These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on. If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss. [Luke 6:47-49 (MSG)]

God’s words are not mere suggestions; they are orders. They are the blueprints for our existence. If the carpenter changes the blueprint without the architect’s permission, the integrity of the structure is in jeopardy. It’s not just our integrity but our souls that are in jeopardy when we don’t follow God’s plan. God’s words are the foundation on which we must build our lives.

Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. [Proverbs 4:13 (NLT)]

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said – to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
[Attributed to John Keith, 1787]