![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/house-on-sand-300x225.jpg\" "\\"by")
by Judy Baxter on Flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n
Some troubles are avoidable, some are not. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells of two builders (Matthew 7:24-27).\u00a0Both build a house. A violent storm slams both houses. One house stands firm. The other falls. The difference? One had been founded on the rock, the other on sand.<\/p>\n
Jesus’ point is that those who hear His words and do what He says are like the wise builder. Those who hear His words and don’t obey can expect disaster.<\/p>\n
The wise builder faced one problem: the storm. The foolish builder had two problems: 1) the storm, and 2) the collapse of his house. The storm was unavoidable, but the collapse of his house could have been prevented. Had he done what the wise builder did, there would have been two houses standing instead of one.<\/p>\n
In this powerful parable, Jesus issues both a warning and a promise. The warning is that if you don’t obey Him, you will lose everything. The promise is that if you obey Him, you will be safe and sound when the storm comes.<\/p>\n
Preparation<\/h2>\n
What we do today or fail to do today can greatly affect our tomorrows. Each day we live, we are building on a rock or on sand. Time will test our efforts.<\/p>\n
Those who have not become Christians need to take a hard look at this passage. Those who have fallen away from Christ need to do the same. Faithful Christians would do well to re-read this parable every once in a while to be reminded that it’s definitely worth the effort.<\/p>\n
We can’t say we haven’t been warned.<\/p>\n\t\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson Some troubles are avoidable, some are not. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells of two builders (Matthew 7:24-27).\u00a0Both build a house. A violent storm slams both houses. One house stands firm. The other falls. The difference? One had been founded on the rock, the other on sand.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1621,1041],"class_list":["post-88864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-prepared","tag-prudence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90350,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/they-answered-their-own-question\/","url_meta":{"origin":88864,"position":0},"title":"They Answered Their Own Question","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Two incidents involving Jesus and His disciples on the Sea of Galilee during rough weather are illustrative of how faith can be reinforced. Stilling the storm The disciples were scared out of their wits by the violence of the storm that appeared to threaten their boat-and their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89934,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/changes-in-the-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":88864,"position":1},"title":"Changes in the Storm","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Charles Box This lesson requires us to answer the question, \"Exactly what is a miracle?\" The term \"Miracle\" is used far too loosely and frequently in our society. \"A miracle is a divine operation that transcends what is normally perceived as natural law; it cannot be explained upon any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/stormy-300x188.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":51812,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-trying-to-turn-my-life-around-but-it-just-doesnt-feel-like-when-i-was-first-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":88864,"position":2},"title":"I’m trying to turn my life around, but it just doesn’t feel like when I was first saved","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you so much for taking my question. Many years ago, when I was about 18 years old, I was saved. 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