Unless the Lord builds the house

The Lord has been reminding me of Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" for this whole week. As we were preparing for our church Youth Concert, the reality of His truth become so evident.

Let us have some serious thoughts on this verse and may our hearts and lives be changed by its truth. I believe strongly when we know the truth; the truth shall set us free. There is in this text the realization that human effort apart from the grace of God or the strength of God is a futile exercise. As churches, ministries and individuals looks forward and as there are plans to expand the ministry and fulfill the purpose of God, this must remain at the forefront; that God must be the source of all that we do.

Many of us today try to build our ministries and our churches with our strength. Along the way, we get frustrated and began to introduce legalism into it and along the way we hurt many. We try to control everything by ourselves rather than fully relying on God alone.

According to the bible, other than Jesus, King Solomon was the wisest person who ever lived on Earth. Solomon wrote Psalms 127. Solomon sees God as the ultimate builder. Solomon starts the verse with the word “Unless”. Friends what we see here in Solomon is a certain single-mindedness and utter dependence and confidence in God. There must be total dependence upon God in all pursuits. Solomon here realizes that it is a waste if what is done is not being done or was not done by God. In Solomon’s mind, the Supreme builder is God.

The difference between a growing ministry/church and dying ministry/church is on how much Jesus that we bring into our ministry or church. Unfortunately many of today's highly-starched, wing-tipped, wearing-neat-and- clean, decent-and-orderly pulpiteers and pew-sitters whose level of energy and excitement about Jesus bring to mind those commercialized characters so desperately in need of Duracell batteries.

I strongly believe a ministry or church that allow Jesus to be the forefront in their serving will be a thriving ministry or church. It is simply because we allow His grace and mercy to flow through our ministry and churches. The world needs us to show the Grace and Mercy of our Savior and not a set of rules and regulations. I believe in order and good governance but it should be encapsulated with the grace of God and with His love.

A story was told one day a pastor was sharing to the Sunday school kids. The pastor said: "When I say a word, I want you to say the first word that comes into your mind." So the pastor said "Frog." A little boy blurted out "Jesus!" That confused the pastor who asked "Why did you say Jesus when I said frog?" And the little boy answered, "Because I knew you didn't call us down here to talk about frogs."

Let's bring more of Jesus in our ministries and churches. Let His Grace and Mercy be the important theme in everything that we do. Remember "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain".

Be Blessed.