My Life Was Built on the Wrong Foundation

I have had the privilege of knowing David for over a year now. As our relationship has grown and I have spent time equipping him, I have watched him grow in his relationship with the Lord. I've watched him make Jesus the priority in his life, and although the narrow road he has chosen is not easy, he's got the joy of the Lord. Here's his testimony of how the Lord Jesus changed his life during the past year, as he has submitted to the process of becoming a disciple:

"I was born into a Christian family. My father taught me a lot from the Bible and I had faith in it. I recall one day as I was walking down the street, worshiping in my heart, I heard a voice say, 'I’ll never leave you alone.' I knew it was God who told me that. Following that experience, I got baptized.

However, after that, there were not many changes in my life. My first priorities were still my future career, my love life, etc. Then on July 15, 2009, my father died of cancer. At that point, I knew that I had to change my way of living.

I was in love with a girl. But then I lost my feelings for her and began to fall in love with her best friend. The two girls were my best friends, too. They realized what had happened and they both hated me for it. Consequently, losing their friendship caused me to fall into a deep depression.

Then I met Len at my father’s funeral. He mentioned the Life Transformation Group (LTG), which seemed very interesting and attractive to me. But I was so deep in depression. Then he asked me to pray about it and see if the Lord wanted me to be equipped in such a group. So I prayed and felt ok with it.

Once we started meeting together for discipleship, my life began to change. I started to realize that my life was built on the wrong foundation. The foundation of my life was myself. And once I realized it, I gave my life to Jesus 100%. I started to read the Bible regularly and God spoke to me through it. I was set free from depression. And my life is still in a process of change. I’m very thankful to Jesus, who saved my life and called me to Himself again. And I’m thankful to Len whom God sent, and who was used by God to change my life.

God bless all of you."

Obviously there has been a major change in his life that began on the inside and is working its way out. Those who know him well can see that there has been a definite and positive change in his life.

It's interesting that the Lord showed David his life was built on the wrong foundation. I'm reminded of the words Jesus spoke when He said:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall." (Mat 7:24-27)

The two houses Jesus told about may have looked similar on the outside, but only one was built on a proper foundation made of stone. The one built on the sand represented the person who hears the Jesus' words but does not put them into practice. That house was destroyed. But the man who puts Jesus' words into practice will never be destroyed. Though the storms of life may come, he will stand, because he's built his life on the solid Rock. That's what David has done. He's begun to build on the Rock that is Jesus Christ and no longer upon his own self. As a result, the Lord is blessing him as well as others whose lives he is touching.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotation taken from the NASB. 

Author's Note: You are invited to view David's blog, called Just Me and Daddy.  And you may find my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Like a Man Finding a Pearl of Great Price

A lady we know in our church, named Gyöngyi (pronounced JEN-jee), testified to a real miracle of God’s provision yesterday. She owns a flat that she rents out, in order to bring in much needed income. She explained that she is a pensioner due to a disability, and the pension alone is not enough for her and her husband.

She said, “Recently our tenants moved out suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving the place in bad condition. We prayed about this and asked the Lord to provide. Then one day as we were driving down the road in our car, my husband said, ‘The twenty thousand forints!’ He stopped the car, got out, and bent down behind the car to pick up what he thought was a single, twenty-thousand-forint bill. But as it turned out there were two of them. They were fresh, crisp bills that were folded together perfectly. It was obvious they had never been in anyone’s pocket or wallet, because they were completely new and unwrinkled. They had been lying right in the street in front of our car as we drove along!”

For those who don’t live in Hungary, you need to understand that twenty thousand forints are equal to a little more than one hundred US dollars. So this is no small amount of money.

She went on to say, “Then not long after that, as I was walking along a sidewalk, I looked down and found what I thought was another twenty-thousand-forint bill. But when I picked it up, I realized there was also ten-thousand-forint bill with it, so it was actually thirty-thousand forints! Nearby there lived a lady we know, who was outside in front of her home. I went over and spoke with her, in case this belonged to her. But she didn’t say anything about having lost any money. So I knew that this was the Lord’s provision once again. These were just like the bills we found in the street recently. They were fresh, crisp, new bills that had never been in anyone’s pocket or wallet.”

“My husband can’t understand why God answers my prayers this way and not his. I think the reason is that he always says that we must work for every forint and you can’t just expect money to fall from heaven. But I believe that God can do miracles when we pray. In fact, I once had a dog that would find money like this and bring it home to us. So I do believe that God’s angels placed those bills on the ground for us.” This was not the first time the Lord Jesus answered Gyöngyi’s prayers this way. And she definitely gave Him praise yesterday for this.

It’s interesting to note that Gyöngyi’s name is connected with the word, “Pearl”. And like when a person finds a pearl of great price, the Lord has blessed her more than once allowing her to find large amounts of money in answer to prayer when she is in great need. It’s just amazing how the Lord does the impossible to show us His love and supernatural care for His children. And I also agree with Gyöngyi that the Lord did this in response to her great faith.

I’m reminded of all the passages where we see that Jesus did miracles in response to a person’s faith in Him. If you search the gospels, you’ll see what I mean. Over and over, Jesus would say, “Your faith has made you whole,” or “Because of your great faith, you may go. Your daughter is healed.” The Lord still honors simple, childlike faith in Him. What are you trusting God for today? Do you believe He can do anything He wants in order to meet your need in answer to your prayers to Him in His son Jesus’ name? Let me encourage you to do so today.

I’m also reminded of the words of Jesus Christ, who said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Mat 13:45-46). Pearls found naturally, rather than today’s man-made pearls, are very valuable. A wise merchant finding such a precious pearl would sell all his earthly possessions in order to have enough money to take that one little pearl into his possession. He would do so knowing it is worth more than all he owns. And Jesus taught us that God’s Kingdom is like that, too. There is a kind of discovery that you need to have, where you find Jesus. At that moment you come to know for yourself his great value to you personally. When that happens, you will forsake all else to follow Him. Have you found Jesus personally? Have you forsaken yourself and all you hold dear to follow Him?

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The "Rare Treasure" painting by my seventeen-year old daughter, C.V. Lacroix. You can find more of her lovely artwork at A Brush with Life.

Author's Note: See my daughter's poem, called "Pearl in the Sand." I also recommend reading The Truth Set Me Free! and The Cult of Mormonism. You are invited to my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.