By Timothy Johnson

Preacher’s Point

Could America’s problems come from the fact that Jesus Christ is no longer our number one contractor?

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” – Psalm 127:1.

Is the Lord building your house? A handful of questions can help you answer that question.

Do you look forward to reading the Scripture? A good builder will have the blueprints available at all times. Daily the contractor will check the diagrams to make sure everything is going to specifications. Can we say God is building the house when we rarely if ever, look at the blueprints for the life He has given us?

Do you pray? When you pray are you telling God the deep things of your heart or are you just reading Him a list? A husband and wife can know each other’s secrets; they can sense each other’s moods. Often a couple can anticipate how the other will respond to specific comments or actions. Knowing all these things does not necessarily make a good relationship. Many of us can do these things with our worst enemy. A good relationship will have excellent communication. The more in-depth the thoughts and feeling expressed, usually the more profound the connection can be.

This example is true also with God. God already knows everything about us, but He desires to hear from us, He acts upon what He hears, the deeper our expressions come from within us, and the closer they are aligned with His innermost desires, the greater God will respond (Luke 18:10-14).

Is God your number one priority? Having God as your number one priority does not mean you need to sell all your earthly belongings and find a remote village far into the wilderness to preach the gospel. If the pots on your back burner are Bible reading, prayer and church attendance can you claim God is high on your priority list? If you cannot find time to read your Bible – make time. Getting up a half hour earlier, going to bed a half hour later, watching one less TV program, download a Bible app, read it while using the restroom, whenever you find a few minutes. A little less Facebook and texting and a little more Bible time. Reading the Word of God piecemeal throughout the day may not be the best way to be alone with God, but it is better than nothing, and it does show God you are trying. You cannot claim something is a priority if you can never find time to do it.

The last question I would ask is — Are you teaching your children to love the Scripture, pray and put God first?

When building a house, we want that house to endure the storms, enjoy the sunny days, and provide a safe place for generations to come. If we are not teaching the coming generations to allow the Lord to build the house and be a part of our everyday lives, then years down the road everyone’s homes will be made with flimsy materials and have a foundation of thousands of grains of sand instead of one solid rock — the rock of Jesus Christ.

Years ago I was in a parade. Behind me, a church had a float with a man on a cross — obviously, the crucifixion of Christ. All along the parade route, I could hear children in the crowd ask, who He was, why He was there. Many children did not recognize a man on a cross as Jesus Christ.

This event was not Iran; it was Indiana.

We took the Bible and prayer out of our schools, homes, society and many churches. Jesus is no longer our contractor. We teach kids younger than kindergarten that we evolved over millions of years, which creates doubt in the Word of God. As a society, we’ve deteriorated marriage from a sacred agreement between a man, woman, and God to something worth a little less than marriage license paper. We lowered women from a place of honor (remember opening a door, pulling out a chair, a playground fight because mom was insulted) to women being equal with men. Kids used to think dads were Superman; now he is not there or viewed as incompetent.

There is more, much, much more, but after 50 to 60 years of removing Godly principles from society, here we are.

“Except the Lord build the house …”

Timothy Johnson is pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Kingman, Indiana. Email: preacherspoint@gmail.com. Sermons and archived Preacher’s Points can be found at www.preacherspoint.wordpress.com.