I was watching a show where someone was either buying a house or doing a remodel, and the basement area had water seeping through the concrete walls of the foundation of the house.  They were talking about why this happened and the different ways it could be fixed.

When a house is built the foundation is first built and then the walls of the house are positioned on the foundation.  The stronger the foundation the stronger the walls are and the better they are able to protect us who are in the house against the elements of weather.

Now my husband and I have never built a house but we have done several re-models.  I remember the time when the bathtub/shower seemed weak.  After inspecting it from the crawlspace we discovered that the wood underneath it was rotted out!  It’s a miracle that it hadn’t given out while someone was taking a shower; it was that rotten.

Without a good foundation, strong walls, and a solid roof a house would not be stable or safe, and would not hold up under the storms that might come.  It is the responsibility of the owner to maintain the house they live in.  There needs to be an inspection of the foundation, walls, and roof from time to time to make sure that it is secure and safe.  They cannot depend on just the outward appearance; they must check the “heart” of the house to be sure that the foundation is strong.

The same is true speaking of our spiritual house.  The stronger our foundation in the basic truths of the Word of God, the stronger our walls of faith are able to protect us from the attacks of adversity.  As Christians we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 6:19)  We are the tabernacle that the Lord Himself resides in.  So let’s talk about our foundation of faith.  As Christians we have the responsibility of maintaining the temple of God.  We must inspect the foundation of our heart from time to time to make sure that it is secured in the basics of faith in the Word of God.

To inspect something means we have to view it closely and critically, examining it and make judgments (or decisions) as to what is correct and what is incorrect in the foundation.  If we do not know the Word of God then our faith foundation can begin to allow seepage of the world’s thoughts and ways into our heart and lives.

Let’s first understand how seepage affects a foundation.  In the case of a basement of a house, as in the show I was watching, it means water begins to flow or pass slowly through fine pores of cracks.  It may not be noticeable at first because the wall itself may not be completely exposed, but over time that seepage will expand and cause problems.  It would be an easier and quicker fix if dealt with in the very beginning but as time goes by it becomes a major overhaul to bring it back to the strong structure it should be.

By now you might be wondering how this applies to our spiritual growth; I’m glad you asked.  It comes down to our thinking habits.  If we are not thinking right then we will have a crack in our view point of life which will eventually affect the quality of our life.  When a person is thinking incorrectly their whole view of life becomes distorted.   This seepage of wrong thinking may not be noticed at first but over time it affects every area of life; our speech and language, our health, and perhaps even our ability to make good decisions.

In Song of Solomon 2:15 we are told that it is the little foxes that spoil the vines. This is because those little foxes can get where the big foxes can’t get to.  The same is true with our thoughts.  Everyone notices quickly a thought that is really absurd but it is those little thoughts that we think don’t mean anything that can get into our way of thinking and can destroy the very basic foundation of our faith.

We find two more Scriptures in Galatians 5:9 and First Corinthians 5:6 where we are taught that a little leaven leavens the whole lump.  Leaven is defined in the dictionary as a “minute one-celled fungus that produces several similar fungi”.  So now the picture is clear and we can understand why it is important to monitor every thought.  Even a small evil thought has the potential to become dangerous if not correctly dealt with.  So I say again – monitor your thoughts!  Thoughts left to themselves become evil. (Genesis 6:5, Psalm 94:11)  We are to think the way God thinks for His thoughts are higher than ours and full of mercy, love and forgiveness.  This doesn’t mean we can’t think His thoughts, it means we are to change our way of thinking to His way of thinking.

We change our way of thinking by obeying His command in Proverbs 4:20-21 to “attend to my Words and keep them in the midst of your heart”.   The result of obeying is health as promised in verses 22.  Verse 23 teaches that we are to keep our heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.  Those “issues” represent the kind of life we have.  Diligence means to be steady.  Steady means to be firm, fixed, and constant.  So again – if we want a good life we are to attend to, and keep God’s Word.  As we renew our mind to His Word we change and transform our thinking and our life for the better.  (Romans 21:2)  We also learn from Proverbs 23:7 that we are what we think. So, if we want to change how we think, talk, and behave we need to think correct thoughts.

The Bible tells us that if we have a thought that is not in agreement with the Word of God (thoughts that exalt themselves against the knowledge of the Word of God) then we are to take those thoughts captive (control them) and cast them down and bring them into obedience to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)  We need to think about what we are thinking about; examine and monitor our thoughts and keep them in line with what the Word of God says.  Philippians 4:8 is a good measuring stick of how and what we are to think.  We are to think about what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.  This doesn’t mean we bury our head in the sand when something adverse happens and not think about the solution to that situation, it means we are not to dwell on evil thoughts so much that our thinking changes to being evil.

As the saying goes, we may not be able to keep a bird from flying over our head but we can keep it from making a nest in it.  This is true of words and thoughts too.  Thoughts may come to us but that doesn’t mean we have to keep thinking about them.  Words may be said to us, over us, and about us, but that doesn’t mean we have to allow those evil words to take root in our spirit.  If thoughts are producing fear and doubt and worry, then those thoughts need to be cast down and disputed because God’s way is for us to be in peace and faith.  We cannot out think our thoughts; we must speak to our thinking (our brain) and tell it what it’s going to think on.   Yes, you can do this.  We are to do this.  This is the way we maintain the foundation of our faith.  Our believing the Word of God and speaking (agreeing with) the Word of God is how we take control of our thoughts.  The next result then is that our words change and then our world changes, for we have what we believe and say. (Mark 11:22-23)

I pray that all of us will do better at monitoring and maintaining our thoughts by being diligent to keep the Word of God before us which will keep our “walls” of faith strong and secure.