Jimmy D. Brown, Author at Finish Line Faith

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Oct 24, 2021

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4

We should not glamorize sin. We should normalize sin. We should not trivialize sin. Instead, we should agonize over sin because of its offensiveness to God and the brokenness that it causes for us. Sin is always a big deal because it immediately displeases a big God and eventually leads to big problems for us. Our society doesn’t lament sin; it laughs if off. But God takes sin so seriously that He sent Jesus to be crushed on the cross to conquer it so we could be comforted in spite of it. When we see and treat sin like God intends, something wonderful happens: He turns our tears of sadness over sin into tears of gladness over grace.

Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit

Oct 23, 2021

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3

The most rewarding thing we can ever do is admit our lostness, helplessness and unworthiness to enter God’s kingdom, and depend completely on His mercy and grace. When we acknowledge our need for God and turn to Him in faith, we are given access to His kingdom and all of its benefits for us in Christ. The kingdom of heaven has a King … and it’s not you or me. It’s an infinitely wiser, stronger, kinder King who rules over the lives of His people for their good and unleashes so many blessings on them that it will take an eternity to experience them all. We get a foretaste for now and a feast forever … The poor in spirit become rich in the kingdom.

Those Who…

Oct 22, 2021

“The… Those who…” – Matthew 5:3a-11a

What you do is defined by who you are. The lives of those who are blessed to be in the kingdom of God are marked by a set of countercultural characteristics. We have been transferred out of the domain of darkness into His marvelous light, and we are being transformed into who we were made to be so we can do what we were made to do. Namely, to… Live for God, not ourselves. Live for purpose, not in vain. Live for real joy, not a substitute. Live for heaven, not this world. We will not practice this perfectly, but we will trust in the Perfect One who gives us grace until He perfects His work in us. It’s who we are. It’s what we do.

Theirs Is… They Shall…

Oct 21, 2021

“Theirs is… They shall…” – Matthew 5:3b,4b

The world often portrays being blessed as the measure of how good we are or how good we have it. We are blessed because of what we do, what we get to do and what we get from our doing. But being blessed in the Kingdom of God is more than that. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well on the outside, but that all is well on the inside. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well in the everyday matters of life, but that all is well in what matters most. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well now, but that all will be well forever. Know this: Real blessing comes in things that can never be taken from us.

Blessed Are…

Oct 20, 2021

“Blessed are…” – Matthew 5:3a

If you are trusting Jesus, you are blessed whether you feel like it or not. The Bible doesn’t say you possibly are blessed, probably are blessed or periodically are blessed; it says you ARE blessed. Period. This is a continual certainty for those who are following Jesus in faith. There is no reason to feel shame for your yesterday because you are blessed with His pardon. There is no reason to feel discontent with your today because you are blessed with His presence. There is no reason to feel afraid of your tomorrow because you are blessed with His promises. His mercy is yours. His satisfaction is yours. His kingdom is yours. All because you are His.

Happy That Others Are Happy

Oct 19, 2021

Loving others includes being happy that they are happy … unless the source of their happiness is sin. People can find happiness in all sorts of things ranging from cheating on a test to cheating on a spouse, hurting themselves through addictions to hurting others through mistreatment, and ignoring family responsibilities to ignoring God. This is not the time to be happy for them; it is the time to help them. We should support: Godly ambitions, but not selfish ones. Godly affections, but not sinful ones. Godly actions, but not senseless ones. Let us encourage, equip and empower each other to be happy, but not in a way that we will regret in the end.

An Ongoing Battle

Oct 18, 2021

An ongoing battle that every Christian faces is the one between the person you were before you met Jesus and the one you are now that you have met Him. The old temptations beckon. The old habits resurface. The old desires rekindle. The old loyalties divide. The old beliefs hinder. The old memories haunt. When you feel this tension, remember that you have a new identity, a new life and a new you because you believe in and belong to Jesus! You have been changed, are being changed and will be changed! So fight the good fight of faith against sin as you rejoice in this today: that’s not you anymore.

Encourage Other People To Follow Jesus

Oct 17, 2021

In order for God to be honored in the lives of ever more people and for ever more people to find their happiness in God, we must reproduce our faith and teach others to do the same. This is known as making disciples who make disciples. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Discipleship is the ongoing process of following Jesus. Disciple-making is the ongoing process of helping others follow Jesus. As we grow in our own faith, we also go and share our faith with others. This is our great commission. We must continually encourage other people to follow Jesus because the world is continually encouraging them not to follow Him.

Dressed For Battle

Oct 16, 2021

God does not send us ill-equipped into battle against the enemy of our soul. Instead, He dresses us in His own armor. In order for us to fight the good fight of faith, we must put on that armor of God … ahead of time, in advance of the skirmish. We put ourselves and others at extreme risk if we wait until the battle begins to ready ourselves for war against sin and evil. The enemy does not allow us to call timeout or grant us a recess to gather our ammunition and put up our shield. This is why we should arm ourselves with a daily dose of God’s instructions, truths, and promises found in God’s Word. Slow down and suit up.

Christians Aren’t Exempt From Hurt

Oct 15, 2021

Christians aren’t exempt from hurt. No matter what precautions we take to safeguard our lives or how hard we work at being godly people, something will inevitably come uninvited, unannounced, and unwanted into our lives and cause us pain. Yet… Healing will come. Comfort will come. Justice will come. Restoration will come. Deliverance will come.Joy will come. Salvation will come. Eternal life will come. This is all true because Jesus has come. Take heart in this: He has come to join us in our suffering; indeed to suffer in our place on the cross so that one day we can enter into a place where there is no suffering at all.

Guiltiness and Gladness

Oct 14, 2021

Christians should know two feelings better than anyone else in the universe: guiltiness and gladness. We must never lose sight of this: our sin is great. We must never lose hope in this: our Savior is greater. A right response to our unfolding transformation as we follow Jesus in faith is the ongoing rhythm of repenting of our sin and rejoicing in our salvation. We are guilty, yet acquitted. We are undeserving, yet rewarded. We are trapped, yet freed. May we know the humbling, exalting experience of knowing both our sinfulness and our Savior. Be glad in this: Our sin may begin our story, but the grace of God will have the final word.

The Right Response To Failure Is Faith

Oct 13, 2021

Do you know what your failure is for? It has a purpose, and that purpose is to help you succeed. Not just so you’ll try harder next time. Not just so you’ll be wiser next time. Not just so you’ll do better next time. But rather so you will rely more fully on Jesus next time. His strength. His guidance. His way. His plan. His timing. His help. Failure, futility and frustration are intended to move you away from self-reliance to Savior-reliance, and that move is always for the better. It is always the first and foundational step to real success. The right response to failure is faith, for every person who turns to and trusts in Jesus will win in the end.

What We Most Want Known

Oct 12, 2021

My personal mission statement is: “I exist to know Jesus and make Him known so that God is honored in us and we are happy in Him.” That’s what I am after in everything I do … an honored God and happy people. With that as my life’s purpose, what do I most want people to know about Jesus that will enable them to find their happiness in God so that He is honored? Grace. It is the fountainhead from which everything else that is good springs forth and overflows into our lives. Every blessing received. Every burden lifted. Every benefit gained. Every single thing that God offers us now and forever by inviting us into life with Him is secured by Jesus and offered to us freely by grace.

You Are Not Done Shining Yet

Oct 11, 2021

God will bring you through 100% of your dark days until He brings you home. He will not forget you a single moment. He will not forsake you a single time. He will not fail you a single day. Will it always be easy? No. Will it always be comfortable? No. Will it always be the way you want it? No. But it will always be under the careful, calculated and compassionate rule of a Father Who loves you and has a purpose for you. You are alive and breathing today because God made it so; God made it so because you were made to be a light in this dark world (Matthew 5:14-16), and you are not done shining yet.

Jesus Governs Our Lives For Our Good

Oct 10, 2021

Our hope is not in who sits in the Oval Office, but in Who sits on the throne in heaven. Our hope is not in who governs us on earth, but in Who reigns and rules over the entire universe. Our hope is not in what laws are passed, but in the One Who has written His law of love on our hearts. While politics, parties, programs and policies do have an impact upon our lives and our country, and we should take these things seriously, the optimism we have for everyday and eternal well-being does not rise and fall on one of us, but on Jesus, Who is God with us. This is where we pin our hope: Jesus governs our lives.

Bad, Good, Better, Best

Oct 9, 2021

For those who are trusting in Jesus… The bad that we are going through is nothing compared to the good that we’ll get to, good is going to come from the bad we are going through, and God will give us all that we need to get through the bad to the good. Our struggles are real, but they are not permanent or pointless, and we are not pitiful or powerless. The enemy wants us to live in defeat and despair as if our lives are only going to go from bad to worse. But our redemption stories move from bad to good when we met Jesus earlier, good to better as we follow Jesus now, and better to best when we see Jesus later.

Mindful And Merciful

Oct 8, 2021

We may be growing in the likeness of Jesus, but there are times we don’t look much like Jesus. It is easy to see these faults and flaws in other people while overlooking our own sinful shortcomings. Hypocritically ignoring the log in our eyes while harshly judging the speck in the eyes of those around us will only be remedied when we recognize our sin, repent of our sin, receive forgiveness for our sin, and resolve to help others be as forgiven and free as we are. We point ourselves to Jesus; we point others to Jesus. Today, let us be as mindful of our sin as we are of others, and as merciful to others as we are to ourselves.

Savior Help Is Better Than Self Help

Oct 7, 2021

People are desperately in need of the gospel, but they reject it because they would rather rely on good advice for what they need to do rather than receive good news about what Jesus will do for them. Humans love self-help strategies that promise you can fix yourself until they inevitably find that these strategies don’t actually help self. Well-meaning sayings like toughen up, lighten up, buck up and cheer up are just a set up that make us want to give up. Real, lasting inside-out transformation will only come when we ask God to begin and complete His good work in us. He’s ready, willing and able to do it if we’ll stop trying to do it ourselves.

Biblical Humility Is A Response To Grace

Oct 6, 2021

Biblical humility is a response to grace. It is an acknowledgement that God helped us over and over in the past and an awareness of our need for God to help us again and again in the future. When you are humble, you know that the good things about who you are and the good things you have done are because Jesus has freely and fully made it so. We work hard, but He empowers us. We make decisions, but He enlightens us. We take opportunities, but He equips us. We keep going, but He encourages us. Let us humble ourselves and exalt Him, for nothing good about our lives would be possible without Him.

He Will Keep You Going

Oct 5, 2021

One word that defines every genuine Christian is this: perseverance. That is, those who are heaven-bound keep going until they get there. Grace will make sure that they do! He who has called us is faithful to keep us! So… If you find that serving Jesus feels fruitless or pointless, keep serving. If you find yourself fighting back discouragement and fighting for joy, keep fighting. If you find yourself tempted to give in to the world and its ways, keep resisting. There will be many moments that you fail and fall, but don’t despair. Trust in Jesus and trust in this: He will pick you up and power you on… so you can keep going.