Remember this as you follow Jesus in faith: it’s not what happens to us that is of greatest importance, but rather the result of what happens to us. Things often won’t go as we plan, things often won’t work out like we hope, and things often won’t be as simple or easy or comfy as we would like. But in the hands and plans of God, our struggles are not setbacks. They are stepping stones to the good result He has in mind. So… Don’t stop believing. Don’t stop proceeding. Something good is coming even if you don’t yet see it. Take heart! Things would look much better if we could see them not as they are, but as they will be.
Changes
One of the ways that God changes us to become like Jesus is through hardships. We struggle to find answers on our own, we worry and doubt and fear often, we fall short over and over again, and we feel like many tasks in front of us are impossible. But, in time we learn to turn to and trust in the wisdom, strength, and grace of God as He transforms us into people of faith through our struggles. Learn this: sometimes God will change the situation; sometimes God will use the situation to change us.
Blessed Are The Merciful
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” – Matthew 5:6
When we are moved by the mercy of God shown to us in Christ, we will move to show it to others. The merciful extend forgiveness for sin and kindness in suffering to the people around them because they have experienced it themselves. They have soft hearts, not hard ones. They have reaching hands, not folded ones. They have loving mouths, not condemning ones. This is only possible when the God of mercy takes our natural inclination to be intolerant or indifferent and supernaturally infuses us with His delight to do good to those who don’t deserve it. Today, let us ask Him to help us deal with others the way He deals with us.
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righte …
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” – Matthew 5:6
Humans are on a never-ending search to find real satisfaction in this world. But the satisfaction we are looking for and longing for cannot be found in this world for it comes only from God. Apart from Him we will continue snacking on and sipping from what we think will bring contentment, and we will never be filled. We will always find ourselves wanting something more or something else. But if we hunger and thirst to find our way to God and follow the ways of God, we will be satisfied. When we search for contentment in Him, He can be found. When we find Him, our search for contentment can be over.
Blessed Are The Meek
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” – Matthew 5:5
Meekness comes from possessing God’s power and using it for God’s purpose as we trust in God’s providence. We are not weak; we are strong. We are not prideful; we are humble. We are not frantic; we are patient. How is this possible? Because of our faith in Jesus, we have the help of God to do all things that He wills as good, and hope in God to work all things out for good. The more we trust in and submit to His will, the less we will feel the need and desire to force our own as we deal rightly with the people and problems in our lives. After all, we have God’s assurance for what is waiting ahead for us.
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
“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
“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…
“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…
“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…
“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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
