The Sermon on the Mount Part 9

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt.5:10).”

The last two Blesseds have to do with persecution. There are two kinds, the first because of righteousness and the second because of insults, persecution and false witness because of Jesus Himself. Let's look at the first, righteousness.

We have already seen righteousness as faith. In some way we have been seen as acting for…

The Sermon on the Mount Part 8

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Mt.5:9).”

The seventh blessing is about the peace that passes understanding.

The seventh blessing is introducing others to the Lord's peace we have been given. Yes, purifying the heart increases the awareness of the peace that passes understanding. It is not peace as the world gives but the peace Jesus gives (Jn.14:27). There is definitely a difference like night and day.…

The Sermon on the Mount Part 7

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt.5:8).”

The sixth blessing has to do with the condition of our heart.…

The Sermon on the Mount Part 6

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy (Mt. 5:7).”

The fifth blessing is about mercy.

The fifth blessing depends on how we see people. Mercy begins by seeing people as images of God. You are blessed when you see people as God sees them. This is where and how mercy begins. It's critical to any move we intend to make in regard to others. Our sinful nature tends to look on the surface at appearance. It starts with gender,…

The Sermon on the Mount Part 5

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Mt.5:6).”

The fourth blessing follows with a desire to find out more about how to rely on the Holy Spirit. You hunger and thirst for the best way to be right in every next moment which takes you into the Word that is right, Holy Scripture. The reason is that being right is the deepest need a sinner has. Some say love, faith, compassion are our deepest needs but if…

The Sermon on the Mount Part 4

“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth (Mt.5:5).”

The third blessing about meekness is the relational openness with which we approach the world. It is being able to handle every situation from a spiritual point of view. Eternity is the spiritual present when you are a believer. Every situation demands a spiritual response and letting the Holy Spirit guide is being a part of the Kingdom. When we have been spiritually comforted it is…

The Sermon on the Mount Part 3

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Mt.5:4).”

The second blessing has to do with mourning.

We usually think of it as mourning for the death of a relative or friend. That's one thing. But grief is far more. It's usually for one's self which entails guilt for not having resolved issues that dominated those relationships. It is really a mourning for self, one's guilt, one's unresolved experiences, things we can't change,…

The Sermon on the Mount, Looking Forward Part 2

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt.5:3)."

The first blessing has to do with personal spiritual poverty.

Remember, the word 'blessing' has to do with the Lord God touching us in mind, heart and spirit through His Spirit. It's to get us to realize how unspiritual we are, to refocus and see ourselves as spiritual beings having a human experience. Therefore, it's how much we need to be in…

Sermon on the Mount, Looking Forward

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Those recognizable words from the program Star Trek give us a feeling for where the Sermon on the Mount is leading us. If you can see yourself as a spiritual being having a human experience then you are a spiritual being…

Identity: Alone, Naked and Afraid

It seems there is a TV show called 'Naked and Afraid' that has taken the Genesis condition of Adam and Eve trying to reduplicate a Garden of Eden situation. I've never seen it but its preview suggests a naked man and woman meet in some wilderness and try to survive. But like all secular contrived theatricalisms it misses the real issue of human imperfection, aloneness, and the spiritual reality of sin causing that condition in the first place. What…

How Saul Became Paul

Paul discovered he had an identity crisis when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was born with an identity that had God's imprimatur. He was a representative of the perfect Law, a chosen people and a coming Messiah. However, Israel had lost the 'coming Messiah' part. He was recognized historically and liturgically but emphasis on obedience to the Law and political survival had replaced their ability to look forward and recognize Him. Their focus was so…

How God Makes Us Great Again

God the Father sent His Son Jesus to make us great again. But, because of our inherited Adam-disposition to self-centeredness we have chosen apart from God how we function in the midst of others to be the source of our identity and fulfillment. However, there's a distinct difference between our temporary and spiritual functions. Our temporary functions are based on how others see us and lead us. Our spiritual function is based on how God sees us and leads…

Spiritual Identity vs. World Identity

God Wants to Make Us Great Again

We live in a 'humpty-dumpty' environment. Remember 'Humpty?' He fell, broke into pieces and all the king's subjects and horses couldn't put him together again. As we have already said, that is the picture of fallen humanity. When Adam and Eve were separated from God they sought their identity in everything but Him. They lost their greatness and, as a result, so did we. You could see it in the names given…

Spiritual Identity, The Real You

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put him together again (Mother Goose rhyme).” And, there is a country song that starts with that rhyme and adds “And when I gave to you my heart, you broke it and it fell apart. My heart went boom, that was my doom, I've got a humpty dumpty heart.”

Three immediate spiritual and logical insights come in here. First, mankind is…

Riots, Anarchy and The Real Thing

“In Jesus, God showed the world what a real human being looked like. He was 'the real thing.”

“He came to show the true identity meant for every human being to be an image and likeness of Himself. In Jesus everyone can have an identity higher, lasting and more profound than any worldly definition. This is why the world atmosphere is full of hate for anything Christian because world powers can’t control believers through fear and intimidation.…

Our True Identity

This continues a short series on our identity, who we are. The first part deals with two issues, worldly identity and spiritual identity. Worldly identity has to do with names, nouns and adjectives that give a person an individual identity where they live and work. It's source is man.

Spiritual identity has to do with who we are in the mind, heart and Spirit of God. It is not only our real identity in the world but our real identity in the spiritual realm and…

Spiritual Identity, Knowing Whose We Are

We need to return to the issue of personal spiritual identity. Our society is collapsing from within and the reason is we are losing our personal identity as Americans. But the reason we are losing it is because we are in danger of losing our personal spiritual identity which is the heart of what America was founded on. We have a political leadership that is denying our spiritual history thus our personal eternal spiritual identity by replacing…

Spiritual Maturity 2

“Spiritual maturity is completely turning over the mental, emotional, motivating and physical processing of your moment by moment life to the risen Jesus. It is allowing the mind of the Father, the heart of Jesus the Son and the energy of the Holy Spirit to elevate and bring into balance the mind, heart and spirit in us.” This was the conclusion presented based on Paul's quote from Colossians 1:27-28.

We want to hold this thought. I'm sure for Paul it arose…

Spiritual Maturity

“...Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ (Col.1:27-28).”

Maturity, that is the goal for every human being. But what and who is the standard by which maturity is measured? Some people measure maturity by age, experience, skills, confidence and stable emotionality. What is a person like 'under fire' when 'the chips are down?' The secular world has…

Pentecost 14b Being An Image of God

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well (Ps.139:13-14).”

Here is a prime example of what it means to be an image of God: “you created my inmost being (my spiritual being---mind, heart and spirit)” and “you knit me together in my mother's womb (my physical being, the container for my inmost…