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Remaining faithful to the Lord
November 1st is the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost. It’s also traditionally observed as All Saint’s Day in many faith traditions. In this case, Matthew 5:1–12 is part of the lectionary readings. Jesus announced that God’s kingdom was drawing near (Matt 4:17). This raises the question: What attitudes and actions are appropriate for a citizen of God’s kingdom? The Messiah answered this question in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7). Although Jesus’ primary audience would have been His disciples, there was a larger crowd of people who listened to Him teach (7:28). The ethics Jesus taught in His sermon contrasted sharply with the legalism of His…
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Yearnings of the Heart
It disguises itself as that stabbing feeling you get when something goes terribly wrong. It shows up when the new shiny thing you just bought doesn’t really bring the happiness you thought it would. It stomps across your heart when you feel adrift and wonder why you’re even here and if your life matters. It’s that abiding sense of, “this isn’t the way it is supposed to be” and the despairing whisper of, “is this all there is?” Let’s admit it. At our core we feel unsatisfied. We know life should be better, justice should prevail, things should go right. Our hearts are built to hold much more than they…
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Blessed Are the Pure In Heart
When Blessings Abound Series The Beatitudes Attitude: Passionately Pursuing Christlikeness Through Desperate Dependence on Him { Hidden in The Folds } Who can be pure in heart? Who I ask? Certainly not I! Can I think I am pure in heart? Of course. Can I be pure in heart “as far as I know?” I can—as far as I know. The problem is I don’t know very far. Only God knows if I’m pure in heat, and He’s not telling me. The heart is an active deceiver (Jer. 17:9), and this is why God searches us (Jer. 17:10) so He can reward us according to the secrets hidden away in…
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Blessed are the Bankrupt
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . (Mt. 5:3) What stunning, shocking words! What king announces his rule by calling the poor in spirit to him, the bankrupt, those with no resources who bring nothing to him? Only one. The King who is lowly in heart, who offers a light burden because He is not bent down by the weight of pride. Amazingly these are the first recorded words of discipleship Jesus uttered. Jesus requires bankruptcy to enter His kingdom… That’s what it means to be poor in spirit: spiritual bankruptcy, a total lack of resources to do what ultimately…
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Last Things First
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken The Great Commission was the last words Jesus said, but it was among the first thoughts in His mind as He began His ministry. Why was it that one of the first actions He took was to choose disciples (Mt. 4:18-22) if He did not have a purpose in mind for them? He certainly did not intend to spend the better part of three years preparing followers for nothing… And why did He persevere so relentlessly with them when they rejected His message and thought like Satan (Mark 8:33) or created more confusion than clarity when a father sought their help for…
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Start With the End in View
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Jesus started with the end in view. From the first day of His earthly ministry to the last, He had His two-fold purpose before Him: redemption and preparation, the cross and the commission. He came to provide redemption for dying men and women. But what good would His redemptive death be if there were no one to tell others what it means? How could He establish a redemptive movement if He had no one to start it? That’s why He declared to His Father before the cross that He had accomplished His will by making the Father known to those He had…
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The Beatitudes Attitude: Introduction
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Today we start a new series drawn from the Beatitudes which describe the abounding blessings of Christ in us. We start with the introduction this week, go to a preview with our next entry, and then we will look at each of the Beatitudes to see what these blessings mean to us as we seek to grow in the Beatitudes Attitude. Blessed are . . . (Matthew 5:1-12) The first recorded words of Jesus to His future disciples were words of blessing, and what blessings they are! These blessings are the essence of life that have endured through the ages and define…
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The Blessing of Being Broke
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . You can’t be rich until you’re been bankrupt. You can’t be wealthy until you’re worthless. You can’t have God’s best until you’ve faced your worst. Bankruptcy is a sinister word. Job lost. Career crashed. Identity crushed. Prospects dim. Future bleak. Hope gone. Home about to go. Family tattered. To be broke is to be shattered, ashamed, devastated. Spiritual bankruptcy starts with the same feelings of failure, frustration and hopelessness, the same struggle. the same shame. We ask questions like, “How could I have done that?” or, “When will I be free?” We feel shackled…
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The Beautiful Attitudes – Part VIII: Blessed are those who are Persecuted
"Blessed are those who are persecuted FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely ON ACCOUNT OF ME. Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way. (Matthew 5:10-12)
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The Beautiful Attitudes – Part VI: Blessed are the Pure in Heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8 NET) Have you ever noticed that when you insert an object (e.g., a straw) in a glass of liquid (e.g., water) that the straw looks like it is split in two or bent? A straw looks this way in water because the light is forced to change course or refract when it moves from air into the water. The light will again change course when it leaves the water to go back into the air. However, if there were no liquid in the glass, then the straw would not appear bent (the glass to air transition and…
