A Solid Foundation

Last year I placed a large pumpkin on the ground by my front door.  After only two weeks the bottom of that pumpkin rotted.  My husband attempted to pick it up and carry it to the dumpster in our community.  Bad idea!!  The bottom fell out of the pumpkin and rancid, smelly liquid and moldy seeds poured out all over the sidewalk.  It took us a long time to clean up the mess.  The rotten smell remained for quite some time even though we poured boiling water on the residue.  Knowing that God always has spiritual lessons for me from natural experiences, I asked Him what I could learn from this event.  This is what I heard:  "That is how the demonic realm works.  It weakens the foundation and transforms the soul into a smelly mess.  Then it impacts everything it touches."  So true!
 
Everything that is established on the earth has a foundation.  Frequently we think of a foundation in conjunction with a building.  It is the first layer of a structure that provides a stable base for the rest of it.  In Matthew 7:24-25 Jesus says His words that are put into practice are like a wise man who built his house on a rock foundation (bedrock).  His house would not be shaken because its foundation is on the rock.  Scripture tells us that the earth rests on a foundation.  The power of the Lord is revealed in Psalm 18:15 and 2 Samuel 22:16.  He exposed the foundations of the earth with a "blast of breath from His nostrils."  According to Psalm 104:5, "He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." 
 
As Christians, we have a foundation in the Lord, as stated in 1 Corinthians 3:11.  "For No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."  We also are building on a foundation that has been established through those in the faith who have gone before us.  "...You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:19-20)
 
Our nation was built on a foundation of Christian principles.  But what has happened to us?  What are the ramifications of a crumbling foundation?  What is built on top of a crumbling foundation also crumbles.   Foundations are laid with great care.  They must be plumb and sturdy.  Our forefathers, when writing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, used the Bible as a model in writing them.  They knew that if we built upon the bedrock of Scripture we could not be shaken, and we would prosper.  Here is what the Lord told the people of Israel:  "Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." (Deuteronomy 5:33)
 
It is essential that Christians only build upon the foundation of the truth of God's Word.  Otherwise, we will be pulled into the ways of evil and impact the world around us in a negative way.  It is my belief that the soul of our nation is soiled and sick because we are not building upon our original foundations.  As individuals, we are warned by the apostle Paul to put on "the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes we may be able to stand our ground..." (Ephesians 6:13)
 
1 Thessalonians 5:22-23 is an admonition to all of us.  "Avoid every kind of evil.  May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."  How do we do this?  Stay on the foundation that was laid for us by the Lord.  "See I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a pure foundation.  The one who trusts will never be dismayed." (Isaiah 28:16)