Day 2: Solid Faith
THINK
Have you ever almost drowned? When I was a child, our family was camping by the creek and as I watched the big kids jumping off the rocks at the swimming area, I thought that would be so fun. But my mom wouldn't let me, so one morning I snuck away early to do it anyway. I remember my excitement as I jumped… then I remember my utter panic as I realized the water was way over my head and I couldn’t swim. All hope was gone as I sank with nothing to grab onto. Then… my feet touched the bottom and I pushed off as hard as I could. I went just high enough to get a breath before dropping back to the bottom. But this time I was a little closer to shore. Another push… another breath. And slowly I bobbed my way back to shallow water. Will I remember that experience for the rest of my life? Bet! But only because I still HAVE a life. And it never would have happened if I hadn’t had something solid under my feet.
Peter was writing to people who were drowning. They were persecuted for their faith and scattered across the world. And Peter was reminding them that when they felt like they were sinking, they had something solid under their feet. Peter said Jesus was a Rock, and He was leading them out of the deep and onto the shore. All they needed to do was get their feet planted on Him.
Have you ever tried to run in the sand? It’s exhausting. Every step is difficult because the sand is always shifting and moving under your feet. That’s how Peter said it would be for anyone who rejects Jesus. Instead of standing firm on the Rock they will stumble in the sand. People go rock climbing, not sand climbing. Because rocks are solid, but sand isn’t. If you try to grab sand, it just flows through your fingers. But when you grab onto something solid, it doesn’t move. You can anchor to it, you can us it to climb higher and you can stand on it in a storm. When sand is blown away and washed away, the rock remains.
Jesus is our Rock. Peter is teaching us that when the water of fear and doubt are over our heads, we need to find the solid ground. Instead of trying to grab onto health or wealth or fame or pleasure, all of which just flow through our fingers, we need to be grabbing on to God's promises and everything that He is preparing for us in eternity... because that is bedrock and it never moves. That’s something we can build our life on. Peter is showing us that instead of being swept up in the current we should be standing on the Rock.
As you read 1 Peter chapter 2, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the bedrock of your life. Ask yourself: Am I building my life on Sand or Rock? Are the things that are most important to me shifting or solid? Are the things that take up all my time today going to matter 100 years from now? If not, they're not rock… they're sand. And If we try to build on them, when the wind and rain or life beat against us, everything we have built will come crashing down.
Peter said that when we stand on Jesus, the Rock, the Foundation stone, we become rocks. And He builds something with us that will last forever.
READ
1Peter 2
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
4 You are coming to Christ, Who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in Him
will never be disgraced.”
7 Yes, you who trust Him recognize the honor God has given Him. But for those who reject Him,
“The Stone that the builders rejected
has now become the Cornerstone.”
8 And, “He is the Stone that makes people stumble,
the Rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”
25 Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls.
PRAY
God, what is my life founded on? Are there any places where I’m building on sand instead of You? I ask You to connect me to the bedrock of life, Jesus. So that when the water or life overwhelms me, I have my feet planted on You and I know you will take me to the other side. Amen.
SAY
My faith will not let me drown
because my faith is not built on sand...
My faith is built on the One Who is the Rock.
My faith is built on the One Who makes me a rock.
My faith is built on Jesus
Have you ever almost drowned? When I was a child, our family was camping by the creek and as I watched the big kids jumping off the rocks at the swimming area, I thought that would be so fun. But my mom wouldn't let me, so one morning I snuck away early to do it anyway. I remember my excitement as I jumped… then I remember my utter panic as I realized the water was way over my head and I couldn’t swim. All hope was gone as I sank with nothing to grab onto. Then… my feet touched the bottom and I pushed off as hard as I could. I went just high enough to get a breath before dropping back to the bottom. But this time I was a little closer to shore. Another push… another breath. And slowly I bobbed my way back to shallow water. Will I remember that experience for the rest of my life? Bet! But only because I still HAVE a life. And it never would have happened if I hadn’t had something solid under my feet.
Peter was writing to people who were drowning. They were persecuted for their faith and scattered across the world. And Peter was reminding them that when they felt like they were sinking, they had something solid under their feet. Peter said Jesus was a Rock, and He was leading them out of the deep and onto the shore. All they needed to do was get their feet planted on Him.
Have you ever tried to run in the sand? It’s exhausting. Every step is difficult because the sand is always shifting and moving under your feet. That’s how Peter said it would be for anyone who rejects Jesus. Instead of standing firm on the Rock they will stumble in the sand. People go rock climbing, not sand climbing. Because rocks are solid, but sand isn’t. If you try to grab sand, it just flows through your fingers. But when you grab onto something solid, it doesn’t move. You can anchor to it, you can us it to climb higher and you can stand on it in a storm. When sand is blown away and washed away, the rock remains.
Jesus is our Rock. Peter is teaching us that when the water of fear and doubt are over our heads, we need to find the solid ground. Instead of trying to grab onto health or wealth or fame or pleasure, all of which just flow through our fingers, we need to be grabbing on to God's promises and everything that He is preparing for us in eternity... because that is bedrock and it never moves. That’s something we can build our life on. Peter is showing us that instead of being swept up in the current we should be standing on the Rock.
As you read 1 Peter chapter 2, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the bedrock of your life. Ask yourself: Am I building my life on Sand or Rock? Are the things that are most important to me shifting or solid? Are the things that take up all my time today going to matter 100 years from now? If not, they're not rock… they're sand. And If we try to build on them, when the wind and rain or life beat against us, everything we have built will come crashing down.
Peter said that when we stand on Jesus, the Rock, the Foundation stone, we become rocks. And He builds something with us that will last forever.
READ
1Peter 2
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
4 You are coming to Christ, Who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in Him
will never be disgraced.”
7 Yes, you who trust Him recognize the honor God has given Him. But for those who reject Him,
“The Stone that the builders rejected
has now become the Cornerstone.”
8 And, “He is the Stone that makes people stumble,
the Rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”
25 Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls.
PRAY
God, what is my life founded on? Are there any places where I’m building on sand instead of You? I ask You to connect me to the bedrock of life, Jesus. So that when the water or life overwhelms me, I have my feet planted on You and I know you will take me to the other side. Amen.
SAY
My faith will not let me drown
because my faith is not built on sand...
My faith is built on the One Who is the Rock.
My faith is built on the One Who makes me a rock.
My faith is built on Jesus