Pastor Mary Haley

The word “persecuted” is just not one of those words that make us stand up and dance when we hear it, is it?  I mean can you really say that you love it when you are persecuted?  And, don’t you find it odd that Jesus connects persecution with being one of his followers who are blessed?

Can you imagine telling people, “Hey, come and join in a relationship with me and you will be saved and blessed!  Oh yeah, by the Way, you need to expect persecution; so hang on.”   Here’s the great part about our connection with God through our Bridge–Jesus; life is sweet in Christ.  I would rather face persecution with Christ in my life than a smooth sail on the waters of life without Him.

In this Beatitude passage Jesus goes on to say, “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.  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.” (Matthew 5:10-12).  People will lie about you and falsely accuse you; I can testify to having suffered in this way, can you?  We must understand that following Jesus comes with a cost.  Why?  Because Jesus gave His life for us at a great cost to Himself.  Our goal must be to stay close to our Rabbi and follow.  When you feel yourself being persecuted for choosing to follow Jesus in all things–making Christ the authority in your life; rejoice!  That is just another way for you to know that your eternal home in heaven is secure.  Grab hold of the people around you who also want to follow Jesus and lock arms in great celebration; we are One in Christ for all eternity! 

Do you value peace?  The Hebrew word for peace is shalom which means wholeness–nothing missing and nothing broken.  Jesus said, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” (Matt. 5:9).  This Scripture tells me that peace does not just happen in this world; we must labor to make peace or bring a needed wholeness.

 I am certainly glad that I have accepted Jesus as my Savior so I can have eternal peace with God.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could enjoy peace with people, too?  One look at the newspaper and it becomes very clear we need an abundance of God’s peace.  For the disciple of Christ, the supernatural peace of God is available.  It’s true.  Jesus told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.   I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27).   The reason we can hold onto our peace is because Jesus gave us the Spirit; a Helper. 

 The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are to live in peace, as well as be messengers of the gospel of peace.  It certainly sounds like we are to partner with Christ to bring a kind of restorative wholeness in this world; to release God’s peace into the lives of others.  People can become very confused apart from the love of Christ. Has Christ led you to bring clarity and release the power of peace to places of confusion?   God blesses the person who seeks to bring this loving wholeness to others.  In fact, he calls them His children. 

I have missed sharing in this blog with you; it is time to get back to our Beatitude lessons.  What do you think of when you hear the words “pure in heart?” I think of clean motives; righteous actions.  Jesus said, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” (Matt. 5:8)  I, Mary, want to “see” God! I want to be able to discern his righteousness at work in me.  As well, I want to be able to identify the Spirit of Christ–the Risen Savior–in and through others.  I think that is what God meant; so I need to know how to keep my heart pure.

Transparency and cleanliness before God is something we learn with the help of the Spirit.  It is not something that comes natural to our flesh.  Like our lessons from Adam and Eve, we like to blame others and cover ourselves; our wrong actions…sin.  We want to use our distorted, biased, and self-preserving mindsets and perspectives about ourselves and call them pure. We are not “that” bad, after all, right? It is what we want to believe as truth.  Likewise, we want to use our distorted, biased, and self-preserving mindsets about the motives of others and call them impure.  Again, we want to believe our perspective is truth.  But, I don’t think that process of keeping a pure heart is quite what God had in mind.  In fact, I believe God desires for us to place our motives and perspectives before the Lord and wait for the Spirit to tell us whether or not they are pure; Truth–Jesus–speaks and bears witness with our spirit.  Once we decide that we don’t always know ourselves or others as well as God does, then we are ready for the next level.

Creation is a beautiful place to start looking for God; do you see the work of the Spirit of God in nature?  Here’s another level of seeing.  Because our God is so totally other-focused, keeping my eyes on others is a good place to start looking for God.  When I see people in selfless acts of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, and self-control with others…I am seeing the Spirit of God at work.   Voices of the heart like love, forgiveness, mercy, and joy are evidences of God in a person’s life.  Are you “seeing” the presence of the Spirit of God when you look at others? How about “seeing” the work of God in you?  Is your renewed spirit growing in the power of the Spirit into the mature image of Christ?  Or, is Jesus still a babe in the manger of your heart?  If we do not “see” the work of the Spirit helping us grow up, we may need to bow our hearts down before God so He can purify and clean them up.

Remember one thing, only God–Truth–knows the heart.  Stay transparent and clean before the Lord and get ready to watch the Spirit in action before your very eyes!  God will bless you!

“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.  And the Lord–who is the Spirit–makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”                                                                                                                            
2 Corinthians 3:16-18

The Beatitudes are very helpful for the Christ follower; they teach the character and lifestyle we should emulate.  Christ said, “God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  Mercy is a compassionate and forgiving response that a person gives even when he or she has been wronged. 

God’s ways are interesting.  If we want to receive mercy from others, we must give it away first.  Why?  Because God, in Christ Jesus, already gave mercy to each one of us for salvation.  Now, God is watching to see if we, as grace recipients, will be merciful to one another.  We have been recipients of great forgiveness and that makes us now responsible to forgive others.   Remember the Lord’s prayer?  “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12).  Those who are unwilling to forgive have simply failed to perceive the mercy of God in their own lives.

Have you ever read the parable of the Unforgiving debtor?  Get your Bible and turn to Matthew 18:21-35; read it carefully.  Judgment awaits us when we are unmerciful. Jesus expects his disciples to have a limitless readiness to forgive others.  When we show mercy, God blesses us!  Choose mercy.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded his disciples and others that a person who hungered and thirsted for righteousness would be blessed.  The New Living Translation uses the word “justice” for the word “righteousness.”  Let’s explore this verse from both meanings; keeping in mind this is just one way to look at it.  I believe Jesus was pointing to the fact that when we choose to live moral lives–right by God’s standard–we are called blessed.  In a world that calls everything right–anything goes–what does that really mean?

God is love and Jesus was sent into this world to be the Son of love.  Christ told his disciples the greatest commandment was to wholly love God and others (Matt. 22:37-40). Righteousness is the love standard.  When we lay our lives before God and say, “I want whatever You desire for my life” that is righteous love for the Most High.  With that heart motive and act of obedience, we are hungering and thirsting for righteousness–what God has planned and purposed for us.  Unfortunately, if what God desires for us doesn’t line up with what we want to do in a moment, righteousness gets slapped to the corner, doesn’t it?  When we act to protect our way in spite of how it affects others, we are not submitting to the righteousness of God; we are not blessed or satisfied. 

How about justice?  Again, when we seek to take care of ourselves and “avoid” really caring for the welfare of others, we have resisted righteousness.  How is it that we can feel good about ourselves, when others are run over by our actions?  How is it that we can amass great wealth for ourselves, lay our heads on the pillow at night and sleep in peace knowing that others are going hungry at that very moment and we have done nothing to help?  No righteousness there, either.  There is always something God’s kids can do in his or her area of influence to release justice; even little offerings from a heart that hungers to do good is seen as righteous.  God calls us to be the righteousness of Christ; because of Jesus we posses within us a gift of being and doing right.  If we commit our lives to Christ, that righteousness will compel us to worship the God of love by doing the things we can do for others.  

I guess the best way to hunger and thirst for righteousness (justice) is to simply get ourselves and our agendas off our minds and surrender to the will and purposes of a God who loves and knows us better than we know ourselves.  A pure expression of love is supernatural.  God has given us the ability to manifest this kind of love on earth; but it requires sacrifice.  If you feel the love of God tugging at your heart to hunger and thirst for righteousness, today, simply choose to express a heart full of love by blessing others who need to experience and receive a touch that is out-of-this-world.  The Spirit leads the Way.

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.” (Matt. 5:6). 

What does the word “meekness” mean to you?  We don’t hear that word often, anymore.  It is rarely modeled by people.  A meek person is gentle and humble; Jesus Christ was described as being meek.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).  In other words, blessed or happy with enviable joy are the gentle and humble people in this world.

In a world that functions primarily through selfish ambition and power-hungry actions, meekness is an odd response from the Christian.  Of course, God’s Kingdom functions much differently than the world’s system, anyway, so we really shouldn’t be surprised when God calls us to respond in a meek manner to injustice or the prideful authority of others.   If we look at Christ, meekness is the Kingdom response to worldly abusive power.  I really think this means that rather than us using our power to deliver ourselves, we are to submit to God’s power by putting our hope in Christ to save and deliver us from our enemies in this world.  The reward for this “meek” attitude is that some day we will inherit the earth and reign for eternity in Christ.  For those people who pridefully demand to have power and authority now by stepping on the lives of others; they aren’t given power in God’s future Kingdom.   Pride and meekness cannot occupy the same space.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil.  For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. Psalm 37:8-9  

Jesus is always bringing comfort and, today, is no different.  My father’s health has once again taken a turn for the worst.  Today, he stopped breathing for a few minutes and then started up, again.  It is like an emotional roller coaster.  We thought we may need to say goodbye; that may be the case.  It has been a long and difficult journey to make with Dad these past three years.  It would have been more difficult without the loving care of Hospice and our amazing spiritual family.  But, it has also been a time of great comfort as we have been given the promise of the Comforter; the Spirit of Christ. Today, I was reminded that I do not need to go forward in my own strength.  Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  Matt 5:4 

Wherever you find yourself, today, Jesus stands ready to love you in that place.  Whether we are enjoying times of great happiness (everything going well and smoothly; a place of fulfillment), or difficult times and sadness (a place that challenges and tries to shake our faith), God is with us.  That is a promise from God.  As God’s children, our Father never told us that now that we belong to Him we will never have to face injustice or sorrow.  Our promise is that God will never leave us or forsake us.  His presence is our Comforter.  Today, I intend to let the Comforter hold my heart, how about you?  Will you invite God to do the same for you?  God is for you, not against you!

I love the many lessons we can share from the Sermon on the Mount in which Christ gave the Beatitudes.  Can you picture it?  Jesus is sitting on the side of a mountain and as people began to draw near him, he started to teach them how to live in God’s favor.  “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Matthew 5:3 (NLT)

Blessed means happy and to be envied are those in God’s Kingdom; they receive God’s favor.  Jesus is referring to the physically poor in this verse, but he reminds them that their trust in God is what makes them blessed.  That certainly is a contradiction in the world’s terms, but the Kingdom does tend to turn things upside down. In the Kingdom, wealth, power, and authority are unimportant, because Jesus is the Ruler who gives generously to all.  The Bible reminds us God’s ways are not our ways.  God has created His children to be generous in all things, too.  When you and I give love even when others mistreat us, God says we are blessed.  When we choose to help others even when they use us; God says we are blessed.  When we forgo something for ourselves in order to give to those who have nothing; God says we are blessed.  Certainly, following Jesus is going to call for sacrifice when it comes to some earthly pleasures, but the results are eternal rewards in God’s favor. 

“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.  Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12

God is always ready to help; of course we have to use our faith in order to please him.  I believe it is our faith that moves the hand of God; not really our needs, although He cares greatly.   Faith believes God is real, loving, and good.  We all must choose how we will respond to God’s invitation to a life of faith.  It will stretch your natural understanding of God if you choose to exercise your faith.  God’s ways and thoughts are higher.  He delights in revealing His love in new and fresh ways.

We need to make a choice to believe that God is our Creator and that He is overseeing our lives.  He desires to bring the light of truth into our darkness when we use our faith.  Do you believe God loves you and has your highest and best in His mind?  Max Lucado tells us, “God says that the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely, your salvation.”  Certainly, when it is really, really dark; we have a great need for some light!  Seek the help of God by using your faith.  Faith works by hearing the Word of God; it is our instruction book.  The book of Light and Life when it comes to our faith. 

“Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.”  Hebrews 11:1    

The storms of life, those times when we feel alone and helpless to battle our circumstances, toss our faith around don’t they?  They can cause us to experience escalating fear.  Scriptures tell us the disciples experienced fear in the storms, too.  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.”  But straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid”  (Matthew 14:26-27).  What made fear arise in the disciples?

The disciples were pretty confident when they were with Jesus, but this time Jesus had sent them on ahead of him.  It was in the absence of Christ the disciples grew fearful.  Our storms may be a part of God’s plan for us.  God desires to strengthen our faith and he does that in stages.  Remember how Jesus was in the boat, with the disciples, sleeping during one of the storms and all they had to do was awaken him?  This time Jesus was nowhere in sight when the storm hit.  Christ removed himself for awhile to see how they handled their faith.  God had a purpose; the disciples were to cross the lake and Jesus would meet them there.  Sometimes, God allows the storms to come into our lives to see if we are going to be obedient.  God already knows the answer, but we need to reveal it to ourselves.  We never know the real strength and resolve within us until after the storm.  

Our storms may intensify without prayerful intercession.  Although the Bible tells us Jesus went to pray for the disciples, it does not mention the disciples took time to pray for their trip.  Prayer gives us direction and brings inner strength.  Always take time to pray for God’s will and the power of the Spirit to lead you each day.  Then, you will be ready for the storms when they hit.

Today’s Reading:  Matthew 14:22-33