Built on the Rock

I was watching a documentary on past civilizations and what brought about their demise. One of them talked about the Colosseum in Rome and why it collapsed. Over the years, it was devastated by a number of earthquakes, and then in 1348, a major one caused the final damage. This is interesting, because the epicenter was quite far away from Rome. Even so, this huge monument went down. If you look at a picture of the Colosseum today, you can see that the two sides of the arena reacted differently to the earthquakes. The south side was the most profoundly affected because it was erected on unstable ground made of river sediments. The north side had a stronger foundation, so it suffered less damage, and most of the outer wall still stands.

As I listened to this explanation, it reminded me of the Bible verses in Matthew 7:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

When everything is going well, and life seems easy, we may not be aware of the foundation upon which we have built our lives. It is when the storms and earthquakes come that try to shake us to our core that we will either firmly stand or crumble, just like Matthew described. When our foundation is God’s unconditional love for us, then we can have peace during difficult times.

The Bible calls this “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7). It doesn’t make sense that we can be at peace when it seems like everything around us is crumbling. That’s what a foundation of faith does for a person. When we experience ill health, death of a loved one, loss of job, etc., we can still walk in peace, knowing that God is in control and “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Supernatural peace! It’s quite amazing when you think about it.

Because of His Faithfulness,
Dr. Sharon Brobst. Director

Image by Andrii Zhuk

At the start of a new year, many of us make a resolution to change a behavior in the coming year. For some it’s to exercise more, or to lose weight, or to travel to a special place, or to meet a professional goal. Our choice is often based on something that we see in our lives that we want to change – a flaw or an area of weakness.

In church on Sunday, the pastor quoted R.C. Sproul who in a panel lecture referred to Thomas à Kempis who had said, “the greatest saints rarely come anywhere close to feeling the full measure of the weight of their own sinfulness.” Sproul went on to state, “I’m glad that the Holy Spirit reveals the depths of my sin gradually to me. If He would reveal to me right now the full measure of my guilt before God, I would be destroyed.”

I’ve been pondering that thought for several days, and it got me thinking about those personality tests that I’ve taken that try to explain how I’m wired. One aspect of my personality that always shows up is that I am an “optimizer.” That means that I tend to not look at my own or other people’s weaknesses; instead, I focus on using my strengths to my greatest advantage. I think I can agree with that, as I tend to not focus on the sins in my life.

When we become Christians, we continue to sin. Now, hopefully we are becoming more and more Christlike, but we are not yet glorified, so we sin. I think that believing this fact is something that many people have trouble accepting. Until we come to the point where we can acknowledge our sin and our need for Jesus to be our Savior, we cannot have a growing relationship with Him.

This year, maybe my resolution should be to ask God to show me the areas of my life that need to change – to make me more sensitive to His direction in my life – to not always focus on the positives, but to be more open to learning from the negatives. I’d agree with Sproul that I don’t want to see all my faults all at once, but that shouldn’t mean that I can’t continue to grow.

It sounds like I’ve come up with a resolution for 2023! How about you? Do you want to grow spiritually this year? Do you have unanswered questions about the meaning of life and God’s purpose for life? Maybe 2023 is the year when you come face to face with the Creator of the Universe. If you ever have questions and would like to talk with someone about them, feel free to contact me or someone else at the school. We’d love to meet with you.

Wishing you all a most blessed 2023!

Because of His Faithfulness,
Dr. Sharon C. Brobst, Director

Image by Tim Mossholder

A couple of weeks ago in our secondary chapels, our praise team led us in a new song that I had never heard before. It’s a song that talks about some of the major things that happened when Jesus came to earth, which is what we celebrate at Christmas. Here is what this song mentions:

• We were waiting in darkness, without hope and light.
• Jesus came running with mercy in His eyes.
• Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets, born of a virgin.
• Jesus left His throne in heaven to be born in a cradle in the dirt.
• Jesus came to reveal His kingdom and to redeem the lost.
• Jesus willingly went to the cross, for He saw that His suffering would buy our salvation.
• On the morning that Jesus rose from the dead, He had conquered death.
• The souls of those who believe are restored to God, the Father.
• The Christian church was born, and the Holy Spirit was given to us.
• The Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled, and the good news of salvation is now being proclaimed.
• Jesus’ blood paid the price for our sins so that all those who believe are now free from condemnation and death.

The chorus says:
Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit, three in one.
God of glory, Majesty. Praise forever to the King of kings.

Mr. Totten, our chaplain, told us that during this time that we call Advent, we are anticipating the birth of Jesus, the King. But he also reminded us that Jesus will be coming again, for in the end, God ultimately wins! He will restore things to the way He intended them to be, and we will have fellowship with Him. 

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us give thanks to God for the gift of His Son, Jesus, and let us wait with anticipation His glorious return.

If you would like to listen to this song, I’ve provided the link below. 

Wishing you a Blessed Christmas and a Joyful New Year!

Listen to King of Kings by Hillsong Worship 

Because of His Faithfulness,
Dr. Sharon Brobst. Director 

It was wonderful to celebrate the Christmas season with all of you at our elementary concert last night. My heart is full when I hear the children sing about Jesus’ birth. So often we get caught up in the commercialism of the season. We run around trying to find just the right gifts for our family and friends. We purchase the ingredients for the special food items that we enjoy at this time of year. We are awed by the shining lights and displays. 

Now, don’t misunderstand me. Nothing is wrong with wanting to spend extra time with family and giving to others out of the abundance of what God has given to us. We just need to make sure that Christmas doesn’t become all about the traditions and what we get out of the season. I realized that I was finally starting to grow up when I no longer cared what I got for Christmas. I only wanted to make sure that my kids got what they wanted. My gift was the excitement and joy on their faces, knowing that I had played a small part in putting it there.

There’s a commercial running on American TV right now that shows that the greatest joy isn’t being the child who gets just the right present. It is the joy the father feels watching how happy he has made his son by getting him that perfect present. This commercial kind of reminds me of how God must have felt when He gave His only Son to come to earth for us. He knew that Jesus had to give up all that He had in Heaven to be born as a lowly baby. He knew that the sacrifice that Jesus would make on the cross cost Him everything. And yet, it was because of how much God loved us that He gave us this amazing gift of salvation knowing that it was worth it. 

There are two parables in the book of Luke about the rejoicing that takes place in Heaven when someone is saved. The parable of the lost son tells of the excitement of a father whose son had left home and squandered away his inheritance. When he returns home in shame and desperation, the father throws a huge party because his son “was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:31). Another is from the parable of the lost coin. It is about a woman who has ten coins, but has lost one. She looks and looks for it until it is found. Luke says, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

Just imagine the joy of God the Father when someone receives God’s free gift of salvation – when someone acknowledges and repents of his sin, asks God for forgiveness, and gives his life back to God as his Lord and Savior. Now that’s one amazing Christmas party! The angels rejoice over one sinner who repents. Amen.

A huge thank you goes out to Ms. Fitcher and the elementary teachers for stepping up to help make the concert a reality in Miss Castro’s absence. We sometimes take for granted that all the steps needed to live and work here in Vienna will go through easily. Every once in a while, someone has difficulties, which is what happened to Miss Castro. ICSV truly is fortunate to have such capable teachers. God has been faithful over the years to help us walk through all the steps to get them here. We are thankful that Miss Castro is now back in Vienna and able to organize the secondary concert next week. Please join us at St. Peter’s Church on Monday evening at 7:00 pm. 

Because of His Faithfulness,
Dr. Sharon Brobst. Director 

For three years, our youngest son, Ben, and his wife, Katie, have been trying to come to Vienna to experience the Christmas markets. They are finally here! It is always nice to have family visit us, but it’s especially a treat when it falls during the holidays.

American Thanksgiving is a day when families make it a priority to spend time together and to enjoy a huge turkey with all the fixings. Traditions include watching football, tuning in to the Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, and then falling asleep after eating too much. I remember one Thanksgiving over 30 years ago that made us say that we would never travel again over Thanksgiving weekend. (It’s the busiest time on the road in the US.) Here’s the story in a nutshell:

Our family of five, with kids ages 2, 6, and 7, piled into our minivan and drove all the way from New Hampshire to New Jersey to spend the holiday with my husband’s parents. It was probably about a six-hour drive. On the way home, we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic heading into the bridge in New York. Our minivan had a clutch, and all the stopping and starting caused it to start smoking and then to die. We were stranded with three little ones. Remember, this was before the days of cell phones. A tow truck picked us up, towed our van to this hole-in-the-wall fixit shop, and then dropped us at the closest hotel (which was super fancy). We grabbed some stuff as fast as we could from the back of the van. Everything was dirty. We looked like a bunch of vagabonds sitting in their hotel lobby.

We had one room, so the kids were on the floor. There was a pool, but we didn’t have bathing suits. All we had was a pack of cards and the TV to keep the kids busy while we waiting for them to fix the car the next day. Without a vehicle, we had to eat in the hotel’s fancy restaurant, complete with crystal glasses just for the water. The kids only wanted McDonald’s. We were so out of place. When we look back on it, it was quite funny.

Actually, one of the parts that makes me laugh was when we went to get into the front of the tow truck. Our youngest, Ben, was a big two-year-old boy, just like his dad. I climbed in first, but the seat was really high up off the ground. I leaned out to pick up Ben, but his weight pulled me right out of the truck head first into the gutter. I landed on top of him laughing hysterically. The tow truck driver got into the cab and then couldn’t figure out where we had gone. He was in a panic that we were hurt and that he was going to get sued! It really was quite humorous. 

Today Ben is almost 2 meters tall and is a really low-key, fun guy. The school’s social committee sponsored a Thanksgiving potluck meal so we brought Ben and Katie here to school for everyone to meet and to enjoy the food together. We are so thankful that Ben and Katie can be with us this week. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

Because of His Faithfulness,

Dr. Sharon Brobst. Director 

Today was a day to celebrate! Our architect firm, Franz&Sue, came by with two boxes of documents for me to sign so that they can submit our new building plans to the Baupolizei. The government then has six months to review the plans before giving permission to build. In the meantime, they will communicate with us any changes that need to be made so that the plans can be approved.

At times, it may not seem like much has been happening with the new building, but I assure you that we have been working hard. We have had building committee meetings continually over the last couple of years. Franz&Sue told us today that the process has actually gone very smoothly. They have enjoyed working with us, and we have grown quite close with them, as we’ve put together a very exciting building plan.

Let me remind you of what it will look like. It includes a double gym with locker rooms and a fitness room. At one end of the gym is a full stage, with a drama suite of rooms for sets, costumes, dressing, etc. On the ground floor are a cafeteria, a smaller café, main offices, and art and music suites. On the first floor are the elementary classrooms. On the second and third floors are the secondary classrooms, with four science labs. A multi-floor learning commons contains the library, study areas, and places for group work and presentations. Each floor has an outdoor space where students can play or hang out together. On the roof of the gym, there is a large soccer field, and the roof of the main building has a track. It’s all quite amazing!

Please continue to pray for God’s timing with the project. Let us all give thanks to God for seeing us through this intense period of planning. Our God is faithful, so we are excited to see how He works it out so that we can finish the project so that even more students can “find hope” here at ICSV.

Because of His Faithfulness,
Dr. Sharon Brobst. Director