You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought. -- Matthew 5:5, The Message How do you measure "greatness?" What kind of person causes you to remark, "That's a great man or woman!" "Meekness" is underrated and much misunderstood today. But true meekness produces amazing greatness. Take Abraham Lincoln, possibly one of the most revered Presidents this nation has ever seen. We visit his memorial … [Read more...] about Devotions: Beatitudes (3) —Practical Humility
Devotions: Beatitudes (2) —Joyful Mourning
You're blessed that when truly broken, God gives you what you need the most. – Matthew 5:4 This is the second of a series of nine Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been laying down the ethics of an "upside down" kingdom in these short, pithy but profound declarations. Rather than focusing on how we feel or the way we operate our lives, or on our distinctive personalities or preferences, Jesus forces us to go much deeper and much broader at the same time. These are … [Read more...] about Devotions: Beatitudes (2) —Joyful Mourning
Devotions: Beatitudes — Poverty of Spirit
You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. -- Matthew 5:3, The Message Our culture today believes in fame for fame's sake. -- Actor Rob Lowe, Radio Interview, June 12, 2014. Jesus in his introductory sermon gives us a new way of behaving in the kingdom of God. Rather than the kingdom of power, fame, greed, and possession, Jesus teaches an "upside down" kingdom of poverty of spirit, of practical mourning, meekness, desire for true righteousness, … [Read more...] about Devotions: Beatitudes — Poverty of Spirit
Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (4)
“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). The goal of a redeemed image of God in humans is complete and final restoration into the image of Christ. In Jesus as the “second Adam” we see human likeness to God as it was intended to be (1 Corinthians 15:45). Those “in Christ” therefore, are chosen by God to be “conformed to the image of his son” (Romans 8:29) so that, “when he appears we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). This is not only … [Read more...] about Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (4)
Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (3)
The Scriptures tell us that as Christians we have a new nature that is “being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). And Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 3:18 we are progressively being transformed into the “same image,” or as The Message puts it, “our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” Redemption is not just deliverance from eternal destruction or merely moral reformation. It involves a re-orientation of our thoughts, … [Read more...] about Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (3)