We've Moved

Hi all,

I am still blogging meditations on the word of Jesus Christ.

I have moved my blog to Another Red Letter Day (.com). I will not be posting here in the future.

Please feel free to join me there.

Thanks for stopping in.

Ben

Perspective

In Heaven

We need to understand that Our Father has a particular perspective on our life. There are as many perspectives on any given event as there are people who view them. There was a movie released in 2008 called “Vantage Point” which took an event and replayed through the eyes of a number of people who saw a particular event. [Read More]

Our FATHER

My dad, Robert Nelson

Our Father (Matt 6:9)

It is significant that Jesus does not teach us to pray in formal and flowery terms. Sometimes that get’s lost in the old translations, because to us they sound formal and flowery. It makes me a little sad sometimes when folks stand up and pray in public and use Thee’s and Thou’s and words they would never use in normal conversation. God is our Father.

I know that there are lots of bad examples of fathers around today, so for some “father” is the last place they want to go for relationship, but that is not the ideal. My own dad was a great father, though like all of us dads, he didn't think so himself. He loved God and was a great example to me of what it meant to live life as a Christian. When I look at pictures of my dad, I think, there is a guy who was always approachable. [Read More]

OUR Father...

Our Father (Matt 6:9)

We start this look at the Lord’s Prayer with one simple word

Our

It is not “My Father” but “Our Father”

The Lord Jesus is completely committed to community. [Tweet this] One of the things that so clearly demonstrates this fact is the small phrase “one another.” Below I have listed the one anothers of the New Testament. I would ask you to read through them. [Read More]

Pray This Way

“Pray, then, in this way” (Matt 6:9)

For the next couple of weeks I want to walk through the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. I plan to pick it apart into little pieces, and just see if we can find some keys to unlock our prayer lives.

To begin with this is a model prayer. While I am a firm believer in praying scripture and speaking to God using His Word, and about His Word, I do not think that Jesus was suggesting to the crowd on the mountain side that afternoon that they all go into a dark and uncomfortable place, get real serious, and recite these words by rote. Many of us can recite this prayer without flexing a single synapse (is that singular or plural – not sure.) Prayer may take many forms, but I can tell you one thing, if you are praying in a language you know, you should have your brain engaged. 

Just 2 verses earlier Jesus says “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition.” (Matt 6:7) Yet sadly many who recite this prayer on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis, have turned it into just that.

Well, I say let’s take this prayer back and let’s make it ours! [Tweet this]

My intention is to take it phrase by phrase and see if we can improve our prayer life. As you look at this prayer, what is your favorite part?

Walk through it with me, will you?

Thanks for stopping in today.

Ben

Fulfill the Law

“Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt 3:15)

Today I want to take just a couple minutes of your time, and ask you to think about something: fulfilling righteousness. Three verses come to mind here. This one, where Jesus is asking John the Baptist to baptize Him. John begins to protest saying in effect, You should be baptizing me.

Then in Matt 5:17 Jesus says “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” He goes on to say that the Law would stand forever.

The third verse I want to throw in the little concoction is from Paul in Romans 8. This is where it gets a little hairy because the first two were about Jesus fulfilling the law, and we all love that. Yep – Jesus did it all, so the law is no more problem for us. We are not under the law brother, so don’t bother me with all this righteousness and holiness stuff.

But Paul has the audacity to say “in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Rom 8:4) Does that feel a little out of context to you? Here is the whole thing from verse one:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

So there it is. The law was weak because we were weak, so God sent Jesus who kept the law (every little bit of it!) and took our punishment for breaking it. What a plan! So the meeting of the requirements part is done by Jesus, now all that is left is for us to walk in the Spirit, and not fulfill the lusts of our flesh! Wait – how did it come back to us being good again?

It's not about doing good works to be acceptable, it's about being accepted so you can do good works! [Tweet this] We fulfill the law when we live the Spirit filled life. (See Ephesians 2:8-10)

Let me try one more time.

No Spirit inside  Cannot keep the Law  [        ]

Spirit inside        Law fulfilled                 [Check]

If you are struggling with trying to act good, quit it! You must have the Spirit of God on the inside. Ask Him to come in, and live in you. It is what He is hoping for. It is what you are hoping for too! Does this sound really good to you?

Some of you have been involved with Church your whole life, and struggled with every kind of sin and impurity. You feel shame and guilt, maybe so much so that you quit church, quit religion, quit all of it. It does not have to be that way. The Spirit inside can change everything!

You know what to do – Ask Him to change you – to come into you. You don’t need my words. Use your own, but ask Him today.

Then tell me about it – or tell someone about it.

If you are still not sure what to do or say – check my post called “What Peace.” It may help.

Thanks for reading today. Please let me know if this blog helps.

Ben

Bread!

So let’s talk bread. Jesus makes it plain that the Word of God is as important as physical nourishment. But He does not say meat or food, like He does with the woman at the well (see John 4.) He chooses bread. OK, I get that it is not arbitrary and it is actually a quote from Duet 8:3. But still, why bread?

In a read through the Gospels you can’t miss bread. It is the staple of life, and as such Jesus talks about it all the time, sometimes in the natural sense and other times as a figure for a spiritual truth.

Let’s just brush past a few of these bread ideas. (to get right to the main point skip down to where you see this. --> If you have plenty of time and want to go hard core  – read on by all means.)

All 4 gospels tell the story of Jesus multiplying bread and fish (some of them tell 2 accounts of 2 different times.) Based on how you count, He multiplied 12 loves and 5 - 7 fishes and fed somewhere between 9 and 20 thousand people (just depends on how many women and children those men had along in the crowd of 5,000) and took home 19 baskets of leftovers. Among other things these accounts demonstrate that Jesus was able to take the simplest gifts from the most unexpected places (like a boy's lunch bag) and provide way more than enough for what ever the circumstance required.

Jesus talks about bread when He is explaining that the Father gives good gifts to His children just as an earthly father would not give a child a stone if he asks bread of him. This one tells me that our Father does not switch out our gifts on us. He does not hear our cries for something good, and give us something evil. [There was a branch of theology about 10 or 15 years ago that would warn you not to ask the Father for spiritual gifts for fear that the devil might slip in and give you some false gift that would lead you astray. Seems to me Jesus shuts that argument down. Ask your Father – Ask and keep on asking!]

There was the situation with the Greek woman who wanted her daughter to be set from some demonic oppression. Jesus said, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” (Mark 7:28)

This story strikes me on so many levels, but I only want to talk here about the bread. She is asking for deliverance for her daughter, and Jesus basically says, deliverance is the children’s bread, I can’t give it you a gentile dog like your daughter. [It is a ground breaking story when the woman pushes through this insult, and breaks the dispensational barrier to a period in time when God would allow gentiles full access to the benefits of salvation. You might ponder if there is anything you are writing off as being for a different dispensation (heaven perhaps) that you would like to see in your life today?! Think on that for a while.]

--> Jump to here for the short version:

The one bread story I want to think about today is where Jesus says “I am the bread of Life!” (John 6:48) His ministry is booming. They are following Him in droves. He gets 198,000 unique hits every month on His blog and has 300,000 followers and 2,000,000 FB friends.

He goes and starts talking about being the manna that God sent from heaven. Worse He comes right out and says, “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” (John 6:55-57) WOW! I want you to understand. He did not take the time to stop them from walking away. He did not explain the significance of communion, and the fact that He was talking about Matzos and grape juice.

Only the 11 got the more complete rendition where Jesus gave them physical bread and said – “This is my body broken for you.” He really was not looking for crowds, but for people who would follow Him no matter what it cost them, and no matter how crazy it seemed. He knew that those who took His name would be facing incredibly hard lives, and so he would not water it down, or make it easy.

The gospel is still like that. We should not try to talk people into the kingdom using logical arguments, because logic breaks down when persecution heats up.

I remember leading a young man to the Lord (convincing him rationally anyway.) But one day we were chatting about His Jewish mom, who he could not bring himself to tell about his decision for Christ. He never came back, as he began to consider that fact that his mom needed Jesus. That was too much for him- she was good, and did not need to change. He had been a bad boy, and so change worked in his life, but in his good mom – no way. Very sad.

[One last bit on Jesus' body, the bread of life. We have a good theological backing for the fact that we are cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus. So what is with the breaking of His body? I go back to Isaiah 53, where it says “by His stripes we are healed.” I truly believe that the bread we break when we take communion is a depiction of the stripes He bore for our physical healing. It helps me to meditate on that as I take the bread of communion.]

So I ask you now, Has Christ offended you? What rock of offence has He put in your way to test your faith?

Share with us.

Thanks for reading (either long or short version)

Ben

Flowing From the Mouth of the LORD

‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matt 4:4)

This is so full! I am not sure (well – to be perfectly honest – I am positive) I cannot do it justice in one post. Actually, I am pretty sure this will be one of the scriptures that will take up a full semester in heavens classrooms. (I am laughing now because one man's heaven is another’s punishment – and I don’t want to scare anyone off thinking heaven is nothing but a school room – LOL)

Let’s jump in with the original quote. Jesus is actually quoting Moses here. Just before Israel was to cross the Jordan and Moses was headed to the pearly gates, he says this. The funny thing is, “but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD” (and I remind you I am not a Hebrew expert, I am just looking at some reference materials) is just 3 Hebrew words, and 'word' is not one of them. Moses is referring to manna as that which springs forth, or flows out of the mouth of the LORD. Our life comes from within our Creator, and flows to us from His mouth.

Now my minds eye sees a mother bird feeding her brood. To them, she is the source of all life and nourishment. Without taking what she is offering, and eating it, they would die.

Look how wise the little birds are. Every morning (at the very least) they sit and let their mother feed them whatever she has gathered.

A few months ago I was in a conference, and heard Rick Joyner talk about “the Manna test” He said “Do we esteem Him so much that we will seek Him first thing in the morning? This will determine whether you will walk in His way – Manna is a test because it is daily and humbling” (not a direct quote, just what I got down in my notes) We need to come to the Lord with a heart that cries out (like the baby birds) “I must have something fresh from You today! I can only live by what comes from Your mouth!”

Will you sit with me in the nest today with heads thrown back and mouths wide open crying out to our Father, “Feed Me! Feed me! I must have more of You today!” [Tweet This] Let’s live like that today.

Oh – one other thing – when He does give you something, make a note of it. Let’s agree to highly esteem what proceeds from His mouth!

Thanks for reading today. More on this verse in my next post.

Ben

Don't Neglect the Infrastructure

Matthew 4:4

As I was pondering this verse, I almost breezed right past this little phrase. “It is written.” Then I began to wonder how often Jesus actually says this. Well, more than wonder, I counted – These 3 words (actually only one Greek word – grapho) are/is recorded 17 times from the mouth of Jesus, and a few more between the devil, (who throws it back a Jesus in the wilderness,) and the collective narrators.

This fascinates me. Jesus, The Word of God made flesh, spends a lot of time talking about the written record of the word. Later in the verse He is going to talk about the verbal communication of God – that which proceeds out of His mouth, but in order to create a context in which to receive the “rhema” or spoken word of God we must have the foundation, or infrastructure of the written word.

Think of a building before they put the walls up. When builders are working on new construction, they first set the foundation, then they create an infrastructure. This includes all the beams and wiring and plumbing. It is actually what holds everything in place. Then they put up the sheetrock and finally we get to paint, paper, furnishings etc.

We will talk in the next blog about the daily bread of the spoken word of God, but today I want to take a few minutes to stress the importance of daily meditation on what is written. Here are 12 things you can do every day to create a biblical infrastructure. [Tweet This]

Read the word
Think about the word
Meditate on the word
Memorize the word
Read the word
Mull over the word
Ponder the word
Read the word
Repeat the word
Sing the word
Pray the word
Read the word

The Bible tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom. I do not believe that He came out of the virgin’s womb with a complete working knowledge of what was written. He did all of the above all His life. And when He was faced with temptation by the devil himself, He went right to that infrastructure that his life was built on. The light goes on when the wires are in place and plugged in properly.

Time and time again the scripture I have been meditating has been exactly what was needed in the situation. For example I spent about 2 years where most of my study and meditation time was spent on the Song of Songs. You might think that would lead to a great imbalance, but I found that every situation I faced, God was able to pull from that well great wisdom. The same thing happened a few years back when I was working my way through the Minor Prophets for a year. It always amazes me how multi-faceted the word is, and what a genius the Holy Spirit is in His ability to apply the word to situations.

Do you have any times you can share when God used a verse you were meditating on when you least expected it?

Thanks for reading today

Ben

Good for Nothing

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” (Matt 5:13)

Stop just a minute! Did Jesus just say that if I was not impacting my world as salt, that I was GOOD FOR NOTHING? Hmmmm – I think I'd better think it out again.

Jesus was famous for “hard sayings” but this one always gets me.

Let’s review:

Salt that is flavorless is good for nothing.
You are salt.
If you are not having an impact on your world, you are good for nothing. [Tweet This]

Yikes – that did not help.

Some of you don’t know me that well, and may not realize that I trying to use humor as a device to take the edge off some of Jesus strongest words, however He was not playing around. He could not be more serious.

As I said in my previous post: Salt is not something you do, it is something you are. So here Jesus is not so much yelling at us and telling us to be salty, but giving us a way to see if we are Salt!

Since salt is not something you do, but something you are, if we are not salty, then there is no hope for us – unless…

Ok – here it is – are you ready. If you are not salt, you must become salt. Your old – non-salty (aka good for nothing but the be trampled by the wrath of God) nature must be thrown out, and you must receive a new salty nature! You must be born again! (John 3:7)

If that is you, please check my post called “What Peace?” or “Repentace,the path to comfort” where you can find out how to get a new nature.

Thanks for reading. If these posts are doing you any good, let me know, and tell a friend.

Ben

3 Ways Salt has an Impact

You are the salt of the earth. (Matt 5:13)

You are salt. The applications here are pretty clear. Salt flavors,salt preserves and salt heals. The thing that distinguishes salt from any other substance is that it is salty. (thank you Dr. Obvious!) In earlier days people used to preserve fish in cases of salt. The fishermen would pack the fish in salt, and when they were ready to use the fish they would take it out of the salt. Next they would taste the salt. If it tasted like fish they would throw it out on the road where it would pack down into the “pavement” of the day. If it tasted like salt, they would simply pack the next catch of fish in the same salt.

In Mark’s gospel Jesus says “Salt is good.” This is in great dispute these days, and many say that Jesus is not giving us nutritional information here, but as I understand it you body needs salt – good salt – not processed salt, but natural sea salt.

Taste – Christians are supposed to flavor their world. There should be a marked difference in a group when you walk in. The whole group will "taste" better. I know that sounds funny, but when Jesus hung out with sinners (which He was known to do) He was certainly not drawn down to their debauchery, but rather the entire group was lifted up. He was followed all over not just for the miracles He did, though there was that, but also because He was good company. The woman at the well went away so moved by this man, that she brought the entire city of Samaria back to hear this Jew.

Preservative – We are called to be a preservative to our town, city, school, workplace, country and world. Think of the day God and Abraham discussed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra. Abraham negotiated with God from 50 down to 10 and finally God walked the few good people out of the city before their destruction. Twice in the book of Ezekiel God says that He was looking for intercessors to come to the defense of the nation, making a hedge. Our influence in society staves off the judgment of God, and can leave more time for our friends and loved ones to get properly salted!

Healing – I think of Jeremiah’s words to the prophets and priests of his day.

“And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. (Jer 6:14)”

As salt in our nation, we cannot let those who do not know God think they are in a safe and comfortable place. Salt, when applied to a wound stings, but that sting it the salt doing its work. Jude says it this way:

 “And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” (Jude 22,23)

As I say all this, I see that I am often a tasteless Christian, leaving the conversations I am in without adding any godly flavor. It is real easy for me to get all – What should I do to be more salty – but as I write this I am realizing that salt is salt because it is salty. Victory is in the being, not in the doing. [tweet this] Let’s get salty folks. The world needs salt that has some taste, some preservative power, and some healing sting.

What does it mean to you to be salty? Do you have victories to share? Are there places you see even now where you could be more salty?

Thanks for reading today!

Ben 

My Fathers Business

“Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 NKJV)

These are the earliest recorded words of Jesus (post incarnation) and I want to look at how they lay out the pattern for His entire life. I was a little confused when I jumped in, because I was meditating on the verse as I had memorized it many years ago in the KJV much as it appears above, but then I looked it up in my “BlueLetterBible” ap in the NASB it shows up like this: “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

I am thinking – which is it? So I looked up this word that can be business or house, and found that it is a pretty vague word. It is basically a pronoun that is translated based on context as: which, who, those, this, mother of, son of, and dozens of other things. I think if I, the great Greek scholar that I am (just kidding) were to translate this today, I would probably go with “Didn’t you know I’d be doin’ My Father’s stuff?” (Clearly not an English major either – sorry Eva.)

Let me get serious for a couple minutes. This is probably one of the most significant defining points in my theology. Jesus says it over and over again. He came to do the will of the Father, and has called us to do the same.

Consider these other statements of Jesus:

“BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO THY WILL.” (Heb 10:9) 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19) 

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:30) 

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” (John 14:10) 

“For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak.” (John 12:49)

This is not exhaustive either. It is critical for us to understand that Jesus is a demonstration of the will of God. In fact in Hebrews 1:3 the writer makes the point that Jesus is the best picture we will ever see of the will of God this side of heaven. The writer says that Jesus is “the exact representation of God.” The writer also says that Jesus is a better representation of God than God earlier revelations of Him through the prophets, so don’t let something you read in the prophets trump what you see in the life of Jesus. Jesus is the plumb line by which all scripture and all interpretation of scripture must be measured. That’s right, Isaiah does not trump Jesus, nor does Paul. Moses and Elijah came to learn from Jesus, not the other way around!

I want to make 2 simple points here.

    1)    If you want to know the will of God, look at Jesus. This may sound obvious, but we often argue against this with our nearly fatalistic theology. Everything that happens to you is not necessarily the will of God for your life! If you can not find Jesus doing something, do not assume it is something God does. Jesus never put sickness on anyone, yet often we blame God for our diseases. Jesus calmed storms, yet we call them acts of God. Jesus fed multitudes, but we blame God for famines. Be careful of the accusation you make against God.
      2)    Jesus said over and over in the verses above, that He did not do these things by His own power. In other words He did not heal the sick because He was God, but because He was connected to the will of God, and walking in what He was seeing the Father do. This is why He could tell us to do the same thing. It is still the will of God to save, deliver, heal, set free, feed the multitude and raise the dead. We just need to submit to His will to the same extent Jesus did.

I desire to walk this out. Do you? I am convinced that as we meditate on His words, and press into His will we will see more and more the Fathers “stuff” show up in our lives.

Thanks for reading. Come back again soon!

Ben

Backwards Beatitudes

In Luke 6 Jesus preaches a sermon very similar to the sermon on the mount. It may be the same sermon from a different man’s point of view, or it may be that Jesus preached this content a number of times.

In any case there is something very interesting about Luke’s account. As with much of Luke’s gospel there is an edge to Jesus' words that is not always present in some of the other accounts.

When Jesus gives the Beatitudes in Luke, He first pronounces blessing, and then the turns them around. Here he says “Woe to you…”

So today, I am going to take the liberty of turning Matthew’s beatitudes around. I know this is not scripture, but it makes an impact on me when I think about these things.

Woe unto those who are the rich in spirit, for they have no part in the kingdom of heaven.

Woe unto those who do not mourn over sin, for they shall receive torment.

Woe unto those who will not submit to the will of God, for they shall inherit eternal destruction.

Woe unto those who hunger and thirst for wickedness, for they shall never be satisfied.

Woe unto those who are unmerciful, for they shall receive no mercy.

Woe unto those with impure in hearts, for they shall never see God.

Woe unto those who are troublemakers, for they shall be called sons of the devil.

Woe unto those who have persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for they will never see the kingdom of heaven.

And as Jesus himself gave this last one “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26)

I hope this impacts you as much as it impacts me. Do you think this goes too far? I don't, but let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Ben

Oh, That's what you mean by Love! (A Saturday Extra)

What does the Love of God look like?

I can trust my Father because He has my best interest in mind at all times. He loves me. What does it mean to love? Many of us know that there are a few Greek words for love, but the one used most often to describe the Father’s love for us is Agape. The best definition I know for this kind of love is this. Love does whatever is in its power to bring about the best for its object. Notice I did not say give the object of my love what they want, but what is best for them. The fuller the love, the higher the expenditure of resources involved. What I mean to say is this. If I love you a little, I will expend some of my uncommitted time or energy to see that you are benefited. I will consider what I see as the best outcome for you, and put some of my free resources to work for you. That may be time, money, talent, what ever.

If there is a deeper love (agape) commitment, there will be a higher level of involvement on my part. I will be more focused on what would be best for you, and expend more effort seeing it through.

Now let’s just say I am the One who created you (as well as everything else) and love you unconditionally, with a love that never fails - a love that is stronger than death - a love that can not be separated from Me by anything, created or uncreated - and I know you better than you know yourself, and I understand all possible outcomes of your life. My resources are limitless, and are completely at My disposal to bring about the best outcome for your life.

That is how Your Father loves you.

Thanks for reading my Saturday special

Come back soon.

Ben

Now it's Personal

“Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.” (Matt 5:11)

When I read this I think, didn’t we just talk about persecution, why is Jesus repeating Himself? Since Jesus is doing it again, I am drawn to the difference or as they say in France “vive la différence” (though they are probably thinking of something else entirely.)

So what is different? Actually there are a number of things that set this apart. Lets look at a few.

• ·      Blessed are YOU… This is so personal. Jesus has been addressing the group and talking more or less 3^rd person. Blessed is this guy and blessed is the one who is like this or does that. Now He says YOU are blessed! One thing I love about Jesus is how personal He was with those He touched. Obviously, as we have been reading, He preaches to crowds, but much of the time He deals with individuals. I think of Peter and his tax question – Jesus was like, take some money out of my ATM (Automatic Tilapia Mouth) and pay the taxes for YOU and me. I love that!!!! Or how about when He looks on the rich young man with compassion, and tells him exactly what he needs to hear in order to break the power of the enemy in his life.
• ·      …when men… This is not about your character, but actions taken against you. Every other one of these items are issues of character and your reaction to life. This, on the other hand, is about men attacking you.
• ·      …on account of Me. This is not even your fault. These things are happening to you completely because Jesus has changed your life.

Jesus does not seem to have a clue about self-help systems. Doesn’t he understand that nobody wants a system of steps that take you from a vaguely guilty conscience to life on the receiving end of insults, accusations, and if you are really good at it, maybe even stones. Or does He?

What I hear is this “I am with you in this. I know what YOU are going through, and you are not alone.” We have left off principles and promises, and now we see Christ in You – specifically – no generalities, no group think here. I hear Jesus speak directly to me – I, Jesus, your master, your friend, your husband, I will personally bless you, Benjamin, when people mock you, or bad mouth you, or lie about you, or think you’re an idiot because you are walking in these things.

Jesus is saying, the abuse you are receiving is because of the stand you are taking for me, and I am taking personal responsibility for your blessing as well. Such great assurance!

Know this, whatever the cost to follow Jesus, He is in it with you personally every step of the way. Remember He says, “As much as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me.” (For more on this check my blog on the subject.)

Have you known this personal touch of the Lord in your life? Perhaps you have heard His voice of comfort or direction at a key time in your life. Share it with us please <smile>.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Ben

Are you feeling the Hate?

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:10)

Welcome to following Jesus, now die! What a crazy way to climax this amazing set of character builders.

Just for fun, did you notice that we have had 7 Beatitudes before this? 7 is God’s perfect number, the number of completion. God rested on the 7^th day because He was done, not because He was tired.

So why do the beatitudes keep going?

Well, I think the first 7 of these steps on God’s stairway to heaven are pretty complete. (See my comments in What Peace?)

I feel like Jesus is saying “Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life! I died for you, now you get to die to yourself, every day!”

It is important to know that Jesus promises persecution to Christians. There are a number of references, but my favorite is probably “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.” (John 16:2 NASB) Did you hear that – Jesus said they would throw you out of church, and the guy who kills you will think he is doing God a favor. (kind of reminds me of a guy named Saul of Tarsus)

OK, so I have a question for you. What does it mean if you never feel any persecution? Is this a cultural thing that no longer is in effect? Is this statement just idle words? Is Jesus just prepping the few who will get in big trouble for His name’s sake, and we don’t take the heat because we live in “Christian” America?

Nope, that’s not it. If you don’t ever feel any persecution, you might want to go back over the steps. Make sure you have not jumped to the conclusion that you are a Christian, because of some outside factor. You can only become a Christian, by being changed from the inside out. Jesus said the He and His Father would come and take up residence in you. 

Today, the point I am making is that persecution is not a something unlucky Christians face, but rather it is evidence that Christ is living in you. And let me be clear, No Christ inside – No kingdom of heaven!

These words might seem a little harsh today, but don’t be offended by me being obnoxious. If it is God word that offends you, I beg you, go back to step one – humble yourselves before the hand of Almighty God! Do it today. Ask Him if you are His. Don’t wait – do it now.

Thanks for reading this my friends.

I remain, Ben

Hey – if you are curious about the Kingdom of God check out my post from a couple weeks ago on the topic called "Kingdom".

Privileges and Responsibilities

…they will be called the sons of God. (Matt 5:9)

OK – now that is a big promise! Peacemakers will be called the sons of God. Interesting since the one and only begotten Son of God is called the Prince of Peace.

This promise raises a couple of questions for me.

First, who is doing the calling? Who will call us the sons of God? And this one gets 3 answers. 

• Those outside the family will be inclined to say “these have been with Jesus,” or perhaps “you must be one of them.”
• Those inside the family will see the family resemblance, and welcome us in with open arms.
• But the best and most significant is the Father who has called us, has called us His sons!

My next question is: What does it mean to be a son of God?

Romans 8 does a great job of describing this.

We call Him “Abba” which is akin to Papa in my understanding.

We share in Christ’s inheritance. And the Word does not imply that we get a share, but rather that we share – Joint heirs! In Christ we inherit all things. Ephesians 1 tells us we already have every spiritual blessing, and again in Romans 8 we find that He who did not spare His only Son will withhold nothing from us.

It is a big deal to be a son of God! I suggest you ponder for a while what it would be like in the natural to be the prince of a wealthy nation. What are the privileges and what are the responsibilities. What would it mean to be the prince? What does it mean to be a Son of God? What are the privileges and responsibilities?

Thanks for reading

Ben

Peace-MAKER

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matt 5:9 – NASB)

The word “Peacemaker” interests me in that it only appears one time in all of the Greek New Testament. It is made up of (you guessed it) 2 root words. There are those who say it means to be a peace lover, or pacific or peaceful person, but the majority fall to the side of a more active idea. This peacemaker is not an appeaser, not one who avoids conflict. Rather one who makes peace is one who actively does what is necessary to end conflict. I really like the definition for the “maker” part of the word. Check out this excerpt from the BlueLetterBible.org:

(http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4160&t=KJV)

I love this because it is such a call to action. We cannot sit passively by and hope for peace. Peace is produced – it is made –it is the product of peacemaking activity! Let me say that one more time: Peace is the product of peacemaking activity! [Tweet This]

Again, as we covered in Friday's post, “What Peace?” we are talking about the peace that passes understanding from reconciliation with the Father. When you enter into this peace you immediately have an active roll in helping others find the way to this peace. If you are a Christian, if you call Jesus Lord, and live with the expectation of a place prepared for you beyond the grave, you are called to be a peacemaker.

Peacemaking starts with praying for those with whom we have some influence. God will make clear paths for you to step into, in order to help others find peace in their life, and more importantly peace with the Father.

Start today – Ask the Lord for the who and the how, and you will be amazed at the opportunities you see. Tell me about them! I can’t wait to hear what God has done with your submitted life!

Thanks for reading.

Ben

A bit on suffering. (a Saturday extra)

There are times when I hear folks talk about suffering they are dealing with, and talk as though it was a gift from Jesus for them to struggle with in this life. I hear people talk about diseases this way, and financial problems, bad jobs, even bad marriages. As if Jesus tricked you into marrying the wrong man to help you mature. Hmmm. Is this what Jesus was talking about when He promised us trouble in this life?

Let’s just look at a couple verses. I won’t even comment much today, I just want to put some Scripture out there and let them do the talking. (ok I might just do a little highlighting along the way so you don’t miss the point.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt 5:10-12

They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. (John 16:2)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR THY SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if insane) I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)

Boy – it did me good just to read though all that scripture – How about you?

Well – all that is to say, the suffering God promises is the stuff that will be done to us by men. God promise stands sure, He will not leave us or forsake us, but He is not trying to crush us either – that would be our enemy. God is our comfort and strength, a very present help in trouble, not a very present cause of trouble.

Tell me what you think. Comment on the post or on facebook if you get stirred up reading these scriptures.

Thanks for coming today.

I remain, Ben.

See God!

“for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8)

Now in my last post I equated this promise for the most part to us going into the presence of God. Pure hearts allowed us to come close to Him. But today I want to suggest the other side of this coin.

Here is a question for you to ponder? When Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Why? Was it to let man in, or the let God out? Surely we are told more than once in Hebrews to approach the throne of God, so clearly God intends for us to see our way clear to access His domain. But I think for centuries, men have been satisfied with a religion that told them exactly where to find God at all times, but now we have a God on the loose!

What I am getting at is that not only can the pure in heart approach the throne of God; I believe the pure in heart will see God show up in day to day life. Where we go, He is sure to follow (well, lead might be a better word). He will be in the workplace and schoolroom with us. When we pray for our family members, co-workers, classmates, employees and employers, God will show up and confirm His Word with signs following.

This is where I really get turned on. It is one thing for me to begin to look more spiritual, and walk through like a great saint. But when God starts walking through my life with me in tangible ways, that is real Christianity, the kind of Christianity that Christ died for.

Thanks for reading today.

Ben

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