Day 8
Day 8 is the last of our devotions on the Beatitudes, but it digs into the reality for all followers of Christ: persecution. Not a what, just a when…
Devotional Point 4 today:
…Lord help me keep my eyes fixed on You…
Scripture 4 today:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:11 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
In the concluding last of these beatitudes, we see that the world will go to why end to stop the promulgation of our faith. in our day, there is very little direct physical persecution for our faith. But are there insults or false testimony about our beliefs or evil in the world we live in? Well, so much so that these are pretty much the summary af all that we will hear about today. Satan has historically been an equal-opportunity deceiver. if there is room for physical persecution, he has moved right on to the other primary tool deception in all its forms…
Question for the day: what is Satan doing today to deceive you?
Other Notes: Hopefully you have enjoyed this look at the Beatitudes as much as I have. Tomorrow we are diving into a 21-day Discipleship series from Life.Church, it will challenge us all!!!
Day 7
Day 6
Day 6 For Jesus to rule, we need to be pure in heart. So does that work? Dig in and find out…
Devotional Point 4 today:
…cleanse my innermost thoughts and give me single-minded devotion to you…
Scripture 4 today:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
In the Old Testament, both Jeremiah and David talk about how desperately wicked the heart is, and how much it needs cleansing. Not only does it need cleansing the only force that can make that happen is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Pure means unmixed and undivided attention. However, that does not mean that we can stand back and say “let’s go to work then“ in and sit back and let Him do His thing. It requires diligent and dedicated effort to train our minds to think and focus on the right things.
Question for the day: what steps do you need to take today to purify your heart?
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Day 3 digs into the ultimate success principle, meekness… Meekness? Actually, it is the velvet-covered steel that sets us apart who have been transformed…
Devotional Point 4 today:
Meekness is power and anger under control, calmness when hurt
Scripture 4 today:
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
Once you dig into the meaning of “meek” you quickly discover that it does not at all rhyme with “weak”… Meekness comes from being velvet-covered steel, being so totally focused on God and what His Spirit is doing in every aspect of your life, that nothing that comes at you bothers you or derails you or distracts you. There are other benefits to the other beatitudes, but only in this one does God say that these people will inherit the earth. They don’t feel the need to dominate this earth, they have a much larger mission…
Question for the day: How can you get to real live meekness? For me it is getting focused on exactly what this means every day…
Day 2
Day 2 of “When Jesus Rules”, keeping it real regarding the depravity of souls without Christ at the center…
Devotional Point 4 today:
God allows grief in our lives as a path, not a destination.
Scripture 4 today:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
An old Arab proverb says, “All sunshine makes a desert.” We live in a world that demands that we not only not-mourn, but that we avoid and justify anything that is worth morning over. The problem is that we we have committed sin that really deserves a great deal of mourning over, and to deny that is to deny our humanity. We live in a world that tries to tell us what humanity is, to try and define it for us. When we really see the depravity of both our sin and the sin of the world around us, there is only one valid emotion: mourning…
Question for the day: What stops you from mourning over your sin today? I have spent a lifetime either ignoring or justifying my sin, but for the last 20 years, no more…
Day 1
Day 1 of “When Jesus Rules” starts out with the reflection on the spiritual bankruptcy of all of us, the only place to start…
Devotional Point 4 today:
The poor in spirit reflects what one cannot do on their own strength and a beggar-like dependence on God’s power
Scripture 4 today:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
The starting place for having Jesus rule in our lives is the decisions we make at a foundational spirit level, that place that is at the core of our beliefs and emotions. We live in a world that tells you constantly that you have “what it takes” to tame that world in front of you, and if you don’t then develop the skill you need to do it and then get on with it… That, however is not Jesus way. His way os for us to daily realise that we have nothing to bring to the party for our spiritual significance, it is all Him or it is nothing at all…
Question for the day: What do you really think in your spirit about having “what it takes”? I grew up having to find my way to develop “what it takes”, and for many years operated on that platform, but God has made major changes in the last 20 years…
