Day 179 "The cornerstone will hold You in the storm and keep you resting in calm waters."

Day 179 Matthew 21:40-46 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. While we all know and understand by this passage that Jesus is very specifically speaking about the denial of Him as Messiah by the nation, Israel, and in particular its religious leaders, the truth is, without this denial, we Gentiles would have no apparent hope of salvation. Therefore, while I feel remorseful for the nation and the leaders, I am thankful that the grace of God allowed us, by their rejection, to have access to that same grace, mercy, and consequent salvation. The key point to this passage for me, however, is the importance of Jesus as the cornerstone of our salvation, beliefs, and consequent existence, for without Him, we have no foundation. The cornerstone of any structure truly is both the beginning and the end of its existence. You see, in order to erect a structure, you must have a starting point. For example, if I have decided to build something, first of all, I must decide where it will begin and what is the place of origin? This is the first and foremost question, without which we can no longer progress. Once we have established the starting point, we begin the process of working outward, reaching in every direction toward the boundary which we have also preestablished, and ultimately, we return to the cornerstone or beginning point in order to anchor our structure. Therefore, having gone full circle, we establish our boundaries, our foundation, and, of course, our place of origin and completion, which are, together, yes, you guessed it, our cornerstone. Those of us who are believers in Christ have accepted and acknowledged the fact that He is both our beginning and our end; He is the cornerstone of the foundation of our beliefs. If everything we do radiates out from and returns to that cornerstone, we as believers are truly undefeatable. Our strength will rival anything this world can throw at it. You see, our life begins with our acceptance of Him (our rebirth), and our life will end with Him, either at His return or upon our leaving of these bodies, where He will greet us with the reward of eternity with Him. However, if we reject the cornerstone of Christ, we will never begin with Him, yet we will end with Him, by His judgment and our eternal separation. If Jesus is, in fact, our cornerstone, our foundation, and, hence, our boundary, then all we strive to do should help us remain inside the four walls of that boundary, should it not? Our God is an amazing God, capable of anything and everything, and He is inviting us to receive the blessing of having His hand hold us and go before us–all we need do is stay anchored to Him. So, how are you doing? Daily Prayer: Father, thank you for being our foundation, our strength, our wisdom, and our all in all. Help me stay anchored to You this day and every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "The cornerstone will hold You in the storm and keep you resting in calm waters." Gene Burroughs, Pastor