Blessed are the...

In a reenactment, Jesus preaches
the Sermon on the Mount.

Every additional Beatitude deepens the breach between the disciples and the people. The disciples’ call becomes more and more visible.

Those who mourn are those who are prepared to renounce and live without everything the world calls happiness and peace. They are those who cannot be brought into accord with the world, who cannot conform to the world. They mourn over the world, its guilt, its fate, and its happiness.

No one understands people better than Jesus’s community. No one loves people more than Jesus’ disciples.

That is why they [Jesus’s disciples] stand apart, why they mourn; it is meaningful and lovely that Luther translates the Greek word for what is blessed with “to bear suffering.”

The important part is the bearing.

The community of disciples does not shake off suffering, as if they had nothing to do with it. Instead they bear it. In doing so, they give witness to their connection with the people around them.

At the same time this indicates that they do not arbitrarily seek suffering – that they do not withdraw into willful contempt for the world. Instead, they bear what is laid upon them and what happens to them in discipleship for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Finally, disciples will not be weakened by suffering, worn down, and embittered until they are broken. Instead, they bear suffering, by the power of him who supports them. The disciples bear the suffering laid on them only by the power of him who bears all suffering on the cross.

As bearers of suffering, they stand in communion with the Crucified. They stand as strangers in the power of him who was so alien to the world that it crucified him.
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

Interesting that the translation for “blessed” comes from the Greek word that means “to bear suffering.” I had never read, or heard, that before, but it makes sense.

Just like true followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus’s disciples were apart from, but at the same time, a part of, the world. Others (the unsaved) just don’t get a true follower’s devotion to living as He would have us live, nor do they understand the commitment that entails.

A true follower of Jesus picks up his cross daily as required in Luke 9:23 (NIV), bears the suffering, and proceeds to spread the Word of Him who would save the world.

A true follower of Jesus bears the suffering of the world because….

A true follower stands “in communion with the Crucified.”

Are you a true follower of the Word?

Do you pick up your cross daily?

Do you love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul?

Are you…?

In this Lenten season of introspection, please take time to consider these life-altering questions. Take time to make your peace with God. Take time to ensure your eternal future.

Repent; confess your sins; become a follower…TODAY!

After all, who other than Jesus – and the United States military – ever died so that you could live? The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:3 (NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He died in my place, yours too, so that we could see glory with Him. He died to secure my eternal future.

Give yourself to him. What do you have to lose, except your eternal soul?

This post began with a commentary on the Beatitudes. Here, for your reading enjoyment is the entire text of Jesus's introduction to the Sermon on the Mount.

Meditate on these words of enlightment from the fifth book of Matthew (NIV) –
The Beatitudes
[Jesus] said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

May God bless you today and every day. AMEN.

Overcome failure through confession

When we fail, it can be an eye-opening experience. Failure comes in many varieties. Failed marriages. Failed dreams. Failed investments. Failing grades. Failure to communicate. Failing at sports. The list seems endless, doesn’t it?

As most of you who know me know, I am an avid football fan. In fact, I guess you could say I am now experiencing football withdrawal. Being a fan creates innumerable highs and lows. The high point was THE Ohio State University’s undisputed national championship win on Jan. 12. The low point? Yesterday’s unfathomable Seattle Seahawks loss, and to none other than Tom Brady’s Patriots, the perennial nemesis of both Charlie’s Colts and my Bengals.

But, life goes on, and the football diversion goes on the back burner until next year.

In the meantime, my focus to reach the unreached in Jesus Christ’s name continues as we expand this daily blog. Last week my husband and I discussed the future of my blog-based ministry.  His insight proved invaluable.

As a result of much prayerful consideration, Charlie has decided to join this ministry. As such, you can expect to soon see blog posts from a man’s point of view, with Charlie sharing his male perspective of life as a follower of Jesus.

Back to the topic at hand…failure seems to rear its ugly head when you least expect it. But, just like sin invades our lives from time to time, so does failure.

As the followers of this blog probably noticed, personal blog posts were missing last week. Although links to the devotional I read every day were provided to you, I know it was not the same as a daily dose of personal reflection from one sinner to another. Missing even one day of sharing His Word, is, in my opinion, a monumental failure.

When I started blogging on Jan. 1, I made a commitment to not fail, and there I was, less than one month into this ministry, experiencing a colossal failure. Woe is me.

Then I thought about failure and sin and what the Good Book says how failure and sin, at least in my mind, may be related.

Romans 3:22-24 (NIV) says ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of (failed in our pursuit of) the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [emphasis and parenthetical meaning mine]

The apostle Paul writes that we are saved by grace if we believe in Jesus. But, even though we employ our best efforts not to, we continue to sin. Remember Jesus says that if we sin in our heart…

In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ cautions against all types of heart-/mind-based sin. Matthew 5 gives the details. Read His instruction on the subject in your Bible or by clicking here.

My take is that I failed Christ in my absence from this blog for the last week. Even though I was ill, I should have at least made the effort to share His Word. I failed as a true follower. I failed. But that does not mean I cannot seek His forgiveness and begin again, does it?

My granddaddy always said, “Cheryl Ann, don’t you know confession is good for the soul?”

As always, granddaddy was right. As the disciple John put it so well in 1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

According to my study Bible, John wrote this letter to the churches in Ephesus to encourage their journey in the faith. The Bible remains a timeless vessel of unfathomable knowledge as witnessed in this passage which holds true today just as it did more than 2,000 years ago.

Amazing!

In today’s vernacular, God gives us “an out,” a way back to him. A way to process, and confess our failures/sins, a way to return to Him as a true follower.

Dennis Dehaan put it so well when he wrote, “Learning to benefit from failure is the key to continued growth in grace.”

Pray, confess your sin, ask for forgiveness, and work to do it better the next time. Grow in grace. After all, “…with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26(b) (NIV).

May God bless each and every one of you every day in every way. Amen.

 

Pray for victims of terrorist actions

Blank. That’s my canvas today.

S-o-o-o-o, I would ask that all of you say a prayer for the people around the globe who have lost loved ones to terrorist actions. Today, I think specifically of those in Paris. We all know the Lord will comfort them and I pray they all know that He is with them, even in these dark times.

One of my favorite comfort passages in Scripture is Jesus’s introduction to the Sermon on the Mount – The Beatitudes.  I find myself turning to them more and more as I grow in the faith. Perhaps you would like to take a moment immersing your heart, mind and soul in this humble exhortation?

If so, here are The Beatitudes for your spiritual enjoyment –

Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

May God bless each and every one of you every day in every way. Amen.