Matthew 5:1-12
1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him,
2 and he began to teach them. 3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Jesus doesn’t say blessed are the rich for they will be famous. He doesn’t say blessed are the popular for they know how to act like the crowd. He says the opposite. He talks about being pure and merciful, about standing up for what is right and going against the crowd.
SO WHAT?
Today you can live for yourself and conform to the crowd, or you can be transformed and live out Matthew 5:1-12. One way pleases the world and the other way pleases Jesus. Who do you want to please today? How will you please them?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Those Three Guys
My salvation and my honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
Psalm 62:7
Look at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three guys, were told to bow down before the image that the king had built. They REFUSED! They said "O king. we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the image of gold you have set up"
They knew God was a rock on which they could stand. They knew that no matter what happened their God would be with them.
SO WHAT?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. Today, let's have faith like this! We need to say that God is our rock and our refuge and that no enemy can reach us. Today walk in faith knowing that God is your protector!
Psalm 62:7
Look at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three guys, were told to bow down before the image that the king had built. They REFUSED! They said "O king. we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the image of gold you have set up"
They knew God was a rock on which they could stand. They knew that no matter what happened their God would be with them.
SO WHAT?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. Today, let's have faith like this! We need to say that God is our rock and our refuge and that no enemy can reach us. Today walk in faith knowing that God is your protector!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
SKYDIVING
Last summer I went skydiving and it was the scariest thing I've ever done in all of my life. I remember getting in the airplane and taking off and thinking to myself that I was not going to be landing with the plane. At some point thousands of feet in the air I was going to have to jump out the door and fall to the earth. SCARY!
I thought about this verse as I was in the airplane...
"So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith."
Hebrews 11:6
When I was getting ready to jump, I had to have faith in my parachute.
I had to believe that it was going to catch me and not let me die.
Jumping out of that plane and trusting my parachute took more faith than I've ever had to have before.
SO WHAT?
We need to have faith in God just like I had to have faith in my parachute. We need to trust God to catch us and protect us.
God is way more faithful than a parachute. He will NEVER fail us. Let's start living our lives with more faith than we ever have before. If I can jump out of an airplane, you can trust God to always catch you!
I thought about this verse as I was in the airplane...
"So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith."
Hebrews 11:6
When I was getting ready to jump, I had to have faith in my parachute.
I had to believe that it was going to catch me and not let me die.
Jumping out of that plane and trusting my parachute took more faith than I've ever had to have before.
SO WHAT?
We need to have faith in God just like I had to have faith in my parachute. We need to trust God to catch us and protect us.
God is way more faithful than a parachute. He will NEVER fail us. Let's start living our lives with more faith than we ever have before. If I can jump out of an airplane, you can trust God to always catch you!
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