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.

]]> http://www.rightchoicetoday.com/paradigmshift/archives/fall6/feed/ 0 http://www.rightchoicetoday.com/paradigmshift/archives/fall4/ http://www.rightchoicetoday.com/paradigmshift/archives/fall4/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:00:44 +0000 dmcxiii http://www.rightchoicetoday.com/paradigmshift/?p=118 Fall: Week Four

Blessed Are the Meek:

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

~ Matthew 5:5 ~

The English word “meek” is misleading.  It is often defined as being submissive or even spineless, but the Greek word “plaus” that is used here is a much deeper word.  “Meek” is not something that we often want to be known as, but “plaus” was an honorable adjective in ancient Greece. Some versions of the Bible translate “plaus” as “gentle,” but even that in the English fails to convey the whole meaning of this word. So as I was researching to try to get to the root of this mysterious word, I stumbled once again upon William Barclay’s The Daily Study Bible and found this interpretation: “O the bliss of the man who is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time, who has every instinct, and impulse, and passion under control because he himself is God-controlled, who has the humility to realise his own ignorance and his own weakness, for such a man is a king among men!”

The theme of humble, gentle people rising to the top of society runs throughout the narrative of the Old Testament; from Adam and Eve, to Abraham (Dt 4:38), to Moses (Num 12:3), and to David (Ps 37:11). Jesus uses this radical ideology to demonstrate that His followers were to be set apart from and not to conform to the way that the world is run. In our society, we our taught at a very young age that the only way to get through life is to cheat, fight, and do anything and everything to win; ‘the end justifies the means’ if you will. That mindset is not compatible to Christ’s kingdom. It is different, and we as members of that kingdom are required to live different.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). This verse is a rally call, it was for ancient Israel, and it certainly is for the members of Christ’s kingdom. If we are going to ‘take this world back for Christ,’ then we must humble ourselves before the Lord and let Him do His work through us. Strive to be meek, strive to be humble, strive to be different, but most importantly, strive to grow closer to Jesus Christ, for He is our Brother, our Friend, our Savior, and our King.

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“

~ Matthew 5:3 ~

Now that we quickly got to the heart of the Sermon on the Mount last week, it is time to zoom out and refocus on the beginning of Jesus’ message: the Beatitudes.  Jesus stood up and basically blessed the normal, everyday ‘good man,’ which completely flew in the face of the honor-system of ancient Israelite culture.  A man was to be high and mighty, rich and successful, well-known and respected.  Sound familiar?  But this Jesus guy just stood up and said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The meaning of the term “blessed” is often confused, but after looking at the Greek and Hebrew roots of the word, I found that it referred to having a kind of joy that is uninfluenced by outside forces.  Also, the structure of the Beatitudes mirrors the structure of Psalm 1:1 and a few other Old Testament verses that imply that this was an exclamation, not just a hopeful ideal.  William Barclay sums this up in his commentary, The Daily Study Bible with this interpretation: “O the bliss of the man who has realised his own utter helplessness, and who has put his whole trust in God, for thus alone he can render to God that perfect obedience which will make him a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.”

In order for us to truly “seek first His kingdom,” we need to humble ourselves and submit to the will of the Lord.  The Bible and church history are filled with the weak, the broken, and the lost who were called by God to do great things.  Look at Abraham, Moses, David, the Twelve Disciples, Paul, and so many more.  God does not want the self-righteous, independent, nor arrogant in His kingdom; He wants those who have truly witnessed His love and who whole-heartedly love Him back.

A look back at 2 Chronicles 7:14 shows us that the first step in turning back to God is to humble yourself and pray.  I urge you to take a look at yourself and realize that if you are trying to live independent from God, then you will never experience true joy.  Please talk to God this week, but more importantly, just listen; spend some quiet time in prayer everyday, and it will help re-center you and God will give you the strength to do all things (Philippians 4:13).

Seek First the Kingdom

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

~ Matthew 6:33 ~

This is the core statement in Jesus’ famous "Sermon on the Mount."  Everything He said there led up to this idea of living for something more than yourself.  In this section, Jesus was addressing where people put their hearts, in earthly possessions or in their faith in God.  Oswald Chambers, in his devotional My Utmost For His Highest, says that these are "the most revolutionary [words] that human ears have ever heard."  Why, because this goes against the social current of our human nature.  We are taught to always take care of number one, to live for yourself.  But Jesus was a radical dude; He taught His followers to live life upstream.  Max Lucado refers to 2 Chronicles 7:14 in his book Turn and calls us "to turn from self-promotion to God-promotion, to turn from self-reliance to God-dependence, to turn from self-direction to God-direction, and to turn from self-service to repentance."

You have to start with this in mind, without accepting that true, authentic Christianity is a calling to go against the grain and live for something much larger than yourself.  The guys from dc Talk in the book Living Under God use the illustration of contrasting the colonial settlements of Plymouth, MA and Jamestown, VA.  The Pilgrims of Plymouth were devoted to living for God, and when the going got tough, they were not deterred.  They would leave a legacy of freedom and of unity for generations to come.  On the other hand, the original settlers of Jamestown (the Virginia Company) were only concerned about making money.  However, they also believed that hard work was beneath a "gentleman," in fact many of the settlers died rather than doing simple things like chopping wood for warmth or digging wells for water.  And when the local gold mine turned out to be full of "fool’s gold" (iron pyrite), they turned their attention to tobacco.  The legacy that they left for future generations was a legacy of slavery and of lung cancer.

What legacy will you leave?  Will you keep your “mind on things above” (Col 3:2) and live for something more than yourself?  Or will you leave a legacy of slavery to sin and to money?  What do you want people to see in your life?

God promises to take care of all of your needs if you only “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”  I encourage you to look up Matthew 6:19-34 and really let it soak in.  By simply shifting your focus, you can begin to change your life for the better.