The Beatitudes: Light

Jesus said,

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16

The Jews were very familiar with this phrase. The prophet Isaiah had quoted God as saying:

“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.” (Isaiah 42:6)

They called their famous rabbis “lamps of Israel." But they knew that it was God Who lit the lamp. They understood that Jesus was saying they must shine with God’s light to all the world.

The same is even more true for you and me today who believe in and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I have the presence of Christ within us. Wherever we go, there will be the presence of Christ. Think about how profound that is. You may be the only person in your family, or in your workplace, or on your block who has the Holy Spirit.

--> Who else will go to those people with the gospel, if not you?

Think about darkness and light. Which is more powerful? To find out, bring a match with you, and go into a closet in your house. Shut the door, so that it is completely dark in there. Then light the match. Light always dispels darkness.

When you have the presence of Christ in your life, you are called to bring Him to others

Outer righteousness without inner righteousness is like salt without saltiness; it's like a light that doesn't actually shine...

...It’s like a refrigerator that has bad food in it.

* What inner heart issue might be keeping you from being salty in a particular situation?

Being a lamp is not enough, your light must be lit by God.
* Who do you see in your life who lives in darkness?

* What can you illuminate for them?

* What excuses have you been using to give yourself permission to put the light God has given you under a bushel?

You are to go where the light is needed

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation

Beatitudes: Salt Of The Earth

It seems like Jesus was starting a whole new subject, about salt and light. But He was actually continuing the theme of true righteousness.

The Pharisees were concerned only with external righteousness. They tended to think of themselves as faultless when it came to spiritual matters, faultless before God and before people. In fact, it wasn’t until the former Pharisee, apostle Paul, understood with the Holy Spirit’s help that the tenth commandment actually had to do with the inner heart issue of envy that he realized he was a sinner.

Real righteousness is an inner matter, it has to do with having godly character, having a transformed personality, mind heart and spirit.

All Jews had God’s word stored in their hearts because they all learned it and memorized it as children.

God had invested deeply in His people:
* God had adopted them as His own people,
* He gave them the patriarchs,
* He gave them His glory to literally live in their midst, in the tabernacle and then in the temple.
* God gave them His covenants,
* He gave them His law,
* The privilege of worship of Himself in the temple,
* He gave them promises of an everlasting inheritance.
* And now He was giving them His Son.

They already were salt,

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." (Matthew 5:13)

You might be wondering how salt can lose its saltiness. In Jesus’ day ovens were built outside, made of stones that rested on a tile floor. In order to retain the heat in the floor, a thick layer of salt was spread on the ground, and the tile floor was laid over the salt. After a while the salt lost its ability to keep the heat in, so the tiles would be taken up, the salt removed and thrown out on the road, and a new layer of salt was laid under the tiles.

Jesus was saying, “You have been given God’s word, and were supposed to be living it out. But you’ve lost your passion for God. What use is it to have outer conformity to God’s law, when you have lost all your passion for inner righteousness? That’s like salt that has lost its saltiness.”

Remember that Jesus was teaching people to repent, the Kingdom of Heaven that they’d been waiting for was here. Now was their time to believe the gospel.

That same warning applies to the church today. God has invested much in His church:
* He has adopted every believer as His Son,
* Given us His word and His blessings,
* He has given us His indwelling Holy Spirit.
* The Church is the company of God's redeemed people, taken from every nation and tribe, every race and language.

The Church is called the "body of Christ" with Jesus as the head. Christians are connected intimately with Christ. The Holy Spirit is the unifier, drawing all the parts of the church into one single spiritual community.

The Church is a temple in which God is worshiped, Christians are the living stones that make the temple, while at the same time every Christian also serves as a holy priest offering their lives up to God. The church is called the bride of Christ, whom Jesus loves and for whom He died.

God has established The Church on the firm foundation of the apostles' teaching.

--> But what good does studying the apostle’s teaching do for us if we have no passion for God?
...No sense of spiritual need,
....no longing for inner righteousness,
.....no experience of God’s comfort and mercy,
......no experience of His forgiveness and cleansing?

Jesus is saying repent. If you’ve been doing churchy stuff, but have never yet discovered the blessings Jesus talks about in the beatitudes, then now is your time to believe the gospel. The Kingdom of Heaven is right here.

Theologians will sometimes refer to the invisible church and the visible church. The invisible part of the church are all those who are redeemed: those who are now in heaven along with those still living on earth.

The visible church are those here on earth who are involved in the church somehow -- maybe by membership, maybe by association. The Bible urges believers to meet regularly together with other believers, to worship and fellowship together and spur each other on to love and good deeds.

Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25)

But not everyone in the visible church is born again. Because God can read hearts, He clearly sees the invisible church, but you and I can't always tell the difference.

The church today is always going to include both the visible and the invisible, the redeemed and those who go to church but aren’t believers, moving forward together in whatever the church is doing. Every believer, therefore, every member of the invisible church, every citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, should take part in visible Christian fellowship, so that we can be recognized as belonging to God.

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation

Beatitudes: Persecution

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

"Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."(Matthew 5:10-12)

* If you are persecuted for doing the right thing,
* If you are persecuted for being meek, for being merciful, for forgiving someone who clearly didn’t deserve it,
* If you are persecuted for bringing the gospel into a troubled situation, * If you are persecuted because you’ve been identified with Jesus, and the Bible...

The only thing left to do is praise and thank God.

You are being opposed by those in the spiritual realm who are enemies to the gospel. You’ve got to have this in your life if you are a Christian. This is sharing in Christ’s life.

The Bible is clear about this. The world absolutely loathes the Lord, with a bitter, active hatred. You and I can’t make Jesus all sweet and delicious to try and hide His Jesus-ness. To the people who are desperately needy and crying out for God, they won’t recognize a disguised Jesus. They need the real thing.

And for the people who prefer the world and would hate Jesus anyway, they won’t swallow Jesus even with a spoonful of sugar. To some Jesus is the breath of life. To others He is the stench of death. Don’t be surprised by the slander and false accusations, don’t be surprised by the meanness, and the smack downs.

The closer you get to Jesus, the more you will be like Him, and the more the world will recognize you. The persecution is worth it,
* Because the people Jesus is calling will know they can go to you and hear the truth about Him.
* Because it is proof that you are sharing in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
* Because it is confirmation that you are being sanctified.
* Because the reward of heaven is way bigger than anything you are going through right now.

And there is a deep bond between you and every other believer who is going through the same thing.

--> What persecution are you experiencing right now? Maybe God has placed someone near to you to be together with you as you draw closer to Christ and experience this part of His life – reach out to that person.

When you live for Jesus, you will share in His joy and His suffering

When you asked God to forgive your sins, and invited Him to make His home in your heart, He gave you His Holy Spirit. The Spirit is your deposit on the heavenly account of limitless blessing, both your inheritance for the future, but also an account you can draw on any time you want to right now. When you received the Holy Spirit into your inner being the Bible says you received "every heavenly blessing."

It’s only possible to even hope to attain these blessed characteristics with the Holy Spirit’s indwelling life and power working outward from within us. He is the One that brings the divine joy, deep contentment and inner serenity. And He is the One who makes it possible to experience Jesus’ life within you.

--> Which of these "beatitude" traits are you noticing God has really grown in you?

--> Which of these traits are you still not experiencing deeply? If you connect with, or are experiencing, even one of these eight characteristics ... be glad! You are numbered with Christ and He is at work in you.

If you don't feel that you have a particular aspect of the blessings of Christ, be encouraged. Count on the deposti that the Holy Spirit has put into your inner being. Ask God to help you in experiencing and living out that character trait with confidence that it really is already there, in your newly created inner being, just waiting for you to own it.

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation

Beatitudes: Purity And Peace

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8)

The idea here is of something that has nothing added to it. It’s wine that hasn’t been watered down, gold that is 24 karat. It is unadulterated. It has been purged of everything but itself; it is completely clean. Using that sense of being unadulterated, purity also refers to a singleness of purpose, loving with a whole heart, instead of half a heart.

The reason that the pure in heart will see God is because they are able to see Him, their vision is not clouded by impure motives and desires, and because they are always, only, looking for God, and His hands at work, in every situation, every set of circumstances, no matter how mundane, or how awful.

* What impurities are fogging up your vision?

* How well can you see God working in your current situation?

“Oh how serene and joyful, and never disappointed, are those whose motives are pure and whose single passion is God, because they will always see Him, and His hands at work, no matter what.”

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9"

When you are right with God, you will know how to be right with people too. Peace is everything which makes for a person’s highest good, and the enjoyment of that good.

But the blessing is not on those who love peace so much as it is for those who make peace.

--> Not being willing to talk about the hard things and saying to yourself, “Well it’s because I don’t like confrontation,”
or
--> ignoring what’s wrong because you don’t want to rock the boat,
or
--> refusing to take action in a situation because you don’t want people to not like you,

....is not being a peacemaker.

You might love peace, but what you’re really doing is pushing responsibility for peace onto someone else, so you don’t have to do the hard work of making peace yourself.

* What trouble are you dodging?

Peace doesn’t come from evading issues, it comes from facing them and dealing with them. Making peace is active, having courage to get with those who are in the middle of the trouble, and bringing God’s truth out, being willing to take a few lumps as people deal with their anger and negative impulses, until the process has been completed.

IF
Your motives are pure, and your single passion is to see God at work, if you know the deep joy and freedom of having peace with God yourself,
THEN
You will actively bring this same peace to other people,

“Oh how serene and joyful are those who bring the reconciliation of the gospel to others, who produce right relationships with God, and with others, because people will recognize they are just like God’s Son”

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation

Beautitudes: Mercy

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

Mercy is always undeserved. If it were deserved then it wouldn’t be mercy, it would be justice. Jesus stated a principle that runs all through the New Testament: Judgment without mercy is given to those who show no mercy.

The Bible goes so far as to say that if you refuse to forgive someone, then you are not receiving God’s forgiveness to you, either. You never want to minimize the forgiveness that God extends to you. Whatever someone else has done against you, whatever sin they have committed, no matter how awful, it is still far exceeded by the wealth God has given you in His forgiveness.

The wealth of the Lord's grace to you is so vast you are able to spare some for that person who has offended you.

The word Jesus used for mercy means "The ability to get right inside the other person’s life, so you can see through their eyes, understand in your own mind what they’re thinking and experience in your own heart what they’re feeling."

This isn’t just pity, or compassion. This is identifying with that person so closely it’s as though it were yourself. You experience together with that person what they are going through.

This kind of mercy is quick to forgive, and absorb the cost of the wrong.

Remember, there is a debt. Someone will have to pay it. Either you hold that person to the debt they owe you, or you forgive them, don’t expect them to pay it, and absorb the cost of the debt yourself. That’s what the king did, in the parable about the servant who owed money. Even though the king was wealthy, it was costly for him to absorb the enormous debt his subject owed him. But he so identified with the man’s misery in being poor, and unable to pay, that he completely forgave him.

When you long for righteousness, God satisfies you with Himself.
* He puts His own character in you.
* You’re rich now because of all the mercy you’ve received from God.
* You are wealthy enough to absorb someone’s debt against you.

--> Who have you refused to set free from their debt to you? Who do you need to feel pity for, from your heart, and show mercy to? They don’t deserve it. That’s why it’s mercy.

“Oh how serene and joyful, how emotionally and spiritually wealthy with God’s love and forgiveness is the person who identifies with other people, experiencing together with them what they are going through, and extends mercy and forgiveness to them; because the mercy that person gives that person will also receive.”

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation

The Beatitudes: Hunger And Thirst

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

What do you hunger and thirst for?
* For a certain someone to love you?
* To have a particular house, or job?
* To have a baby?
* To have more money, or possessions?
* To have beauty, or influence, or success?
Do you and I want righteousnes as much as we hunger for those kind of things? Do we want goodness, or virtue, as much as a starving person wants food, or as much as a parched person wants water?

This is a longing to be holy, longing to overcome temptation, to have the fruit of the Spirit, to love God passionately, to have all that God has for you, to be conformed exactly to Christ.

The way Jesus phrased this blessing, He didn’t mean “I am hungry for some goodness” or for “some” righteousness. He meant all of goodness, complete righteousness.

Often that is exactly where you and I fail. We’re content with mostly good, mostly righteous.
“I do my best!”
"I’m better than a lot of people!”
“That’s just my personality type!”
“Well, I may have my faults, but I’m generous and kind!”

Partial goodness.

Partial righteousness.

When you’re hungry, the only way to be satisfied is to eat. And when you hunger and thirst after righteousness, then you will only be satisfied with God’s word.

You might be experiencing this very thing right now --> you want even more than what your daily study is giving you. That’s the Holy Spirit within you. When you receive Christ’s Spirit, then you are filled with all that can satisfy your spiritual hunger.

“Oh how serene and joyful, how filled with God’s goodness is the person who longs for total righteousness like a starving person longs for food and a person dying of thirst longs for water, because that person will be truly satisfied”

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation

The Beatitudes: Meekness

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5)

Meekness is submission to God. When you submit to God, you end up rising above your circumstances. You want God so badly, and you are so aware of coming short, that you are able to take any help, any correction, any honest criticism that will help you to come closer to God and become more like Him.

You will submit to God’s will about anything. You are teachable, vulnerable, soft-hearted. You are eager to have others help you know your sin so that you can repent, turn away from it and enter into the joy of God’s cleansing and forgiveness. You don’t consider yourself as being better, or more important, than anyone else.

You fully expect to hear God’s voice from every believer. And you are eager to be a part of whatever God is doing. You don’t worry about failure because you know that all the successes will come from God anyway, and you will be able to enjoy them as much as everyone else.

You know that if you stumble, God will use even that to glorify Himself, and work out good for you and everyone else who loves Him. You enjoy giving your best, because you know God is going to take that and do something supernatural with it.

* When you know that you are desperately poor, and know that God has filled your empty spirit with His richness,

* When you have hurt so bad and care so much that your whole body aches with sorrow, and have received God’s deep, profound comfort, His forgiveness and acceptance, then you know better.

* When you are in a position of power in someone else’s life you have a choice. You can brag, lord it over them, have a temper tantrum, get all bossy.....

Or you can be gentle to them, loving, patient, wanting to help them, wanting their good.

The culture says: Express yourself, let it all hang out. Never mind if it’s right or wrong, if you feel good about it, then do it. Don’t get mad, get even. Give yourself a break, you deserve it. Look out for number one.

Jesus says, “Oh how serene and joyful, and experiencing God’s grace, is the person who is humble, who has submitted to God’s control, and is gentle with others, because all the earth will be theirs.”

Great leaders are meek, they have their place now, leading among the people God has given into their care, and they will have their place by Jesus side when He returns to rule the earth.

* Who has God given you to lead and care for? Would they describe you as meek?

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation

The Beautitudes: Blessedness

In each of these first eleven verses Jesus used the word “blessed.” It was a powerful word to the people who were listening to Jesus. It meant “divine joy and perfect happiness.”
* It is the kind of inner satisfaction and sufficiency that God experiences.

* It is the kind of serene, untouchable, self-contained joy that stays the same, regardless of what’s happening around you.

Happiness can disappear in an instant, can’t it, when something awful happens. But no one can shake the joy of blessedness.

Notice that verse one and verse eleven end with the phrase “theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Kingdom of Heaven has several meanings to it.
* One day it is going to be a visible reality when Jesus returns to establish His physical realm on earth.

* Today it is a spiritual reality within every believer that Christ has come to make His home in their inner person, as Savior and as Lord.

* In another sense, the Kingdom is that realm where Christ is recognized as king. In the Kingdom of Heaven citizens are continuously loved, inside and out. That’s what we always want, deep down, and what we regularly fail to do, here on earth.

The angels have always lived in the Kingdom of Heaven, that’s why they cry “Holy” and glorify God. But for believers, the closest we get to experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven in our world right now --> is when we gather together to worship God, fellowship and study His word, when we devote ourselves to a local body of believers by becoming a member of a church.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)

Imagine how quiet everyone must have gotten when Jesus said this. Jesus was saying “Oh how delighted and joyful are people whose spirits are in abject poverty, who are beaten to their knees in spiritual destitution, so desperate they are beyond downtrodden and oppressed.”

How could that be? Because they are poor enough to qualify as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. They know they have no earthly resources whatsoever. They are so humbled and helpless that they put their whole trust in God.

* What’s your assessment of yourself right now? Do you feel like you have a lot of resources left, or have you come to the end of yourself?

“Oh how serene and joyful, how deeply satisfied is the person who realizes their utter helplessness and puts their whole trust in God, because they will have the Kingdom of Heaven.”

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew5:4)

This is the strongest word possible for mourning. This is passionate lament, heart wrenching grief and sorrow over indescribable loss, or terrible sorrow -- over sin, your sin, others' sin, the sin in this world.

You care deeply. Your heart aches. Your tears flow. The more you hurt, the more you need compassion and comfort, and the more you are able to receive comfort from God.

The Lord has a limitless supply of comfort, that’s why the Bible says He lavishes His love, because there is so much love we just can’t absorb it all, we can’t carry it all, God fills us to overflowing, so His love splashes out and all over.

* Does your pain go deep, and have you been hurting a long time? There is comfort for you.

* When was the last time you got quiet with the Lord and began confessing all those little sins you’ve been hiding even from yourself?

Let God help you care about it, help you sorrow over those sins. God’s comfort brings a deep satisfaction and awareness of being forgiven, of having a fresh start with God, and real hope of becoming truly beautiful.

“Oh how serene and joyful, how deeply comforted is the person who is desperately sad, or desperately sorry, or whose heart is broken, because God has profound comfort for that person.”

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation