits through which these blessings flow. We've got to align our lives with His will/word--that's how we fulfill our role. These scriptures are not written to give Christians free reign to ignore the everyday demands of our lives. We are instructed not to fret or get anxious about these things. When our everyday concerns become bigger than God in our life, then they have become god of our life. Our problems (opportunities) cannot be ignored, but neither should they be "worried" over.

In verse 34, Jesus concludes by telling us specifically not to worry about tomorrow--today has enough trouble of its own.

The Bible provides us time and again with examples of troubles that God's people have gone through. It also shows us how God delivers His people from those situations, either through the miraculous or the mundane. Ruth and Naomi had to live off of leftovers, Esther had to get by on her good looks, the Israelites wandered in a desert for 40 years, Paul had to climb out of a window to escape death, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had to walk through the fires of a furnace, Gideon had to defeat a huge army when his own army consisted of just 300 soldiers. Each of these situations were opportunities for stress or anxiety on the part of the protagonist, but God's hand was evident in each story as well. In each case the person was delivered after discovering God's manner of providing blessings or deliverance and then doing their part in faith.

God, thank you for the promises your Word contains: not just salvation, but also provision. Thank your for providing your Son as the means of securing my salvation. Please provide me with the wisdom required to recognize the avenues or conduits through which your blessings will flow. Thank you for meeting the needs of my family. Amen.