Psalm 56  "Be gracious to me, O God..."  The psalmist begins with an urgent prayer.   It is a request for God Himself to stoop down, to bend down to us in kindness, to bestow favor, to take pity on us.
It is a prayer, a petition, a beseeching cry for the Most Holy God to come and help. It is an acknowledgment that although we are fighting as hard as we can...
That we are losing.
That we have been trampled.
That we are outnumbered.
That we are afraid.
But it is also a cry of faith!  "When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust. I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?" ( v3-4)
When fear and dread and terror come, we have a refuge.  We can be confident and even bold and secure in the Lord, our God. 
The enemy may :
distort our words
have evil thoughts about us
attack
lurk
watch our steps
wait to pounce on us, ready to even murder us
But God sees all!
He puts "my tears in (His) bottle" and writes it down in "His book"
"This I know, that God is for me."  What a statement!
The God of the universe is for us!  Make this statement of faith your own.  Respond like the psalmist did.
Praise His Word.
Put your trust in Him. 
Keep your vows to Him.
Render thanks to Him.
Walk before Him in light.. in truth and righteousness, in obedience to the Word.
"What can man do to me?" 
Nothing that God can't take care of.  He sees.  He knows. He delivers. He is on our side!

Father in Heaven,  how holy is Your Name!  I praise You.  I thank You for Your Word that lights my path.  Here is Your will for us, plainly written out...trust You.  Believe that You are for us.  Help me to walk in this truth today.  That no matter what the enemy tries to do, no matter what temptations he throws at me, I will KNOW that God is for me! Deliver me from the evil one, O God!  He wants me to doubt You.  To forget that You are on my side!  O may I not forget.  May I boldly proclaim in faith "In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid".  Be gracious to me, O God! I need You every hour!
Thank You!  Praise and honor and glory to our Mighty God and Heavenly Father.
Amen.

Matthew 5
You are the salt of the earth,  Jesus tells his followers .  You are the light of the world.  Tasteless salt is worthless. Hidden light is useless.  "Let your light shine before men is such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
What good works?  What glorifies the Father?
In the next statement Jesus states that He came to "fulfill" the Law.  To produce a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees.  Though they "kept" the Law, they never fulfilled it.
Only Jesus did that.  And He calls us to that kind of righteousness. To the greatest commandment that sums up them all.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." ( Matt. 22:37-39)
The religious leaders prided themselves on their "keeping" of the Law.  They were full of works.  But they had no love.  No love for God and no love for their neighbors.  That only comes when we have come to Jesus. When we are "blessed" by : knowing we are poor, mourning our sin,  humbling ourselves , being satisfied in Him.... By being transformed by His Word and Power.

Father, let Your light shine in me.  Let the light of Your Love flood my life and bring glory to You!
Be glorified today!
Amen.

Matthew 5:9  " Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
Peacemaker - to act or make, to purpose,  to join - peace: quietness, rest,  to set at one again.  God calls us His children when we act in the way that He acts.  He is the peace giver.  Only He can give true peace.  He acted - to bring us into oneness with Himself;  to give us true rest; - by sending Jesus to the cross.  The act of making peace with mankind was costly.  It took great love to make such a sacrifice.  To follow His example will cost us.  It demands surrender on our part.  It calls for true love.
We are horribly insufficient in our ability to do this.  We cannot do it unless we have:
received the Kingdom by admitting our complete poverty of spirit
received comfort in response to our sorrow, mourning our sinfulness
received an inheritance of true life , being conformed to His image of gentleness and humility
received satisfaction for our hunger and thirst of His righteousness
received mercy and compassion and learned to give it to others freely
received cleansing of our hearts of all impurities and defilement.

In His teaching, Jesus shows us the way to truly live according to the will of the Father.  To be "blessed".
We must know our poverty.
We must mourn.
We must become humble.
We must seek Him.
We must do mercy.
We must be made pure.
We must become sharers of His peace.

Yet the response from the world will not be favorable.  We will be persecuted.  We will be insulted and falsely accused. We will receive the same kind of treatment that the prophets did, that Jesus did.
But in this we will rejoice! For our reward will be in Heaven. ( Matt. 5:10-12)

Psalm 57: 2  " I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me."
This song is a prayer for rescue from persecutors.  It is a song of praise and thanksgiving, exalting the One who saves us from "lions" from "the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows."  The enemy prepares a pit for us, but our God makes them fall into it.  Be steadfast! Sing praises and glory in Him alone.  He will "send from heaven and save" us.   His "lovingkindness is great to the heavens" and His "truth to the clouds."  God will help us when we keep steady in our trust in Him.

Father, God Most High, we call to You. Come to our rescue!  Shatter the teeth of the enemy! Sweep him away!  Deliver us from the evil one.  Lead us in Your paths, to be "blessed" according to Your Word.  We are Your children.  We surrender all to You.  Have Your way. Lead us in paths of righteousness.  Be exalted above the heavens O God. Let Thy glory be above all the earth.
Amen

Matthew 5: 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Pure= clean, uncontaminated and undefiled.
Heart= center, thoughts and feelings
Psalm 24:3-5  " Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
Hebrews 12:14 " Pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." Sanctification= purity
I John 3:2-3 " Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
Revelation 22: 4 " and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their forehead."
Purity, free from contamination or defilement, is accomplished by cleansing.  Vines tells us that in the NT it speaks of moral and ethical purity. Sincerity.  Unmixed, uncontaminated by sin.  Peter tells us that we purify our souls " in obedience to the truth" ( I Peter 1:22a).
Jesus speaks of purity and cleansing during His time in the upper room, right before His death.  " You are already clean (pure) because of the word which I have spoken to you."

To see God face to face, to be transformed into His likeness at His coming, to come into His Presence - depends on our cleansing from all impurity.  A cleansing of our hearts, of all our thoughts and all are feelings. Purified morally and ethically.   That cleansing comes from hearing the Words of Jesus AND living in obedience to the Truth.
We must hear the Word of God - consistently , daily, sincerely taking heed of it.
And then we must submit to It. Walking in the Truth, abiding in Jesus,  a branch - abiding in the Vine.
Connected in genuine faith,  with His life flowing into us and through us, bearing fruit for the Vinedresser.
Then ... we will see Him face to face.   Fix your hope on this!  Pursue it!

Jesus,  speak Your Word into our hearts and minds today.  Cleanse us with Your Truth and fill us with Your Spirit. Help us to constantly abide in You.  We want to see You.

Psalm 61 "Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to Thee, when my heart is faint."
In Africa I had intended to memorize this psalm, but for some reason I couldn't seem to get beyond these 2 verses.  I found myself meditating upon them and praying them daily.  I could relate to being at the "end of the earth".  I could relate to being "faint" of heart.  I still do.  It is one of those times in life when I am unable to do anything but wait on God to hear my prayers and answer them by His power and according to His mercy and grace.  "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
Lord, You are my refuge and strength.  You are a "tower of strength against the enemy."   Like David, the king, I am seeking lovingkindness and truth.  I am seeking the Presence of God. To take refuge in You.  To be sheltered under Your wings.  Jesus, You are a "the Rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm."   Lead us today, to trust You, to wait on You. To pour out our hearts before You.
"On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength , my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times O people; Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us." ( Psalm 62:7-8)

Matthew 5:7  " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."  Merciful - actively compassionate.  By word or deed. To have pity on,  Mercy starts with God, He is the "father of mercies."  He identifies Himself as "gracious and merciful, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness."   Vines says that "Mercy is an act of God, peace is the resulting experience in the heart of man. Grace describes God's attitude toward the lawbreaker and the rebel; mercy is His attitude toward those who are in distress."  ".. grace must go before mercy.. only the forgiven may be blessed."
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus has taught that we must:
recognize our poverty of spirit
mourn over our sin and suffering
humble ourselves in gentleness
crave right relationship with Him
and now take this precious attitude and character of God and make it our own.
All of this depends on His Grace.

Jesus, You are the Rock of our salvation and we need Your grace! We can do nothing on our own, but  wholly lean on You.  We long for You, our comfort, our righteousness, our only hope.   Your Word tells us the "Your mercies cover all your works."  Cover us with Your mercy.  May we know Your active compassion and pity on us, today... in our every need.  Hear our cries today, Lord Jesus. Take heed of our prayers.  Lead us to the Rock that is higher than any other.  To Yourself.
We ask this in Your Powerful, Wonderful Name,
Amen

Matthew 5:6 " Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Are you famished for righteousness?  Do you thirst for what is right and just, holy and innocent?

What does "righteousness" really mean?   According to Vines it is " the character or quality of being right or just".  Righteousness starts with God - He is righteous.  He is faithful, He is truthful,  and He is holy.  Because of His righteousness, He cannot be indifferent to sin.  Yet, His righteousness is exhibited in the death of Christ. "The righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ is the righteous dealing of God with sin and with sinners on the ground of the death of Christ." Through the New Testament,  Vines goes on to say,  it refers most often to "that gracious gift of God to men whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God. This righteousness  is unattainable by obedience to any law, or by any merit of man's own, or any other condition than that of faith in Christ... The man who trusts in Christ becomes 'the righteousness of God in Him.'... becomes in Christ all that God requires a man to be, all that he could never be in himself."
 It goes on to say, "Because Abraham accepted the Word of God, making it his own by the act of mind and spirit which is called faith, and, as the sequel showed, submitting himself to its control, therefore God accepted him as one who fulfilled the whole of His requirements." Romans 4 :5 states that for him who believes, "his faith is reckoned as righteousness."  Vines says " The faith being exercised brings the soul into vital union with God in Christ, and inevitably produces righteousness of life, that is, conformity to the will of God."

So back to my question, do you.... do I, hunger, am I famished and parched, to be conformed perfectly to God's will for me?  To be all that He requires me to be?  Is it continual, daily desire?  I hunger for physical food and drink throughout my day, it is necessary for life.  My spiritual hunger and thirst should be even more  important, more necessary, more vital.  To be in right relationship with my God, through faith in Christ alone.  For the grace gift of righteousness reckoned to me by His sacrifice on the cross.  I do hunger and thirst for Your righteousness, Lord!

And the promise here?  "they shall be satisfied".   Filled, supplied with all that is needed.  Amazing grace!
Thank you Jesus!

Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth."   The gentle, the humble some versions say, mild, meek.
Gentle - "1. belonging to the upper classes or polite society. 2. like or suitable to polite society; refined, courteous,,etc . 3. noble chivalrous; 4. generous; kind 5. easily handled; tame; 6. kindly; serene; patient; 7. not violent, harsh, or rough....." ( New World Dictionary).
Humble - "1. having or showing a consciousness of one's defects or shortcomings; not proud; not self-assertive; modest. 2. Low in condition, rank, or position; lowly; unpretentious ..."
 Mild - 1. gentle or kind in disposition, action, or effect; not severe, harsh, bitter. b) not extreme in any way; moderate; temperate..."
The Greek word used here is "praus" -  mild, humble.   The idea of being "upper class" and " of low condition" both at the same time is a little ... well improbable in our society at least.  It is a rare and wonderful disposition.  It is a wonderful description of Jesus.  He tells us Himself in Matthew 11:29,
" for I am gentle and humble in heart;" " Learn from me", He tells us, and "find rest for your souls."
Those who are noble, yet modest; kind and patient.  These are the blessed.  They have found the balance.  They have found peace. We learn this from Jesus.
What they are NOT is: violent, harsh, rough, proud, pretentious, bitter, or severe.
And the gift given to these ones is an inheritance. They receive a portion or share of the estate.  In this verse it tells us that this is "the earth".
In Ephesians 1 Paul lists the spiritual blessings that God has given to us through Christ Jesus.  One of these, in verse 11 is "..we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will."
 In Colossians 1:12 we are told to give thanks " to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."
In Acts 20:32 Paul, during his farewell to the church of Ephesus says, " And now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified."
In Acts 26:18 Paul is retelling his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  He says that Jesus commissioned him "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. "
In Christ Jesus we become heirs, joint heirs with Him.  The gift is ours to receive and enjoy with Him.  But there is a qualification, we need to learn from Him and be gentle and humble in heart.
We start by admitting that we are "poor in spirit".  We continue by mourning over our sin and self-centeredness and by receiving comfort from Him as He draws near and calls us by name.  This brings us to true humility and gentleness.  It is learned in His Presence.  No other way is possible.

Thank You Jesus for being all that we need!  In every way, You are sufficient, You are perfect, and You are Lord.  Lead us in Your paths of righteousness for Your Name's sake.
Amen.

Just returned from our missions trip to Mali, West Africa.  2 weeks of serving the Lord with our hands and our hearts.  I thank the Lord for His grace and mercy upon us during our long hours of travel, by air and by car.  Thankful for health and strength.  Thankful for fellowship with christians who speak another language, live another lifestyle, but still able to share in the Oneness of Christ our Lord.

But so glad to be back to "regular" life too.  Time to return to this sharing of the Word of God with whoever comes upon this blog.  If you happen to come upon this... know that I am not preaching or teaching.... I am simply listening to the Shepherd's voice and letting you in on the conversation..

Matthew 5:4 " Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  To mourn - to experience, to feel-sorrow or grief, to wail.   Blessed?  How can that be?  Who is happy to feel grief?  It is inevitable, it is realistic, we know it personally, we experience it.. all of us, unable to escape it in this world.  But to understand this teaching of Jesus.. well that is difficult.  The promise Jesus gives is that those who mourn will be comforted - parakaleo - to call near, invite, invoke, beseech, call for, be of good comfort.  Para - beside, in proximity,  near.  Kaleo - called by name.   The comfort He promises is not just a temporary soothing for our hurting hearts, not just a tissue to wipe away our tears. No, His promise is that when we mourn, He will come to us.  He will call us by name.  He will Himself be our Comfort.  That truly is a blessing beyond anything we can ask for.  Jesus, who stood at the tomb of His friend, Lazarus, and cried.  Jesus who saw the suffering leper and touched his sore covered body.  Jesus who saw the grieving woman and raised her son from the dead.  He is the same One who comes to our side when we are overcome with grief and sorrow.

No, we do not enjoy the times of grief and sorrow in our lives.  But they do come anyway.  We try not to feel it sometimes, don't we?  We shut down our emotions, we medicate ourselves, we deny the sorrow and try to cover it with work, food, alcohol, drugs, or whatever else works.  The problem is that none of that will bring comfort.  Not in the long run.  Only the Lord, our Comfort, can bring us through the sorrows of life.  And He does that by coming near, by calling us by name, by giving us Himself.
So yes, blessed are those who feel grief, really feel it and not deny it or cover it up.... for they will be comforted.  In Him.
What a wonderful message of hope!  This fundamental teaching from Jesus reveals so much about His love for us.  He came to earth as a man to participate in this experience of grief and sorrow Himself!  He leads the way to true comfort, to blessing, to hope.

Thank You Jesus!  You are everything to me!  You are my Savior, rescuing me from sin, death, and hell.  You are my Lord, my Master, directing my steps, my actions, my service.  You are my King, reigning in complete righteousness.  You are my Hope, giving me a life of blessing and promise.  You are my Comfort, coming near to my side, calling me by name, and sharing in my sorrows and sufferings.  Thank You.  I love You Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 62  My God, You are my salvation.  You are my only rock.  You are my stronghold.  You are my hope.  I will wait in silence for You.
"Trust in Him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before Him." ( v8)
No matter who you are, David tells us, of low degree or high rank, thief or millionaire.... don't trust in yourself or what you possess.  Only God has true power and only He is truly loving. Only He is worthy of our trust.
He judges based on our works, not on our wealth.  Do good; not evil.  That is the most important thing.  Good - according to His standard. Not our own. Conforming to His Word and His righteousness. That can only happen as we receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ and are overwhelmed by His Holy Spirit.
The world wants to redefine good and evil by its own standards.  Our country is being led into an abyss.  Sin is still sin, no matter what the president of the United States, judges, movie stars, or even preachers say to the contrary.  Forgive us and lead us to repentance Holy God!   We wait in silence for You only, for You are our salvation.
Amen.

Matthew 5  The sermon on the mount.
What a fitting way to start out this new year.  This fundamental teaching by Jesus is vital to knowing Him, to knowing God, and to receiving His salvation.  To becoming Kingdom people.

v3. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
To be poor - ptochos -  to crouch, a cringing beggar,  mendicant - so poor that unless someone help us, we will die. Having absolutely nothing to call your own.
And so we are. As Job so soberly noted, we come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing.  Unless we recognize our poverty, our true poverty of spirit, we will not have the kingdom.
This is the essential foundation of faith.
We have nothing.
We deserve nothing.
We can give nothing to give God.
We are spiritual beggars, dying... dead in our trespasses and sins. Desperate and cringing.
But it is in this understanding and confession that we come into His Kingdom! He is life. He gives life! We live and move and have our being in Him alone!
All praise to God, who loves us!  Who takes us from crouching beggars to favored princes and princesses!

Amazing grace!  Wonderful love!
Amen!!!!