How do you get what you want?

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:5; Psalm 37:3-11

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. And in order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.]

⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.   NIV

 

When my daughter was in high school, she wanted contact lenses. So, she wrote down, and presented to me, a list of all the reasons why it would be a good idea for her to have contacts. She correctly anticipated any objections that I might have… like the cost. Basically, she made a sales pitch to get what she wanted.

 

Different people use different methods to get what they want.

 

In the Old Testament, the Lord made a covenant with Abram and his descendants to give them the Promised Land. Only, it wasn’t like it was a vacant lot, or that they had a deed, or a bill of sale to show their rightful ownership. In fact, there were generations of people who lived there.

 

The Jews had to make a decision on how to get what they wanted; how to get their land. Would they remove the people by brute force or assimilate and adopt their culture and gods or trust the Lord?

 

When Jesus said the above beatitude, the verse that would have come to the mind of any self-respecting Jew was Psalm 37:11.

 

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.          NIV

 

This was an obvious reminder of the Promised Land, and was reinforced in the psalm with the words “dwell in the land” or “inherit the land” appearing seven times. But, there is also a strong emphasis on trusting the Lord, which is also mentioned seven times.

 

Unfortunately, the Jews had trouble trusting the Lord. You could say that it was a control issue or a pride issue or a sin issue or a doing anything to get what they want issue. These were all true of the Jews, and are true for us today.

 

Who then will “inherit the land”? The world tells us that it will be those with power; with money; with information; with strategic planning; with manipulation; with intimidation. Jesus tells us that it’s a matter of simple humility before the Lord.

 

⁵ God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.              NLT

 

With the Beatitudes, Jesus was turning the world upside down for his disciples. Today, Jesus is still turning the world upside down.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

 

A Funeral for Snead

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

[In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. And in order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one; to teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.         NIV

During my sophomore year of college, I had a roommate who owned a canary named Snead. As canaries do, Snead sang morning, noon and night. Except, one day when we returned from class, he wasn’t. In fact, Snead wasn’t breathing.

 

Being the sensitive, compassionate, mature college students that we were, we decided to have a funeral service. It started in our dorm room, followed by a processional down the hall, including a “priest” with “holy water” and official mourners. We ended in the courtyard of the girls’ dorm for the actual burial.

 

Snead had been carefully laid in an Old Spice wooden gift box with Kleenex gently lining the inside. He was then laid on top of a royal blue bath towel spread across a ten foot long wooden shelf from our closet. It was a fitting memorial for our friend Snead. 

Of course, there are times when mourning is no laughing matter.

 

As he did with the first beatitude, Eugene Peterson paraphrased the second one in a way that you can easily understand and relate to.

 

⁴ “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. MSG

 

We mourned the passing of Snead that night… kind of. But when someone has truly lost “what is most dear to you”, the mourning goes deep. It hurts so much that only tears can adequately express the depth of your pain. And when you hurt like that, you need to “be embraced by the One most dear to you”.

 

Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the pain and grief and mourning that he experienced, as well as the comfort that he received and the lessons learned

 

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.           NIV

 

^8b We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.                NIV

 

I have three questions for you and for me. What have you lost that was most dear to you; that hurt deep; that brought you to your knees? What did you learn from your losses? How did it help you to help others?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

 

Reach for the End of Your Rope

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:3; Isaiah 41:17; Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes in the context of the Jewish culture. When Jesus spoke, what images, what scripture came to the mind of his listeners? And then to look at how those same words can change your life today.]

 ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   NIV

 

Have you ever felt like you were at the end of your rope? Like there was no place to go but down? It’s not a fun feeling because it probably means that you’ve reached the bottom… emotionally and spiritually. You may have even felt like giving up.

 

What happens when you reach the bottom? When you reach, “the end of your rope”? The spring quarter of my sophomore year in college, I reached the bottom and cried out to God asking him “Why”! His answer was a complete new direction for my life.

 

The Bible is filled with stories about people who reached the end of their rope, and when they did, they were ready for God to take over. Here’s what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians about this when asking the Lord to remove his weakness.

 

⁹ But God said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.           NIV

 

I love how in The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases the first beatitude. He gives you a visual that you not only can picture, but you can feel.

 

³ “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.             MSG

 

I don’t imagine that this was a popular message for the Jews of Jesus’ time. They were expecting a political Messiah who would empower them, not encourage them to reach for the end of their rope. And it is definitely not a popular message today when empowerment is on the lips of so many segments of our population.

 

Yet, it IS his message to us. So how do you reach for the end of your rope without becoming an emotional and spiritual wreck? Following the example that Jesus set for us is a good place to start. Here is how Paul describes it in Philippians 2.

 

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!            NIV

 

So go ahead, and reach for the end of your rope.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

A Culture of Change

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 4:17-5:2

[In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes in the context of the Old Testament Jewish culture. When Jesus spoke, what images, what scripture came to the mind of his listeners? And then to look at how those same words can change your life today.]

  

 

I love college football! The fall weather, the marching band, the mascot, the traditions, the energy of game day, and of course, the game itself. Even if your team doesn’t win, there’s something special about college football.

 

As for the team, each coach has to establish his own culture. Communication is the key element. The coach has to set clear expectations for his players, and then find a way for the players to buy into them. In a sense, he’s molding them into disciples that believe in him and will follow him anywhere.

 

That’s what Jesus was doing as he began preaching the Sermon on the Mount, starting with the beatitudes. The Jews had been anxiously waiting for generations for the Messiah. They were sure that he would take them out of the oppression of Rome and establish their own country; their own kingdom.

 

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus spoke a great deal about the kingdom of God, but it wasn’t the kingdom that the Jews were expecting. It was to be a kingdom based on faith and relationship and repentance.

 

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” NIV

 

Jesus had just started his ministry by telling people about “the good news of the kingdom”. He was also meeting their physical needs by “healing every disease and sickness”. He began to call individual men to be his disciples. And as he did all of this, large crowds began to follow him.

 

To establish his kingdom, he needed to set expectations; to let his followers know that his was not a political kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom. He needed to establish a culture of change.

 

The beatitudes were the beginning of setting those expectations for his disciples. They needed to make a shift in their understanding of what the Messiah was going to do; a shift in their understanding of what the kingdom of God meant; a shift in their values, beliefs and attitudes.

 

Things aren’t so different today. The kingdom of the world has its own expectations pressing in on you. But those expectations are drastically different from Jesus’. As his disciple, Jesus is still speaking to you and leading you. He is still establishing his kingdom; his culture. It’s up to you and me to listen to him and follow him.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Eeyore's Hope

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Jeremiah 29:1-14

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is always with you.]

  

Eeyore is my favorite Winnie the Pooh character. He is a rather sad looking donkey with his slumping shoulders, downcast eyes and his tail hanging behind him. All are an
indication of just how bad things really are. 

Here are a few of Eeyore’s classic lines that reflect his “glass is half empty” personality.

 

“It’s not much of a tail, but I’m sort of attached to it.”

 “If it is a good morning, which I doubt.”

 “It’s an awful nice tail, Kanga. Much nicer than the rest of me.”

 

The prophet Jeremiah, actually has some similarities to Eeyore. On the surface, comparing them may seem a little sacrilegious. However, there are certain characteristics that they both share like, “the glass is half-empty” personality.

 

Jeremiah saw himself as incapable of God’s calling. Like Moses, he claimed, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young”. He suffered from feelings of inferiority; even to the point of wishing that he had never been born.

 

Jeremiah not only lived in a wilderness in his own mind, but he also lived in the wilderness of the world around him. The Jews had turned away from God to foreign gods. As a result, the Lord had judged them, and Jeremiah was the Lord’s mouthpiece for that judgment.

 

Eventually, God’s judgment led to the exile of the Jews to Babylon. While there, Jeremiah sent a letter to them, speaking the word of the Lord. It was a letter of reconciliation; of forgiveness; of hope.

 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. NIV

 

This was not just a message of hope for the Jewish exiles. It is a message of hope for us today who are still living in the wilderness; no matter what the origins of it.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams