via TJC
“In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
1 Timothy 6:19 NIV
“Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.”
1 Corinthians 3:10 NLT
Choose Life - that title has a loaded meaning in our day and age. We aren’t discussing the abortion issue today although there is some connection here. The reason we even have the abortion issue is because we, as Christian men, have not chosen to take hold of the full life that is available to us. We choose not to take what has been promised to us as Kingdom men - the life that is truly life.
I have a friend, a Christian brother, who is going through a terrible time in his marriage right now. His foundation as a Kingdom man has been weak and the enemy has torn down almost all of his protective walls (read Nehemiah 1:3 “…They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”).
His foundation is weak because I didn’t do my job well as a brother and Kingdom man. His foundation is weak because he hasn’t been choosing the life that is truly life. Every day we have choices to make that either lay a good foundation, in the lives of others or in our own lives. This is the key to taking hold of the life that is truly life.
As a Kingdom man we have the choice to become expert builders or to let our walls be torn down. And much like the story in Nehemiah most days we will be building with one hand and defending ourselves with the other. (Nehemiah 4:17 if you aren’t familiar with the story).
We have an enemy who wants to tear down the walls and disrupt the foundations, but as Kingdom men we choose the victory that has already been won on the cross, we choose to stay in the battle alongside our brothers and we choose to be expert builders of disciples. We choose the life that is truly life through Christ.
Daily Battle Order:
Read Nehemiah chapters 1-6 today and consider how your life compares to the story (I promise it is actually a really good story to read and not just a Sunday school assignment). It is easy to ignore the broken walls and foundations in our lives and in the lives of our brothers. Be honest with yourself about where your walls need repair. Share where your walls are broken so you can get help. Come alongside a brother whose foundation is crumbling and needs to be shored up. Recognize that the minute by minute choices to seek God and do what is right are your opportunities to choose life. Ask the King for the provisions you need and He will provide them.
That’s a good order at the end - it’s memorable and the preceding content inspires you to take action