Tag: Beatitudes

Attitude Check

Genesis 15 & 16, Proverbs 9, Matthew 5

Devotion by Marcia Railton (IN)

As we read through the Sermon on the Mount, the first of 5 segments of Jesus’ teaching in the book of Matthew, we will spend three days not two on each of the chapters 5-7. Today’s devotion will focus on the first section of chapter 5 – the Beatitudes. Whether this is your first time reading them, or you can quote them all, sometimes it is helpful reading a variety of versions to get a better understanding of Jesus’ words and how to put them into practice. Take special note of some variations of “Blessed”.

Poor in Spirit – Verse 3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (NASB), “Great blessings belong to those who know they are spiritually in need.” (ERV), “the humble, who rate themselves insignificant” (AMPC), “those devoid of spiritual arrogance” (AMP), “those people who depend only on him” (CEV), “Those people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy. (ICB), “’Humble men are very fortunate’ he told them, ‘for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.'” (TLB)

Those Who Mourn – Verse 4 – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (NASB), “God makes happy those who are sad. They will have comfort.” (WE), “They are blessed who grieve, for God will comfort them.” (NCV), “Those who mourn are fortunate! for they shall be comforted.” (TLB)

The Meek – Verse 5 – “Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth!” (AMPC), “Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.” (AMP), “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” (NLT), “God makes happy those who quietly trust him and do not try to get their own way. The world will belong to them.” (WE), meek also replaced with “gentle” (NASB).

Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness – Verse 6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” (NASB), “God blesses those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink. They will be given what they want!” (CEV), “Great blessings belong to those who want to do right more than anything else. God will fully satisfy them.” (ERV), “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval. They will be satisfied.” (NOG)

The Merciful – Verse 7 – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (ESV), “Great blessings belong to those who show mercy to others. Mercy will be given to them.” (ERV), “Those who show loving-kindness are happy, because they will have loving-kindness shown to them.” (NLV), “God makes happy those who are kind. He will be kind to them.” (WE)

Pure in Heart – Verse 8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (NKJV), “Those who are pure in their thinking are happy. They will be with God.” (ICB), “Happy are the utterly sincere, for they will see God!” (PHILLIPS), “They are blessed whose thoughts are pure, for they will see God.” (NCV)

Peacemakers – Verse 9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (NABRE), ““Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!” (GNT), “Great blessings belong to those who work to bring peace. God will call them his sons and daughters.” (ERV), “Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God! (AMPC)

Persecuted for Righteousness – Verse 10 – “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (ESV), “Blessed are those who suffer for doing what is right. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” (NIRV), “Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” (NOG),

You may have noticed that this list of Beatitudes does not look like the Ten Commandments. It does not tell us what to avoid doing. It does not even specifically tell us what to do. It does not list for us the ten things to make sure we do so that we can check them off the list for each day. It does not say: Blessed are those who read their Bible every day. Blessed are those who spend at least 15 minutes in prayer each day. Blessed are those who tithe 10%, (but 11% is better). Blessed are those who have perfect attendance at every church function.

I am a natural born rule follower who wants to please God. So my first instinct is to want that daily checklist. Can you tell me God, exactly how many minutes of distraction is allowed when I should be focused on You and the job I said I would do for You? Where is the line where human nature crosses over into disobedience? If there was a big red line I might not cross it – too many times – maybe – until I saw how easy it was to cross over to please myself instead of God. Who am I kidding, I might like rules. But I don’t always like following them. Maybe it would be better if I had a checklist, a big red line to not cross and an electric zapper for when I do, which will obviously have to grow in intensity. Or, maybe just an easy 3 warning zaps and then immediate death. Guess what – I wouldn’t make a very good God at all! Thankfully, God is a very good God. And He has designed a very good way for His children – telling us what to do (and not do), and also, here His Son lays out the list of how we are to do what He wants us to do. What does our heart look like when we follow Him?

Having this list of attitudes in no way means that we no longer have to concern ourselves with doing what God wants as well as avoiding the things He doesn’t want. In fact we ought to be doing the things that please God so much that we are getting into trouble, persecuted by the world, for doing the things that God wants us to do. Jesus says, “whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19b-20 ESV). The Pharisees were the checklist experts! Even tithing on their herbs and not lifting a finger on the Sabbath. They had all God’s laws down pat! They were so diligent – making new laws to protect God’s law, watching others carefully to point out any time they slip, puffed up with pride over how well they checked the boxes, always focused on their checklist, instead of their heart. Jesus said – Do better. Watch your heart. Catch your motives. Strike your pride. Use wisdom.

Realize you are spiritually in need. Get rid of your spiritual arrogance. Be poor in spirit.

Grieve and mourn – not just for your losses, but for what grieves God.

Be meek, humble, gentle. It’s not weakness – it’s being like Jesus.

More than anything else, desire in your own life what God says is right.

Be full and overflowing with mercy and loving-kindness for others.

Make your heart clean with pure, God-honoring thoughts and decisions.

Strive for peace and help others do likewise.

WHILE also being willing to stand up and do right even when the world persecutes you for it.

Do what God wants, in the way that God wants.

Have a humble heart that truly wants to please God.

Watch your attitudes as much as your actions – and you will be blessed.

Reflection Questions

  1. How would you describe the term “blessed”? Is it more than “happy”?
  2. What do you notice about the consequences or rewards for those with these attitudes? Are some for now? Are some for the future? Are some for both? What do you know about God’s promises?
  3. Have you experienced any persecution from the world for doing what is right? If so, was it worth it? What did you learn? If not, why not?
  4. Which of these Beatitudes would you like to focus on increasing in your life this week? What changes will it require?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for being a good God who still loves and longs for relationship with your very human and imperfect creation. Thank you for your Son who shows us how to be pleasing to You. Help me to see Jesus’ heart and his desires, his attitudes and actions, so I can better seek to reflect that in myself. Help me to diligently work at cleaning out all impurity, pride, and wrong motives and attitudes to be what you want to see in me. Help me to do what you want, in the way that you want. Thank you for your promises for today and for the future. Help me be ready, and prepare others to be ready, for your Son’s Coming Return. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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Pure of Heart

Old Testament: Genesis 5 & 6

Poetry: Psalm 1

New Testament: Matthew 5:1-12

There is so much to digest in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus sets the standard of living in all aspects of life and slowly combats the legalistic Jewish culture of his time. Our Messiah makes us aware that His Father can see through our actions, straight to the root, or better yet, the heart of our motivation; this is truly convicting. What may look like altruism or mercy from the outside may, in fact, be manipulation and control in the mind. Out of all the qualities in the Beatitudes, it may be most rare to find someone who is pure of heart.

In Genesis 5, the great-great-great-great-grandson of Adam, Enoch, is given more than the standard father/age line. It states that Enoch walked faithfully with God and then God took him away. Many times the discussion around Enoch prioritizes “Where did he go?” The more important discussion is “How was he so faithful in his walk with God?” I don’t really have an answer to either question, but I will make an inference about the latter based upon the promise within the Beatitudes. Enoch faithfully walked with God because he was pure of heart and he has seen or will see God (Hebrews 11:5-6,39-40).

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” – Psalm 51:10-12

To gain further insight into what exactly is a pure heart, we can ironically turn to David at the moment he felt the most disconnected from the Almighty. David had accomplished so much in the name of the God of Israel. Fighting a giant in faith, leading Israel into battle, giving mercy to God’s anointed, becoming king of the chosen people, and writing a myriad of worship songs in honor of the Lord, yet, in his most impure moments, he had committed adultery, was responsible for a cold-blooded death of a man, and was delivered a bleak message by God through His prophet, Nathan. In reflection, David indirectly states that a pure heart is steadfast, focused on the joy that comes from God, and is in tune with the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, David is restored through repentance and the mercies of God and is still considered a man after God’s own heart, the purest of them all.

So what exactly does it take for each one of us to be pure of heart? First, we must be motivated by and steadfast in the love of God. If we are motivated for the glory it will bring to ourselves or in the indulgences of our flesh, we will never be satisfied. There are not enough likes or followers to replace the unconditional attention of your Heavenly Father. Next, we must be joyful in all seasons. When we become motivated by God, we are no longer victims of circumstance but part of God’s salvation plan. Our pressings and persecutions become opportunities to share our promise. Finally, purity is finding and following God’s will through receiving and responding to His Holy Spirit. Let His power lead your feet and the Gospel message . By remaining pure of heart, walking with God, we will see God move and experience the fullness of Him and live with the hope that our faith will be made sight, seeing Him face to face.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. What grade would you give your heart’s purity (or lack thereof)? For you personally, what motivations, behaviors, attitudes get in the way of having a pure heart? In what ways can you work towards a more pure heart? 
  2. How would you describe each of the other Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12 – and the reward for each?
  3. Why do you think Jesus started his sermon this way?
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Weird

Old Testament: Daniel 11, 12

Poetry: Psalm 119

* New Testament: Matthew 5

As a fifth-grade introvert who wanted nothing more to blend in with the small class in my little Christian school, “weird” was about the meanest name one could call me. Because I didn’t even want anyone to so much as notice me, remaining quiet and going with the flow was the most obvious way to camouflage among my peers. 

I’ve had a bit of a wake-up call since my private school elementary days. In my public secondary and post-secondary education, God called me to stand up for my faith on several occasions, even when it meant that I was standing alone – resulting in <gasp> people noticing me! More recently, ever since my husband and I felt God leading us to do things that go against the culture, such as home-birthing and home-educating all four of our children, I’ve had to learn to be confident in those decisions and keep my eyes focused on God, no matter if others think I am weird. (As fate would have it, since opposites attract, I married an extrovert who thinks “weird” is a compliment and loves nothing more than helping others laugh at his own expense, so he tries to do silly things when we are out in public – which then, of course, draws attention to me too! I’ve learned to loosen up and not care as much what others think, and he’s learned to rein in the silly antics a little bit when I am with him.)

Jesus was the epitome of weird, but not in a bad way; in fact, many people were drawn to him because they could sense his sincerity and wisdom. (Some even failed to recognize him as the Messiah for whom they were searching because he didn’t meet their expectations!) Most of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5 are quite counter-cultural; for example, the Beatitudes is a list of dichotomous concepts which indicate (in my simple summary) that bad things can be blessings in disguise.

Because God is love (I John 4:8) and Jesus is God’s Son and representative, one could deduce that the primary mission of Jesus’ ministry was to demonstrate the love of his Father to this broken world. That, I believe, is why the end of this chapter (Matthew 5:43-48 NIV) gives perhaps his most controversial nugget of wise advice yet: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Showing love to people who are not like me or who don’t deserve it can be hard enough, but to show love to my enemies and those people who have hurt me? Well, that just takes Jesus’ weird, radical love to a whole new level. Jesus demonstrated this love throughout his ministry, though, by dying for generations of sinners including you and me (see Romans 5:8) and even forgiving the people who brutally murdered him (see Luke 23:34). 

Romans 12:1-2 is one of my favorite passages; I especially love the down-to-earth wording of The Message paraphrase that reminds us why it is important to be weird: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” 

(This is a reminder to myself, but you can read it too if you like: Because I am following Jesus, I need to not be so afraid of being weird that no one around me even knows I am a Christian. I need to be weird in a Jesus kind of way so that people want to have the eternally-focused hope that I radiate, the kind of contagious joy that shows others there’s something different and gives me a reason to share my faith with them (see 1 Peter 3:15). In Matthew 5:14 & 16 (NIV) Jesus says, “you are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Our light must have a source, and today’s Psalm 119 has a great bit of wisdom in verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Help me, Lord, to know you more through your Word and relationship with you. May I not be so afraid to be weird that I fail to shine your light in this dark world.)

Let’s take courage together to be weird in a countercultural, Jesus kind of way!

Reflection questions: 

-What are ways that you have blended in with the culture rather than standing out for Jesus? 

-Pray about the actions God wants you to take to be more “weird” in a Jesus kind of way. 

Rachel Cain

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Blessed are…


Luke 6

Recently, both my Sunday School and Wednesday night groups went through the first part of Matthew, chapter 5. This is the beginning of Matthew’s rendition of “The Sermon on the Mount”, and it starts with “the Beatitudes”. It is a list of traits that show who are the blessed ones. When you read the list of the eight “Blessed Attitudes” in Matthew, you could easily see implicit commands. Be more poor in spirit, be more gentle, hunger and thirst for righteousness better. Something like that. 

In the recent years, I read an interesting take on the Beatitudes in Matthew. This author said that the first four are brokenness and oppression that no one chooses, and that God is on the side of those oppressed ones. This would seem clear with “mourn” (Matthew 5:4); but if poor in spirit means “impoverished of God’s goodness” rather than “humble”, we could see that this would be a rather impressive switch. 

The reason I bring up this reading in Matthew is because Luke doesn’t need a ton of interpretive work to see the blessedness of the broken. In your reading you read Luke 6. This is part of the passage we read:

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 

24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

Blessed are the poor. Not the poor in spirit, the humble, the ones who recognize their own spiritual poverty.

Jesus blesses those who don’t have coins to rub together. 

Because God wants to give them a kingdom. 


Blessed are you who hunger. No hunger for righteousness, thirst for truth, and desire the goodness of God. 

Jesus blesses those whose stomachs are growling. 

Because God wants to give them food for now and eternity.


Blessed are you who weep. Not mourn over the sins of the world and the things that drag us away from God. 

Jesus blesses those who cry because of stress, pain, heartache, and loss. 

Because God will give them laughter. 

Blessed are you when you are hated because of Jesus. 

Jesus blesses those who are only trying to follow in his footsteps in the middle of a world that may hate them. 

Because God has a great reward in heaven, waiting to be given. 


And Jesus follows up with some strong language : woe to the rich, the well-fed, the laughing, and the well-thought-of. Those who have all the blessings this world has to offer don’t share any in the world to come. 

What does this have to do with you?

Jesus clearly doesn’t want us to suffer needlessly. He never wants anyone to suffer needlessly.

And part of what we are called to do is to end the needless suffering around us. 


Jesus told his disciples “you will always have the poor with you”, and what that text is really saying is “never stop giving to those who need help.” (Deuteronomy 15:11) 

God is on the side of the poor; He will bless them in his kingdom, but he is using YOU to alleviate their poverty now. 

Jesus told his disciples “you give them something to eat” (Luke 9:13), and the early church made sure that every person was fed and taken care of. (Acts 2:44-46)

God is on the side of the hungry; He will give them food in his kingdom, but he is using YOU to feed them now. 


Jesus always encouraged and comforted his disciples (John 14), and the church lived life together, weeping together so they could rejoice together (Romans 12:15). 

God is on the side of the weeping; He will give them comfort in his kingdom, but he is using YOU to comfort them now. 


Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) and that “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)

God is on the side of those hated for his son; He will bless them beyond all measure in his kingdom. 


Your call is to be a great blessing to all those whom God desires to bless. May you bring blessing wherever you go; you are blessed to be a blessing. 

-Jake Ballard

You can read or listen to today’s Bible reading at BibleGateway – Numbers 31-32 and Luke 6

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Jesus – the Radical One

Luke Chapter Six

Luke 6 27 28 NIV

In chapter six, Jesus is continuing on in his ministry.  We see that twice, Jesus caused the Pharisees, a group of Jews, to get upset.  Both times revolved around Jesus doing work on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees were a sect of Jews that had a high priority and focus on following the letter of the law.  They wanted to make sure they were obeying every letter of the law as well as everyone else.

 

Exodus 35:2 states, “Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD.  Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.”  This was the law that the Jews were to follow, and anyone who did not follow the Sabbath should be put to death.  With that said, I can totally put myself in the Pharisees’ shoes and understand why they would be so upset with Jesus not following the Sabbath rest.  However, throughout Jesus’ ministry, he had quite the radical thoughts and actions.  A superb example of this is found in the Sermon on the Mount when six times Jesus said, “you have heard that it was said… But I say to you.”  Six times Jesus took what was said in the Old Testament and radicalized it.  Jesus flipped the whole world upside down.

 

This trend of Jesus having quite the radical thoughts and actions continues in chapter six.  Jesus goes on to say that we are blessed if we are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated.  He says that in the end times, we will be satisfied, as the kingdom of God will belong to us.  He continues by saying woe to you if you are rich, full, laugh, and people speak well of you.  To the normal person, this would make no sense, but Jesus flips everything upside down.

 

One of the more well-known radical statements of Jesus is found in Luke six as well –  when talking about our enemies.  Jesus makes the bold and radical statement by saying, “love your enemies,” (Luke 6:35).  It’s common for people to disregard their enemies or even act wickedly to them.  However, Jesus tells us to take another approach with our enemies.  He tells us to love our enemies!  This goes totally contrary to how the rest of the world treats their enemies.

 

Jesus was full of radical statements and actions throughout his ministry.  He was constantly turning people’s lives upside down.  We, as Christians, need to follow our radical leader, Jesus.  He showed us the way, and it is our job to follow his lead.  Jesus did not fit in at all in his society because of his radical statements and actions, such as loving your enemies.  With that said, if we follow Jesus’ lead, then we are going to stick out like a sore thumb as well.  Be bold and courageous and live a radical life like that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Kyle McClain

Cleaning Up

Free Theme – Beatitudes – Matthew 5:8

Matthew 5 8

I’m going to start this by stating very plainly that I’m normally a super hygienic person but there are some times in life when showering just is not an option. We all know that feeling like your skin has an extra layer of grime and you just feel nasty.

I remember one of those times when I felt particularly gross and grimy was after my first backpacking trip. I hiked 4 peaks and climbed something close to 12,000 vertical feet with a 45 lb backpack and the temperature was in the mid 80’s. Luckily the trip was only two days and I really only missed one shower. Needless to say by the time I reached the parking lot at the end of the trip I was feeling pretty dirty. The natural thing to do is to go take a shower and clean ourselves up. Right when we get dirty we wash it off. This way we won’t royally offend people’s nostrils with our B.O.

It’s easy to realize when we’re physically dirty. We can literally feel the grime and (hopefully like myself) try to maintain good hygiene. Sometimes the thing that we fail to recognize is the condition of the heart. We allow our hearts to want, wish, and hope for things that it shouldn’t be hoping for. In our day to day lives it is easy to let the world distract us. Some of the things that we desire aren’t bad things at all and may even have godly results. In essence we can let the world contaminate our hearts or desires to become skewed.

I believe that the life God wants us to live is really just an outpouring from our hearts. Our actions are an indication of the condition of our hearts whether this causes godly or worldly behavior.

How then are we supposed to cleanse a heart when it gets dirty and we allow things in that shouldn’t be there? The answer is pretty easy. We need to ask God to purify it but we also have to put in personal effort. We obviously have to want to have it clean – that means asking God for help in submitting our hearts and minds to focus on Him. Also, not allowing ourselves to focus on things we shouldn’t. The thoughts you allow yourself to dwell on will eventually be imprinted on your heart. Think of your mind as the arena where battle for your heart and life is won and lost.

James 4.8 tells us “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded.” The truth here is that the double-minded do need to have their hearts cleansed. This is exactly what happens when our hearts become contaminated. We need to be singularly focused on God.

The best way I have found to do this is just praying two phrases as often as needed throughout the day. “Lord, I give you all my heart, all my mind, and all my strength. Help me stay focused on you.” Feel free to change the phrasing to suit you but I think praying a prayer like this will go a long way helping you stay focused on God.

So all this talk so far and we haven’t even gotten to our beatitude. Consider everything before this the pre-requisite for the beatitude. Today’s beatitude is Matthew 5.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Of all the beatitudes and really all the promises of God there isn’t another which I want to be realized in my life so badly. For a Christian I don’t think there is a reward higher than this. I think that the greatest of all human desires is “to know and be fully known.” Obviously one aspect of that is already completed by God. We are already fully known by God. He knows our minds and our hearts. We, though, don’t fully know God. I don’t know if we ever will but I want to know all that I can. On this earth we do all we can to know him. We pray, read scripture, look to see his glory in nature and we catch glimpses of him in all these things but it isn’t seeing him. It is not viewing him on his throne in real life. I feel like we only get to see God’s social media account and we never get to see him in person. Except God’s social media doesn’t come close to the majesty and beauty that he actually has. I don’t think our physical bodies could handle beholding a holy God in all his beauty and magnificence.

This is why we need to keep our hearts pure. So that one day we could see God for all that he is.

Daniel Wall

Can the Entitlement – Serve Some Mercy Instead

Free Theme – Beatitudes – Matthew 5:7

Matt 5 7 nasb

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got to spend time with family and friends. I know in larger families it can be a real battle for food! I hope everyone got plenty turkey and their favorite side dish.

Yesterday we all celebrated what we were thankful for and it is super appropriate for today’s beatitude that we have this thankfulness in mind. It is amazing how easy it is for me to forget how good God has been to me. One day, like yesterday. I can dwell on God’s sacrifice of his son for all my sins and how he suffered through all my rebellion. He can get over all the times that I have hurt him via my sin in our relationship. He steadily pursues us and extends us grace for actions that no human being would ever forgive. He has ALWAYS taken me back when I came back from being a prodigal. He has never given up on me despite my poor character and my inabilities. He continually sees a value in me that I don’t see in myself. He has given me family, friends and relationships that I completely do not deserve. The older I get the more I see how messed up I really am just as a human being and God’s mercy behind it. The amazing thing is he still sees value in me and adopts me as his child. He still extends mercy and grace to me in spite of it all.

Sometimes I think that just saying “God is good” or worse yet using the cliché “God is good, All the time” doesn’t do any justice or come anywhere near to expressing exactly how good God is. It feels like all words and vocabulary fail to fully express all God has done. Maybe that is why all we‘re left with is “God is good”.

The crazy thing is that his mercies really are new every morning (Lamentations 3.22-23). Everyday I wake up and breathe; God supplies the air (Isaiah 42.5). He supplies us everything that we have. Our jobs, houses, cars, cell phone, internet, toys, entertainment, the plants, the trees, the turkey – it all belongs to him. He made it, he created it, therefore it is all his. We often forget that we are in somebody else’s house and nothing here actually belongs to us. It’s frankly embarrassing the entitlement and lack of gratefulness that I allow in my life. If there was a way to keep all this in our brains 24/7 we would be the happiest people alive. We should be the happiest people alive.

Our beatitude for today is Matthew 5.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

I already feel like I have received the mercy that is promised here. Sometimes I am amazed at how good we have it in this life. Still I let my gratefulness get drowned out by a sense of entitlement towards God. When in reality he owes me absolutely nothing and everything that he has already given me is far more than I can repay.

Given all that I just talked about and how merciful God has been to us, I think we should extend that to others. If we live with this knowledge imprinted on our hearts it should actually be easy. There really is a redemptive quality to God’s love that allows us to forgive others. To show them grace when they absolutely don’t deserve it. We don’t have to be concerned about righteousness when we show mercy to those around us because we know that God has forgiven us for far more than anything a person could have done to us.

It’s this principle that I believe is our light to the world. We show mercy to those who don’t deserve mercy and love those who don’t love us because there is one who loves us far more. So, let’s have this attitude of gratefulness and let it overflow from our hearts to those around us. Forgiving and loving others the way that God has for us.

Daniel Wall

Hungry!

Free Theme – Beatitudes – Matthew 5:6

Matthew 5 6

As I sit here in a coffee shop the day before Thanksgiving I am currently starving. I made an apple pie this morning and this may be the reason the normal ‘breakfast, no lunch, straight into dinner’ game plan has not satisfied my hunger. This is very fitting for our beatitude of the day and tomorrow being Thanksgiving day. So here it is Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are the those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.” Ok, so a moment of honesty, I love this one too. But let’s be real the beatitudes are like bacon and how can you not love bacon.  

I don’t know about you but Thanksgiving at my house has two hunger conditions. I’m either starving or completely stuffed from all the food that I just ate. I have a small family. Thanksgiving dinner is normally an ordeal to put together and I generally end up in the kitchen for a good part of the day. It’s actually pretty amazing how a person can be around so much food all day in the kitchen and still be starving. I feel like Thanksgiving is one of the few days where people actually look forward to the dinner they are preparing and try to make sure they are really hunger for it. The normal routine of eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner even if we aren’t quite hungry doesn’t apply on thanksgiving. One thing that I can say after all that cooking and putting together a good meal, I am normally pretty satisfied. I am happy with the job that I did cooking and I‘m also happy because I had my fill of good food.

I think that the satisfaction that is promised in this beatitude is deeper than our after Thanksgiving dinner satisfaction. First, we should look at what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. I want to challenge the way you view righteousness. I don’t believe that righteousness is abstaining from the things that we need to abstain from and do the things we are supposed to be doing. Jesus wasn’t giving a checklist in the beatitudes but he was giving us attitudes and a way of life that we should adopt.

Jesus had a lot of confrontations with the Pharisees and in Matthew 23 he addresses the righteousness of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were righteous in that they checked the boxes but they lacked the true elements of righteousness like mercy, grace, godliness and love. When I view doing what is right I see it as loving people and God with discernment. The rules that God gives us are obviously important but the attitudes of our hearts he wants us to adopt are just as important  to righteousness. I think that we practice righteousness when we try to live by God’s rules and laws and practice mercy, grace and love.

I said earlier that the satisfaction promised here is deeper than our Thanksgiving dinner satisfaction. I think Isaiah 55.1-3 shows this. Here God is saying come, eat and be full. He is offering food and water to those who don’t have money. In verse 2 he is saying we labor for things that don’t satisfy like being ungodly or looking for fulfillment in things other than him. He then tells us to listen to him and delight in the rich food that he has given us. Verse 3 says “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” Verse 3 shows us that when we come to God, listen to him and obey his commandments that our souls will live. Besides serving God my goal in life is that my soul would live.

Godliness and living a Christ like life where not only am I sinless but I have adopted God’s heart for him and others is what I think this beatitude is saying we should be hungering and thirsting for. The result of this though is that we would be truly satisfied and have souls that truly live. So as we think about the physical hunger we have to consider what we should really be hungering for and when you are satisfied after that Thanksgiving meal think about the satisfaction that God has promised us when we live righteously.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Daniel Wall

Counter Cultural

Matthew 5 5 NIV

For those of you who drive, have you ever been in the left hand lane on the highway and you have someone in front of you who is driving just slightly slower than you want to? For those of you who don’t drive yet you can imagine the classic slow walker in your school. It can get pretty infuriating the longer the ordeal goes on. Well, when you really look at what is going on here … it’s not that going that extra 5 mph for that 5 minutes is really going to save you that much time. Let’s be honest, most of us would be embarrassed to the fullest extent if our social media usage was published for all the public to see. None of us are missing that sixty seconds to a few minutes. The real thing going on here is a heart issue. That person in front of you is infringing on your freedom to do what you want to do. That is why those sorts of ordeals are so annoying and so infuriating. I for one really enjoy freedom and independence. I feel like I need to insert a ‘Merica here. 

Well today we are dealing with the opposite of this attitude. Matthew 5.5 tells us “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Sorry for setting up everyone but you should have seen this coming.

I think we all have heard that “Meekness isn’t weakness” by now. So, I’m not going to baby bird you guys things you have already heard. 

I am absolutely in love with this beatitude and the thought behind it. We all live in the boss babe and power-hungry world that teaches that you need to take what you deserve. You need to walk tall and make sure that no one fronts on you or pushes you around. This beatitude is possibly the most counter cultural of all the beatitudes and I freaking love it!!!

The thing that really gets me about this beatitude is the reward for meekness is the exact opposite of what you would receive in this world for displaying meekness. Right?! How far do you think that you would get in your high school or middle school or corporate job by being meek? It is so rare that a meek person wins in our society. Yet our King in this passage is telling us that we will be happy and we will inherit the earth when we are meek. The very attitude that will get us nothing in this world, in the age  to come will get us the whole earth. 

This idea is modeled for us in perfection by Jesus. Jesus came as a servant in complete subjection to his Father. He walked this earth humbly, not trying to impose upon others but instead he trusted in God’s faithfulness. The scene that really enforces this idea for me is Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the way to his crucifixion.  He didn’t enter Jerusalem on a beautiful glamorous horse wearing royal robes with a crown on his head looking like a king. He entered Jerusalem seated on a donkey in normal clothes. This is the city that he will eventually rule over and he came into it humbly and submitted himself meekly to the will of the Father that sent him to the cross. The times where Jesus was the most aggressive were the times where his honor wasn’t damaged. Rather the times he was the most aggressive were the times he was fighting for God’s honor. (I.e. The flipping of tables in the temple and his interactions with the pharisees). 1 Peter 2.23 says “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” This verse perfectly exemplifies our savior lived meekly on this earth yet he was resurrected to be king over all the earth.

So let’s live meekly, serving those around us knowing that in the kingdom coming we will inherit. Knowing that we are trusting God to fight for what we deserve. 

Dan Wall

Seeing Beyond the Tears

Free Theme – Beatitudes – Matthew 5:4

Matthew 5 4 NIV.png

Today’s beatitude is like a living enigma in my mind and without a living God makes absolutely no sense. Matthew 5.4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” The word mourn can also mean sadness.  Let’s attempt to read in our definition of blessed from yesterday. Happy are those who mourn for they will be comforted. The idea that I am happy when I am mourning is a real problem in my head. I don’t know about yours.

Have you ever had a friend who was out to accomplish something great and they finally accomplish it? Through this whole process you are proud of them for suffering and enduring and getting to the other side. It is awesome to see your friends succeed. It’s great when you get to celebrate those events and successes with them.

Now when they are hurting and in the middle of this great struggle it is really hard. Sometimes in the middle of life you don’t see how it is going to work out well for you and all you know is that your soul hurts and you don’t see any reprieve. Yet when someone else is going through one of those times it is so easy to see the end for them. When someone else is trying to go through a hard time or is pushing through a hard time it is simple for us to say, “It will all be worth it” or, “You will get through this.”

The reason why it can be easy for us to say those things is we are seeing the end for our friends. Outside of that pain, suffering and sadness we are able to see clearly that it will all be alright or what they are going through will at least be worth it. Sadness, pain and suffering can distort our view and cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture and our hope.

To be completely honest… you will suffer in this life. If you live as a Christian you will probably suffer more. There will be plenty of mourning and sadness.  Sorry guys.

The thing I cling to and the thing that allows people to get through extraordinarily challenging things and accomplish great things is they cling to hope and draw near to God. I will say it again. They cling to HOPE and draw near to GOD.

I believe that God will comfort us in the here and now when we pray for it. Sometimes, however, I can pray and still feel empty and sad. So, what do we do then? How do you continue on?

2 Corinthians 4.17-18 says “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

We aren’t living for this world. We are living for a world that we cannot see yet. We suffer through things that we don’t fully understand. The implication of what we are living for is a kingdom that hasn’t yet come. There is no suffering in vain as long as you are walking with God through it. The reason our mourning and sadness makes us blessed is because it isn’t for nothing.  I know one day God will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no mourning and sadness and we will get to see God in all his glory face to face (Rev. 21.4).

I find my comfort in those things when this world has left me mourning. Don’t let the pain and suffering you are going through distract you from the great comfort you have hope in.

It will all be worth it.

Dan Wall