The Only Indestructible Foundation On Which To Build One’s Life Is Jesus Christ…the ROCK!

16 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 7:24.         Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock:

And after another tough week of world chaos and frustration, we’re all glad to see Sunday roll around, so that we can meet in the Lord’s house, or anywhere at all, and in sincere fellowship worship and praise Him, while renewing our faith and bolstering our confidence which will enable us to handle all the Satanic influenced nonsense that the world is currently bombarding us with. What a sentence friends! I’m sure Bruh Paul would have been proud of its convolutedness (complicated, difficult to understand). (smile) 

Anyway, let’s get on with the proceedings, and today we’ll open with a rather appropriate song for these times when our hope and faith are being seriously challenged by the evil antics and devious schemes being perpetrated by the numerous followers of the enemy, who are just basking in their newfound power. But in their foolish, narcissistic and egotistic shortsightedness, they don’t realize that we believers also have power, and a power that’s even greater than theirs, we just have to be wise and use it to rebuke and resist them. 

And that song is the popular and well-known uplifter of faith, titled ‘My Hope Is Bult On Nothing Less.’ It’s supposedly the only hymn that the English author Edward Mote ever wrote. It was published in 1837 and soon became a favourite amongst believers because of its true and topical nature. And believe me, it is still true and topical today, maybe even more so than when it was written, since believers are undergoing so much more hard times and persecution. 

So, as always, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise with all sincerity and truth in an up-tempo but soulful, scintillating, heartfelt rendition of the song. Singing: ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. (Refrain: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.) 

When darkness veils His lovely face I rest on His unchanging grace In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. (Refrain) His oath, His covenant, His blood Supports me in the ‘whelming flood When all around my soul gives way He then is all my hope and stay. (Refrain) Not earth, nor hell, my soul can move; I rest upon His unchanging LOVE. I trust His righteous character, His counsel, promise, and His pow’r. 

[Refrain] When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.’ Oh thank You Lord…You solid rock… for all other ground is merely sinking sand…’ Yes my people, that was an awesome rendition of a truly biblical song! Heaven surely knew that we meant every word of it. 

And one commentary tells us: ‘From what we know of the author’s life, “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less” was just as much an anthem of his own testimony as it has become for believers all over the world. Having grown up knowing nothing of God or His existence, Mote first attended church and became a Christian as a young adult. While still a new believer, he was compelled to try his hand at hymn writing. Thus, Mote wrote from a basic, yet profound understanding of his salvation.’ 

And hopefully, all of us modern day believers will acquire and/or achieve that profound understanding of our salvation for it’s what enables us to withstand the trials and tribulation of this evil and ungodly world. And the elements of that song did make a difference in Mote’s life, for he spent the last 26 years of his life as a Baptist Minister. 

Now let’s look at a few of the biblical references in the song. First off, we know that the chorus ‘On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, refers to Jesus’ Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders, using the analogy of Christ as a rock with a firm basis in scripture. 

Jesus said, ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’  (Matt. 7:24-27) 

That just goes to remind us friends, that we ought to build our lives on the sayings of Christ because they are strong and true. In other words, Christ is our sole means of salvation, He is our only hope. Anything else is sinking sand or worthless. The opening of the song is based on God’s grace, then it continues with the practical application of that grace in troubled times. It tells us that ALL HOPE is built on Jesus’ shed blood because that’s the source and foundation of our salvation. 

And Jesus is the ONLY One we can trust: ‘I dare not trust the sweetest frame (the best person or human you can find),’ because humans are fickle and unfaithful, while Jesus is faithful, strong and true, as He proved when He bore our sins at the cross of Calvary. Therefore, we can depend on His unchanging grace, for He doesn’t change, as He says in Malachi: ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ (Mal. 3:6) And are we ever thankful for that! (smile) That’s why the author could also trust in His unchanging LOVE. 

And I like this line: ‘I trust His righteous character, His counsel, promise, and His pow’r.’ Now that’s showing true and undeniable support for all that Jesus is! And if He’s our pilot in every storm, then we know that our anchor will hold, we will not be moved or shaken, because He’s promised not to leave nor forsake us, regardless of the circumstances. And you can find that promise in both Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5. 

And the last line of the song ‘When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne,’ is a fitting ending, for it corresponds with when Jesus returns for His church in the Rapture, as outlined by Bruh Paul in 1 Corinthians. ‘In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump (trumpet): for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’ (1 Cor. 15:52) 

Oh my fellow saints, please, let’s live sincerely for Christ, so that we will be amongst those who are risen and changed at the sound of that last trumpet. Much LOVE!

…in this sinful, ever-changing, deceitful, corrupt and ungodly world…Jesus is the ONLY ONE…who stands tall, strong and true…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   7 May 2023   1 Corinthians 3:11.

07 May 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 Corinthians 3:11.         For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Gather round friends and neighbours, gather round, for it’s the big day of Sunday, when believers in Jesus Christ gather in the sanctuary to praise, worship and fellowship in His glorious name! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful: ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus, our King, our Prince of Peace and our heavenly Intercessor amongst other things. And today’s song of praise and worship is a marvellous ditty from the eighteen hundreds, most appropriately titled ‘My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.’ It was written by an Englishman, Edward Mote (1797-1874). 

Here’s a short commentary on Mote’s life and the writing of the Hymn. ‘Edward Mote wrote just one hymn in his lifetime. From what we know of his life, “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less” was just as much an anthem of his own testimony as it has become for believers all over the world. Having grown up knowing nothing of God or His existence, Mote first attended church and became a Christian as a young adult. While still a new believer, he was compelled to try his hand at hymn writing. Thus, Mote wrote from a basic, yet profound understanding of his salvation. 

Later that same week, he visited a married couple at the wife’s sickbed. Without a hymnal handy to lead them in a song of worship, Mote produced a folded-up piece of paper upon which he had worked out four verses and a chorus. Together, they sang the hymn now known as “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less” for the first time, blessed by the truths of God’s Word in the lyrics.’ 

And are those words ever gospel truth my brethren, providing assurance and refuge for all who believe in the holy name of Jesus. And it certainly seems to be a testimony to Mote’s own life as ‘Through the preaching of the Rev. J. Hyatt, of Tottenham Court Road Chapel, he underwent a great spiritual change; and ultimately he became a Baptist minister. For the last 26 years of his life, he was pastor at Horsham, Sussex, where he died Nov. 13, 1874.’ And who says our great God doesn’t move in mysterious ways eh! He certainly does! 

Now, let’s finally get to offering those sacrificial praises in a joyful, up-tempo, scintillating version of the song, showing our heartfelt sincerity. Singing: ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. (Refrain: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.) When darkness veils his lovely face I rest on His unchanging grace In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. (Refrain) 

His oath, his covenant, his blood Supports me in the ‘whelming flood When all around my soul gives way He then is all my hope and stay. (Refrain) Not earth, nor hell, my soul can move; I rest upon unchanging LOVE. I trust his righteous character, his counsel, promise, and his pow’r. (Refrain) When he shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found, dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. (Refrain: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand… On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand… Oh thank You Lord…You solid rock…’  

That was wonderful friends, heaven felt it too!  (smile) And the indisputable truth is you simply cannot find a more solid rock than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to build your life on! Yes sir! That’s because Christ is the sole means of our salvation. Our hope is truly built on nothing less than Jesus. He is the foundation stone of our faith, it’s author and finisher! It all focuses on His death, His resurrection and ascension. Without Him and those three activities we’d still be headed straight for hellfire and damnation, with no other choice. 

But He, in His goodness and LOVE for sinful man, sacrificed His sinless life so that we could have another option; that of salvation and eternal life, instead of just eternal separation!  And these words of Moses’ song, for the people of Israel to remember their covenant with Almighty God, written and sung long before Jesus ever came to earth, testify to His rocklike greatness.

‘Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine (teaching) shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish (proclaim) the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.’ (Deut. 32:1-4) Yes my people, Moses went through so much with the Lord, had so much personal testimony with Him, that if he says the Lord is a Rock, then you’ve got to believe him. 

And Jesus Himself corroborated Moses’ words when He said: ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’ (Matt. 7:24-27) 

Oh my fellow saints, if we hear Jesus words and don’t do them, then we are indeed like the foolish man who built his house on the shifting, insecure and sinking sand. That’s why the song says, ALL other ground besides Jesus is sinking sand! Yes, the only wise and sensible place to build your eternal house is on the word of Jesus. For as the first sentence of the song says in no uncertain terms: ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.’ 

And that’s where our hope ought to be friends, because it’s the shed blood of Jesus that washed away our sins, cleansed us and made us righteous in the Lord’s sight! Nothing else but the blood of Jesus was strong, powerful and clean enough to pay the enormous price for our abominable sins. That’s why we have to take our problems to the foot of the cross and lay them there, and accept the grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness that emanates and radiates from it. 

And we all can testify to the statements in the song; Christ’s unchanging grace and LOVE, His steadfast anchor in the storms of our lives. And nothing in earth or hell can break our trust in His character, His counsel, His promise and His awesome power. Oh friends, what more can I say eh…. Oh wait, there’s one last verse from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians, where he steadfastly proclaims: ‘For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 3:11) Yes, any other foundation that’s built upon beside Jesus, is doomed to destruction! Much LOVE!

…to know Jesus…is to LOVE Him…and realize that He’s our EVERYTHING… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ        

Today’s Scrip-Bit   4 September 2022 Matthew 7:24.

04 Sep 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 7:24.       Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his home upon a rock. 

It’s time friends, to gather at the Master’s place to celebrate another Sunday of abundant life with praise, thanksgiving and worship! And do these Sundays ever come around quickly. (smile) But we do enjoy the awesome fellowship and togetherness they engender, as we meet and greet and encourage each other in the Lord God Almighty. There’s nothing like a group of sincere believers singing, praising and worshipping our Creator! It’s so filled with LOVE, joy and peace that unbelievers can’t believe their eyes when they see us worship. 

So, without further ado, let’s begin the celebrations with this wonderful song of praise and thanksgiving written way back around 1837, by the English pastor Edward Mote, (1797-1874) titled ‘My Hope is built on Nothing Less.’ It must be a wonderful song to have stood the test of time. (smile) Oh yes, it is! Therefore, let’s raise our voices in sacrificial praise, with heartfelt sincerity, in a harmonious, scintillating up-beat tempo, because it’s a joyful song. 

‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. (Refrain: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.) When darkness veils his lovely face I rest on His unchanging grace In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. (Refrain) His oath, his covenant, his blood Supports me in the ‘whelming flood When all around my soul gives way He then is all my hope and stay. (Refrain) 

Not earth, nor hell, my soul can move; I rest upon unchanging LOVE. I trust his righteous character, his counsel, promise, and his pow’r. [Refrain] When he shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found, dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand… Oh thank You Lord…You solid rock…’ 

That was most excellent my faithful brethren! It left heaven with no doubt that we truly believe in and appreciate our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, using Him as the foundation stone, ‘the corner stone that the builder refused’ upon which to build our lives. I don’t think we can pay Him a greater compliment than that, especially after He gave up His life so that we could be saved from eternal damnation. And it’s obvious that Pastor Mote had the awesome words of Jesus re the two foundations that one can build upon in this world, at the forefront of his mind when he wrote the song. 

Please read with me, what Jesus taught His followers. ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his home upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.’ (Matt. 7:24-25) 

Yes friends, that house was founded upon THE rock called Jesus, so no wind, rain or flood could destroy it, because Jesus is also the Master of the wind, rain and flood. Note how He calmed the storm out on the Sea of Galilee, when the disciples were so afraid that the boat would capsize because of the stormy sea and they would drown, while Jesus was napping unconcernedly in the stern of the boat. 

In answer to their frightful pleas of ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish?’ Jesus got up, no doubt somewhat annoyed that His peaceful nap was disturbed by a bunch of wimps, who hadn’t really learned anything about Him, despite the time they spent with Him. The Good Book says: ‘And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this (who can this be), that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:38-41) 

Now, if they had been paying serious attention to Jesus’ words and deeds they would have realized that He created the winds and the seas, so they would naturally obey Him! In any case, I like these two explanations that the scholars offer re verses 40 and 41. As per 40, where Jesus asks the disciples why they were so afraid and had no faith, they say: ‘Jesus constantly questions in order to spur people to deeper trust. See 2:8, 19, 25, 26: 3:4, 23, 33; 4:13, 21, 30.’ Please look up those references, they are rather interesting and enlightening. 

And as per verse 41, where the disciples were deathly afraid, the scholars say: ‘The fear must have been a mixture of reverential awe and real fright – it would be chillingly eerie to witness the instantaneous dissipation of a violent storm.’ And is that ever the truth. I believe that even today, even with all that we know about Jesus powers, if we saw Him talk to a storm and it quietens right away, we too would be somewhat scared. So we can’t be too harsh and condemning on the young disciples. 

But let’s get back to our major topic, Jesus’ discourse on the two foundations. He continues by saying: ‘And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.’ (Matt. 7:26-27) Please note friends, that the house didn’t just fall, but great was its fall. That means more important negative stuff happened when the house fell. 

And the scholars offer this interesting explanation on Jesus’ words. They say: ‘In drawing his concluding illustration of the two foundations, Jesus begins with the word therefore. On the basis of all that He has taught and illustrated, He concluded that all who both hear and do His sayings shall be saved. As a great Master Counsellor, Jesus reminded His listeners that hearing His message alone will not change his life. he must both hear and do what Jesus has said. 

The elements of the closing illustration are drawn from the simplicity of nature itself, the rock, the rain, and the winds. The man whose house collapsed was at fault not because he failed to labour, but because he did not lay the proper foundation. The shifting sand represents human opinion and the doctrine of men as opposed to “these sayings” of Jesus.’ 

So it’s obvious friends, that although we may labour long and hard to build our spiritual lives, if we build them on human opinions and the doctrines of men, instead of the strong foundation rock-like sayings of Jesus, our lives will eventually take a big tumble, all because of our unwise actions in building on insecure and shifting sands, as dictated by the prince of darkness and this world. 

And we’ll close today with these fitting words of Bruh David from Psalm 18, sub-titled – Thanksgiving for Deliverance- when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies, including Saul. Bruh David opens the psalm with this joyful proclamation: ‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength (rock), in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold). I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps. 18:1-3) 

Oh friends, if it’s one thing you cannot say about Bruh David, is that he had little faith. (smile) So please let’s get ourselves together and build our faith, so that we can proudly declare like Bruh David did, and live the way Christ desires of us. Much LOVE!

…only two options…build on Satan’s shifting sand…or on the solid rock of Jesus…it’s your choice… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​