Truly Blessed!

 

Yesterday, while visiting Bev’s grave, I sat down on the bench I placed there. I became aware of the sound of crying coming across the cemetery. Two people visiting a relatively new grave were grieving, torn by sorrowful storms, sobbing. I could empathize!  Not wanting to invade their privacy, I kept a distance but how I wanted to comfort them. That kind of sorrow is awful. 

I like being happy!  I’m sure you do, too.  Let me back up and confess that I am, by nature, a person of introspection who tends to be melancholy. Indeed I have been accused of being able to find the clouds on the sunniest of days.  But, I do love to laugh, appreciate a good joke, and find much in life that makes me glad to be who I am.  

Most people I know believe that joy finds them, not the other way ‘round. We tend to believe that ‘luck’ and happiness go hand in hand. Jesus teaches a different thing about being happy.  In the beginning of Matthew 5 we find His words about being ‘blessed.’   The passage confounds our natural mind, reading rather like a riddle, until we take time to look more deeply at His words.  

Here's what He says about finding the blessings of God.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  (Matthew 5:3-4, NIV)

Does that seem utterly ridiculous to you? Are you tempted to read those words about as seriously as you might read that the lines from that slip inside the fortune cookie that came with your order of Chinese take-out?  His words are the wisdom of God, asking us to think differently than the natural mind does.

Jesus asks us to consider that there is a kind of joy to be discovered in God’s Presence that is greater than our circumstances of life.  Until we have felt the poverty of this present existence compared to the riches of knowing God; until we have turned off the music and let ourselves feel the ache of a life apart from God, we cannot experience the blessedness that is available from our Heavenly Father. 

Jesus knew, and wants us to know, that real joy comes from something other than physical comfort, wealth, ‘good luck,’ youth, or a feast.  True joy is God-centered.  When we live though circumstances that turn our hearts to Him, when we reach out to Him, and when we choose to let Him reign as our Lord:  we enter into the ‘blessed’ (joyful) life.  

Here is the heart of this matter, a paradox really. Those most in touch with heaven, most deeply satisfied with God, are able to live the richest kind of life, right here and now. Jesus alludes to that when He promises - "My purpose is to give life in all its fullness." (John 10:10, NLT) When we worship God rather than His creation, we are able to enjoy what He has made in a richer way.

I cannot deny that there is a kind of happiness we can know when we find love, when our felt needs are met, when creature comforts are plentiful!  Money lets us buy fun. Health is better than sickness. Sunshine is preferable to a storm. IF you are in a season when you are full, well-supplied, and satisfied- be thankful!  Solomon wrote "Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God." (Ecclesiastes 5:19, NIV)

Christian, this is true - we need not lose our joy, fall apart, slide into despair and depression when the sun disappears behind the clouds, as it surely will. We do well, as followers of Jesus, to pursue the Presence of God each day, to live for more than our appetites so that we are able to know the greater joy of the ‘blessed’ life.   

There is a kind of joy that remains constant, that steadies us in the storms, that is not circumstantial. We find that in God’s love, the result of being "God blessed!"  That faith that connects us to the love of our Father is the foundation of true contentment of which is written – “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

Think!

Where do I seek joy?
Who or what do I believe is the source of my happiness?

This exercise is not just philosophical. It is quite practical.  Since we spend so much effort, consciously and unconsciously, seeking to make ourselves happy- does it not make sense to consciously understand what we want?   If we are chasing the temporary things, it follows that lasting happiness will elude us.  We will waste many hours and great resources to gain possession of things that will surely turn out to be less than we hoped they might be, returning less reward than we hoped.

Jesus says that being willing to be ‘poor in spirit,’ to become aware of our spiritual poverty, to be willing to ‘mourn,’ to let ourselves feel broken opens a door for God, the Spirit, to introduce us to real joy! We discover what it is to live under the care of God, in the ‘kingdom of heaven.’  We find that our broken state is healed when we are ready to accept Jesus’ love and the Spirit’s life. In Him, there is True Hope.

Here is a word from the Word. I pray it for you today. "We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light." (Colossians 1:9-12, NLT)  Amen

____________

My Life Is In You

 My life is in You Lord
My strength is in You Lord
My hope is in You Lord
In You it's in You

I will praise You
With all of my life
I will praise You
With all of my strength
With all of my life
With all of my strength
All of my hope is in You

Daniel Gardner© 1986 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook)

The Amazing Grace of God

 

Paul was a young lieutenant in the US Army, leading a platoon in Vietnam in 1967, when he met Jesus during an intense battle at the Lang Vei Special Forces Camp. As men died all around him he thought death inevitable until Jesus appeared to him with a question. Without any church background, without a preacher leading the way, Paul chose faith in that moment and experienced incredible peace and transformation. 

He went to ‘Nam a man full of pride and godless. He came home a changed man, as he says, “The old Paul died in that battle!”  He remained in the military, reaching the rank of colonel. But, Paul Longgrear would tell you that his most important mission is serving Jesus Christ.  (http://manleftbehind.christusfilms.com/)

The story of another Paul is told in the book of Acts. He was a Pharisee, a man who thought he was serving God’s purposes when he persecuted the first generation of Christians, trying to stamp out the ‘Jesus’ cult. He too met Jesus.  "As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him! He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”  “Who are you, sir?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” (Acts 9:3-6, NLT)  Saul became the messenger of Jesus’ Gospel to the Roman world, known to us as Paul, the apostle, writer of about half of the New Testament.

The hymn, Amazing Grace, includes this line, “I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see.”   John Newton wrote that as part of his own story. He went to sea in 18^th century England and eventually became the captain of slave ships, a godless man. He, too, met God and was changed. Newton turned into a fervent opponent of the slave trade and committed himself to God’s service. He was ordained by the Church of England and was the parish minister at Olney, Buckinghamshire, for 20 years.

Have you been converted?

Let’s not confuse ‘church-going’ or ‘being religious’ with true conversion. There is a much good in going to church and practicing the ways of Christianity, but getting right with God is a heart issue. As Jesus explained to a leader of the Jewish people who came to inquire about Who He was and what He was doing. “In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3-8, NIV)

What wonder! What grace!  We who are forgetful of God can be changed, turned into true saints, beloved of God, and in possession of eternal life! It is His work, a gift "that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!)" (Ephesians 2:5, NLT) I ask you today, do you know the Savior?  He is received by faith. Your conversion may not be as dramatic as those mentioned above, but it is every bit as amazing, from faith from first to last.

The word from the Word are Jesus’ words of promise. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, NIV)   "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. “There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God." (John 3:17-18, NLT)

Trust Him!

__________________

Another of John Newton’s hymns

Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken

Glorious things of thee are spoken

Zion city of our God

He whose word cannot be broken

Formed thee for His own abode

On the Rock of Ages founded

What can shake thy sure repose

With salvation's walls surrounded

Thou may'st smile at all thy foes

 

See the streams of living waters

Springing from eternal love

Well supply thy sons and daughters

And all fear of want remove

Who can faint while such a river

Ever flows their thirst to assuage

Grace which like the Lord the Giver

Never fails from age to age

 

Savior since of Zion's city

I thro' grace a member am

Let the world deride or pity

I will glory in Thy name

Fading is the world's best pleasure

All its boasted pomp and show

Solid joys and lasting treasures

None but Zion's children know

 

John Newton

© Words: Public Domain

Commencement Exercises

It’s the season of moving up, promotion, and graduation. From preschool through university, the end of an era for students is marked with pomp and ceremony, as is fitting!  One young friend, who is graduating from high school wondered about the term ‘commencement exercises.’  He thought that it is a strange phrase.  It’s quite accurate. Leaving high school is a rite of passage, a beginning of adulthood. Commencement points some on to college; others into the workplace. College grads, with freshly printed degrees, are beginning new careers. The differing perspective of graduating students is most interesting. Some are anticipating the next step; others reluctantly yield to the inevitability of leaving familiar settings and friendships.

As I thought about this season of graduations by the thousands, I thought about the seasons of life that we all experience. Life never stands still, does it? We are always ‘moving on’ as time continues to carry us in it’s unrelenting current. Try as we may, we cannot make the world stand still. Christian, let’s pray for faith to see the ‘next thing’ as a divine opportunity!  The Spirit counsels us to "be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do." (Ephesians 5:15-17, NLT)  That’s not just for those with new diplomas or degrees. There are unique ways to grow in grace and serve the purposes of God for you – whether you are 8, 18, 38, or 88!

The key is VISION – having the insight to see the way ahead. Have you lowered your eyes, lost sight of the way ahead?  Pray! Really, I mean it. Pray more than a short ‘Hello, Lord. Bless me, my  kids, my friends. Amen” kind of prayer. Take time to get alone with the Lord. Wait on Him with focus. Thank Him for Who He is, how you have known His ways in the past, and ask for vision. God promised His people of ancient time that He would lead them. "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21, NIV)  That promise has no expiration date!

We must be willing to let go of yesterday - both its successes and failure – if we want to faithfully walk in the way of the Spirit. Paul writes of his journey. He was a mature believer and yet knew that there were new opportunities to grow. "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. ( completeness) But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:12-14, NLT)  He was forward-focused, not captivated by past glories nor paralyzed in regret.

One of these days each one of us will have a final graduation. (You knew I would go here, didn’t you?) But, even death, we learn from the Word, is a commencement! When we come to the end of this life, we will finally enter eternity, perfected in our knowledge, transformed into a being of unimaginable light, knowing God beyond any shadow. Ah, what a moment that will be.  Secure in the grace of God, shown us in Christ Jesus, we need not fear that day. I am not eager to go through the process of dying, but I do not fear death. I see it as a commencement exercise, the last promotion to Glory! Until then, there is living to do, people to love and serve, discoveries of God’s grace and goodness that wait for us at each bend of the road.

The word from the Word comes from a song of David, a prayer. Make it your prayer today.

"Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation." (Psalm 5:1-3, NIV)

" I, by your great mercy, will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me."

(Psalm 5:7-8, NIV)

And all God’s people said – AMEN!

___________________

Be Thou My Vision

 

Be Thou my vision

O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me

Save that Thou art

Thou my best thought

By day or by night

Waking or sleeping

Thy presence my light

 

Be Thou my Wisdom and

Thou my true Word

I ever with Thee and

Thou with me Lord

Thou my great Father

I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and

I with Thee one

 

High King of heaven

When vict'ry is won

May I reach heaven's joys

O bright heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart

Whatever befall

Still be my vision

O Ruler of all

 

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

 

Pastor Jerry Scott

Faith Discovery Church

FaithDiscovery.com