Mandeville Church

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

Do We Learn the Fruit of the Spirit?

Holy Spirit, galatians, joy, love, peace 4 Responses »

Jul 162010

Pretty Fruit

I have heard it said of the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23 that it GROWS in a Christian. I have heard that it is the product of a God-centered life.

My question for you today is:

Is this “fruit” something we LEARN or is it something that HAPPENS to a Christian as he or she is led by the Spirit?

The fruit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control.

I’m interested to hear your comments

God bless,
Nathan

We Need a Few Good Men

Uncategorized 2 Responses »

Mar 032010

An Encourager

Do you consider yourself to be “good”? Would you use that word to describe yourself? Do you think GOD would call you “good”?

Barnabas was blessed by God in this special way – God called him “a good man” (Acts 11:24). Notice two quick things about this good man:

1. His main purpose in life was to encourage. His real name was Joseph, but the apostles nick-named him Barnabas, “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). Are there any sons or daughters of encouragement around? Are you one? Am I? What does an encourager do? Specifically, Barnabas rejoiced with the brethren when he saw the work of the Lord prospering, and he encouraged the brethren to remain true to the Lord with a resolute heart (Acts 11:23). The seed for his encouraging nature must have been strong faith. He believed…and he shared his faith with others – probably with a big smile on his face.

2. His encouraging attitude led many to the Lord. As a direct result of his encouragement, the church at Antioch flourished and prospered. “Considerable numbers were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). This attitude of encouragement fostered real growth! You can imagine unbelievers looking at all the joy and unity of the Antioch church and just wanting to be part of something like that. Also, the brethren at Antioch would be energized by this attitude to go out and share this faith with others.

There’s a lot of power in the right attitude and focus. There’s a lot of good one good man, or one good woman, can do in the kingdom. Are you that encourager? Then encourage with all your might! See the kingdom prosper as the attitude of faith, hope, and trust pervades the church.

We need a few good men.

God bless,
Nathan

Why Did He Stay On the Cross? (Mark 15:22-32)

Uncategorized No Responses »

Nov 252009

He Stayed on the Cross

There seem to have been so many reasons Jesus could have come down from that cross. He certainly had the power. Why did He stay on the cross?

The pain would have been a great motivator for me to quit. I’ve never been in excruciating (literally, excruciating means “out of the cross”) pain, thank God. I’ve never had a baby or had kidney stones. I have twisted my knee playing soccer. I have whacked my thumb with a hammer. But I’ve never had a piece of metal driven through my wrist to fasten me to a block of wood.

The constant mocking of my pain and position would have been a close second reason for me to come down from the cross. I might want to prove the fact that I’m the Son of God. I might want to show these people that I’m not like these two thieves on either side of me. I would wince at the challenges of those small-minded individuals:

“Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” (Mark 15:29-30)

“He saved others; He cannot save Himself.” (Mark 15:31)

“Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” (Mark 15:32)

These statements would have boiled the blood of most men. Yet, like a sheep before its shearers is silent, He did not open His mouth.

Why did He stay up there?

1. Because of the joy He knew was on the other side of the cross (Hebrews 12:2)

2. Because He loved you and me so much (1 John 3:16)

3. Because He wanted to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10)

4. Because He wanted to do the Father’s will (Matthew 26:39, 42)

What other reasons can you remember?

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Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Jesus’ Path to Happiness

Do We Learn the Fruit of the Spirit?

We Need a Few Good Men

Why Did He Stay On the Cross? (Mark 15:22-32)

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