Morning Devotional

July 18, 2003

“Unshakable”  

by Don Emmitte

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See to it that you obey God, the one who is speaking to you. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible our danger if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also." This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshipping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:25-29 NLV). 

The builders knew that the standards should be met, otherwise the buildings and lives of people would be in jeopardy if disaster should strike. Uncaring, they had continued their construction, caring more for their profits than for the innocent occupants of the buildings. More and more sub-standard buildings went up, and more and more people moved into these time-bomb dwellings.

Then, the fateful day arrived. It seemed no different from any other night. The people were sleeping when the tremors began. At first, dishes and other items fell from their shelves, and then pictures fell from the walls. But, all of a sudden, the earth shook with violent force. Cracks appeared in the ceilings and walls, and then whole buildings crumbled like houses made of cards. Layer upon layer they fell, crushing the furnishings and the people inside. It was a tragedy of historic proportions, but it could have been prevented. Not the earthquake, but the loss of so many lives. Yes, the builders knew the standards required to withstand the quake. But they considered their immediate profit of greater importance than the value of what they ultimately sacrificed in order to gain it.

Look at the reading again this morning. Are you doing as those builders did? Think on this: The writer says that God is going to shake the earth in such a violent way that everything that can be shaken will be, "...in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." I don't know if He is talking about a literal shaking such as an earthquake but, however He fulfills His word, these things, as all of God's words, will come to pass. He says, however, that those of us who have come to Christ have received "a kingdom, which cannot be shaken."

Are you living for today and for what you can gain in this life, for things that will fall apart when the time of great shaking comes? If so, you are doing so at a greater expense than you can understand. Or, have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and are you building your life on that eternal, unshakable foundation by learning and doing His will?