Blessed are the Pure in Heart

Throughout the various Gospel accounts of the New Testament, Jesus becomes associated with a couple of key ‘catch phrases.’  He regularly says things like, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”, or “I tell you the truth…”, or “You have heard it said… but I tell you…” When Jesus dropped one of these lines, you knew some radical and challenging teaching was about to follow. In doing so, he pushed right up against the contemporary ideology of the time, reinterpreting teachings and asking more from his followers.

This tension becomes most apparent in Jesus’ interactions with Pharisaical Judaism. He addresses the legalism and hypocrisy of the Pharisees, saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are filled with hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23: 27-28)

Whitewashed tombs…

Dead men’s bones…

Jewish laws stated many specifics about outward cleanliness, but avoided specifics on the cleanliness of the heart. For Jesus, it’s not enough to ‘look’ the part; it’s not enough to clean up our act on the outside. Jesus is concerned with what’s inside. He’s concerned about our hearts:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

So what does it mean to be pure in heart?

In Psalm 24, David writes, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false [...] Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.” (Psalm 24:4, 6)

Timothy says, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5)

Also, James writes, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)

For David, the pure of heart are “those who seek [God].” For Timothy, it’s those with “sincere faith.” For James, those who need to purify are the “double-minded.” What's the connection? For each of these writers, being pure in heart means willing one thing. It means setting aside our ‘impurities’, our false allegiances and idols, which compete for the devotion of our heart. It means giving our hearts completely to God. The purity that Jesus calls for is less about exterior appearance and more about spiritual transformation.

The Pharisees knew all about exterior purity. Jesus pushes us deeper. All of a sudden malicious thoughts are being compared to murder, and lustful whims to adultery. What? This is revolutionary.

God doesn’t want a religious dog and pony show; he wants our hearts. May our hearts be purified to will one thing.

peace,
mg

Blessed are the merciful...

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy…

“LORD, HAVE MERCY”…this is what I exclaimed this week while trying to write this blog. I vented to our new associate Pastor, Dell Tamblyn, I felt like I drew the short straw and then was handed the doozy of the beatitudes and a somewhat shocking chapter of the Kingdom Experiment Book, and some of its suggestions as acts of Mercy.  I read many scriptures this week, and prayed God would give me something to say and something that was true to His words.  I can read many books, many people’s different interpretations, opinions, theological conclusions of subjects of this kind, and as much as I love all of those writings/discussions, where I always turn to is God. His words in the Bible, His words he speaks to me through prayer.

 Not feeling equipped to really write a lesson on mercy, I will simply blog some of my thoughts about it, in a somewhat organized form.

When we extend mercy to someone, either through forgiveness, giving of money/ materials without  prying questions or judgment, extending our friendship to someone who really grates on our nerves, relieving the stress of a debt that is owed to us by asking for it not to be paid back,  we are showing mercy. Listening to our children’s struggles/desires with an open heart and mind, not assuming we know what is best but turning to God for guidance, we are showing mercy.  Offering a smile or a helping hand to a parent struggling with misbehaving or crying kids at a grocery store is showing mercy. Loving someone who is dealing with an addiction, who has over and over again disappointed you, is showing mercy, maybe even over and over again. Giving someone their dignity back through forgivenss when they have betrayed you, is showing mercy.

God knows we all deserve punishment but because we are merciful to others, he bestows upon us His Mercy.  His blessing of mercy is one I am sure we here on earth, cannot even fathom the magnificence of. Through his Son, we have been forgiven.

One story that  always comes to my mind when thinking of mercy is the story of Corrie Ten Boom, author of “the Hiding Place.”  In 1944,Corrie’s sister Betsy had died in a concentration camp. Corrie was in the same camp as her sister and was released two weeks after her sister’s death. She later learns her release was because of a clerical error. She ends up becoming a teacher of the Gospel, travelling the world to speak of the power of forgiveness. Below she tells of an encounter after one of her teachings:

“It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former SS man who had stood guard at the shower

room door in the processing centre at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since

that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message

Fräulein”, he said “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!”

His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the

need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this

man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.”

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or

charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your Forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my

hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost

overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing

hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”

WOW

God knows we are weak . We are the clay, he is the potter. We are the created, he is the creator. It is through His Holy Spirit we are able to be merciful.

I ‘d like to make this point, being merciful or forgiving is not giving consent to be harmed, taken advantage of, or being a doormat. It is doing what Jesus asks of us. Some of things are as shocking and confusing as they were when the people of Jesus’ time first heard them. None the less, they are still true. Still the same is God. He knows our struggles, our pain, our not understanding why he would want us to do some of the things he asks us to. Like Corrie ten Boom, when those times come, we need to go to God in prayer. We need to ask Him to do what we cannot. That is Mercy.

This Sunday we heard Brian and Ginger sing these words  from the song “give me your eyes” by Brandon Heath:

“Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity”

Can you imagine having God’s eyes for just one second….just one second would probably be so overwhelming to us, it may blind us…blind us from the earthly way we see things and let us have the gift of one tiny, magnificent glimpse of the world through its creators eyes.

_Andrea

Blessed are the meek...

Our society has grown so intent on making sure that people have positive self-esteem that often “meekness” is viewed as evidence of ineffective spinelessness, doubt, or fear.  In fact, I even located a blog posting that provided “Seven Tips On How To Ditch Meekness!”  So why do you suppose Jesus would say that the meek will inherit the earth?

The Greek word, “praus” which is used for meek in this text, was one of the great Greek ethical words, and meekness was seen by the Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, as a virtue…the perfect medium between the extreme of excessive anger (orgilotes) and excessive angerlessness (aorgesia).  Thus, one possible translation of this Beatitude is “Blessed are those who are always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time.”

  

My first question for you then is, “When is it right to be angry and when is it wrong to be angry?” 

 

Praus was also used in reference to a domesticated animal, one which has been trained to obey its master.  Another possible translation of this Beatitude then is, “Blessed are those who have every instinct, impulse and passion under control.”  This control, as we all know, is not easily obtained through our own power.  Our instincts, impulses and passions are often very difficult to control.  In fact, self-control and gentleness (meekness) are both listed as Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23, so it is that meekness is much more attainable through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My second question for you then is, “What are some of your instincts, impulses and/or passions which need to be brought under the control of God through the power of the Holy Spirit?”

A third aspect of meekness involves a teachable spirit.  The Greeks always contrasted meekness (praotes) with “loftyheartedness” (hupselokardia).  Praotes involves true humility which banishes all pride.  Without a measure of humility, the realization of one’s own ignorance, one cannot learn.  It is in this realization that God’s ways are not our ways and that He is the creator, and that we are the creature that we are brought into a proper posture before God.  We become aware of our great need for God.  So it is that yet another possible translation for this Beatitude is, “Blessed are those who have humility and realize their own ignorance and their great need for God.”

Jesus was meekness incarnate.  Jesus knew when to get angry and turn over the tables in the temple, but He also knew when to turn the other cheek.  Jesus was tempted just as we are, and yet He allowed the Holy Spirit to control His impulses and instincts…in fact He spoke against His temptations with Scripture!  Jesus also knew of His great dependence on His Father.  He fell to His knees in the Garden of Gethsemane and proclaimed, “...yet not my will, but yours be done!” 

SO WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN FOR YOU??    

Well, how do you deal with anger?  With temptation?  With frustrations?  Do you have a teachable spirit?  What will you do to allow God to have more control of your life?  Do you recognize the ways God is trying to discipline you?

This week’s Kingdom Experiment challenges provide some good opportunities to “Grin and Bear It,” thank your teachers and serve those who may not get much recognition for the things they do.  If these challenges don’t fit your needs, try something else which grows your meekness muscles and blog it here…And may you be blessed in knowing you are that much closer to "inheriting the earth!"

Grace and Peace,

dell

Blessed are those Who Mourn

Part 1

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" Matthew 5:4

Why do we dance better than we mourn? This is a question that I still have a hard time answering, even though the first thing that comes to mind is "DUH, dancing is a lot more fun." So why is it that we seem to just skip right through the mourning and only want the dancing? The bible clearly states through the story of the prophet Joel that not only does Joel mourn over his own sin but the sin of his entire nation, Israel.
Why have we been taught to hide or not openly mourn the mistakes of our Church, our people, or even ourselves? If we mourned together, don't you think our community of faith would grow stronger?
Is it not okay for us to make mistakes and have sorrow?

This is such a hard subject for us all and I have dealt with some moments of mourning that have caused me to hide and not talk to God until I was ready to dance.

So I am going to be open and I want to challenge us all to not only be open with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but know that our mourning is going to build a better Kingdom. Let's share, as the days go by I will share some of my struggles and how we can mourn together as a community. I can't wait to dance with you all in the days to come.

Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit

In the 19th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus hanging out with a bunch of kids. As he laughed and played with the kids, a man approached him. He asked Jesus, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" - a reasonable question for any religious leader. Jesus tells the man that he must keep the commandments.

The man, still searching for more, asks Jesus, "Which ones?" - again, another reasonable question. Jesus names off several of the Ten Commandments, also throwing in the duty of loving one's neighbor as one's self.

The man again, feeling as though he is still missing something, asks this key question: "All of these I have kept. What do I still lack?"

What do I still lack?

We know how the rest of the story goes. Jesus tells the man that he must sell all his possessions, give to the poor, and then come follow him. The young man ends up walking away sad, unable to to give up his 'things' to follow God.

As Christians, we claim to put our whole trust and confidence in God alone. As Americans, we put our trust and confidence in savings accounts and weapons. It's as if we're saying, "God, I trust you, but not in the real world." Hmmm.

What does it really mean to have faith in God?

The authors of the Kingdom Experiment write, "The Gospel is a narrative of hope, a story of people depending on God. In order to hope, there first must be a desire that is longing to be satisfied. (In other words, we don't hope for what we already have. We hope for what we don't yet have. Ugh. That makes things complicated.)"

This is what Jesus was telling the rich young man. This is what Jesus is telling us. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Blessed are those who really hope and trust in God.

What do we still lack? What are we still missing? Check out some of the Kingdom Experiment challenges to find out, and be sure to write about your experiences here!

Bless and be blessed,
Michael

Introduction the the kingdom experiment

Sunday, Rev. Chris gave an introduction to the Kingdom Experiment.  View the video at:
kingdom experiment - Introduction by Rev. Chris Harrison

The Kingdom Experiment

At the begining of Jesus' public ministry he announced that the kingdom of God was drawing near. As Christians we understand that Jesus was talking about his unique earth-bound incarnate ministry which ushered in a new covenantal understanding of God and embodied a new dawning of the kingdom of God. An odd kingdom, unlike anything else seen before or since. A kingdom that encouraged its followers to love and serve and turn the other cheek and care for all through deeply connected communities. A kingdom described in powerful ways through the beatitudes in Matthew 5. A kingdom that we could become part of by repenting, that is turning away from our selves and our self-centered priorities and focusing on God's will and ways in our lives!

This summer the people called League City United Methodist and all who care to join us are committing ourselves to intentionally live more fully into God's kingdom plan. We are doing so through a book titled "The Kingdom Experiment". Each week, beginning on Sunday 6/19, we will cover one beatitude and then have the opportunitiy to respond to God's kingdom plan through missional activities that encourage us to reach out in bold ways to our neighbors around us and among us.

We are focusing on one beatitude a week so that we can do deeper on each subject and not just skimming the surface. It could be a life-changing summer. Our prayer is that our families and church will become more intentional about living into God's kingdom plan so that it can come more fully on earth as it is in heaven.

Each week we are being encouraged to journal and share and one of the ways to do that is to comment on this blog. Throughout the summer different staff members will share their thoughts on the beatitude of the week and invite you to participate through your responses. May it be a summer of great growth by the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit! Blow Spirit blow and help us to become new creations in you!

The Kingdom is sdrawkcab! Come and live it!
Pastor Chris