THE BEATITUDES – A SELF-PORTRAIT OF JESUS

“When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to speak, and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit… those who mourn… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… the merciful… the pure in heart… the peacemakers… those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake…’” (Excerpted from Matthew 5:1-10)

The Beatitudes offer us a self-portrait of Jesus. At first it might seem to be a most unappealing portrait -- who wants to be poor, mourning and persecuted? Who can be truly gentle, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, and always concerned about justice? Where is the realism here? Don't we have to survive in this world and use the ways of the world to do so? Jesus shows us the way to be in the world without being of it. When we model our lives on His, a new world will open up for us. 

-- Henri Nouwen

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DISCIPLESHIP… EXPRESSING THE LOVE OF CHRIST

Looking at His disciples, Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  (Luke 6:32–36 NIV)

The stretch of Christian discipleship is to love those for whom it is not automatic, easy, common, or accepted. To love those who do not think like us or live like us, and to express respect, compassion, and mercy to those we do not know and who may never be able to repay us -- this is the love Christ pulls out of us. Jesus stepped across oppressive social boundaries, intermingled with those who suffered crippling infirmities and social stigma, and offered hope to those at their point of gravest despair. He loved the least lovable and the most vulnerable, and He offered the same unmerited grace to the greatest sinner as to the finest saint. The down-and-out see in Christ as much love for them as the up-and-coming. And Christ invites His disciples to follow Him into this kind of love. 

-- Robert Schnase in “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations”

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DISCIPLESHIP… COUNTING THE COST

“A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ‘If you want to be My disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else -- your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters -- yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be My disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost.’”  (Luke 14:25-28a NLT)

In the corporate world, the phrase “the cost of doing business” is self-explanatory. There is an expected cost associated with leading or owning a business. It may be purchasing a building, paying employees, or buying a new vehicle, but I don’t know many people who jump into a life of discipleship and ask about the cost…

Living as if following Christ has no cost is like charging a credit card to its limit and then asking the bank to change the balance back to zero. Just as Paul wrote, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1–2)  Don’t get me wrong, discipleship is not a works-based system, but it does require our obedience and devotion.

Christians are fond of celebrating the lavish grace and unfailing compassion of Jesus, but we are sometimes hesitant to discuss the expectations of following Christ. But what a disservice to the Lord, especially as we remember that pain that He willingly endured so we could receive that grace. Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that “salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.” What is discipleship costing you right now? 

-- Excerpted from “Altar’d: The Transforming Power of Surrender” by Susan O. Kent 

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DISCIPLESHIP… IS A PROCESS

“Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, ‘You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”  (John 8:31-32 NLT)

By definition, a disciple is a follower, one who accepts and assists in spreading the teachings of a Master. A Christian disciple is a person who accepts and assists in the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in faith and are equipped by the Holy Spirit for ministry. This process requires believers to respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to examine their thoughts, words and actions and compare them with the Word of God. This requires that we read, study and apply biblical teachings; pray regularly; participate in worship and fellowship with other believers; and reach out in witness and mission sharing the love of Christ in word and deed. 

-- From “Got Questions Ministries” 

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TWELVE ORDINARY MEN – Part 3 of 4

Christ’s choice of the apostles testifies to the fact that God can use the unworthy and the unqualified. He can use nobodies. They turned the world upside down, these twelve (Acts 17:6).  It was not because they had extraordinary talents, unusual intellectual abilities, powerful political influence, or some special social status. They turned the world upside down because God worked in them to do it.

God chooses the humble, the lowly, the meek, and the weak so that there’s never any question about the source of power when their lives change the world. It’s not the person; it’s the truth of God and the power of God in the person. (We preachers need to remind ourselves of this. It’s not our cleverness or our personality. The power is in the Word -- the truth that we preach -- not in us.) And apart from one Person -- one extraordinary human being who was God incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ -- the history of God’s work on earth is the story of His using the unworthy and molding them for His use the same careful way a potter fashions clay. The Twelve were no exception to that…

Let’s not, however, underestimate the importance of their office. Upon their selection, the twelve apostles in effect became the true spiritual leaders of Israel… The apostles became the preachers of the new covenant. They were the ones to whom the Christian gospel was first entrusted… They became the foundation stones of the church, with Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Those truths are heightened, not diminished, by the fact that these men were so ordinary. 

-- Excerpts from “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You” by John MacArthur

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LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Our Lord has recommended His love to us as the pattern and the example of our love to one another.  As, therefore, He is continually making intercession for us all, so we ought to intercede and pray for one another.

“A new commandment,” said Jesus, “I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you.  By this shall all people know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34,35)

The newness of this precept did not consist in that people were commanded to love one another, for this was an old precept, both of the law of Moses and of nature.  But it was new in this respect, that it was to initiate a new and, till then, unheard-of example of love; it was to love one another as Christ had loved us.  And if others are to know that we are disciples of Christ, by thus loving one another according to His new example of love, then it is certain that if we are void of this love we make it as plainly known to others that we are not His disciples. 

-- Adapted from William Law (1686-1761) in “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”

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THE PLUSH SEATS, PLEASE

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.’ And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.’”  (Mark 10:35-37 NKJV)

Within the New Testament, there is no indication that Christians should expect to be healthy, wealthy, and successful in this present age. ... Christ never told His disciples that they would get an Academy Award for their performances, but He did tell them to expect to have troubles.

This age is interested in success, not suffering. We can identify with James and John who wanted choice seats in the kingdom. We might even ask for reclining chairs and soft music. 

-- Billy Graham in “The Faithful Christian” 

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REMAINING CONNECTED TO THE VINE

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing…If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:5,7

Jesus told His disciples that if they want to be fruitful, if they want to live according to His purpose for them, if they want to live victorious lives, they must stay connected to Him. Their connection to Jesus would determine their destiny. Their connection to Jesus would determine whether or not their prayers were answered.

Jesus likened their relationship to that of a living plant. He is the vine, the main source of water and nutrients, while the disciples are the branches that depend upon the vine for survival. As the branches must remain connected to the vine in order to grow and multiply, so too, must the disciples remain connected to Jesus for the same reasons. Jesus makes it very clear what will happen should they become separated from Him. Apart from Him, the vine, they will not be able to do anything. 

-- Ronda Sturgill

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EYEWITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTED CHRIST

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you -- unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him.”  (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NLT)

Modern attempts to get away from the sheer historical facts of the Resurrection are, at best, based on a total misunderstanding.  The whole Bible proclaims the need for, and the achievement of, a salvation that will remake creation, and it is just such a salvation, at once supernatural and historical, that was won on Easter Day.  If the Resurrection narratives are [merely] a subtle way of convincing us that God still loves us, or that there is a life beyond death, they must be reckoned among the oddest and most ill-conceived stories ever written. 

-- Michael Sadgrove & Tom Wright 

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MEETING JESUS BY THE SEA OF GALILEE

“And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are…’”  (Matthew 5:1-3a NKJV)

One evening at sunset, as I sat by the Sea of Galilee, I was meditating on the Beatitudes, on the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who suffer for justice, on Jesus calling them “blessed” and saying “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I felt drawn by the purity and simplicity of following Jesus, almost as if He found me there meditating and said, “Follow Me.” I was touched by joy then. It was the turning point. It was “the bread of the Coming One.” It was a taste of heart’s desire, I mean, a foretaste of Someone or Something still to come, an aftertaste of Someone or Something already come. I felt twenty centuries drop away between me and Jesus. I felt I was no longer a disciple at secondhand but a disciple at firsthand like Peter and John and Mary Magdalene. I thought again of the old man and his question, and I asked myself “Have you met Jesus?” and I found I could say “Yes!” 

-- John S. Dunne in “The Homing Spirit: A Pilgrimage of the Mind, of the Heart, of the Soul”

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IMMERSION IN THE LIFE OF JESUS

“Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”  (Proverbs 3:3-6 NLT)

Conversion without immersion in the life of Jesus Christ is perversion of the gospel. St. Augustine talked about “the costly grace” of God. Discipleship, servanthood, costs us everything. Everything must go. Genesis 2:25 conveys this powerfully in the image of nakedness: “and the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.”

Dorothee Soelle wrote, “To be naked means to be without protection; it is to be unarmed. It requires our surrendering ‘the weapons’ that we usually carry around with us. My credit card, my doctorate, the books I have written -- the whole fortress in which I live -- are all ‘clothes’ that I have to get rid of in order to love.”

To find favor is to be called to disarmament, called to defenselessness, called to discipleship. 

-- Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Café”

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HERE IS WHAT I KNOW

He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”  (John 9:25 NKJV)

You don’t have to be weird to follow Jesus. You don’t have to stop liking your friends to follow Him. Just the opposite. A few introductions would be nice. Do you know how to grill a steak?... Discipleship is sometimes defined by being normal.

A woman in a small Arkansas community was a single mom with a frail baby. Her neighbor would stop by every day and keep the child so she could shop. After some weeks her neighbor shared more than time; she shared her faith in Jesus, and the single mom did what Matthew did. She followed Christ.

The friends of the young mother objected. “Do you know what these people teach?” they contested. “Here is what I know,” she told them. “They held my baby.”

I think Jesus likes that kind of answer, don’t you? 

-- Max Lucado in “Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God” 

#5660

JUST LIKE US

"The crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.’"  (Acts 14:13b-15 NIV)

I tend to put other people on a pedestal -- people who appear to experience God and exercise their faith at a level that seems beyond my reach, people for whom God appears to be present, active, and available in ways that apparently don't apply to the rest of us. But we get ourselves (and others) into so much needless trouble when we insist on building these pedestals for people who, underneath it all, are just like us. We must resist our tendency to venerate heroes of the faith, then and now. None of these heroes were intended to be an exception; they are all meant to be an example to us of what happens when an ordinary life intersects with an extraordinary God.  

-- Priscilla Shirer in “Elijah Bible Study: Faith and Fire”

#5543

A MAN OF ONE BOOK

John Wesley wrote: “I want to know one thing, the way to heaven…. God Himself has condescended to teach me the way…. He has written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the Book of God! I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri (a man of one book).”  (From “An Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion”)

Wesley called himself “a man of one book.” The Latin phrase homo unius libri originated with Thomas Aquinas and demonstrated Wesley’s saturation in the writings of the early church fathers. Wesley applied that term not only to himself, but also to [the early Methodists at Oxford].

It wasn’t literally true. Wesley was one of the best-read and most widely published Christians of his era. When Benjamin Ingham asked for a method for his spiritual growth, Wesley gave him a list of classic writers of Christian devotion for use in his small group.

He was, however, a “man of one book” in that nothing took priority over reading Scripture. In his “Complete English Dictionary” (1753), Wesley defined a Methodist as “one that lives according to the method laid down in the Bible.” He instructed Ingham to test everything he read or did by what he found in Scripture. Wesley knew that we can be “spiritual” without the Bible, but we can never be growing disciples of Jesus Christ without disciplined study of and reflection on the written Word. 

-- James A. Harnish in “A Disciple’s Path: Deepening Your Relationship with Christ and the Church”

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