Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matthew 7:24-29.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19.

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV.

Last night we watched the episode of The Chosen where Jesus was giving parts of the Sermon on the Mount. As the actor spoke the words of the first verse cited above, I couldn’t help but think of me and each one of us…we are the house! As we grow in closeness with God and trust in His love for us, we are being built up; and no matter what life throws at us – flooding rains, winds blowing and beating against us, trials of every kind – we don’t fall because our anchor and foundation are in Him. And the Holy Spirit lives in us as we welcome Him in. Jesus and the Father knew we would need help. He is our help.

And reading our chapter, Ezekiel 25, does it not sound just like today? The ancient hatreds. In the notes below: “25:1ff Chapters 25-32 are God’s word concerning the seven nations surrounding Judah. The judgments in these chapters are not simply the vengeful statements of Jews against their enemies; they are God’s judgments on nations that failed to acknowledge the one true God and fulfill the good purposes God intended for them. The Ammonites were judged because of their joy over the destruction of the temple (25:1-7), the Moabites because they found pleasure in Judah’s wickedness (25:8-11), the Edomites because of their racial hatred for the Jews (25:12-14), and the Philistines because they sought revenge against Judah for defeating them in battle (25:15-17).” The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!” over My sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession…Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord…I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations, and I will inflict punishment on Moab…Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against Edom and kill both man and beast…Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah,… I am about to stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will wipe out the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast…’” v. 1-4, 6-7, 10-11, 12-13, 15-16. Hostilities and hatreds, both ancient and current, bind us in storms we cannot control with yet more hostility and hatred. And Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, is Sovereign. This is what the Sovereign Lord says…and we would do well to listen. And look at what happened to these nations and to ancient Israel and Judah. Look at what happens to us when we don’t look to God for the truth. We stand on shifting sand when we look to anyone other than Creator God for our truth. And then the storms of hate and hostility and lies beat against us without mercy. We have seen that played out throughout all the ages of mankind in this world broken by those storms. But…when we turn to Creator God…all of His truth and love begins a transformation within our hearts and minds. In Him we are held safe. Storms will still rage. He is our calm and our strength and our hope as we turn to Him. God’s love is our truth. That is our foundation built on solid rock. When the whole world chases after storms…turn to God who loves you and dwell in the spacious place with Him where His voice can be known and received. We need God and we have never needed Him more than every time storms rage. Those storms must rage because they show us what is shifting sand.