“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do
not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you
wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9

This school year our theme is BE STRONG!

Educators understandthat students grasp ideas and concepts better when examples

are concrete rather than abstract. The Bible is filled with concrete illustrations. Placing

the Biblical stories in context enables us to better understand and apply God’s Word.

As an example, if you have any familiarity with construction, you know that a builder

would prefer to construct a house on sand rather than on rocks. It would seem, then,

that the wise builder would find sandy soil, not rocky ground, in which to set the

foundation for his house.

To make sense of the story Jesus told in Matthew 7 we have to know the setting.

This story is a desert illustration.The site is a wadi.Wadis are dry almost all the time.

It is only when rains fall in the central mountains around Jerusalem that the rainfall

runoff begins to flow east. In thetwenty-kilometer distance to the Dead Sea those little

streams merge and build. By the time the merging streams reach the narrow canyons

of the Judean wilderness, the wadis at the base of those canyons can conceivably be

filled with a rushing torrent of water fifty feet deep. As the floods recede, small deposits

of sand are left in the wadi beds.

The foolish builder finds these sandy spots an easier place to build. He takes the

path of least resistance. The house is built with its foundation seemingly set in a good

place. The builder ignores the potential danger that will inevitably come. He should

have recognized that his Creator has also created the mountains, the waters, and

the wadi. He should have trusted his God. Instead he trusted himself. When the rains

came, the streams in the mountains merged, and the wadi flooded. The house fell.

The wise builder did not take the easy path. Building on the rocky ground on top of the

ridge was tough. But he knew the danger of the wadi. He also knew that His Creator

had made rocks and sand, rain and rivers, and had taught His image-bearers to trust

and obey in easy times and in hard times. When the hard times with their rising flood

waters came, the wise man’s house withstood the deluge.

For the believer,life is like the desert. Overwhelming floods do come. And when the

floods of life have passed, the wise individual can proclaim with the psalmist, “The

Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take

refuge” (Psalm 18:2a)

Thank you for your prayer support for the families and staff at Ellensburg Christian School as we work together with local churches to challenge the next generation to abide in the love of God.

Anna (Ng) Peyton
Principal, Ellensburg Christian School