Daily devotional, June 27, 2024 Urban Planning
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock" Matthew 7:24
They say that communities with poor urban planning tend to suffer most when natural and man-made calamities strike. They end up with more damaged infrastructure and more casualties. And even without disasters, a poorly planned community tends to have lower air quality, less access to healthy food, limited physical activities for its residents, leading to more pronounced risk for chronic illnesses.
As followers of Jesus, our lives will be more resilient to the challenges we will encounter if we will deeply root ourselves to Jesus and His words. By intentionally enriching our knowledge of His teachings, meditating on them, and applying its lessons in our lives, we can brave the inevitable difficulties of life.
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27
If we will only see the Bible as a treasure trove of information on how to live our lives, we would devour everything that was written on it. We will value it, and be motivated to read it, and spend time reflecting on it, every single day.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of Godmay be complete, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
When we depend on God and His words to make our everyday decisions in life, we will no longer run like a headless chicken panicky and unaware of how to go about our existence. In his letter to the early Christians, James, the brother of Jesus said:
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."
James 1:5
But how do we actually root ourselves to God, and hear what God wants us to do? How do we, present-day followers of Jesus get this guidance?
Well, first we spend time with God in prayer. This is called “Quiet Time” where we are away from every possible distraction, and just focused on talking to our Lord and Savior. During this time, we praise Him for who He is in our lives, confess and be sorry for the sins we have committed, thank Him for both the blessings He has bestowed upon us. During this time we can also present our prayer requests to Him.
"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:6
We then follow up this time with reading the Bible. Why? Because prayer is not a one-way conversation of us just talking to our Heavenly Father. Like any conversation, we also need to hear what the other party has to say. In this case, we will hear God by devoting time to read His words.
We can start by reading a devotional or start from the Gospel of John, or any book or epistle from the New Testament. You can read a couple of verses, one or several paragraphs or even a chapter, depending on how much time you are willing to devote.
What is most important though is you try to reflect on it by asking yourself what the passages mean to you and your current life, and how you could apply its lessons to your everyday existence. It would also help if you can research from reputable websites the context of that particular reading.
"For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."
Proverbs 2:6
When we spend time in prayer, read the bible every day, worship God with other followers during Sundays, and make extra effort to learn more about Him and His teachings by joining bible study groups, we get to root ourselves in Him.
And we know that when we are rooted to our Almighty God, we will not just have fruitful and meaningful lives. We will be spiritually strong to withstand trials that come with our Earthly existence, because we can claim His promise that He will not allow us to be shaken.
"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."
Psalm 55:22
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Matthew 7:21-27 and Proverbs 1:1-7 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Are you rooted in Christ and dependent on His words and teachings for your everyday decisions in life?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for providing me the necessary guidance in life. Please allow me to stay with you and your words, so that I can live abundantly in your grace, and endure whatever challenges I may face. Amen.
