Faithful on Fridays Blog

Beatitudes Part Three: Mourning

Here’s the story. A little boy dressed in a white suit ran away from his mother. He was all ready for church, however, he fell into a mud puddle. His mother caught up to him and asked, “What are you doing?” The little boy’s answer was clear: “I’m getting up.” Stay with me as we continue to explore the meaning of the Beatitudes progressing to Jesus’ second strategy for blessing: mourning.

When we think of mourning we naturally tend to think of the loss of a loved one. Although that’s true, that’s not where Jesus was going with this verse. The grief and sorrow that He’s referring to is connected to what we discussed last week. Entry level into kingdom living is maintaining our need for Him and moving naturally into this state of deep regret and repentance. Jesus wants us to have a heart-attitude that’s troubled by our daily (maybe hourly) sin. We are seen by others (remember the word makarios, free from daily worry) as we walk out our faith and are called blessed. 

Before David became king he experienced this type of mourning. Read Ps. 51 and you get a sense of the deep remorse he felt after sinning with Bathsheba. When we walk away from God’s best and go the opposite way, a 180° turn, we miss the mark; that’s the definition of sin. When that happens God desires us to feel sorrow and run to Him as the little boy who fell into the mud puddle shows us. He was getting up, so should we. We have promises in scripture that God is merciful and forgiving when we have this attitude of lament (1 John 1:9) and we will be comforted. 

Forgiveness means we don’t remain in the puddle; we get up, wash up, and keep going toward God’s best for our life. That’s the progression of kingdom living. We don’t stay in our guilt and condemn ourselves, but receive this gift with gratitude and move on. 

Ps. 16 is a Psalm of David entitled a miktam which comes from a root meaning to engrave. I think David was carving out some heart-attitudes in the six Psalms that he called miktams. Listen to this first verse:

Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You.” Psalm 16:1, 2 

This is a cry for help from a man who had turned away from God’s will and toward his own. He declared that there’s refuge, a safe place, in Him. If you’ve read my blogs very long you know how important it is to remain in Him. David seeks help and comfort from God alone in a personal way: You are my Lord. In Christ there is a safe house, a place of escape, a refuge from our sin. Stay in that safe place as you mourn over your sin and rest assured that mourning results in comfort. 

Scene Two

Let’s talk more about Mary. Can you imagine Luke, this Gentile physician, questioning her about the Son she watched be brutally executed, rise from death, and leave her? He wanted intimate details and she was now ready to share them. Chapter 2 is the most complete story of Jesus from conception to ascension and Luke was the man for the job. Undoubtedly trained in the Socratic approach to discussion he probably asked intentional, open-ended questions to stimulate Mary’s memory. He knew how to attentively listen and reflect back on their conversations, consequently stimulating more of her treasured memories. Now the passages make sense,

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 

And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. Luke 2:19, 51b 

Mama’s do that. What tender moments she must’ve experienced with Luke as the hours flew by, smiling and reflecting on that part of her life now in her distant past. 

Only Luke records the supernatural encounter with Simeon at the Temple after Jesus’ circumcision (a medical and religious procedure) giving us insight into the Gentile connection.

“… for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.” Luke 2:32

Luke’s unique perspective recounts Jesus growing up strong and healthy, but also an insightful and charismatic boy at age twelve. Apparently it was obvious to his family and friends that His Father extended blessing, favor, and charisma to Him. However, He was a boy on a mission and His family needed to understand that. Mary related the story of Jesus attending Passover in Jerusalem and He took the opportunity to stay a little longer in His Father’s house, doing His Father’s business. Luke’s antennas were perked up with that story since, once again, the religious teachers were using the Socratic approach he’d learned. Jesus wasn’t disobedient or insensitive to His parents, but had a higher calling that Mary could now understand.

Luke rapidly moves the story along from age 12 to about 30 in Chapters 3-4 when Jesus, full of the power of the Spirit, endured the devil’s temptations and launched His 3 year ministry to the lost sheep of Israel and the ‘other sheep’: that’s you and me. Only Luke records Jesus in the synagogue reading from the scroll (Is. 61:1-3) and declaring Himself the One who fulfills this prophecy. At first the reaction was admiration and wonder, but quickly turned to rage. Who’s this local boy calling Himself the Messiah? Jesus responded with a proverb, “Physician, heal yourself!” In other words, “Prove it!” Comparing Himself to the miracles of their beloved prophets Elijah and Elisha didn’t help and they drove Him to a cliff where He’d meet His death. Jesus supernaturally escaped to the Galilee as Mary remembered, back in the synagogue proving His authority over demons. What a unique perspective of His first day!

Beatitudes Part One: Blessing

There are two words in the Bible that are translated blessing; the first is berakah. It’s used when God displays His favor to people by giving them prosperity, fruitfulness, success, good health, etc. When you obey God’s laws you’re rewarded by Him and it’s evident to all. However, my question for you today is this: If you are NOT prosperous, fruitful, successful, or healthy is God withholding His blessing from you? Can a Christian look at others and determine who is blessed and who isn’t? Think about it. How does a persecuted Christian in Iran view God’s blessing? What about those believers in China or North Korea where Christianity is illegal; how do they view God’s blessing?

I want a new perspective on the Biblical definition of blessing. When we have God’s point of view we look at our life and acknowledge His provision. It’s not about the blessing of owning the car or house of your choice, but the ability to walk outside in the fresh air. It’s not about a successful career making a lot of money, but the fact that you can put food on the table for your family. It may not be a vacation to the destination of your choice, but staying out of jail one more day for worshiping Jesus. Thinking that way can change your perspective on blessing. 

Job undoubtedly questioned God’s blessing. He experienced the prosperity, success, good health, and fruitfulness of God’s hand on His life and then in a moment of time … it was gone. The book of Job describes his progress through this difficult time of life when it looked as if God had withdrawn His blessing and it wasn’t fair in Job’s eyes. The perspective of his three friends was this: Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Therefore, when life gets difficult, you must have done something wrong. At the end of the book we listen as God, throughout five chapters (38-42), describe His sovereignty and rebuke the three friends for their inaccurate view: they were wrong. 

If it looks like you’re not blessed, walk outside and enjoy the sunshine and breeze on your face: that’s a blessing. Thank Him that you have freedom and ability to even take that walk. If you’re in a good place right now; have a thankful heart. If you’re in a difficult place, rest assured, God hasn’t removed the berakah from you. He may be testing what’s in your heart and desires to make a correction of your perspective on blessing.

This begins a series on Jesus’ perspective of the second word for blessing: makarios. It’s the Greek word that’s used in the Sermon on the Mount meaning ‘living in a state of spiritual well-being, free from daily worry, and in God’s will’. We’ll walk through this homily together and discover the connection between being blessed according to God’s viewpoint and how to experience victorious kingdom living. It truly connects heaven and earth.

Scene One

Almost every Bible character has a backstory; some are easy to find and others not so much. Luke fits into the ‘not so much’ category. Therefore, I’m going to speculate a little, and give a big picture that’ll help us appreciate his writings more than ever.

First of all, Luke’s name means light; he’ll shed light on Jesus’ life from before his birth, during his ministry days, and to the end of his natural life. For example, as an impressive historian who didn’t actually walk with Christ, he learned the chronological order of Jesus’ life from interviews of eyewitnesses. Interestingly the Greek word for ‘eyewitness’ is a medical term meaning autopsy, his conversations cut apart Jesus’ life and pieced it back together for us. Why’s that important? Because Luke was a doctor; his medical background had trained him for this divine assignment from God.

Secondly, Luke was the only Gentile New Testament writer, a non-Jew, meaning, his perspective would be unique from the other three who were Jewish believers. God had originally promised a place for Gentiles in His plan of salvation (Gen. 13:14-16, 18:18, Ps. 2:8) and Luke was chosen to give that worldwide outlook. That accounts for his unique genealogy (Ch. 3) which traces Jesus’ bloodline from Joseph (and Mary) back to Adam, not just Abraham. That’s good news for us since we are Gentiles or Jesus’ ‘other sheep’,

“And I have other sheep that are onto this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock and one Shepherd.” John 10:16

As I dig our foundation in Luke, let’s remember that being a trained physician influenced what he included and what he left out. That medical connection is exemplified in Chapter 1 where only Dr. Luke took a family history beginning with the story of Zechariah, Elizabeth (Mary’s cousin), their son John (the Baptizer) and Mary’s supernatural pregnancy which no other gospel recorded. Where did he get that info? His interviews must’ve been with Mary who we know was alive, her elderly relatives had undoubtedly died, and John was executed. Mary was his primary source.

Lastly, how did Luke get saved? Was it the discussions with believers or a divine calling, was it immediate or progressive? We simply don’t know, but however it happened, it was his mission in life that God prepared him for his whole life. His unique perspective continually shows us that Jesus was God in the flesh, a real person, who alone called Himself the Son of Man. That physical connection to us, leaving the Throne Room in heaven to become a physical man with one purpose in life, to die in our place, endears us to our Savior. What kind of love is that? Luke addressed his gospel narrative to Theophilus, meaning loved by God. As you crack open your Bible and read along in Luke remember that you’re Theophilus: you’re loved by God.

Absolute Truth

One of my purposes for writing this blog is to get you to think about what you believe and hopefully to increase your ability to witness to your faith. Truth is an interesting word that’s actually quite controversial. Pontius Pilate, the Roman leader who pronounced the death sentence on Jesus asked the question, “What is truth?” Can something be true for you but not for me? Is it true all the time or just at certain times? I can think of a few ‘hot topics’ that truth can affect: abortion, homosexuality, lying, sex outside of marriage; I think you get the picture. With that line of questioning in mind, how does a Christian determine what is true? RC Sproul, a leading theologian of our day defined truth as “God’s perception of reality.” In other words, whatever God thinks is absolute truth. How do we know what God thinks? We check the Bible and let it speak for itself; it is the Word of God.

Here are some time-honored, absolute truths that Christians must live by:

• The Bible is true; it was true, it is true, and it is eternally true. It’s inspired by God, without error, never changes, and it’s our only source of authority. If you don’t believe those absolute truths about God’s written Word then the other ones are meaningless.
• Our God is one and yet three distinct persons. Can I explain that? Not really. Theologians have been trying for 2,000 years and haven’t been able to adequately clarify that concept, yet, we believe it by faith. We know from Scripture that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. That’s the primary way you can tell us apart from other religions and cults. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Muslims do not believe Jesus was God. That is an absolute truth for Christians that cannot change.
• Jesus was raised from the dead after defeating the devil and made victory in this life accessible to those who will believe and follow Him. That truth makes Him more than a prophet as other religions or cults call Him: that qualifies Him as God.
• Jesus is the only way to heaven. We don’t work our way there, it’s a free gift from the Father to those who trust Him. There isn’t some cosmic balance on our shoulders, as Buddhists believe, that needs to be weighted on the side of good works. It’s a free gift from a loving God. How unique is that!

For a Christian, these are absolute truths; we won’t bend on them because they are God’s perspective on reality. If your perspective is different from God’s, guess who needs to change. 

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” Romans 3:3-4 ESV

Part Eight

We close out this ‘nutshell teaching’ of Romans with chapters 15&16 where Tertius, Paul’s writer, (16:22) listened to him repeat once again the value of Jew and Gentile working in harmony toward a common goal: hope. What are they hoping for? To glorify God with one mind, one voice, and with unity in purpose reaching people with the gospel. By pointing us back to the Scriptures (Old Testament), remember, the New Testament wasn’t written yet, and quoting Moses, the Psalms, and the prophet Isaiah he clearly made his point. From the beginning of time all nations are included in the Plan of Redemption through the Messiah, Jesus Christ. As Simeon held the infant Jesus he said,

“… for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.” Luke 2:30-32

That’s our confident expectation or hope (since the church is predominantly Gentile) bringing us encouragement and helps us persevere in hard times. Since we do have the New Testament we can read Jesus’ words,

“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.” John 10:16

The last book of the Bible includes a phrase repeated many times: every tribe, language, people, and nation will be included in the new Kingdom of God at His Return (Rev. 5:9, 10:11, 11:9, 14:6). Point secured.

Paul seems to be a relational kinda guy; he cares about people and personally commended many to this church in Rome as servants, fellow workers, his beloved, dependable, or chosen. He didn’t back away from women listing eight of them, mentioned both Jewish brethren and Gentiles, and gave credit where credit was due. There’s real value in occasionally commending people for their hard work in the church, there’s also a danger that jealousy may arise, however, words of praise build us up and words of criticism tear us down. May our churches today be known for building and not tearing as we often encourage and commend one another.

Lastly, Paul cautions this relatively new church to watch out and avoid those whose doctrines may set traps (obstacles), using legalism or license to draw you toward their perspectives. Avoid them, don’t slander them, don’t confront them, avoid them. As Jesus taught about weeds within the wheat field (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43) He instructed us to let them grow together, assuring that He would sort it all out in the end. Closing his message Paul prayed that his teaching, which was through Holy Spirit revelation, would help them all stand in faith and submit to what they heard whether they liked it or agreed with it. The mystery of all nations included in the Plan of Redemption, that’s the gospel in a nutshell, eternal life offered to anyone who’ll repent and believe. 

Discipline to Delight: Part Three

The Stairway to Heaven is not unique to Led Zeppelin; he got it from Jesus.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:51 

The image is praying, an earth to heaven connection: the Bible calls it Jacob’s Ladder, 

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! Genesis 28:12 

When we spend intentional, intimate time with Jesus, our Bridegroom, our words are received in heaven and we can expect a response: a heaven to earth connection.

The Song of Songs is an allegory or drama, a lower story, of the most loving relationship depicted in the Bible. Nowadays most Bibles help you out with subtitles of the characters, a woman and a man having intimate conversation. When we’re able to think in the upper story the drama becomes you and Jesus. Whether you’re male or female, in the upper story you are the Bride of Christ, His beloved. The words of Chapters One, Two, Four, Five, and Eight are written in a conversational way and can be read as if you’re speaking to Jesus and He responds to you. Get alone with your Savior and give it try.

The last method I’d like to present in this short series on intimate prayer, going from discipline to delight, is learning to pray the names of God since His names reflect and teach us His divine character. I’ve chosen five names from Scripture, but there are many to choose from depending on your season of life.

1. El Kanna: Our God is jealous and passionate: Ex. 20:5, 34:14.
2. Yahweh: I AM, meaning an eternal ‘covenant keeper‘, a relational name:  Ex. 3:13-15.
3. Moshia: God is our Deliverer or Savior: Is. 43:3, 11, 45:15; Ps. 17:7; Zech. 8:7. The Hebrew name for Jesus is Yeshua which comes from the same root.
4. El Ha’ Chabod: He’s the God of Glory, Ps. 29:3. In the New Testament check out Acts 7:2; 1 Cor. 2:1; James 2:1. Lord of Glory is used in 1 Cor. 2:8 and Father of Glory, Eph. 1:17. Doxa is the Greek word for glory which indicates a reputation of a weighty person, someone who is heavy with worth and deserves honor.
5. Go’el: Redeemer God, our God ransomed us from the slavery of sin with His own blood. He loosened, broke, and destroyed the power of Satan over us with that one act of mercy: Job 19:25; Ps. 19:14, 107:2.

As we draw closer to God, calling on Him with a specific name, we’re declaring His identity, who He is, reassuring ourselves that He is more than enough to help us. When we progress through the discipline we enter into the delight.

Part Seven

Remembering back to chapters 1-11 we found two groups of people Paul was addressing, each in their own perspective, Jew or not a Jew (Gentiles), and how both groups are equally sinners and yet saints by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul now writes in Chapter 12, in view of that mercy, he wants to speak to all believers about a servant’s heart. You both live in the culture of ‘the world’ but you don’t have to let the world mold and shape your perspectives. Being conformed means you’re identifying with the ways of the world and your beliefs have become shaped by your culture. Paul conversely writes that God’s way is better, being transformed, metamorphed, into a child of God that follows only one truth: God’s Word.

As servant’s of God we begin in humility, demonstrating our love through actions, even within our government systems (Ch. 13). God created governments with purpose and we, as Christ-followers, are expected to obey our laws. Also, he cautions us to be careful with debt, pay our taxes, and daily walk in the Spirit. He’s there to help us make the right decisions and live in peace in this invisible Kingdom of God representing Jesus to this lost world.

Chapter 14 is the beginning of Paul’s closure to this rather long letter and he again makes reference to the two groups of people: Jew and Gentile. Referencing dietary laws and special days of the week he’s speaking to His Jewish family since they weren’t ready to let go of their traditions quite yet. They had become judgmental and a stumbling block to Gentile brothers and sisters in their church. The foods you eat or don’t eat or the specific days you hold special are not important enough to cause disunity and offenses in our churches. Living in the Kingdom of God is not about that; it’s about our right standing before God as forgiven and justified believers and it’s about the peace and wholeness the Holy Spirit imparts into us that brings indescribable joy. That’s our focus.

The apostle Peter struggled with the same judgmental attitudes toward the Gentiles, consequently, God gave him a supernatural, prophetic vision of their inclusion into the Plan of Redemption (Acts 10:9-16, 28). 

“You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.” Acts 10:28

Judging others is a big deal to God, He’s warning all of us, Jew or Gentile, to reject those opinions and live together in unity. Since we’re the Gentiles who appreciate being included into salvation through the Jewish Messiah, let’s be careful to let our love be genuine, outdoing one another in honoring others (12:9-12), stay spiritually passionate, prayer warriors, and generous, hospitable saints. That’s preaching the gospel in a nutshell, without using many words.

Discipline to Delight: Part Two

There are many ways to experience Jesus through intimate prayer and one of those tried and true methods is contemplation or meditation of His Word. Last week the method I presented was reading a passage silently and aloud asking the Holy Spirit to focus your mind on certain words; contemplation is different. This method is about your thoughts.

Henri Nouwen offers this approach:

1. Choose a passage and read it over several times, bring it from your mind into your heart. 

2. See Christ in the passage; imagine Him speaking to you.

3. Carry the passage with you this week, He is the Word of God, and let Him affect not only your reflective thoughts, but your daydreams as well.

End your time with silence, listening for God’s response. 

Try focusing on passages regarding humility. This always involves repentance followed by receiving His forgiveness; intimacy with God begins in a low place,

The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; He does not despise His imprisoned people. Psalms 69:30-33

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15 

Palms Down/Palms Up is an effective way to intentionally bring a personal concern to God. This method incorporates your body with your soul as the Spirit identifies an area of your life you need to lay down.

1. Begin by placing your palms down as a symbolic indication of your desire to turn over any concerns you may have to God. Inwardly you may pray, “Lord, I give to you this situation in my life. I release my emotions that have separated me from you, any frustrations, fear, anxiety, unforgiveness, …. and all that weigh heavily on my mind. I lay this down at Your feet.” Wait for a few moments as you surrender to Him. 
2. Place your palms up as a picture of your desire to receive from the Lord. You may want to pray, “Lord, I receive your divine love and forgiveness in this situation (or for this person), and receive your peace and joy in place of the negative emotions I’ve been dealing with. With palms up it’s a perfect posture for worship and praise to  the Holy Spirit for His guidance.

Lastly, never forget the gift of your imagination. As you read the accounts of Jesus with people and visualize yourself being there; these stories paint powerful pictures that encourage us to identify with a character. Try imagining yourself as the soldier at the cross, a disciple watching Jesus feed 5,000, or the one listening to a parable. Stretch yourself this week by giving contemplation and meditation a try. You may be surprised!

Part Six

Paul has succinctly made his case for these two groups of people who have become one in Christ; there’s no difference in God’s eyes anymore. Jews and Gentiles both have temptations that are unique, but the same Spirit’s power works equally giving them victory. 

But what about his extended family, the Jews? In Chapter 9 Paul exposed his heart using emotionally charged words: great sorrow, constant anguish, and ready to be cursed for their salvation. Many Jewish people have rejected Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah and he calls them ‘children of the flesh’ and not ‘children of the promise’. No one is saved due to his bloodline, family name, national heritage, or even their upbringing. Jews become saved the same way as Gentiles: repentance, forgiveness, and faith. God’s eyes and ears are always attuned to those with faith, not good works. It’s a powerful exposé of why we should care about the Jewish people, but more than that, it shows God’s justice and sovereignty in His purpose of divine election. It’s not an easy read, it seems unfair, but Paul was clear, we have no right to question His ultimate decisions.

From the beginning God’s plan was always for the salvation for mankind, however, righteousness was through faith in Him, not through good works. In Chapter 10 his heart’s desire and prayer is for the salvation of the Jews, that’s why we preach the gospel, send out missionaries, and explain this Plan of Redemption to those who will believe the Word of Christ. 

Lastly, in Chapter 11 he confirmed that God hasn’t rejected His chosen people, there’s always been a remnant, a small piece of the whole, who were chosen by grace. For the rest of Israel he’s hoping they’ll observe the faith of the Gentiles and become jealous for that higher life in Christ.

Using the metaphor of an olive tree, Israel is the cultivated root that supports our faith and Gentiles are the wild olive tree that’s been grafted into the original root. Jews and Gentiles are now family and God won’t change His mind. Paul tells us this is a mystery, some Jews gets saved and some don’t, at the same time, some Gentiles get saved and some don’t; His ways are deep, unsearchable, and often hard to understand. Yet he closes out these chapters by reminding us that we can’t know what God is thinking or planning, we’re not His advisor, so we attribute all things to be from Him, through Him, and to Him (11:34-36). 

Personally, I’ve quit trying to explain these chapters and allow them to stand as written. We don’t have to like the idea or even agree with divine election, but as believers in the authority of Scripture, we come into alignment with Him. Here’s the nutshell; all come to Christ the same way, by God’s grace and mercy through faith alone, it’s nothing we’ve done right, but everything that Jesus did right. Phew! That was challenging.