Building on the Foundation

  When God delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, He didn’t take them straight to the Promised Land. They weren’t ready. So first He brought them through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai and gave them His laws. He charged them, saying, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6). There at Mt. Sinai, God and Israel entered into a covenant. The Israelites said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient” (Ex. 24:7). But Israel still wasn’t yet ready to enter the Promised Land. God knew His people needed more preparation, more instruction, and more testing to see if they truly would walk in His ways and obey His commandments. The journey to the Promised Land wasn’t over; it was just beginning. Though the Israelite s ’ subsequent rebellions would prolong the journey many years lo...

Our walk with God, our relationship with our Creator is the most important thing in our lives. It’s the most important relationship we will ever have, and we share this relationship with thousands of other Christians who all come together to form the “Body of Christ.” Or that is what is supposed to happen. That is what is supposed to happen, but it is as rare as a hen's teeth.  We are all supposed to be a team working together to further our mission, supporting and encouraging one another, but that is rarely what actually happens, and for one simple reason: us.  The problem is us! Rather, it is that portion of ourselves that we have named the Ego, and it hates teams. Even if our Ego gets to be the team's leader, it still does not like the team. It wants to be the star of the show, and it wants to do it alone. No one else can possibly be as good as us in whatever capacity we are functioning, and everyone else is just there to make us look good.  A team cannot function or ...