This third part of the beatitudes are a sad reality that leads to a glorious end. It brings us face-to-face with our biggest fears, telling us that we will be persecuted, but Jesus reassures us that we will gain a reward in heaven.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
-Matthew 5:10-12
We are not so quick to pray for these qualities. I admit that, will reading and praying over this I felt a reluctance to pray for persecution. It doesn’t seem to make sense to pray for persecution. Yet persecution is listed right along with a pure heart, meekness, and peacemaking as attributes a Christian should be. So how does persecution benefit a Christian?
People have spent whole books trying to answer the above question. My personal favorite is John Piper’s Desiring God, in the chapter entitled “Suffering”. The bottom line is that suffering drives the Christian to Christ. Job, a great sufferer in the Old Testament, saw God as never before after his suffering: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5). Job saw God in his suffering. Humans throughout the Bible have realized this truth. “Count it all joy, my brothers, why you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3) “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10) “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)
We as Christians will suffer, but this suffering brings us closer to Christ our Savior. Remember that this life is all about Christ. “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
Why do we as Christians want to suffer? For the glory of Christ our King. It is through him that we can “rejoice” in suffering, for we share in what he has done, and he will reward us for it.
I encourage you to read Desiring God for a more in-depth look into why we suffer. Great passages on suffering in the Bible are 2 Corinthians 12, Hebrews 12, 1 Peter 4, James 1, Job, Psalm 6, and Philippians 3. (There are many others)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Beatitudes, Part 2
After laying down the essential to the Christian life in the first three beatitudes, Jesus gets more specific. A real quick recap on the first three beatitudes: Jesus wants us to realize we are poor of spirit, that is, we are totally lost away from Christ. Along with this realization comes a godly mourning of our sins and our inability to reconcile with God, this mourning, however, drives us to repentance and acceptance of Christ. Finally, we must be meek. A very misunderstood word, being meek is not being a weakling, but it is a total acceptance of God’s sovereignty. Trusting that He is in control and accepting that all His dealings are good. Jesus now gets into more specifics for a Christian to practice; being hungry and thirsty for righteousness, being merciful, having a pure heart, and being a peacemaker.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be comforted”
Matthew 5:6
This an amazing metaphor Jesus uses. We all know what it feels like to be hungry, so hungry that all we desire is food. You’ve been on a road trip where all you want to do is eat at the next McDonald’s; we complain and grumble and the hunger infects our entire attitude. Same goes for a time where you were just thirsty, you can’t think of anything but a cool glass of water. Your dry mouth affects your speech, your mindset, and even your money, if bottled water is near. Now imagine having both of those extreme feelings at once. Your stomach is roaring for food, your mouth is as dry as a desert, and your head can only think of water and food; a mighty meal. This would affect your entire life. You would put off anything you were doing, you would forget about the cost, you would go any distance. You would get a meal. What if we had this feeling for righteousness?
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is a longing to conform to the will of God. A sincere desire to do what is right in God’s eyes. One Psalmist explains it like this: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” (Psalm 42:1) Do not rest until you are righteous. Just like you are desperate for food when you’re hungry or water when you’re thirsty, be desperate for God. Put off all that you are doing that opposes this supreme desire and really long to conform to the will of God. A funny thing about this is that only God can allow us to do it. John Piper says it like this: “Only God can make the depraved heart desire God.” (“When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy” page 14). If you want to desire God and righteousness like you desire food, honestly ask God for it. Only by the help of the Holy Spirit can we achieve this deep desire.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy”
Matthew 5:7
When I think of mercy I think of the middle ages. I imagine a king who caught a thief stealing from the market and mercifully does not chop off his arm. That is not the type of mercy Jesus is talking about here. This mercy is not just pity. When used as an adjective in greek, the word mercy is “not simply possessed of pity but actively compassionate” (Vine 404). An active compassion. A pity that strives towards an action towards a person. Being compassionate is hard. We are wronged every day by people, even if it is a small thing. You see, Jesus made it perfectly clear that our love and mercy should not just extend to those who are good to us (Matt. 5:43-48). We are to extend this mercy to all; even those we bitterly hated. I say hated because, as a Christian, we no longer hate, but love. God has already given us the greatest mercy the universe will ever know. Why do we find it so hard to extend such small mercies such as forgiveness or acceptance?
Jesus tells a story later in his ministry to deliver this point in greater detail (Matt 18:21-35). It is a story of a servant who owed a king a fortune. He owed back more than he possibly could pay back; the language Jesus uses implies that the servant could never, ever pay back such a debt. He was hopeless. Yet the king had mercy on him and, instead of sending him to prison until he could pay it back, cancelled his debt. How great a mercy!That same forgiven servant then goes out to another servant who owes him money. This is small amount of money, about what a man would make in a day. However, the man who owed this small amount couldn’t pay back the forgiven servant. Furious, the forgiven servant has the poor servant thrown in prison. When the king finds out of this he summons the servant he forgave and rebuked him. So mad is the king that he throws the forgiven servant in prison until he could pay back his debt. His fate is prison until he can pay back a debt he can never pay back. Prison forever all because he did not show mercy. The king says an eerily similar thing to this condemned servant that Jesus said in the beatitudes, “And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Matt 18:33) God has given us the ultimate grace, it is a small thing for us to extend mercy to others. Pray to God you may be merciful as He is merciful.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8
Being pure in heart is impossible by man. We are all lost and our hears are black with sin. Having a pure hear is to be cleansed by God from your sinful nature. This is impossible for a man to do. Peter realized this once and asked Jesus “Who then can be saved?”, Jesus answered by saying “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26). Pray to God to create in you a pure heart. A heart that is cleansed from its old ways, and only desires God. This heart is imperative for all of the other beatitudes to be possible. David says, after he sins with Bathsheba “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10). As a side note, Psalm 51 is a great example of the beatitudes being manifested in David’s life. He realizes his own poor spirit, mourns for his sin, and asks for a pure heart. The Psalm illustrates that we must rely on God to create a pure heart in ourselves, we cannot create it on our own. No matter how much we volunteer at church, read our bible, or pray, only God can create a pure heart. I pray daily that God would give me a pure heart, as I hope you do.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”
Matthew 5:9
Again, this peacemaking must be spread to our enemies, as well as our friends. Jesus says to not only love our enemies, but “do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). This means keeping peace with not only friends but enemies. Remember that this will not be easy. The word peacemaker suggests that there was not peace before, until you make it. First examine your life and make sure you are at peace with everyone; if you are not peace make. After you set yourself in order, then you can help others do the same. Many times we think peacekeeping is only for others, not in their own life. Set yourselves in order first.
An interesting point in this verse is “they shall be called sons of God”. For a long time this stumped me. I didn’t know what that meant. After a long time of meditation a light bulb went off. It says “be called”. Called means that someone has given you that title. Like an avalanche of thought a realization came to me: our peacemaking should be so amazing and outstanding that the only explanation to those around you is that it is by God! Francis Chan once said “Live you life in such a way that it demands an explanation”. Does your life demand an explanation? Do you live in such a way that the things you do can only be explained by a faith in God? If not, then ask yourself why. Are you living just like everyone else, and just saying your a Christian? Where is the faith in that? Be a peacemaker to the point where it demands an explanation. Live like a Christian to the point where it demands an explanation.
So I encourage you to pursue these four areas in your life. Ask God for a desire for righteousness like your desire for food or water. Be merciful to those who don’t deserve mercy because God gave you mercy when you didn’t deserve mercy. Ask God for a pure heart, that you may follow God completely. Be a peacemaker to the point where it demands an explanation.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be comforted”
Matthew 5:6
This an amazing metaphor Jesus uses. We all know what it feels like to be hungry, so hungry that all we desire is food. You’ve been on a road trip where all you want to do is eat at the next McDonald’s; we complain and grumble and the hunger infects our entire attitude. Same goes for a time where you were just thirsty, you can’t think of anything but a cool glass of water. Your dry mouth affects your speech, your mindset, and even your money, if bottled water is near. Now imagine having both of those extreme feelings at once. Your stomach is roaring for food, your mouth is as dry as a desert, and your head can only think of water and food; a mighty meal. This would affect your entire life. You would put off anything you were doing, you would forget about the cost, you would go any distance. You would get a meal. What if we had this feeling for righteousness?
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is a longing to conform to the will of God. A sincere desire to do what is right in God’s eyes. One Psalmist explains it like this: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” (Psalm 42:1) Do not rest until you are righteous. Just like you are desperate for food when you’re hungry or water when you’re thirsty, be desperate for God. Put off all that you are doing that opposes this supreme desire and really long to conform to the will of God. A funny thing about this is that only God can allow us to do it. John Piper says it like this: “Only God can make the depraved heart desire God.” (“When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy” page 14). If you want to desire God and righteousness like you desire food, honestly ask God for it. Only by the help of the Holy Spirit can we achieve this deep desire.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy”
Matthew 5:7
When I think of mercy I think of the middle ages. I imagine a king who caught a thief stealing from the market and mercifully does not chop off his arm. That is not the type of mercy Jesus is talking about here. This mercy is not just pity. When used as an adjective in greek, the word mercy is “not simply possessed of pity but actively compassionate” (Vine 404). An active compassion. A pity that strives towards an action towards a person. Being compassionate is hard. We are wronged every day by people, even if it is a small thing. You see, Jesus made it perfectly clear that our love and mercy should not just extend to those who are good to us (Matt. 5:43-48). We are to extend this mercy to all; even those we bitterly hated. I say hated because, as a Christian, we no longer hate, but love. God has already given us the greatest mercy the universe will ever know. Why do we find it so hard to extend such small mercies such as forgiveness or acceptance?
Jesus tells a story later in his ministry to deliver this point in greater detail (Matt 18:21-35). It is a story of a servant who owed a king a fortune. He owed back more than he possibly could pay back; the language Jesus uses implies that the servant could never, ever pay back such a debt. He was hopeless. Yet the king had mercy on him and, instead of sending him to prison until he could pay it back, cancelled his debt. How great a mercy!That same forgiven servant then goes out to another servant who owes him money. This is small amount of money, about what a man would make in a day. However, the man who owed this small amount couldn’t pay back the forgiven servant. Furious, the forgiven servant has the poor servant thrown in prison. When the king finds out of this he summons the servant he forgave and rebuked him. So mad is the king that he throws the forgiven servant in prison until he could pay back his debt. His fate is prison until he can pay back a debt he can never pay back. Prison forever all because he did not show mercy. The king says an eerily similar thing to this condemned servant that Jesus said in the beatitudes, “And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Matt 18:33) God has given us the ultimate grace, it is a small thing for us to extend mercy to others. Pray to God you may be merciful as He is merciful.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8
Being pure in heart is impossible by man. We are all lost and our hears are black with sin. Having a pure hear is to be cleansed by God from your sinful nature. This is impossible for a man to do. Peter realized this once and asked Jesus “Who then can be saved?”, Jesus answered by saying “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26). Pray to God to create in you a pure heart. A heart that is cleansed from its old ways, and only desires God. This heart is imperative for all of the other beatitudes to be possible. David says, after he sins with Bathsheba “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10). As a side note, Psalm 51 is a great example of the beatitudes being manifested in David’s life. He realizes his own poor spirit, mourns for his sin, and asks for a pure heart. The Psalm illustrates that we must rely on God to create a pure heart in ourselves, we cannot create it on our own. No matter how much we volunteer at church, read our bible, or pray, only God can create a pure heart. I pray daily that God would give me a pure heart, as I hope you do.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”
Matthew 5:9
Again, this peacemaking must be spread to our enemies, as well as our friends. Jesus says to not only love our enemies, but “do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). This means keeping peace with not only friends but enemies. Remember that this will not be easy. The word peacemaker suggests that there was not peace before, until you make it. First examine your life and make sure you are at peace with everyone; if you are not peace make. After you set yourself in order, then you can help others do the same. Many times we think peacekeeping is only for others, not in their own life. Set yourselves in order first.
An interesting point in this verse is “they shall be called sons of God”. For a long time this stumped me. I didn’t know what that meant. After a long time of meditation a light bulb went off. It says “be called”. Called means that someone has given you that title. Like an avalanche of thought a realization came to me: our peacemaking should be so amazing and outstanding that the only explanation to those around you is that it is by God! Francis Chan once said “Live you life in such a way that it demands an explanation”. Does your life demand an explanation? Do you live in such a way that the things you do can only be explained by a faith in God? If not, then ask yourself why. Are you living just like everyone else, and just saying your a Christian? Where is the faith in that? Be a peacemaker to the point where it demands an explanation. Live like a Christian to the point where it demands an explanation.
So I encourage you to pursue these four areas in your life. Ask God for a desire for righteousness like your desire for food or water. Be merciful to those who don’t deserve mercy because God gave you mercy when you didn’t deserve mercy. Ask God for a pure heart, that you may follow God completely. Be a peacemaker to the point where it demands an explanation.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Beatitudes, Part 1
I've recently begun a personal study on Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. The first section of this sermon is found in Matthew 5:2-12 and is commonly known as the beatitudes. I have read this passage countless times in my life, whether in Sunday School, church, or even other personal reading. But I never realized the sheer beauty of the passage till recently. I always thought it was simply a shout out to those who suffer for God. A kinda “at a boy” to those who would suffer for God. Jesus was talking about missionaries in Africa, Christians persecuted in communist Russia, or the Apostles being thrown to the lions; not about me. Yet it is aimed at every believer. John MacArthur said “In the beatitudes Jesus describes the character of the Christian faith.” (“The MacArthur New Testament Commentary”, page 39). In other words, the beatitudes describe what a Jesus says a Christian should be. That sheds a whole new light of importance on it doesn’t it. So I decided to delve deeper and really understand what each of the attributes mentioned are and how I can apply them. I have divided them into three sections. I call the first three beatitudes the humble beatitudes.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
Matthew 5:3
I always thought this was an odd thing for Jesus to say. Doesn’t God want those strong of Spirit? The heroes, like David and Moses. He doesn’t want some weakling who mopes around all day saying “woe is me”. But that is not what Jesus is saying at all hear. This one verse, in essence, describes the whole Gospel. The poor in spirit are those who realize the depth of their own depravity, in other words, the ones who realize they are evil. The ones who realize they need God, or will die. If you are a true Christian, you are poor of spirit. Are you sure that you are? Being poor of spirit is the opposite of self-sufficiency. Are you reliant on God for everything, are you no longer self-sufficient, but God-sufficient? Do you hope in nothing but Jesus Christ? Do you trust in your job, your money, your family, your friends, your spouse, your car, you drink? Or do you trust in your God? Those who solely rely on God are the poor in Spirit. Jesus says that these receive “the kingdom of Heaven”, that is, salvation.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”
Matthew 5:4
This beatitude I flat out did not get. Why did God want sad people? I don’t want to mourn, that would be a horrible life. This is not a normal type of mourning however, it is a holy mourning. The difference is best explained by 2 Corinthians 7:10: “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, wheras worldly grief produces death.” This verse helped me understand this beatitude on a whole new level. Jesus didn’t mean worldly grief, the hopeless sadness type of grief that “produces death”. He was talking about a godly grief, a grief over our sins that leads us to repentance. A grief that brings realization to our ugliness before a Holy God and drives us to salvation. A grief that allows us, once we find salvation, to throw off all regret. It is a grief that separates us from our own life and brings us into a life dedicated to Jesus. This is greatly tied to the first beatitude; the elect mourn for they are poor in spirit, so they turn to Jesus, who comforts them and bring them to His Heavenly Kingdom. What a glorious mercy.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”
Matthew 5:5
I admit, when I read this, I had no idea what the word “meek” meant. I envisioned an old, weak man who had to walk with a cane. I thought of weakness, both spiritual and physical. But being Biblically meek is actually an amazing quality. Meekness is mentioned throughout the Bible in a positive light, although many times is translated differently. The greek word Jesus uses here can also mean humility, or gentleness. In Colossians 3:12 meekness is listed in attributes that help with forgiving and bearing with other Christians; 1 Timothy 6:11 talks of it in the sense of fighting “the good fight of the faith”; James 3:13 talks of the “meekness of wisdom”; Jesus describes himself with the same word in Matthew 11:29 when He says he is “gentle and lowly in heart”. So what is the underlying definition of meekness? “It is that temper of Spirit in which we accept his (God’s) dealings as, and therefore without disputing or resisting is.” (W.E. Vine “Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words”, page 401) In other words, it is a complete acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. God is in control, who are we to say how things ought to be; this is the attitude meek Christians should have.
What is the reward for this? Jesus says that you will inherit the earth. What does this mean? If you are completely meek you will take over the world with an army full of fellow meek people? Of course not. What I think it means can be found in the Old Testament reference Jesus was quoting from. Psalm 37:11 says “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace”. What will meekness get you? Abundant peace. You know God is in control, so why should your life be in turmoil, stress, and pain? Your life is in the hands of a loving and sovereign God, why should you fear? Christ has overcome the world. Be meek, and inherit peace.
So what should we do about this in our own lives. The most important would be to make sure you are truly poor in spirit. Have you realized your own inability to achieve fulfillment? Only Christ can give you that fulfillment, you simply must realize your own poorness of Spirit. Also mourn for that poorness of spirit. Mourn to the point where it brings you to repentance. Check yourself Christian, that you are still mourning. We do not become perfect once we repent. Keep godly mourning alive in your life, make your mourning turn you to repentance, and there you will find comfort. The last application is perhaps the most important. Be meek. This is so hard. Look in detail at your life, where are your troubles? Once you have found them, realize that God is in control of all of these situations. He knows about each trouble in your life, he has put you where you are at this exact moment. Find peace and surrender to God. I encourage you to pray about all three of these things. Ask God to make you realize you are poor in spirit, ask that you might mourn your sin, and that you might be meek. I can speak from experience that praying over these things will give you an amazing peace, and a new understanding on life. When I prayed I realized God had saved me from my poor soul, that He would comfort me when I mourned to Him, and that He was in control of all the world, I have nothing to fear. God is Good.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
Matthew 5:3
I always thought this was an odd thing for Jesus to say. Doesn’t God want those strong of Spirit? The heroes, like David and Moses. He doesn’t want some weakling who mopes around all day saying “woe is me”. But that is not what Jesus is saying at all hear. This one verse, in essence, describes the whole Gospel. The poor in spirit are those who realize the depth of their own depravity, in other words, the ones who realize they are evil. The ones who realize they need God, or will die. If you are a true Christian, you are poor of spirit. Are you sure that you are? Being poor of spirit is the opposite of self-sufficiency. Are you reliant on God for everything, are you no longer self-sufficient, but God-sufficient? Do you hope in nothing but Jesus Christ? Do you trust in your job, your money, your family, your friends, your spouse, your car, you drink? Or do you trust in your God? Those who solely rely on God are the poor in Spirit. Jesus says that these receive “the kingdom of Heaven”, that is, salvation.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”
Matthew 5:4
This beatitude I flat out did not get. Why did God want sad people? I don’t want to mourn, that would be a horrible life. This is not a normal type of mourning however, it is a holy mourning. The difference is best explained by 2 Corinthians 7:10: “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, wheras worldly grief produces death.” This verse helped me understand this beatitude on a whole new level. Jesus didn’t mean worldly grief, the hopeless sadness type of grief that “produces death”. He was talking about a godly grief, a grief over our sins that leads us to repentance. A grief that brings realization to our ugliness before a Holy God and drives us to salvation. A grief that allows us, once we find salvation, to throw off all regret. It is a grief that separates us from our own life and brings us into a life dedicated to Jesus. This is greatly tied to the first beatitude; the elect mourn for they are poor in spirit, so they turn to Jesus, who comforts them and bring them to His Heavenly Kingdom. What a glorious mercy.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”
Matthew 5:5
I admit, when I read this, I had no idea what the word “meek” meant. I envisioned an old, weak man who had to walk with a cane. I thought of weakness, both spiritual and physical. But being Biblically meek is actually an amazing quality. Meekness is mentioned throughout the Bible in a positive light, although many times is translated differently. The greek word Jesus uses here can also mean humility, or gentleness. In Colossians 3:12 meekness is listed in attributes that help with forgiving and bearing with other Christians; 1 Timothy 6:11 talks of it in the sense of fighting “the good fight of the faith”; James 3:13 talks of the “meekness of wisdom”; Jesus describes himself with the same word in Matthew 11:29 when He says he is “gentle and lowly in heart”. So what is the underlying definition of meekness? “It is that temper of Spirit in which we accept his (God’s) dealings as, and therefore without disputing or resisting is.” (W.E. Vine “Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words”, page 401) In other words, it is a complete acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. God is in control, who are we to say how things ought to be; this is the attitude meek Christians should have.
What is the reward for this? Jesus says that you will inherit the earth. What does this mean? If you are completely meek you will take over the world with an army full of fellow meek people? Of course not. What I think it means can be found in the Old Testament reference Jesus was quoting from. Psalm 37:11 says “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace”. What will meekness get you? Abundant peace. You know God is in control, so why should your life be in turmoil, stress, and pain? Your life is in the hands of a loving and sovereign God, why should you fear? Christ has overcome the world. Be meek, and inherit peace.
So what should we do about this in our own lives. The most important would be to make sure you are truly poor in spirit. Have you realized your own inability to achieve fulfillment? Only Christ can give you that fulfillment, you simply must realize your own poorness of Spirit. Also mourn for that poorness of spirit. Mourn to the point where it brings you to repentance. Check yourself Christian, that you are still mourning. We do not become perfect once we repent. Keep godly mourning alive in your life, make your mourning turn you to repentance, and there you will find comfort. The last application is perhaps the most important. Be meek. This is so hard. Look in detail at your life, where are your troubles? Once you have found them, realize that God is in control of all of these situations. He knows about each trouble in your life, he has put you where you are at this exact moment. Find peace and surrender to God. I encourage you to pray about all three of these things. Ask God to make you realize you are poor in spirit, ask that you might mourn your sin, and that you might be meek. I can speak from experience that praying over these things will give you an amazing peace, and a new understanding on life. When I prayed I realized God had saved me from my poor soul, that He would comfort me when I mourned to Him, and that He was in control of all the world, I have nothing to fear. God is Good.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
Lots of books are good, some books are great, and then there are a few books that effect your life on a daily basis. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, by Donald Whitney, falls into that last category for me. The book goes into detail on the spiritual disciplines in such a real way that it really challenges you to evaluate your own habits. The disciplines that he explained that were of most value to me in my spiritual walk were the disciplines of meditation, memorization, evangelism, fasting, solitude, and journaling.
When we think of the discipline of meditation we normally think of Hindus or Buddhists sitting in a weird indian style position with their eyes closed and humming along to a silent song. This is why most Christians don’t practice meditation, it sound too, well, weird. If you think about it though, we are called scripturally to practice it. Psalm 1 says of the blessed man “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). We don’t have to sit in a special position or even hum to really meditate. Meditation “involves filling your mind with God and truth” (Whitney 47). Yet just thinking about it, or filling your mind with knowledge isn’t the only facet of meditation: “The outcome of meditation should be application” (Whitney 54). This is of course true with any activity. If you don’t use your knowledge to change something in your life, then your knowledge is useless. Meditation is essential for effective Bible reading as well. In fact, meditation is so important that Whitney goes so far as to say, “Read less (if necessary) in order to meditate more” (Whitney 55). The bottom line is that you must not just read the Bible, but meditate and apply what you learn from it throughout your day. I can tell you by recent experience that by doing this everyday you will far advance your chances in spiritual warfare.
Memorization is a thing that is admired but rarely practiced. For a long time I had thought the same way; it would be nice to memorize lots of scripture, but I just can’t do it. Whitney claims rightly that this is absurd, we memorize thousands of little things. We memorize song lyrics, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, food prices, and yet we can’t memorize the words of the living God? The real problem in memorization is discipline and action. These are essential. This discipline is also linked hand and hand with meditation. Whitney points out that a good place to start is passages that deal with a struggle you have in your life. That way, the verses that you memorize can be found useful in your life fairly easy. From there you can branch out to verses about God glory, beauty, mercy, etc. Because of my reading of this book I have now undertaken the task of memorizing one scripture verse a week. This week I successfully memorized Ephesians 4:29. It can be done, by discipline.
Evangelism is a spiritual discipline that I have struggled with for a long time. I’ll be honest, I love God with a passion, but I have never flat “evangelized” a person. I have never sat down and explained the gospel to a single person. I’ve spoken to a crowd about the gospel, and hopefully my life style has shown the gospel to nonbelievers, but I want to be able to evangelize in a one-to-one basis. Whitney has encouraged me in this assignment and I pray daily that I might have an opportunity to talk to someone about Christ.
Fasting is another of those disciplines, like meditation, that we shy away from for its “fanaticism”. Yet if we look at almost every Biblical hero (Jesus, Paul, Peter, Moses, Elijah to name a few) they fasted. Whitney explains the reasons for fasting and why it shouldn’t be the a thing we fear but something we embrace to deepen our spiritual walk. Please read the book to do it justice, but the main points that Whitney points out is that fasting can be done to strengthen prayer, to seek God’s guidance, to express grief, to seek deliverance or protection, to express repentance to God, to humble oneself before God, to express concern for the work of God, to minister to the needs of others, to overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God, and to express love and worship to God. After reading the chapter I decided to have a fast sometime in the next few weeks for one of the reasons stated above.
Monks use to spend full months, years, or lives in silence. Although Whitney doesn’t call for this type of dedication (in fact he calls these extremes severely mislead, if not down right sinful), he does call for a time of silence in the life of a christian. Both short periods of time, maybe only a minute or ten, and longer periods, like a day, or sometimes a weekend retreat. This discipline is tightly tied to memorization, meditation, prayer, and Bible reading. In fact, one of the most profitable effects of silence is creating the best possible environment for those four disciplines. In response to this chapter in the book I make sure everyday that my daily time with God is in complete silence and I plan to take a day in the future to be alone with God in silence for an entire day.
One of the unexpected disciplines that I have adopted as a result of reading this book is journaling. In a sense, journaling is simply a written record of your other disciplines. The benefits of this are obvious; if you can organize all your thoughts into a single journal entry, your understanding will only deepen. Also, you can revisit the lessons you’ve learned in the future. A benefit Whitney pointed out that I didn’t realize was that you leave your wisdom for the next generation. So compelling was Whitney’s rationale for a journal that I have now undertook a daily journal of my own spiritual progress. I encourage you to read the book and do the same.
Reading this book has been a most profitable experience for me and I enthusiastically recommend the book to anyone. It will open your eyes to disciplines you didn’t realize you needed, restart your passion for disciplines you’ve been neglecting, and enhance the disciplines you do practice. This book has inspired me to memorize, meditate, be silent, and journal regularly, all things I did not do before reading. I want to thank Donald Whitney for this amazing book and once again encourage anyone who is reading this to read this book and undertake some new spiritual disciplines as I did. You will not regret it, I promise you that.
When we think of the discipline of meditation we normally think of Hindus or Buddhists sitting in a weird indian style position with their eyes closed and humming along to a silent song. This is why most Christians don’t practice meditation, it sound too, well, weird. If you think about it though, we are called scripturally to practice it. Psalm 1 says of the blessed man “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). We don’t have to sit in a special position or even hum to really meditate. Meditation “involves filling your mind with God and truth” (Whitney 47). Yet just thinking about it, or filling your mind with knowledge isn’t the only facet of meditation: “The outcome of meditation should be application” (Whitney 54). This is of course true with any activity. If you don’t use your knowledge to change something in your life, then your knowledge is useless. Meditation is essential for effective Bible reading as well. In fact, meditation is so important that Whitney goes so far as to say, “Read less (if necessary) in order to meditate more” (Whitney 55). The bottom line is that you must not just read the Bible, but meditate and apply what you learn from it throughout your day. I can tell you by recent experience that by doing this everyday you will far advance your chances in spiritual warfare.
Memorization is a thing that is admired but rarely practiced. For a long time I had thought the same way; it would be nice to memorize lots of scripture, but I just can’t do it. Whitney claims rightly that this is absurd, we memorize thousands of little things. We memorize song lyrics, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, food prices, and yet we can’t memorize the words of the living God? The real problem in memorization is discipline and action. These are essential. This discipline is also linked hand and hand with meditation. Whitney points out that a good place to start is passages that deal with a struggle you have in your life. That way, the verses that you memorize can be found useful in your life fairly easy. From there you can branch out to verses about God glory, beauty, mercy, etc. Because of my reading of this book I have now undertaken the task of memorizing one scripture verse a week. This week I successfully memorized Ephesians 4:29. It can be done, by discipline.
Evangelism is a spiritual discipline that I have struggled with for a long time. I’ll be honest, I love God with a passion, but I have never flat “evangelized” a person. I have never sat down and explained the gospel to a single person. I’ve spoken to a crowd about the gospel, and hopefully my life style has shown the gospel to nonbelievers, but I want to be able to evangelize in a one-to-one basis. Whitney has encouraged me in this assignment and I pray daily that I might have an opportunity to talk to someone about Christ.
Fasting is another of those disciplines, like meditation, that we shy away from for its “fanaticism”. Yet if we look at almost every Biblical hero (Jesus, Paul, Peter, Moses, Elijah to name a few) they fasted. Whitney explains the reasons for fasting and why it shouldn’t be the a thing we fear but something we embrace to deepen our spiritual walk. Please read the book to do it justice, but the main points that Whitney points out is that fasting can be done to strengthen prayer, to seek God’s guidance, to express grief, to seek deliverance or protection, to express repentance to God, to humble oneself before God, to express concern for the work of God, to minister to the needs of others, to overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God, and to express love and worship to God. After reading the chapter I decided to have a fast sometime in the next few weeks for one of the reasons stated above.
Monks use to spend full months, years, or lives in silence. Although Whitney doesn’t call for this type of dedication (in fact he calls these extremes severely mislead, if not down right sinful), he does call for a time of silence in the life of a christian. Both short periods of time, maybe only a minute or ten, and longer periods, like a day, or sometimes a weekend retreat. This discipline is tightly tied to memorization, meditation, prayer, and Bible reading. In fact, one of the most profitable effects of silence is creating the best possible environment for those four disciplines. In response to this chapter in the book I make sure everyday that my daily time with God is in complete silence and I plan to take a day in the future to be alone with God in silence for an entire day.
One of the unexpected disciplines that I have adopted as a result of reading this book is journaling. In a sense, journaling is simply a written record of your other disciplines. The benefits of this are obvious; if you can organize all your thoughts into a single journal entry, your understanding will only deepen. Also, you can revisit the lessons you’ve learned in the future. A benefit Whitney pointed out that I didn’t realize was that you leave your wisdom for the next generation. So compelling was Whitney’s rationale for a journal that I have now undertook a daily journal of my own spiritual progress. I encourage you to read the book and do the same.
Reading this book has been a most profitable experience for me and I enthusiastically recommend the book to anyone. It will open your eyes to disciplines you didn’t realize you needed, restart your passion for disciplines you’ve been neglecting, and enhance the disciplines you do practice. This book has inspired me to memorize, meditate, be silent, and journal regularly, all things I did not do before reading. I want to thank Donald Whitney for this amazing book and once again encourage anyone who is reading this to read this book and undertake some new spiritual disciplines as I did. You will not regret it, I promise you that.
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