Kingdom?

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3 & 10

I know I am getting out of order here. I was just lying in bed – it is about 10 minutes to 12 on Friday night, and I was mulling.

Now let me be clear. I have studied through and taught through the Beatitudes probably more than any other passage in the Bible. It is my favorite by far. I have notes dating back a decade from preparations for this little piece of scripture.

But tonight – closing in on the middle of the night – I am trying to get to sleep, and the phrase “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” [Read More...]

Inheriting the Earth?

God’s Upside-down Kingdom - Step 3 

“…for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt 5:5

Some Christians are of the opinion that the earth really does not matter. That God is going to destroy it and start over somewhere down the line, and so who wants to inherit something that is going to be “rolled up as a scroll,” and tossed away? What kind of promise is this?

Bad Form! That whole attitude is bad from start to finish. [Read More...]

Blessed Are the Meek

God’s Upside-down Kingdom - Step 3 

“Blessed are the meek” Matt 5:5

By now, you see a pattern emerging – Jesus is totally confused about what makes people happy. If we are going to believe Him the worse off we are, the happier we should be. If I realize that I am worthless, and that I have offended God at every turn in my miserable life – this is a sure source of happiness for me! God’s kingdom is truly upside-down, and we need to get this if we are ever going to be right side up.

“Meek” will need some explanation. Who are the meek? When (or should I say IF) you hear the word “meek” today it is most likely either an insult, or a low estimation. [Read More...]

Repentance - the path to Comfort

“Blessed are those who mourn” Matt 5:4

Mourn about what? Is this talking about people who have lost love ones? Are we talking about sad people here? No. We are talking about people who having realized their need for God and now see the sin in their life and repent. But what does it mean to repent – is it just saying I’m sorry? Does is simply mean to change your mind, as it is commonly taught today. No repentance is one of the most basic and most important parts of the Christian life. Without repentance you can never achieve true freedom from sin.

Repentance – a biblical definition from II Corinthians 7:10-11

Sorrow of the world produces death: There are a couple types of sorrow that will kill you. One is self-pity. Feeling sorry for yourself will put you into a [Read More...]

WHY

Why Blog? I love to see people walking in their gifts, and looking like Jesus. It is the kind of thing that comes little by little as we are transformed into the image of Christ. Each new step I see folks take is so exciting.

Last summer I was mulling. Some of my friends will think this is impossible. I am a high “I” (based on DISC personality profile) so people who know me know I am more of a blurt now and think later kind of guy. The fact is – I do mull! I digress – [Read More...]

Poor In Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit”   Matt 5:3

Who are these poor in spirit? They are the ones who realize that before God, they have nothing to offer. Without God they bring nothing to the table. They have no hope for any future if God does not take their part.

In Ps 51 David, (God’s favorite) in his prayer of repentance for his failing with Bathsheba, states, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” (Ps 51:17 NASB)

In James 4:6 the, James says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The poor in spirit are those who see their need for redemption. Without this sense you will never get right with God. [Read More...]

Why Red Letters?

Why do some Bibles highlight the words of Jesus in red? Isn’t it all the Word of God? Absolutely! Every Word of God – the entire Bible as we have it today is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So why make some of it red and the rest in black.

Jesus says: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (John 6:63 NASB) Jesus says of His own words – they are Spirit and they are Life. Jesus is the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14) God spoke the Word (Jesus) and created all things. There is no more powerful force in the universe that the Word of Jesus.

“If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing…” (I Timothy 6:3,4a NASB) Paul tells us that all doctrine must line up with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate plumb line. [Read More...]

Blessed

Matthew 5:3 Blessed... - Before we dig into what are commonly called the Beatitudes, I want to share with you something off the charts about the word “Blessed.” We toss this word around pretty carelessly. If someone sneezes we say “Bless you!” or if we are real spiritual we might say “Ga bless you!” But this Greek word “Blessed” is pregnant with meaning. If you read the beatitudes in the Amplified Bible you will see the word “Blessed” rendered 14 different ways in these 8 statements. 

• Happy
• Blessed
• To be envied
• Spiritually prosperous
• With life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions
• Enviably happy
• With a happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace
• Blithesome (who knows what that means in this day and age – but you get the idea.)
• Joyous 
• Fortunate
• In that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation   
• Enviably fortunate
• Possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions.  
• Enjoying enviable happiness.
• In the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions.

 Blessing holds Assignment, Ability, and Authority: Far from being a wish for good luck, a blessing has in it vision, authority and power. [Read More...]