Why Everlasting Rock?

Welcome to Everlasting Rock. It's a joy and honor to welcome you to our site. We exist to help you know, love, trust and build your life on the Everlasting Rock. As I grow older and watch the years go by - including the last two years - it has become clear the foundations we have built our lives on are things that are not rock or solid foundations. The foundations we build on will crumble and fall apart unless we build on the Everlasting Rock.

Isaiah 26:4

"Trust in the LORD forever,

for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock." (ESV)

In God, we have a rock. He is unshakable and never changing. His inspired words do not change and are always true. When we know who God is clearly, rightly, and accurately, we will know His Word better and be able to live well in the world He created. Our mission is to help people to know the Lord as an Everlasting Rock. Then, by His grace, we may build our lives on Him and on His commands.

Matthew 7:24-27

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (ESV)

When we build our lives on Him, we must build on both His character and His word given to us. When we understand God's character correctly, we will better understand His word and vice versa. We must build our lives on Him as He is the only rock, and all other substitutes will not stand. We need the Lord as a Rock - as the foundation of life at all times. However, I would specifically like to highlight three events when we most certainly need the Rock. These events will occur in this life, but when we have the Lord as our rock, we need not fear.

The Rock Doesn't Crumble During Storms of Life

In Mathews 7:24-27, Jesus likens those who have heard His words and obeyed them to a builder who has built on the rock. In contrast, those who do not hear and obey are described as a foolish person who built on sand. Without a solid foundation, it is not surprising that storms wreak destruction. So it is without lives. If we build our life on the Lord as our Rock, great destruction will not follow. However, if we did not build our life on the Lord, destruction is inevitable. Storms will come and go in this life and we must build our life on the Rock. If you have never seen the security of a foundation made of rock, a foundation made of sand may look secure. But when you understand the strength and security of rock, only then will you realize the everlasting quality of that foundation.

So it is with God. When you do not know God or His commands, the things of this world will look appealing. However, they are too flimsy to withstand the storms of life. When death, suffering, or hardships come, our only hope is standing on the strong foundation of God, which does not break, or fail, or crumble.

The Rock Doesn't Move in Cultural Winds

When the Lord is our foundation, we are insulated from the cultural winds. The world is fickle. Its affections change like the direction of the wind. One day, it blows east, and the next day, west. Many things can be called good one day, and bad the next day. What was formerly condemned may be praised. We feel the pressure to change our minds and shift our morals in order to fall in line with the way the winds of the culture are blowing. But do we follow the cultural winds or the Word? Do we see God as our rock or as a helpful accessory for our life?

God's character and His commands have not changed. But we are capricious and are easily influenced. Are we prepared to stand on the Lord and on His Word as we experience the unrelenting cultural winds? If we have the Lord as our foundation, the passing whims of the culture won't faze us. If not, be prepared to follow the winds and accept all that the world commands.

The Rock Provides Stability on Sunny Days

We may not recognize it but during the days when life is going well, we need the Lord all the more. Often, when life looks sunny, it can be easy to forget the Lord and turn to the world. The world tells you to do and be many things and those standards change daily. It tells you that pleasure should be your chief aim and self-love and fulfillment your greatest pursuit. This message sounds compelling and it tempts our flesh. We are so easily swayed by cultural pressure and sometimes, we do not even realize it. That is why we need the Lord as our foundation so we do not forget Him and begin to drift into the current of the world's vain pursuits.

Is our faith and hope in the Rock of our salvation or on the circumstances of life? The world may place its hope on accomplishments, achievements, recognition, and applause. But our hope must rest on something entirely different. Entirely foreign to the world. Are we ready to trust the Lord as our rock and obey His commands? Are we prepared for the stormy, windy, and sunny days that are sure to come? Is the Lord the foundation or mere decoration? Is He essential to our lives?

I pray we are ready to say, "The Lord is our everlasting Rock." Life is short and temporary. May we stop standing on the shifting cultural sands of our day and may this be the day that we turn to Christ and acknowledge Him as the only unchanging, immovable cornerstone. May we never waste our time building castles in the sand that the waves of the world will devastate. Instead, let's live on the Rock - for His glory and our good.

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Works Cited

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) ESV Text Edition: 2016

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