The Beatitudes is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, perhaps the most famous, most inciteful sermon ever spoken. Jesus lays out the characteristics of a person who follows Him. I have heard it said that the Beatitudes do not describe who Jesus is looking for but the kind of person He wants to make you. The word ‘blessed” does not just mean happiness. Happiness is based on circumstance. It is closer to joy, which is being content regardless, or despite circumstances. But the word blessed is more like having favor from God. It is being fully satisfied. True fulfillment can only be found through a relationship with Jesus Christ (see Romans 5:1-8) and there is nothing greater than that fulfillment. That is the true blessing that Jesus offers each one of us. Let’s take a look at each blessing from the Beatitudes the next few weeks.
Continue reading “Blessed: Poor in Spirit”Tag: pride
El Elyon, God Most High
Our God is described in many ways. He is the God most High. There are no other Gods besides Him. He is above all things and greater than anything we can imagine. He is Supreme and Ruler over all. I have found 2 different Hebrew words that mean God Most High. El Elyon, or Elyown shows the supremacy of God while El Illay shows the more personal, intimate side of the Most High God that connects God to His people, who is to be worshipped. He is big and powerful, yet He loves us and wants a relationship with us.
Continue reading “El Elyon, God Most High”Self-Control
The last part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. On the one hand, we need self control. On the other hand we need to deny ourselves and surrender to Christ. How do we do both? I think the more we surrender to Christ, the better we can have self-control. As we follow Him, not only are we declared righteous by what He did for us, not by our own doing, but our lives and desires will be changed and we will want to do what is righteous and overcome temptation through the Holy Spirit. That to me is what self-control is about.
Continue reading “Self-Control”The World We Live In
When the Bible talks about “the world” what does that mean? We live in a world full of people. We live in a world full of trouble. God created the world (the earth and everything in it), God so loved the world (the people of the world), but we are to not love the world (worldly affairs and systems which oppose God; I think that’s what is meant when Jesus says that we are in the world but not of the world). Something like that. Let us see what God’s word has to say about it.
Continue reading “The World We Live In”Job’s Complaint and Elihu’s Response
In the last post we discussed Job’s friends and their judgmental opinions and lack of compassion. Job was a righteous man, but as with the rest of us, God needed to do some work in him. He had one calamity after another and it is no wonder he had some complaints and it is not surprising he would be angry. Considering all of this, he kept his cool to the most part when he was encountered with his friends. But he did defend himself and he did have issues with his friends, with this world and with God. Sometimes when we get a little off track, God may bring someone into our life to lead us back and set us straight, and hopefully we listen. Enter Elihu. We are not sure where Elihu came from, but he stood back and listened to the debate between Job and his three friends, and when they were finished, he spoke up. Again, I urge you to read through Job to get the context and the whole story.
Continue reading “Job’s Complaint and Elihu’s Response”
