Monday Morning Memo: Today and Tomorrow

Since today is Memorial Day, I’ve decided to take a break from our study of the beatitudes. Hopefully you are going to be able to relax today and spend time with family and friends and will be way too busy to read my blog post!

If you are still reading and have served in our military, it just doesn’t seem like enough to say thank you.  I’ll be honest; I am not brave enough to willingly sign up to serve our country, knowing full well that I may have to give up my life.  Each of you knew that at some point, you may have to give up your tomorrows, so that I can have my today.  

For those of you who have lost friends and loved ones due to their service to our country, I also feel I owe you a thank you.  I can’t imagine the sacrifice you have made, having to say goodbye knowing he or she may never return. Then to receive the news that the unthinkable did happen and realizing that none of your todays or tomorrows will ever be the same is more than I can even comprehend.

Sacrifice. It’s a word that makes many of us squirm a little bit.  Giving our all so that others may have more.  I think our world would be a much better place if all of us, whether we serve in the military or not, would live today to help others’ today and tomorrow be a little bit brighter. 

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:13

Monday Morning Memo: Are You Hungry?

Believe it or not, I have heard people make the statement, “I was so busy today I forgot to eat.”  Are you serious?  I can’t remember one time in my life when I forgot to eat.  I have always found time to put food in my mouth. Even on days when I have been really busy, with a very long list of things to accomplish on my to-do list…I haven’t let anything get in my way of finding something to eat.

I thought about this as I read this week’s beatitude, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt 5:6).  What does it mean to hunger and thirst not for food, but for righteousness?  

If we look at the definition of righteousness, we find it means morally right or justifiable; to be free from guilt or sin.  Since we are human, we know that on our own we can never be perfect in this, but the God we serve can be and is free from all guilt and sin.  If that is true, then this beatitude is telling us that we need to strive, with everything we have, to be like Him.  To make it personal, just like I never let anything get in my way of eating, I should never let anything get in my way of being in a right relationship with my Jesus.

I love what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-11 and I especially like the way these verses are worded in the version The Message.  It says, “The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash – along with everything else I used to take credit for.  And why? Because of Christ.  Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life.  Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant – dog dung.  I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.  I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ – God’s righteousness.

I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.”

Paul was willing to give up anything and everything to know Christ more.  His family, friendships, his freedom – in order to know Christ and experience His power.  We too have access to this knowledge and this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully.  To know Christ should be our ultimate goal.

If we really walk through each day “hungering and thirsting” to be more like our Jesus, I believe it will affect everything we do.  It will affect our speech, our actions and our behavior.  It will make a difference in how we view those with whom He puts in our path.  We will care more and love more.  We will be willing to stand up for what is right in God’s eyes, not what is right in the world’s eyes.  We will not live each day striving to be popular and accepted, but spend every moment displaying His truths and desires for us.  Only then can we be filled with all that He has for us.  

The question we need to ask ourselves then is what are we willing to give up to hunger and thirst for righteousness?  A crowded schedule to spend time in prayer and Bible study?  Some of our plans or pleasures?  Our friend’s approval?  Our personal “down” time to reach out and touch the life of another?  Whatever it is, knowing our Jesus more and being in a right relationship with Him will make it all worthwhile.

Monday Morning Memo: Meekness or Weakness?

This week we are going to look at the third beatitude of which Jesus shared with his disciples and many other onlookers on that day on the mountainside.  I’m beginning to wonder how those who were listening reacted as they listened.  Did they begin to squirm a little more with each one that He shared or were they listing in their minds which one of their friends needed to be listening?  I know that if I’m honest, I sometimes listen to a sermon and spend my time thinking, “I sure hope so-and-so is listening to this.  THEY sure need to hear it.”  As a result, I miss out on hearing what the Lord wants to tell ME so that I can look more like Him.

I’m confident that those who were there in person were a little perplexed when they heard this third beatitude, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5) Meek?  I’m supposed to be a wimpy, soft-spoken person and become a doormat, letting everyone run over me?  Thanks Lord…but no thanks!

Once again we discover a beatitude that is contrary to what the world is yelling at us today.  Many would probably say that a meek person finishes last, so we need to make sure that we are always pushing harder and harder to get further and further ahead. We have to make sure that everyone hears everything we say and sees everything we do to get ahead of the person beside us.  But if we take the time to understand that the meekness Jesus is talking about does not mean weakness, we can begin to figure out how this should affect our lives.  

When I think of meekness as it pertains to this beatitude, the words “settled spirit” comes to my mind.  The world can be swirling around us, but our inner spirit is not frazzled because we are putting our complete trust in our Jesus.  We commit everything we are and everything we have over to Him, knowing that He always has our best interest in mind.  Then, we wait patiently (ouch!) for Him to guide and direct us, not fretting or stewing when we are faced with the detours that come our way.

There is a verse, Psalm 37:11, that also refers to meekness. It says, “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundance peace.”  The verses leading up to these words in verse 11, help us see more clearly how we should be living and is where I find my understanding of this beatitude.  Verses 3-11 say,

“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land  and delight themselves in abundant peace.”

Notice that we also see in these verses that if we are meek, we won't become angry or exhibit a spirit of revenge on those who may oppose or criticize us.  We will trust in our Jesus to handle those who may be against us, giving up our right to lash out in retaliation.

Remember that Jesus didn’t stop at saying the meek are blessed; He went on to say they will inherit the earth.  I wonder if He added these words to give His disciples that were listening that day…and His disciples following Him now…hope for our future.  I believe He added these words to give us strength to go on in meekness as we face trials and temptations.  We have our hope in our Jesus and the eternal reward that is waiting for us.  Oh what a day that will be!  Keeping that in mind should be enough to fill our hearts with joy and strength to trust Him to handle every detail in our lives until we see our Jesus face to face! 

Monday Morning Memo: Blessed Mourning

If I had to make a guess…it would be that you don’t like to be sad.  In fact, I’ll even go out on a limb and assume that you probably go to great lengths to avoid feeling forlorn.  Hospitals and funeral homes, more than likely, aren’t your favorite places to go either. I know all of this because believe me, I’m right there with you on every point.

Then why in the world would Jesus say to us in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those whomourn, for they will be comforted”?  Does this mean He wants us to be sad?  Should our goal be to make sure we are really unhappy so that He can bless us?

If we look at this beatitude through the eyes of the world, it doesn’t make sense at all.  As I shared last week, our culture screams at us to live for ourselves and do what makes us feel good, so intentionally mourning just doesn’t add up.  But I think we need to look at what the true meaning is of Jesus’ words.

To mourn means to feel or express grief or sorrow, so I think we need to look at ourselves first as we decipher this beatitude.  I think one aspect of Jesus’ words is that we should mourn over oursins, ourunworthiness and ourinadequacy as it pertains to our Savior.  We should feel grief and sorrow over our iniquities and be willing to ask for His forgiveness.  Before we can become strong in Him, we need to realize that without Him we are weak and in need of Jesus to guide and direct us.  

I think we then need to ask ourselves how long it has been since we have mourned for others who are lost or are hurting.  It is easy to get so wrapped up in our own lives that we don’t pay any attention to those who are around us.   Romans 12:15 tells us that we are supposed to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn”.  Do we do either one of those things?  Do we really rejoice when others are rejoicing, or are we too jealous?  Are we willing to reach out to those who are hurting, or are we just too busy with our own problems to help carry someone else’s burden?

Mourning with others can be exhausting and sometimes unpleasant. It may mean that we have to do some sacrificing to come alongside of those who need comforting.  But, as followers of Christ, we know that He is our ultimate comforter and He promises to do just that in this beatitude.  But there may be those whom He places in our path that don’t know anything about having a relationship with Him.  They may need to see our compassion, our desire to love them unconditionally, so that they can see Christ in us first.  I’m guessing they will be blessed by our actions and I’m sure we will be blessed too.

Hopefully we are beginning to understand that these beatitudes Jesus shared are meant to affect our daily walk with Him.  Of course the one for next week, “Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the earth”,might be one that I want to skip.  The word “meek” has never been a true description of me…so that one may step on my toes!