February 18

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance … that Christ died for our sins… that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”  (1 Corinthians 15:1-5)

I listened to a radio program in which they spoke about a little town in the north of Sweden, whose main industry is mining. It was told that mining in the city had been taken to such a degree that it was no longer safe to live in the city on the surface on top of the mine. The excavations of the mountain have been so extensive that there was a fear that large parts of the city would collapse. The foundation had been weakened. As a result, all the houses on the top must be moved.

Some parts of the Christian church are facing similar problems. Figuratively speaking, some people have tried to ’excavate’ massive chunks of the Bible’s message. And if the foundation of our faith – the Word of God is allowed to erode, in order to fit into the culture of our time, the Christian message provides a risky foothold.

Christ - the Rock does not change, but as the knowledge about him is being hollowed out there is a risk that whole congregations and Christian fellowships will collapse unless they are moved to firmer grounds.

Prayer
Lord help me to live my life on safe grounds – with Your holy, living Word as my foundation.