relationships (Matthew 5:4) Finding Comfort

(Matthew 5:4)

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

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

"Mourning" here can refer to both bereavement as well as remorse.  

Remember, the verse right before this spoke about being "poor in spirit", which is humility.  Going hand in hand, when we humble ourselves and admit that we are sinners in need of saving, and we go to Jesus to seek His forgiveness, there will be remorse.  If remorse isn't followed by repentance, a person will be left to wallow in their own spiritual torment.  A person will either sink down into hopeless despair, or they will find a way to harden their hearts to avoid feeling their convictions.  

But, when a person goes to the Lord to repent, when the Lord forgives and enters that person's life, to have a personal relationship with them, there is immense comfort and inexplainable joy!!!  All sins are forgiven, and God chooses to not remember them ever again.  Being set free from the slavery to sin, we are born again into God's family, with a very fresh new start.  And because of God's grace, we cannot lose our salvation.

After this point, we can go on in life with confidence, as we follow the Lord closely, abiding in His will, and His guidance and purpose for our lives.  And while we do not have to fear or worry about anyone or anything, we will struggle, and we will be faced of moments of mourning, like when loved ones pass away.  When those loved ones are believers, we can be extremely comforted by the fact that they have entered a wonderful, heavenly sleep in Christ.  This is only a temporary loss for us, and we can know that we will see them again in heaven, for all eternity.

When and if a loved one is not a believer, and they pass away, we have to understand that the Lord is more than fair and just.  While God wants everyone to come to know Him, He will not force anyone to love Him back.  But He will definitely give them every opportunity needed in order to make their decision.  As well, God is omniscient, therefore He knows exactly who is going to choose to become a believer or not.  As well, we never know what was in the heart and mind of our loved one right before passing away.  They may have become believers right then.

No matter what, we must seek comfort in the Lord, and trust Him, and continue living in His will, not just for our sake but for the sake of others.  All too often, people will lose someone, and remain stuck in mourning.  When a person does that, they forget or they are not able to live and be there for those who are still alive.  This person really needs to confess their lack of faith in the Lord, because their god has become the person they have just lost.  And Satan would just love the fact that they have taken their eyes off of the Lord, to remain focused on death and despair!  Therefore, in these kinds of trying circumstances, let us remember to seek out the Lord's comfort, strength, peace and joy, all to His glory, and He will give us peace and comfort, because He loves and cares for us more than we could ever imagine!

relationships (Matthew 5:3) True Humility

(Matthew 5:3)

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

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Jesus is not talking about being physically poor.  Notice specifically that He said, "poor in spirit".  To be spiritually poor, is another way to say "humble", which is the opposite of arrogance, pride and selfishness.  The only way to become a Christian (a believer), is to humble our hearts and go to Jesus.  And in that moment of being born again, we become children of God, and with that, we are heirs to the kingdom of heaven, along with all our brothers and sisters in Christ.  

Not only do we gain a perfect heavenly Father, we gain an entire, enormous family!  I was going to point this out in yesterday's blog.  It is interesting that the first four men that Jesus chose to be His disciples were two sets of brothers.  Both groups dropped everything, and left their fishing businesses, to follow Jesus.  God knows that we need family, and their support!  After all, He created us!  And He created us as social beings.  So, this would not have been coincidental, since the Lord God is all-knowing, and remains true to His purpose.

The reason why the Lord created mankind in the first place, was exactly why many couples have children!  God wanted children to love, with the desire that they would all choose to love Him back.  But because Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, this brought physical and spiritual death, and a separation between us and God.  Because God is holy, He cannot have a relationship with sin.  It's not shocking that the first act of disobedience in eating from the forbidden fruit, was a result of thinking they could take the place of God, which was an act of arrogance, pride and selfishness.  

Crazy!  Right!?  In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve already had everything, including an amazing personal relationship with God.  But, thinking that by eating the fruit they would gain some sort of wisdom, power and position - they lost everything.  I mean, at the best of times, in our own efforts and thinking, we can make a really big mess of things.  And while we have our earthly families, they are all dysfunction to some degree.  So, it is only when we choose to - humbly - do things God's way, putting Him first in our lives, having a personal relationship with Him, that He will help us through life, and help us in our relationships with others.  

Remember, the Lord is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, and He created, owns and reigns over the kingdom!  Yet, He wants us to share in this!  And this is why He tells us exactly how it works.  It is no coincidence that Jesus started His sermon on the mount with this statement of truth.  The Lord wants us to inherit the kingdom of heaven!  How?  By having a close relationship with Him!!!

relationships (Matthew 5:1-2) Filling the Void

(Matthew 5:1-2)

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

People had been flocking to see Jesus to be healed, and so many people were following after Him, still curious, still seeking for more hope than just feeling well, health-wise.  Since God created us with a soul that can only be filled and satisfied by the Lord God, Himself, when a person hasn't received Him into their lives, they will feel a void.  They will sense that something is missing, and they will try to fill that void with something... anything... unless they come face to face with truth, and recognize and realize that this is not just something to dabble in, but something - SOMEONE - they absolutely NEED, in every possible way!!!

Like getting a taste of something so amazingly good, and you just want to eat more, and cannot get enough.  Or like meeting a person who is so loving and caring, that you can't wait to see them again.  Like a person who is "spouse-material", and you can't imagine your life without them!  That - times infinity - is what it is like to meet Jesus Christ.  

And in His love and compassion, at this very point, Jesus didn't suggest that they eat first, or do a bit more healing, or ask them what it was that they wanted, He was going to give them what they needed... the way to His salvation!  The way - the only way - to have a personal relationship with Him, in order to fill and satisfy that void. 

And just like the disciples were starting to develop a closer relationship with Jesus, and chose to stand right next to Him, to lap up every word He said, we can draw nearer to Jesus, daily, with His teachings that are found in this book.  And at our time of salvation, receiving His Holy Spirit within us, we can sense His presence always, and strive to depend on Him, and look to Him for our healing, comfort, love, joy, guidance and strength... In this we will experience Him and His blessings!!!

relationships (Matthew 4:18-25) Our Need To Be Healed

(Matthew 4:18-25)

18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

23 Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

24 And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them. 25 Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

We see here two different types of people following Jesus.  The second group was made up of those who were suffering in some way.  When they heard the news that there was someone healing everything and anything, they flocked to Jesus.  It was their physical suffering that brought them to Him, and perhaps curiosity that kept them seeking after Him.  Some would have genuinely loved Him.  We don't know their hearts or their intentions.  I'm sure some of the people were only interested in receiving other possible physical blessings.  But there would have been some who were hopeful that this was Israel's long anticipated Messiah.  

According to the prophet Daniel (chapter 9), the timeline was correct.  But what most Jews expected of Jesus was incorrect.  It even states in Daniel's prophecy that there would be a cut off point, so if they were truly wanting to understand God, His plans and purpose, they would have understood that Jesus was first going to bring spiritual deliverance and peace for the entire world, through His work on the cross.  Their rejection of Him was the cut off point!  He will come again at the end of the Jewish Age (their remaining seven years, which is the Tribulation).  This is when Jesus will bring physical deliverance, peace and blessings to the entire world, as well as spiritual deliverance, peace and blessings!

Now let's look at the first group of people in these verses.  Jesus called these four men to follow Him, and without hesitation, they dropped everything, and left behind all that they had!  When one's spiritual eyes and ears are opened, we will recognize the Lord God!  And to understand who it is that is calling us to a greater purpose, we should be humbly honored to serve.  Jesus wasn't and isn't just the rightful earthly king of Israel, He is the King of kings.  Jesus is God!!!  Part of the Trinity!!!  And He wants us to join Him, in a personal relationship, to do His work.

This is probably difficult to understand, since we can be so self-absorbed.  It isn't about having God join us in our personal desires and pursuits, which are feeble and shortsighted.  Even when we have good intentions, it is still so arrogant of us to think that God should just get on board with our ideas and help us out with that.  This would be like if Peter, Andrew, James and John would have said to Jesus, "Well, why don't You follow us, instead!  You can then help us build up a grand fishing empire, so we can all all get rich, and maybe we can help out a few people along the way."

Even when we do make the decision to follow the Lord and join Him in His will, plans and purpose, we will still often think that we know better and want God to bless us in our efforts and endeavors.  Let's put it another way, and imagine that we are living in a country with a perfect king, who knows everything, is extremely powerful, so that the land has perfect peace, and all of the people are happy and thriving!  And when he sees us "nobodies" at our regular jobs, and asks us to work with him, are we going to dare tell him that we can improve on his perfection?!

Don't fix what ain't broke!  Except the key issue here is that we are all very broken, and it is only in the Lord Jesus Christ that we can be fixed!  And once we have gone to Him for spiritual healing and accept Him as our Lord, Savior and King, He wants us to join Him in His endeavors.  He is all-knowing and all-powerful, and He is love, so therefore, His way is always best, for us, and everyone else!

Not only do we have the great honor to have a personal relationship with Him, and the honor to serve Him, He wants to continually change us from the inside out, working for us, in us, and through us, to equip us, with His righteousness, love, strength and wisdom, in order to help accomplish the great things that He has purposed!  Are we willing to drop everything and follow Him and His will!?

relationships (Matthew 4:12-17) Love That Sees

(Matthew 4:12-17)

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
     By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, 

     Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
     And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
     Upon them a Light dawned.”

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Darkness vs Light.  Sin vs God's holiness.  We are all born into sin and darkness, separated from the Lord.  With spiritual darkness, we are blind to realizing and truly experiencing God and His goodness.  In that, we are also blind to truly seeing and caring about others.  Because, when one is blind, all one can experience is themselves.  In darkness, and in thinking that our survival is all up to us to figure out, one cannot help but experience hopelessness, fear, hatred and worry.  Therefore, in sin, people will really only care about themselves.  

The relationships that people do form will be all about what others can do for them, because sin is all about being self-centered, selfish and prideful.  All a person can think about is what they can do in their own efforts, or how they can use others, to survive, and just maybe gain some advantage to excel in something, or succeed and gain an upper hand, or at the very least prove their value to others so that there is an exchange of favors that takes place.  Defensively, there will be those who say, "No-no-no, I do care about others, and do good..." but unbelievers will always have ulterior motives behind this.

All good deeds that we do in our own efforts are worthless, and saving ourselves or working our way up to heaven is impossible.  God knows this, and because God is love, and God is light, just as the Lord prophesied, He came in flesh to walk among us, to be our Light!  But we cannot be part of that Light and share His unconditional, sacrificial love, unless we realize we are in darkness, and understand that we must LEAVE the darkness.  The only way to be in the Light is to repent of our sins, and desire to be in the Light - to be reconciled to God.  To be part of God's kingdom!

It is when we have repented of our sins, the Lord forgives us, and we are reconciled to God, so that we can have a personal relationship with Him.  For now and all eternity, we can fellowship with the Lord!!!  And because we are in Him, His love and His light, He guides us into sweet fellowship with other believers!!!  Because all believers have received His indwelling Holy Spirit, as we all allow God to work in us and through us, we will experience true unity, love and caring, which is selfless, sacrificial and unconditional.  Because we are in the Light, we are able to see others the way God sees them, and we will desire to love them the way God loves!

(1 John 1:3-10) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

relationships (Matthew 4:1-11) Opportunities to Draw Closer

(Matthew 4:1-11)

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written:

     ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; 

and

     ‘On their hands they will lift You up,
     So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

It is important to know that it is not a sin to be tempted, otherwise it could not be said that Jesus was sinless.  So, here is one of the reasons why Jesus went through this time in the wilderness...

(Hebrews 4:14-16) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.

There will definitely be times when we go through "wildernesses".  Sometimes we will be experiencing consequences of our own sinful choices.  And/or sometimes we will be experiencing consequences of other people's sinful choices.  And/or sometimes things will happen just because we live in a sinful, fallen world.  And/or sometimes things are happening because there is spiritual warfare.  But no matter the reason, God has allowed these things to happen in our lives, therefore, always view these as opportunities to depend on the Lord more, and grow closer to Him in our personal relationship.  As well, realize that these are awesome opportunities to see how the Lord will work things out in a mighty way, to His glory!

Whatever the challenge, in mankind's point of view, it will not be fun.  But whatever it is that we are going through, it always benefits us to first make sure that we do not have any unconfessed sin/s in our life.  Even when things are going well, this is beneficial!  While it is not a sin to be tempted, if we dwell on the temptations with any sort of lust or craving, this becomes a sin.  Or if we don't go to the Lord with our struggles, and try to deal with it on our own, we will get ourselves into trouble.  Or if we become angry at the Lord, this will pull us away from God.  And all of this - is exactly what Satan wants.  This is why it is good to confess our sins along the way.

We really don't need to know or understand all of Satan's strategies, except that he is the father of lies (John 8:44).  Because Satan's gameplan is to do whatever he can to keep us away from the Lord and His blessings, we need to do the opposite, and run to the Lord for His help.  In order to recognize lies, we need to know Truth!  Therefore, studying and knowing God's word is so very important, not just to recognize lies, but to see what God's will is, and what He wants us to do.  To live on God's word as our bread of life, is how we eat several times a day, because we need to nourish and strengthen our hearts, daily!

Prayer is also vital.  Like with any relationship, there should be two-way communication.  Always, anytime, all of the time, talk to the Lord and let Him know how we are feeling, what we are thinking, and ask Him questions, and ask for His help, strength, love, peace, joy...  Then, patiently wait on the Lord, and know that we always have the indwelling Holy Spirit with us, to strengthen us and guide us.  Don't get impatient and think that we can quickly solve something for the Lord.  Know that the Lord wants to solve our issues for us, in His timing, and in His way.

As well, we must continue going to church, Bible study, and meeting up with other mature Christians who can equip and encourage us, and pray for us.  Just observe one more time where Satan tempted Jesus.  He was alone - in the wilderness!  Even if we live in a city with millions of people, it is so very easy for us to isolate ourselves, and that is a very precarious position to put ourselves into.  But we will see in tomorrow's devotion that Jesus didn't stay in the wilderness!  Being the God of relationships, He went to where the people were, to call believers to Himself, to mentor and disciple and strengthen, in order to spread the good news, in order to draw others to Himself n a close, personal relationship!!!

relationships (Matthew 3:1-17) NOT About Do's and Don'ts

(Matthew 3:1-17)

1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

     “The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,
     ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
     Make His paths straight!’”

4 Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance; 9 and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. 10 And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” 15 But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, 17 and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

As part of the holy trinity, the Lord Jesus is our ultimate example, Who perfectly and fully obeyed the will of His heavenly Father!  While coming in flesh to be fully man, Jesus was still fully God, therefore Jesus had nothing to repent of.  In being baptized by water, John the Baptist got to be a firsthand witness to Jesus' godship, hearing the voice of God declaring that Jesus is His beloved Son.  Yet, even before this amazing experience, John recognized Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  Just so, as believers, when we know the Lord personally, we will recognize Him and know exactly who He is and what He is about!

Jesus' baptism is also a visual of what happens when we become Christians.  As soon as we repent of our sins, and accept Jesus into our lives, we are baptized and sealed with His Holy Spirit of promise.  The visual of someone going into the water is that of dying to sin, and the visual of coming up from the water is that of being set free from sin, and being reborn, to find new and eternal life.  In that very instant, we are adopted as sons and daughters, into the family of God, forever.  

We cannot lose our salvation, because we have been clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.  And in that, we are changed from the inside out.  As verse 8 explains, the proof of repentance is that true believers will produce fruit, because He that is in us will continue to work in and through us.  

It doesn't matter who our parents are, or where we were born, or what color our skin is, or even that we go to church and go through the motions... none of these things can save us.  The only thing that matters is:  that we have gone to the Lord to repent of our sins, and have accepted Him into our lives!  It is NOT about do's and don'ts.  It is ALL about having a personal relationship with the Lord God!