I think most people recognize the importance of having a strong foundation—both for their homes and for their lives.  The Holy Spirit speaks about foundations in the Bible:

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.  Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk O Lord, in the light of your face, who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted.” (Psalm 89:14-16)

“…Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious Cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’  And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” (Isaiah 28:16-17)

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.  But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.  When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:47-49)

“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it.  Let each one take care how he builds upon it.  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.  If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-14)

I love word studies!  And there are so many more instances in the Bible where the word “foundation” is used!

So, this is what I’ve been thinking about:  If Jesus is the Precious Cornerstone and sure foundation of our lives—hearing and doing what He instructs us to do, establishing Him as the core strength of our lives—how can we have cracks in our foundation?

The issue, of course, lies with us, never with God—whose throne, dominion, and authority are founded on righteousness and justice.

Paul wrote, “I laid a foundation…which is Jesus Christ.”  …and Jesus taught us that having a strong foundation means coming to Him, hearing His words, and doing them.

Sometimes though, misguided doctrines purporting to be built with Jesus as the cornerstone, or broken relationships, difficult situations, PTSD, or abusive pasts (to name a few) affect how we perceive Jesus or receive His Word.  And they leave little cracks in what we believe about ourselves, about God, and how we relate to Him.

A couple of for instances…

…when we have been abused as a child, experienced an abusive relationship, or been told, “I don’t love you—nobody can love you.”  Our perception of love is tainted, and it is difficult to receive the truth that:

“…I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:14-17)

Or…

…when scripture records Jesus saying, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them (Matthew 18:18-20);” but others tell us that He doesn’t mean what He is saying— “whatever” and “anything” don’t mean whatever or anything, they are only applicable in certain circumstances (see preceding verses in the passage).

Or…

…when we’ve made some big mistakes and are close to penniless, not knowing how to pay the utilities or put food on the table—and the enemy launches a barrage of artillery with the intent of defeating and destroying us.  Pulling our hearts and our thoughts into line with scripture that states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), and then recognizing that we don’t have to “prove ourselves” to God before we can trust Him to take care of us, takes every bit of emotional reserve, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that we have.

My religious upbringing left me with an insecurity that there might be some unknown, unseen sin in my life that was preventing God from hearing or answering my prayers.  So, in my mind, I was adding phrases to scripture that weren’t there.  For instance:

“…do not be anxious saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33) …reading this and then adding parameters and definition to what it means to seek the kingdom of God, and forgetting that it is about His righteousness, not mine.

“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God.” (Philippians 4:5, 6) …and believing that God will only hear the petitioner who adheres to certain doctrines and religious requirements, or that I am not praying hard enough.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7) …and thinking that, “I am not humble enough” and “God could never care for me like that.”

Lies! Religious ‘cracks’!

This, I think, is the worst lie I have heard and experienced (it starts out correctly, and if certain “understanding” or opinion weren’t added, we’d be in fine shape!): “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” ...and the faulty understanding is that those good works are certain legal requirements, which, if you do not obey them, you can’t be saved and absolutely you won’t have your prayers answered—this is where the emphasis becomes what we do for God rather than what Christ Jesus has already done for us.

Sometimes when I am writing this blog and think of a verse I want to use, yet feeling a little sketchy about the direct quote, I look it up and realize that my memory, my thoughts about it may be just a little off track (which is why I spend a lot of time looking up scriptures when I write)—and why it is essential that every one of us stays in the Word, reading the Bible, being refreshed with the majesty, the goodness, the grace, and the truth of our God.  Sometimes people, doctrines, circumstances, or teachings may imply or say things that don’t line up with what God is saying in the Bible—and we need to know what is true. …so that we can prevent and fill cracks in our foundations.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

John 6:63