If there were ever a radiant couple, this is one!
Brandon and Heather Byler have been friends of our family for years, from long before they got married.
Brandon attended Penn View the same time Kezia did, and Heather's family was friends of my family for a long time. A LONG time.
Heather was my sister Kezia's bridesmaid at her wedding, and Brandon was one of the guests.
It took some time, but they are very happily married now, and their little family sang "O to Be Like Thee," I believe it was, Sunday morning in church where we attended the day after Crystal's graduation. It was so sweet hearing the wee ones singing right along with their parents!
Then Brandon preached from the final verses of the Sermon on the Mount,
about our need for the foundation of God's Word
and our obedience to it.
"If this [Sermon on the Mount] isn't true, then it doesn't matter;
if it is true, then nothing else matters."
"If this [Sermon on the Mount] isn't true, then it doesn't matter;
if it is true, then nothing else matters."
How to have a life that matters, Brandon said,
"is to come, hear, and obey."
Many people think highly of God and Christ, he said,
"is to come, hear, and obey."
Many people think highly of God and Christ, he said,
but not many obey and actually do what God says.
Brandon spoke with unction, leaving me in tears as I thought about a stand of obedience that I had made a few years ago, and what it cost me, and as I thought of what obedience
to Christ may cost us in the future.
Brandon shared how Jesus's story about the wise and foolish men is not about just hearing the Word of God, but doing it.
He told the story of how many thousand foundations in an area of Massachusetts are crumbling because their foundations were built with concrete that had the mineral pyrrhotite in it,
gotten from a nearby quarry. This mineral reacts with water and these foundations weakened over time.
A strong foundation is essential.
But are we really willing to pay the price of obedience, and not just lip service?
Why would people build on sand? Brandon asked.
1) Ignorance
2) Indolence--it's hard work
3) Impatience--it takes time to dig down to bedrock.
God's kingdom is on the increase, but it is usually slower than we would like.
Why would people build on sand? Brandon asked.
1) Ignorance
2) Indolence--it's hard work
3) Impatience--it takes time to dig down to bedrock.
God's kingdom is on the increase, but it is usually slower than we would like.
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