JESUS SPEAKING

            “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5: 3-10)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             Thousands of people had followed Jesus up a mountain to hear him speak.  He began his discourse by pronouncing a blessing over the multitudes (a blessing is a prophetic proclamation regarding some future provision from God.)  The blessing was conditional.  Only those who were humble in life (“poor in Spirit”) would enter God’s kingdom; only those who showed mercy toward others could expect to one day receive mercy from God; only those who hungered for righteousness would find it in the life to come.  For many listening, they heard a message of hope; the outcasts, the infirmed, the poor, the lonely, the weak, the oppressed, the meek, and the suffering could suddenly have victory.  Those whose kindness and innocence had prevented them from achieving worldly rewards (success) were being promised a future reward from God.  At last, everyone who had been persecuted for obeying God could hope for the day when they would triumph over their oppressors.

             I worked in sales for many years.  Through careful observation of my colleagues, I could identify the characteristics of those who would succeed and those who would fail.  When we hired someone who was kind, easygoing, polite, soft-spoken, honest, and morally upstanding, I knew it would only be a matter of time before they were fired (not always.)  Those who succeeded were fast talkers; able to manipulate and influence others.  Kindness was only beneficial if it was beneficial.  The characteristics that made for a poor salesman were the very characteristics that God was looking for in a follower (note: not every successful salesman was ungodly; there were always exceptions.)  I discovered that worldly success and Godly success very rarely overlapped. 

             The hopes (blessings) of the Godly are no longer fulfilled in this life, but in the life to come.  Do you have the characteristics God desires?  Do you desperately desire right living?  Are you repentant, mild-mannered (gentle), compassionate, merciful, inwardly pure, peaceful, and humble?  If you are, then you too have a future and a hope.  You may have been rejected by the world, but God sees your heart, and when the last day comes, you will finally know the eternal blessings of God.  (If you seem to be more worldly than Godly, turn to Him, and ask Him to do a work in your heart, and you too might finally know what it truly means to be ‘blessed.’)

             “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You today and ask that You help us to be Godly in our character; that we might receive Your blessings.  We look forward to our future time with You, and ask that You give us the strength to endure the trials of this life.  Fill us with Your hope and joy, and may we always be pleasing to You.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

            “Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11: 20-24.)

INSIPRED THOUGHTS

            Mountains are large, immovable obstacles; they are symbols of durability and permanence.  A million bulldozers and ten thousand sticks of dynamite would barely put a dent in even the smallest mountain range.  No human effort (no number of people, no quantity of resources) can make a mountain move.  Although no human can accomplish this task, Jesus said that through faith in God, a mountain can be reduced to a pebble that can be tossed into the sea.  A faith in God’s power is expressed in prayer.  The faithful, when faced with something they cannot accomplish, will turn and request that God do for them what they cannot do for themselves.

            Recently I was speaking with an elderly friend of mine.  For many years he and his wife had been pestering their kids to begin having children; they were anxious to be grandparents.  As the years went by and their faith in God grew, they gave up on their efforts and began praying and asking God for grandchildren; which he soon provided in abundance.  Their many years of dissatisfaction were products of their misplaced faith.  When they took the faith they had in themselves and placed it in God, the mountain that separated them from the desires of their heart had finally been removed.

            Today, there are many things in our lives that seem to be permanent fixtures; there are many obstacles that we, through our own efforts, have been powerless to overcome.  Too often we place faith in ourselves instead of God.  We need only turn to Him through prayer and seek His power.  Bring your struggles to the Lord; let Him accomplish what you cannot, and you will experience a very real miracle in your life.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You today and we ask that You give us the faith to move mountains.  We desire to see You work and to accomplish the impossible.  We admit that apart from You, we are weak and have no hope; but with You Lord, nothing is impossible.  Fill our hearts with true faith; we thank You in advance for what You are going to do in our hearts and in our lives.  We love You, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

            And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, “Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?”

            Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of me” (Mathew 11: 2-6.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            After baptizing Jesus, John came to believe that Jesus was the messiah they had been waiting for.  He, like so many in Israel believed the Messiah would set them free from their oppressors.  Everyone was waiting for Jesus to usher in an earthly kingdom of God and put an end to Roman Rule.  John (who had been imprisoned by Herod) was growing impatient with Jesus and sent messengers to him to ask if he truly was the messiah.  Jesus simply responded by quoting an Old Testament prophecy that stated the messiah would cleanse lepers; heal the blind and the lame and the deaf; and would also raise the dead and preach to the poor.  Jesus wanted John to know he was accomplishing all of these tasks.  The Lord finally addressed John’s impatient heart, saying, “blessed are those who are not offended because of me.”  Jesus had not met John’s expectations; John had expected a conquering messiah, not a messiah that would conquer sin through crucifixion (the lord was encouraging John to accept him as he was.) Many today, like John, have an inaccurate view of Jesus Christ.  Knowing the real Jesus is essential for happiness (blessedness.)  Simple bible reading is the best way to avoid making this mistake.

             Early on in my relationship with God I made the decision that I could no longer call myself a Christian unless I actually knew who Jesus Christ was.  I knew I had to read the bible; I also knew it was going to change and challenge my beliefs.  In my heart, I had an unclear picture of God.  I chose to let go of what I thought I knew in order to learn the truth.  As I read, I began to know the one true God; instead of being disappointed, my heart has been filled with wonder and amazement.  The real God is far greater than any God I could have ever imagined.

            Do you know Jesus Christ?  Do you know his words, or are you holding on to your own expectations.  Have you invented a Jesus for yourself, or have you come to know the real Jesus?  Read his words, get familiar with his works, his message, his truth, and I promise you, you will not be disappointed; instead, you too will find something more amazing than anything you have ever known, and your life will never be the same again.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we desire to know the real Jesus.  We want to know Your Son and his message.  Implant his words within our hearts and help us to be his disciples, that we might be pleasing to You Father.  Help us to let go of our fear of the truth, and give us a hunger and thirst to know our messiah; your gift to us all.  Give us a yearning to read your word and to know the truth.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.”  God bless all of you.