Showing posts with label paradox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paradox. Show all posts
Monday, September 30, 2013
Worth Repeating
Matthew 5:10 (KJV) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
As we approach the last Beatitude we find perhaps the greatest paradox of all the statements that Jesus made in this discourse, “Joyful Persecution.” That’s what He is telling us. We are blessed and should count it joy when we are persecuted for Christ’s sake.
This statement is so shocking that Jesus felt like He needed to repeat it. So He continues in verse 11,
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Notice that in verse 10 the discourse is kept in the third person, “Blessed are they” but now Jesus changes to the second person, “Blessed are you”. There is no mistaking that this blessing is meant for each and every one of us. It’s personal.
We like having a personal savior, a personal salvation, a personal healing, a personal blessing but I haven’t found any that enjoy real, up-close persecution. When it comes it seems the first thing on our mind is how to make it go away. But Jesus is telling us that it is a blessing when men insult us, persecute us, lie about us, and say all kinds of evil things about us. I can tell you. I have had my share of all those things and it does not come naturally to count them blessings. We think of how to get payback, how to make it stop, how to get even, or how to defend ourselves but the farthest thing from our mind is “Wow! I am really blessed.”
If you are under attack today, your good is being spoken of as evil, your reputation is being maligned, and lies are being told about you, remember that all those things were done to Jesus. Stop for moment, lift your head and count it a blessing that you have been chosen to walk in His footsteps.
Friday, September 6, 2013
The Great Paradox
Matthew 5:6 (KJV) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Paul wrote to Timothy “ I know whom I have believed.” Okay that sounds right. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. I have found the pearl of great price. Like the song says, “I know, I know there is no doubt about. He’s real in my heart and I’m gonna shout it.” Those who have found (or been found) by Jesus have come into a wonderful place. The eyes of their understanding have been opened and they can say, “I know the maker of the Heavens and the Earth.” I am filled.
Then we read in Philippians where Paul writes, “to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” In another place He tells the Philippians, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended in Christ Jesus.” This is the heart of a seeker. Paul sounds hungry and thirsty. There is a stirring in his soul that can only be filled by knowing Jesus.
Here we see the great paradox of the fourth beatitude as Jesus talks of great hunger and great filling. To be filled with the knowledge and presence of God is a never ending blessing. The joy and peace, the light and glory, the wisdom and knowledge, the love and grace are never ending. There is no searching the height or depth of God. He is unknowable and yet all knowing. Just writing these words stir my soul to great joy in knowing that He loves me and gave Himself for me. And in the peace that flows through my spirit there rises a great hunger, a discontentment. I long for more of His Spirit. I need more of His life flowing through me. Filled yet hungry! Satisfied but thirsty! The more I know Him, the more I love Him, the more I love Him, the more I need Him.
If you have come to the table of God and eaten of His bounty, you are blessed beyond measure and apprehended by a desire that will never cease. Those that say they have been there but never desire to feast on His presence, never seek Him, but live their lives as if He was just a small part will never know the joy of this great paradox. Being filled and oh so hungry.
Paul wrote to Timothy “ I know whom I have believed.” Okay that sounds right. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. I have found the pearl of great price. Like the song says, “I know, I know there is no doubt about. He’s real in my heart and I’m gonna shout it.” Those who have found (or been found) by Jesus have come into a wonderful place. The eyes of their understanding have been opened and they can say, “I know the maker of the Heavens and the Earth.” I am filled.
Then we read in Philippians where Paul writes, “to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” In another place He tells the Philippians, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended in Christ Jesus.” This is the heart of a seeker. Paul sounds hungry and thirsty. There is a stirring in his soul that can only be filled by knowing Jesus.
Here we see the great paradox of the fourth beatitude as Jesus talks of great hunger and great filling. To be filled with the knowledge and presence of God is a never ending blessing. The joy and peace, the light and glory, the wisdom and knowledge, the love and grace are never ending. There is no searching the height or depth of God. He is unknowable and yet all knowing. Just writing these words stir my soul to great joy in knowing that He loves me and gave Himself for me. And in the peace that flows through my spirit there rises a great hunger, a discontentment. I long for more of His Spirit. I need more of His life flowing through me. Filled yet hungry! Satisfied but thirsty! The more I know Him, the more I love Him, the more I love Him, the more I need Him.
If you have come to the table of God and eaten of His bounty, you are blessed beyond measure and apprehended by a desire that will never cease. Those that say they have been there but never desire to feast on His presence, never seek Him, but live their lives as if He was just a small part will never know the joy of this great paradox. Being filled and oh so hungry.
Monday, August 26, 2013
The Great Paradox
The Great Paradox
Matthew 5:5 (NIV) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
The two men faced each other in the courtyard. One was a man of extraordinary pride, a powerful man that had worked his way to the top. His influence was felt throughout the entire country of Israel. He held the power of life and death and as a son of Rome he was heir to the earth. The other man was the picture of weakness, a poor Jew caught in the grip of history, the crowd calling for his death and the Jewish leadership condemning him. There was nothing he could do to stem the tide sweeping against him. To the world the hero of this story could not possibly this lowly carpenter’s son. The two men stood on opposite ends of a great paradox. Jesus, the prisoner, was free. He was in absolute control and would not only inherit the earth but the entire universe. On the other hand Pilate was a prisoner of his own pride and couldn’t even control the outcome of the tragedy playing out before him. His soul and his inheritance would be lost.
The world doesn’t picture those who are meek as conquerors or winners. Yet, Jesus tells us that on the ladder God has placed before us the third step is meekness. To say that God’s ways are not this world’s ways seems too obvious. First He tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. Then he tells us that God’s comfort is for those that mourn (speaking of sin). When Jesus said the first shall be last and the last shall be first He really meant it. In this world leaders are expected to show bravado and command of the situation. In The Kingdom of Heaven the meek receive the prize.
To some it seems that God’s ways are upside down but from God’s perspective the lies of Satan have brought chaos on His creation. What we see as upside down is really right side up. Living in this present world we walk in the dark as if it were light and stumbling in the dark is accepted practice. But God desires to show us a better way. We cannot win, we cannot inherit, we cannot receive God’s best using the methods of this fallen world but there is a way. It is way that foolish, prideful men will never find for only the meek will inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5 (NIV) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
The two men faced each other in the courtyard. One was a man of extraordinary pride, a powerful man that had worked his way to the top. His influence was felt throughout the entire country of Israel. He held the power of life and death and as a son of Rome he was heir to the earth. The other man was the picture of weakness, a poor Jew caught in the grip of history, the crowd calling for his death and the Jewish leadership condemning him. There was nothing he could do to stem the tide sweeping against him. To the world the hero of this story could not possibly this lowly carpenter’s son. The two men stood on opposite ends of a great paradox. Jesus, the prisoner, was free. He was in absolute control and would not only inherit the earth but the entire universe. On the other hand Pilate was a prisoner of his own pride and couldn’t even control the outcome of the tragedy playing out before him. His soul and his inheritance would be lost.
The world doesn’t picture those who are meek as conquerors or winners. Yet, Jesus tells us that on the ladder God has placed before us the third step is meekness. To say that God’s ways are not this world’s ways seems too obvious. First He tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. Then he tells us that God’s comfort is for those that mourn (speaking of sin). When Jesus said the first shall be last and the last shall be first He really meant it. In this world leaders are expected to show bravado and command of the situation. In The Kingdom of Heaven the meek receive the prize.
To some it seems that God’s ways are upside down but from God’s perspective the lies of Satan have brought chaos on His creation. What we see as upside down is really right side up. Living in this present world we walk in the dark as if it were light and stumbling in the dark is accepted practice. But God desires to show us a better way. We cannot win, we cannot inherit, we cannot receive God’s best using the methods of this fallen world but there is a way. It is way that foolish, prideful men will never find for only the meek will inherit the earth.
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