History teaches us that standing up for what is right is not always the most popular thing to do.  From ancient prophets to today’s sincere Christians, bad things happen to good people because of mean-spirited people who equate being good to being weak.  Jesus teaches us that only the spiritually strong can stand for righteousness - to be salt and light.  It is easy to just “go with the flow,” but it is difficult to live life upstream, which is how followers of Christ are called to live.  The world doesn’t like strong people; no matter who you are, all leaders will be shot down by those around you.  But if you hold true to your values and earnestly try to live the life that God called you to live, then the Bible promises us that we will receive a reward in heaven that will be greater than any prize that this world can offer.

The Sermon on the Mount can be summed up by “Christ’s Kingdom First.”  We are called to live for His glory, not ours.  We are not called to follow the crowd but instead to be the salt and light of the earth.  People are supposed to look at us and see Jesus.  What do people see when they look at you?  Does your life reflect the world or the Word?  Are you living for the Kingdom, or are you just trying to get by day by day?

God has a plan for you, but you have to give yourself over to His will.  However, this is not the easy road; you will be persecuted and torn down, but God promises to be there with you no matter how dark the world is around you.  Look at what Jesus went through!  He was brutally beaten and executed even though He committed no crime.  But He conquered death!  He rose from the dead and offers new life to us as well!  God wants to restore us spiritually, but we will have to sacrifice some of our physical comforts in order to receive this new life.  The Bible goes on to say that we should rejoice when we are persecuted!  We must let God shine in our weakness, let His strength carry us when we feel like the world is crashing down around us.  If you can stick it out and live for the Kingdom, then your inheritance will be waiting for you in heaven!

If you want to be known as a child of God, then you must live your life in a way that stands out from people of the world. We, as the “children of God,” are called to love God first and to love others second, period. The Bible teaches that our lives should be built upon those two simple commands. This cannot happen unless we have hearts of peace. The Greek word here for “peacemakers” can also be translated as “ones who love peace.” Do you love peace? Or do you love to fight and argue with those around you? Think about how you treat others – do you earnestly try to get along with others, or are you always looking for ways to cause division and tension?

Think of God like you think of your parents. Do your parents like it better when you are respectful to others? Do you respect their authority peacefully, or do you constantly rebel against them? God loves you, and He wants you to return that love. The best way to show your love for God is to obey His commands and to respect His authority. Give your anger and hate to Him; let the Almighty Lord deal with your problems. The Bible teaches us not to worry about the future but instead to trust that He has a greater purpose and a greater plan for your life. There will be time for judgment, but that time is reserved for God’s perfect judgment. We are called to be peacemakers and ambassadors of heaven – “children of God.”

Let me ask you again, do you love peace? Do you trust in God’s ultimate plan? Do you respect His authority? Do you love Him? Do you love your neighbor? Only you can answer these questions. And remember, it is never too late to make a change. God loves you, and all you have to do is love Him back and trust in Him in order to find life everlasting. Turn to Him, for His love is the source of strength for His children. It is human nature to struggle and fight with others, which is why we need God’s divine grace in order to know how to truly be peacemakers and light-bearers in our cold and dark world.

As Christians, we are called to live with an unwavering confidence in our Lord and God; however, we all know that this is much easier to say than to live.  David was a man that was constantly under attack.  Throughout his life, there was always someone out to take his life, but he never wavered in his trust of God’s protection.  All you have to do is open up the book of Psalms and you will see his heart.  Yes, David knew fear, but he also knew that he served a God who is bigger than his fear.  David may be considered one of the great heroes of the Bible, but he was really no different than you or I.  He fell prey to many of the same things that men today face, most infamously his lust for Bathsheba.  Yet throughout his well-chronicled inner turmoil, David always had a strong sense of God being his rock.  With that foundation alone was he able to go on to become one of the greatest kings in human history.

The Bible promises us that if we are earnestly seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, then we have nothing to fear.  If we build our lives on the rock-solid foundation of God’s covenant made through the blood of Jesus Christ, then there is no power that can separate us from His unending and unconditional love (Romans 8:38-39).  However, this does not mean that being Christian means easy living, quite the opposite in fact.  Being Christian means being tried and tested all the more because the world is designed to make Christians fall.  But, we are to rejoice when we are tested because that is how our faith is made pure (1 Peter 1:6-7).  Be encouraged because not one biblical hero made it through life without being tested – trial by fire is the only way we can become more like Christ.  Go forward, be disciplined, and be free.  If you struggle with fear, feel free to make this your prayer:

“Dear God, please hear my heart.  I want to be free from this fear, please allow me to see myself the way You see me, and pour out Your Spirit on my life.  Test me and try me, but never let my eyes leave heaven.  Give me the strength when I am to endure, and give me an escape when I am to flee.  Gracious Lord, protect me from evil and allow me to forgive as I have been forgiven.  I lift up my burdens, my fear, and my struggles to You and lay them at the foot of the cross.  Allow me to let go of my old self as it has been crucified with Jesus and put on my new self, which is made pure by the blood of the Lamb.  And God, wrap me in Your spiritual armor and equip me with the sword of the Spirit, Your Word.  In Jesus’ name, I declare victory and freedom from all that binds me.  Sin and death no longer have power over my life in Jesus’ name.  Amen.”

Jesus is a heart guy.  He doesn’t care who you are or what you’ve done; He cares about the motivation behind your actions.  Everyday, we all make decisions about how we are going to live our lives.  Sometimes we make good decisions, sometimes we make bad decisions, and most of those decisions cannot be taken back.  However, each new day brings new decisions, and each new decision brings new opportunities to help you get to where you want to be.  Learn from your past, but don’t live in it.

The Bible tells us that if we seek God, then He will welcome us in.  We must earnestly seek His purpose for our lives – that is how we stay pure.  If we are totally committed to living life the way God wants us to live, then we will stay pure, and we will see God.  You have to believe that there is something bigger than yourself to live for.  God has a plan, He has a purpose for you and for me.  But we all have our own dreams and desires, our own vision of “the perfect life.”  We have to be willing to give that up and trust that God has something even better in store for us.  Only by giving up our hearts can we truly see God.

God wants us to love Him.  This is why we have free will because forced love is not real love.  The relationship between Jesus and His Church is to be like the relationship between man and wife – two becoming one.  We must let God’s Spirit into our hearts, and we must give ourselves over to Him.  There is s freedom and a strength in God’s love that can be found nowhere else – and this love is openly offered as a free gift via the blood of Jesus.

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn:

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

~ Matthew 5:4 ~

When you are in a time of mourning, the last thing that you feel is blessed. But Jesus’ ministry was all about the oppressed, the marginalized, and the broken. However, the American church of today has largely lost sight of this. We have people hurting sitting right next to us in our church pews, and we do nothing to comfort them. And that doesn’t even begin to paint the picture outside our church walls. David Kinnaman points out in his book unChristian that many people outside the Church have very negative feelings toward Christians because of how we simply don’t practice what we preach. Jesus was a radical dude, and we need to live out the radical kind of love and compassion that He exemplified through His life.

The radical love of God can mend any broken heart, no matter how deep the scars. I’ve had my fair share of shadowy valleys in my short life, and every time I seem to hit rock bottom, I find myself digging into the Word and crying out to my Heavenly Father for comfort. And the truly amazing thing is that no matter how far I fall, He catches me every time. A couple verses that I have found comfort in include James 1:2-4 and John 16:33. They both talk about how the trials and tribulations of life help us to grow as people, and if you are hurting for any reason today, I invite you to open up the good ol’ Bible and just let your Father speak to you.

No matter how dark the shadows around you are, God’s unending agape love will light up your night, and His love will restore your broken heart. Just seek Him and He will answer, just as Jesus reminds us: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7)

And always remember the old Christian adage: “God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!”