Mandeville Church

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

beatitudes, bible study, jesus teaching, justification No Responses »

Sep 022010

I'm So Hungry!

Notice, Jesus did not say, “Hunger and thirst for the word of God.” He said, “Hunger and thirst for righteousness.” In Matthew 5:20, Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” In Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…”

What is this righteousness for which we should hunger and thirst? The word “righteous” is the same as the word for “just” in the New Testament. To be made righteous is to be justified. God is the only truly righteous One. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, He became both just and the justifier of mankind (Romans 3:26). He is righteous. He makes righteous.

God wants us to hunger for His righteousness. Of course, we FIND His righteousness in His word, but the two are not equivalent. You might study God’s word for years and not really want His righteousness. Many do. To want His righteousness is to want His character to live in you. The first three blessings here in Matthew 5:3-5 deal with understanding and mourning sin in our lives. Now we see the truly blessed man also reflects the character of God!

Oh, to be like Him! To think like Him! To love like Him! To live with Him!

God’s promise to that man who hungers and thirsts for righteousness: “He will be satisfied.”

What thoughts come into your head concerning this blessing?

God bless,
Nathan

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Jesus, beatitudes, humility, sin, suffering No Responses »

Aug 302010

Introspection

One who is poor in spirit understands the sin in his life. His spiritual poverty leads naturally into Jesus’ next statement:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)

Why mourn? Is there something truly blessed in being downcast, weeping all the time? Why are there so many scriptures which talk about the JOY of walking with the Lord if we should be in mourning?

This is not a constant state of sadness. This mourning is for a specific, spiritual purpose. We mourn because of sin, mostly because of our own sin and what that sin did to our Father and His Son. But I think this is also a general mourning for the sin we see all around us. As Jesus looked over Jerusalem and saw their future destruction, He lamented: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” (Matthew 23:37). Hebrews 5:7 tells us that Jesus “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” Jesus did not weep over His own sins but over the pain that sin brought into the world.

Where is the comfort? It’s in the future. Jesus looked FORWARD to His day of salvation from this earth. He “for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus was able to look past the sin and suffering to the joy of His glorification and reunion with the Father!

Of course, we are more than conquerors NOW, if we are in Christ. We overcome now (Romans 8:37) because God MAKES us overcome! We mourn and weep now in the flesh (James 4:9), but God is working in us to make us brand-new. Though our outer man is perishing, our inner man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you! (James 4:10)

May God’s blessings be upon you today,
Nathan

Jesus’ Path to Happiness

Christianity, happiness, jesus teaching, joy 1 Response »

Aug 252010

Truly Happy

I wonder how a worldly man would teach happiness. If he was purely honest, he would admit that he’s NOT happy most of the time. When he pinpoints the times he really IS happy, I’ll bet it is when he accidentally stumbles upon a Christ-like attitude. He would be most surprised if he stopped to think about it.

The world lies about happiness. It promises happiness in all the wrong places. We are allowed, in the United States, the pursuit of happiness, so that’s what we do – we are busy pursuing it. Little do they know they are pursuing the wrong thing! If they would pursue GOD and give up themselves, they would end up with the very thing they desire!

Jesus opened His most famous sermon (Matthew 5-8) with a short lesson on the path to true happiness (Matthew 5:2-10). It is not intuitive to the worldly mind. Jesus used the Greek word makarios, which most English translations render “blessed.” My Greek lexicon defines this word as “supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off:– blessed, happy.” I will use the word “happy” in place of “blessed” in the New American Standard Bible to get closer to the meaning:

Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Happy are the gentle [meek], for they shall inherit the earth.
Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Happy are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Happy are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Happy are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus, how can You pack so much into such a short sermon?! I am in awe, amazed at the brevity and the raw power of these statements. It will take me a lifetime to understand their true richness. This way is opposite the way of the world.

Cool Exercise: Take the eight beatitudes above and write them the way the world might write them. It would make an interesting contrast.

May you be Happy in the Way of Christ today,
Nathan

Jesus in the Old Testament

Jesus, Law of Moses, bible reading, bible study, prophecy, scripture 2 Responses »

Jul 292010

“The Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ.” – Galatians 3:24

Searching the Scriptures

The Old Testament is full of references to Jesus. Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me“ (John 5:39); and then “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47). As Jesus was about to leave this earth, He spoke with His disciples:

Luke 24:44-47
44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Don’t you know those writings are still available to us today? We, too, can read everything that was written about our Lord in the Old Testament. In fact, we SHOULD spend time studying to understand those prophecies.

A great study drill when you read the Old Testament is to ask yourself this question: “Where is Jesus in this text?” Take, for instance, the book of Judges. Where is Jesus in the text? In some places we see glimpses of the coming Lord’s kingdom. In some cases we see direct prophecies related to Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. In some places, the Scriptures are quite specific (i.e. Psalm 22 & Isaiah 53). In other cases, we understand pictures like the Passover Lamb and the Temple to be shadows of the reality to come.

The Old Testament is a masterpiece like no other. God wrote down His plan in great detail! He revealed Himself, His character, and His intent for men of all nations to have opportunity to believe in His Son, Jesus, and to obtain salvation. We need to spend time finding Jesus in the pages of the Old Testament. “Increase our faith, Lord!”

Comments? Questions?

God bless,
Nathan

The Story of the Bible

Jesus, bible study, grace, salvation, sin 4 Responses »

Jul 272010

Jesus is the Bible Story

What is the story of the Bible?

The shortest answer is: Jesus Christ. He is the Word (John 1:1); you cannot separate the Man and His message. The Old Testament promises His coming and the New Testament proclaims His coming.

But, if you have fifteen minutes, you can go into a little more detail. You might point out the following:

1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). He created man in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). We are His children.

2. God gave men laws to follow, but men broke His laws (Genesis 2-3). This is called “sin,” “transgression,” and “iniquity” in the Bible. It’s when we fail God’s standard and purpose for us. All of us, since Adam, have made that same choice to do life OUR way and not HIS way. We are all guilty.

3. God punished, but He also promised something good in the future (Genesis 3:14-19). Pain, disease, death, difficulty – these all became our reality when sin entered the world. Sin brings a curse. But God wants to bless even when we sin! Amazing! He called this “grace” and “mercy” and “lovingkindness.”

Responding to the Gospel

4. The Old Testament is a window to the future. God promised over and over to send a deliverer, a king, a savior, a servant who would suffer for God’s people. The light gets brighter and brighter as you read through, but at the end of the Old Testament you still wonder, “Who is this person…or are these several different people…who will deliver God’s people?” Galatians 3:24 says, “Therefore the Law [of Moses - the Old Testament] has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”

5. The New Testament reveals Christ. It shows us His person and His teaching. We find that He came, not only for the Jews, but for all nations! That’s the good news of the gospel. If we continue in Galatians 3:27-29:

27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

Surely we have just scratched the surface of the Bible Story, but this is a great start. This reveals the great themes of sin and salvation, of God’s justice and mercy. We’ll go into more detail as we progress.

Comments? How would YOU explain this? There are so many ways to do it.

God bless,
Nathan

Mirroring Christ

Uncategorized 1 Response »

Jul 142010

My Hand in Christ's

The last chapters of Acts are remarkably similar to the last chapters of Luke. Someone made the observation that Luke and Acts share the same structure as a whole. Have you ever thought about the similarities between Jesus and Paul in these events?

Paul was oppressed by the Jews. The Jews wanted to kill him, for no fault of his own except that he preached the kingdom of heaven.

The Jews accused Paul falsely to get him thrown in prison. They continued with their fabrications, attempting to have him put to death.

Paul tried in vain to change their hearts and minds right up until the end.

Just as with Christ, men were divided over his teachings. “Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe” (Acts 28:24).

Paul spoke the same language as Jesus. Paul quoted Isaiah:

“Go to this people and say,
You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
For the heart of the people has become dull,
And with their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes;
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.”
Acts 28:26-27

Jesus used that same Scripture with the Jews in Mark 4:12.

Wouldn’t it be great if I was accused of looking like Jesus, of acting like Him and speaking His language? That is my hope and my aim. I hope it is yours, too. There is no higher compliment than to be called a follower of Christ!

God bless,
Nathan

Good People in the World

Acts 1 Response »

Jul 092010

A Good Guy

Do you have good neighbors? Do you know some great people living in the world? What makes them “good”?

A week ago, one of our neighbors came over with a bag of tomatoes from their garden. They had plenty and wanted to share. That was good! Another neighbor offered to lend me his gas-powered weed eater when he saw me using my electric cord-powered appliance (which works just fine, I might add…except the cord won’t reach to the end of my yard now…). That was good.

Interestingly, we understand people in the world to be “good” if they exhibit the character of Christ somehow in their lives, intentionally or not. When they share, help, or otherwise care for us or someone else, we see that as “good.”

When someone approached Jesus and said, “Good teacher…,” Jesus responded, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:17-18) He meant there is no one who is INHERENTLY good, no one righteous or holy.

On the island of Malta there were many who we might call “good” because they showed “extraordinary kindness” and kept Paul and his companions for a number of days after their shipwreck (Acts 28:2, 7, 10). That’s good.

But even “good” men and women are not saved from their sins until they come to Jesus Christ! Our neighbors may have a partial understanding of what is right and wrong, but if they have not surrendered their lives to Jesus, they are still lost in sin. We may not feel the same urgency to teach these “good” people the gospel, but they need it just as badly as the drunk and the murderer. In fact, WE need it just as much as the worst sinner. God doesn’t measure our sins in the same way we do.

No one is good except the one God has MADE good through the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:17-21). Only then can we really say we are “good,” and that only by the grace of God!

God bless,
Nathan

I’m Such a Cow

Uncategorized 1 Response »

Jun 242010

Self Portrait

Poor Paul. He was such a loser. He thought he was following God, but really he was fighting against God. On that road to Damascus, Jesus told Paul, “It is hard for you kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). That’s an interesting picture.

Do you know what a “goad” is? It’s a long, sharp pole used for pricking the sides of a cow to make her turn the direction you need. It’s meant to encourage the cow to take a certain path. It’s like the bit in a horse’s mouth or the sheep dog nipping at the sides of the sheep.

So Paul was the cow, and he was kicking against Christ’s goad. A goad hurts, and Christ was pushing Paul towards the kingdom. He wasn’t forcing Paul but ENCOURAGING him And Paul was resisting – kicking against Christ’s guidance! Poor Paul. Didn’t he know better? I mean, come on – why would you resist Jesus?

You know what? After thinking about it, I discovered that I’M a cow, right alongside Paul. Jesus tells me to let go of myself and just follow Him. And I resist. Jesus tells me to spend myself for my wife and my family. And I resist. Jesus tells me to get rid of my anger, to be more patient, to hate evil and love good. And I kick against the goads. Why? ‘Cause I’m a cow.

It’s such a blessing to have a loving Master who will discipline and guide, even when He has to apply a little pain. “God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:7). I humbly accept His discipline. Lord, please guide me in Your ways, because they lead to life.

God bless,
Nathan

IF There is a God…

Uncategorized No Responses »

Jun 232010

Do You Believe?

If you can accept that there is a God who created everything, you SHOULD be able to accept His power. Doesn’t that make sense?

If you believe God MADE the world, don’t you think He would have the power to make changes even now? Don’t you think He could UNMAKE it if He wanted to?

The God of the oceans should be able to simply speak the words, “Peace, be still,” to calm the tempest (Mark 4:39). The God who made the human body should be able to heal the blind, lame, diseased, etc. (Matthew 11:5). The God who set the planets and stars in motion should be able to stop and start them at will (Joshua 10:13).

And the God who created both body and spirit should be able to put them back together and raise a person from the dead (John 11:43-44).

In our text today – Acts 26:8 – Paul asked, “Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?”

I feel like our world has somehow cheapened what our Lord did. Resurrections are a dime a dozen now in our literature and media. Satan has attempted to take the mystery out of death. And everyone knows the story of Jesus, right? The fact that He rose from the dead is just part of the story. Do you believe in Jesus? Sure. You believe He actually lived? Of course. You believe He died? It’s recorded history, isn’t it? Do you believe He rose from the dead? Well…yeah, it’s part of the story.

Does God Exist?

Do you know anyone who died? Do you know any who came back from the dead? I don’t. I know many who are now in the grave, but I know of none who returned. Think about it. Why do we fear death? Because it’s irreversible. It’s final. It’s a great mystery. Not many go that way in peace. Why would anyone believe that someone actually did beat death and return to life if we’ve never seen it happen?

Do you REALLY believe in a resurrected man? You’re either off your rocker, or you have found the most powerful truth this world has ever known.

Paul put it well in 1 Corinthians 15:12-14:

12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

It works both ways: If there IS a God, it’s easy to believe in a resurrection. If there is no resurrection, there is no God and we are wasting our time…and our lives…and all this living is really pointless, empty, and all we are is dust in the wind.

You must answer both of these questions YES or both NO. Do you believe in God? Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead?

God bless,
Nathan

Same Verse, Same as the First

Uncategorized No Responses »

Jun 222010

Fred's Cow

Have you ever heard that horrid camp song that goes like this:

A cow kicked Fred in the head in the barn.
The doctor said it would do him no harm.
Next verse,
Same as the first.
A little bit louder and a little bit worse!

And so the kids repeat the verse, louder and more belligerently, until their voices reach such a terrible cacophony they cannot stand it any longer. I usually got tired of the song well before most of the others.

Paul’s life seemed to be going like this. First it was Felix in Acts 24. Felix tried him, then left him to rot in prison for two years. Felix wasn’t interested in justice; he was interested in pleasing the Jews (Acts 24:27) and possibly getting a bribe from Paul (Acts 24:26). As soon as Festus replaced Felix as governor of Caesarea, the Jews again brought the same old unsubstantiated charges against Paul (Acts 25:1-3). Paul was brought to trial again, had to defend himself again, and ended up appealing to Caesar (Acts 25:11). This was similar to our appealing to the Supreme Court. Paul would have to go all the way to Rome to be tried, but he was a Roman citizen and, therefore, had the right to due process.

Before the King

And it wasn’t over yet. King Agrippa came through and also sought to hear Paul’s case (Acts 25:22). So Paul ended up giving his defense before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa before he was shipped off to Rome. Jesus had said Paul would “be a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

In every case, Paul said practically the same things. (1) He was not guilty and the Jews had no evidence against him. (2) The real reason why he was in prison was because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Paul took every opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus. It didn’t matter that his life hung in the balance. It didn’t matter that kings and governors were looking down their pompous noses at him. He preached the gospel!

We should sing the same verse. Again and again. The gospel does not change, and it is for every man and woman on God’s green earth. Take every opportunity. Carpe diem! When should I talk about the gospel? Now. Where should I talk about the gospel? Here. When should I obey the gospel? Today.

We must spread the word of Christ’s resurrection, His Lordship, His sovereignty, His majesty. With whom will I have opportunity to share it today?

God bless,
Nathan

Page 1 of 412 3 4 »

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Jesus’ Path to Happiness

Jesus in the Old Testament

The Story of the Bible

Mirroring Christ

Good People in the World

I’m Such a Cow

IF There is a God…

Same Verse, Same as the First

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