"Building upon the imperishable, rather than the perishable"

This is Ryan Buss. I know that Valerie has been blogging for the last couple of months, so I thought that it was an appropriate time for me to blog! She has done such a wonderful job, I feel like she is tough act to follow. However, I will blog and hope that it is articulate enough for you, the reader, to enjoy and think about with me on this matter :)

I just had a quiet time with the Lord in Psalm 49. It is a wonderful Psalm written by the sons of Korah who have written several Psalms to our Lord that He included in His written Word. This Psalm comes at a very good time in my life as I ponder and consider the future for me and my wife. To be perfectly honest, our funding has been quite slow and hard going, and I have naturally been asking myself if this is the path that God would have us walk down. As I have been considering other paths and careers that I could pursue, God has been very faithful in our times toghether in His Word to remind me to wait patiently and to trust Him!

Every quiet time I have had with the Lord this summer at least one of those themes would come up and I would feel encouraged by Him to keep pressing on and to persever in this time of hardship. Today, it was about my career options in general and how I am doing exactly what I love to do, and what I feel passionately led to do! The Psalm is all about how every single person is under the same inevitability of death and how all of our strivings and pursuits will avail nothing if not with the glory of God in mind. Here are a couple of verses from that Psalm that I have been pondering and have been turning my eyes back to the lifestyle that God has led me into:

Psalm 49

vs. 10" For he sees that even wise men die; the stupid and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others."
vs. 16,17" Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him."

These are intense verses, but they remind me of how transient our life is and how the stuff that we strive for in this life is often stuff that doesn't last and will burn away in eternity.

As I was reading, I was reminded of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians in [1 Cor. 3: 11-15]. He is exhorting the Corithians to build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, because He is the foundation that will last, not the perishable stuff of the world. So, I was thinking of what is imperishable according to the Word of God that I ought to build with upon the foundation of Jesus Christ?

1. God's Word [Isaiah 40: 8]
2. God's Kingdom [Revelation 22: 1-5]
3. Soul's of men

For me, the commands of Jesus that best fits these pursit are found in:

[Matthew 28:19,20] "Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the very end of the age".

[Matthew 6: 19-21, 31-33] "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where theives break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys and where theives do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will also."

"Do not worry then, saying 'What will we eat' or 'What will we drink' or 'What will we wear for clothing'? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father know that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

For me, I see that we are to actively pursue making disciples of Jesus Christ, and that building upon the Kingdom of God with the souls of men [1 Peter 2:5] [1 Cor. 3:16] and knowing Jesus through His Word [John 15:7,8] are the most important things in this life and will last, even after we die! If you are looking to impact the world and leave your mark here, you will fail. If you desire to see people impacted for eternity and to know the Creator of the Universe and the Lover of our souls, that will last!

I tie this all back to what I am doing with my life, because sometimes I feel like it has no impact and that I am wasting my life away with pursuing fundraising and ministry and such. But then I read Psalms like this and take a trip with the Lord through His Word on the stuff that lasts, and am convinced that I have the sweetest job in the world; I get to see people impacted for eternity and I get to spend time with the Lord in His word as a job! So, all the fundraising and trusting of the Lord is just a step I need to take to be able to do what I believe God has led me and my wife to do!