Does shuttering up the house make any difference?

“Are you saved?” is the title of this week’s Explore the Bible lesson out of Romans 3:21-4:25. Because of Hurricane Rita, we lost power at our house for a couple of days when a tree fell across a power line (see photo). We didn’t have bible study Sunday morning at the Church either (power was out). What? No Bible study on Sunday morning?

Troy Bush makes clear that our salvation is not found in reading the Bible, or can it be obtained by saying a particular “sinner’s” prayer. He says, “we sometimes place too much confidence in our means and methods.”

The house in the photo was shuttered up with plywood, but Rita’s winds knocked down a tree that caused damage anyway. Rita teaches us that no amount of preparation by us will save a house from destruction. It might have made us “feel safe” to board up the house, but only by God’s mercy were we spared.

The lesson makes clear that we should trust God for salvation. According to Troy Bush “there are no silver bullets or magical words” in which we can place our confidence.

P.S. Next time a force 3 or above hurricane is bearing down on Houston, we plan to evacuate 4 or 5 days in advance of landfall. Staying put won’t save the house or us and by leaving early we can avoid the stress of preparing for a storm that we can’t control or predict anyway.