I felt like I needed to encourage some people today so I hope that what follows will bring some hope and a new perspective into your life.
I know that this world in which we live has a lot of people fooled into believing that we are just a bunch of animals – put here for no purpose or reason. We are all just here to survive and to get as much stuff as we can regardless of the expense to oneself and others – so basically we should just enjoy the ride because one day it will all be over and then there is nothing left but nothing… Right?
Well, that seems like such a depressing existence doesn’t it? All it does is help me understand why the world is the way it is. It makes sense now why there is so much greed out there but to be honest, I do not believe that’s the way it was meant to be. We are living in a war-zone, full of lies and perceptions and opinions. We are caught up in a battle that is deeper than anyone expects and the lies have become ‘truth’ to some but there are still others who have eyes to see and ears to hear and who have not been lured in by the tricks and schemes of the father of lies.
So with everyone scrambling to only look after themselves or their family, what happens to those who are not selfish, ruthless and who have a conscience?
When we look at the words spoken by Jesus of Nazareth during his sermon on the mount, we get a very different picture compared to what we have been taught by the world.
In Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus speaks these words and they are profound, confusing and smothered in comfort for all those who seem to have been forgotten by society and the world.
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The world tells us that riches and prestige make us important – that what we wear, how big and fancy our houses and cars are – these things make us important. The world tells us lies about money, and those lies turn normal men into corrupt and evil creatures, willing to do whatever is needed in order to hold on to what they have accumulated. But these words that Jesus spoke are so contrary compared to what the world teaches, that they seem like a paradox of some epic proportion.
The truth is much simpler. God is not interested in your fancy shoes or your five-story mansions. God isn’t interested in your sports cars and fancy designer clothing. He doesn’t care which sports team you support or whether your friends are prestigious.
Now that may come as a shock to many of you and maybe not such a shock to many more of you who don’t want to think about these fairy tale stories… but it is the truth.
Would you like to know what God is interested in?
Justice, love, and compassion are a few things but the most important thing to God is – our heart and our mind.
Here are two verses that show this pretty clearly.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7
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The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.” – Jeremiah 17:9-10
At the sermon on the mount, Jesus flipped the tables upside down by declaring that the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek and merciful, the peacemakers and persecuted will be given justice for all they have suffered in this present world.
So I pray that no matter what you may be going through right now, that you will find strength in the words of Jesus. Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh, and did many amazing miracles. Thousands witnessed Jesus in action and hundreds saw Him after He was raised from the dead. We must stand on the truth of scripture. We must never forget that we serve a loving and all-powerful God through whom all things are possible and those who have suffered will be rewarded one day by God himself.
I hope this blesses someone today. You can fall to your knees and thank God in whatever situation you find yourself today and you can know without a doubt that your reward will be paid at the exact, perfect time. Keep pushing forward.
If you’d like to find out more about Jesus please click the link below or the pop-up and set yourself free from the lies of this world.
Your life will never be the same again!