Foundation First: Building Habits That Actually Lastਨਮੂਨਾ

Today I want to tell you about some famous foundation failures that might surprise you.

Long before people went crazy for Taylor Swift, the world was obsessed with four guys from Liverpool: John, Paul, Ringo, and George, otherwise known as The Beatles. After the band broke up, John Lennon went on to achieve unique fame with his song "Imagine,” a hopeful, positive vision of the future.

However, Lennon was famously murdered in Central Park, located in New York City. In the place where he died, people built an "Imagine" memorial using a beautiful mosaic. What many people don't know is that, despite writing about imagining a better world, John struggled to live a better life. He had multiple affairs while married to Yoko Ono. When a close friend confronted him about his unfaithfulness, John famously told his friend, "I'm not always the imagine guy."

Fast forward to the late 2010s. Marie Kondo wrote the bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. She encouraged people to keep only what 'sparked joy.' Yet recently, after having kids, she admitted, 'My home is messy.'"

How does that happen?! She’s THE tidying-up person, and now she’s given up on her own system?!

Here's what these stories reveal: John couldn't be the "imagine guy" all the time. Marie couldn't stay the "tidying-up person." If I can make this personal, there isn't a single message I've ever preached as a pastor that I've later lived perfectly. I know this because people, including my wife, often point out the gap between what I preach and how I live.

But Jesus is different. He's the only one who always practices what He preaches. There's not a single thing you read about Jesus in the Gospels where someone could say, "Hey, Jesus, remember when you said that, but look what you're doing now."

This is why Jesus is the only cornerstone worth building your life upon. Everyone else will disappoint you. Your spouse will. Your best friend will. Political leaders will. (I will too!) All of us are human and flawed. When a crisis comes, everyone eventually stumbles, shakes, and falls.

This is why Peter called Jesus: "a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.' (1 Peter 2:6 CSB)

Jesus came to be that cornerstone for His people, but they rejected Him. But here's the amazing part: the stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone of something entirely new. The church, a global community of believers that has endured for over 2,000 years, is built on Jesus Himself.

We live in an era of constant shaking. Leaders fall, institutions crumble, and we receive daily breaking news updates about who else has failed. When we look to other people and things for what our life is built on, we find ourselves being shaken right along with them.

Yet when our lives are built on Christ as our cornerstone, we have stability that circumstances can't move.

Tomorrow, we'll discover what Jesus wants more than just your belief in Him.