Standing on Grace

So use every piece of God’s armour to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. Ephesians 6:13

This verse reminds me of the hymn by Russell Kelso Carter (1886)

Standing on the promises of Christ my King

Through eternal ages, let his praises ring

Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing

Standing on the promises of God

Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God, my Saviour

Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God

The writers of Ephesians and this hymn reveal the importance of standing in the presence of God and upon the foundations of his word.

A professor tells of a time when he was being driven to the lecture at a university. As he passed a clearly brand new building. The taxi driver commented, "This is a new art building for the university. It is a fascinating building designed in the post-modernist view of reality.

The driver went on to describe the building, "The building has no pattern. Staircases go nowhere. Pillars support nothing. The architect designed the building to reflect [the post-modernist view of life. It went nowhere and was mindless and senseless.

The professor then turned to the man describing it and asked, 'Did they do the same thing with the foundation?'" The man laughed and answered: "You can't do that with a foundation."

Need we say more in relation to the sure ground upon which to build our  faith set on the foundation of God’s sure promises. So many of the material things we pursue are temporary. Their usefulness lasts only a matter of months or at most a few short years. Even our lives, and the lives of those we love, are short. But God's character, his defining quality ("Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!"), and his demands for our holiness are forever. So as we build our lives, let's build on a secure foundation — the will of God and a commitment to share in his holiness. 

Heavenly Father, I praise you for your majesty, your power, your wisdom and your holiness. I know that I cannot really understand or fathom your greatness or just how awesome you are but you have revealed enough to me that I can know you are God, creator and ruler of all the universe. Yet, I am held in awe that you can know me and love me enough to give your Son to die for my sin so I can live for you now and with you in eternity. Thank you Lord for giving me parents who loved you. Give me a loving heart today. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen