That Foundation is Also Steadfast!

We can rely on the surety of God's foundation because of His infallible Word - the Bible! While leading Israel, God promised: "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, He it is that goes with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Israel never knew God to turn His back! Later, Joshua led them into the Promised Land, and God promised to be with him as He was with Moses, insisting that He will not fail nor forsake him. That promise was never to fail, until at the last Joshua reported that the people's transgression against the Lord has caused them a great loss. God never fails in His promises, but every promise of God has a mandate: to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments, always, so that you may live and multiply: and that the LORD your God shall bless you in the land whithersoever you go to possess it.

When we talk about foundation, we mean the basis through which we become God's children and partakers of His divine nature. Those bases refer to the laid-down rules, principles that will usher us into receiving the promises of God in our lives. Before Jesus began His earthly ministry, John the Baptist had called on the people to repent. He drew their attention to the Redeemer promised in the Old Testament, who was about to come and save His people from their sins. Many Jews followed his call and were baptized. In this way they showed openly that they wanted to turn away from their sins so as to be able to enter the kingdom of the coming Messiah.

The Pharisees and lawyers, however, the nation's religious leaders, rejected this order that God had given. When one Simon, a Pharisee, invited the Lord Jesus to a meal wishing to play the part of a polite host, yet his behaviour towards the Lord lacked any sign of sincerity and attention. He did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. No matter his motive for the invitation, the Lord honoured it. There was a woman standing in the room who was not one of the guests. Normally she should not enter that house because of the Pharisees' pride and their knowledge of who she was. The woman was known to be a sinner all over the town, but the presence of the Lord led her to take the unusual step of entering the house.

Mere curiosity could not have brought her before the Lord, but it was later discovered that the woman's affection for the Lord was proof enough. According to the custom of the time, Simon's guests were reclining on large cushions around the table, but the sinner woman came close with her alabaster box of ointment recognizing her sinful state and regretting it deeply. She accepted God's verdict on her sins and on her person as a sinner and trusted the Saviour. With her tears she wiped Jesus' feet and later anointed them with the oil she had brought with her. The Lord knew what was behind those tears and the show of love and did not utter a single word of admonition, but quickly pardoned her of sins.

On the other hand, Simon had shown no awareness of his sinful condition, no desire for grace and forgiveness and thus no love. The Lord Jesus points all this out to him very gently. It was His final, gracious appeal to the Pharisee's heart. Simon could draw his own conclusions from it. Then the Saviour turned to address the sinner-woman, expressly pronouncing the forgiveness of her sins. The Lord says, "I am the door: by me if any man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture". The Bible further says, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). The sinner-woman did and God honoured His Word.

Beloved, the foundation is sure, and God is faithful! The prophet Isaiah affirmed the faithfulness of God and declared that God never fails in His promises. God could plan the future even better than we can read the past because all the works of unto God are known to Him from the beginning of the world.

Vitus Ejiogu is a writer and publisher with the Fire-Brand Int"l Ministries, a media ministry that is based in Nigeria.

He is the editor of FOUNDATION SATELLITE magazine also published by the ministry. He pastors a Church in Bauchi and is married with two children.

You can reach him at: firebrandhq@yahoo.com or: 234 80 8181 829.

Website: http://www.palmgates.com or http://www.firebrandhq.com