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Purity Matters
God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 NLTPurity is a positive subject. Perhaps you have heard preachers preach about purity, and it only brought about guilt, but Jesus tells us purity helps us see God. When it comes to drinking water, we are not shy about wanting it to be pure. We would regularly get a drink from the garden hose when I was growing up. Now that would be almost unthinkable. Why? Because the bacteria that is in the hose is not good. Purity Matters.
Jesus purposefully went to a town in Samaria and struck up a conversation with a woman isolated from her community. Jesus met this woman at Jacob’s well and asked her to draw him water to drink. She replied, “Get it yourself.” Refusing to be offended, Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:13–14 NLT
The woman asked for the water Jesus spoke about. He lovingly pressed toward the reason the woman was alone at the well. She had been married four times previously. The man she was now living with was not her husband. The day’s culture did not afford women the right to divorce a man. That right was given to men. Women were valued when they were able to give birth. If they were barren, the man had every right to divorce the woman. This may have been the reason for the woman to have been married and divorced four times.
Many have read this story and cast the woman as unfaithful and immoral throughout history. Maybe that was her reputation in that village as well. We cannot know for sure. However, we do know Jesus offered the woman pure water that led to eternal life.
Purity affects how we see God. The woman tried to change the subject. She tried to get Jesus to weigh in on a religious controversy about where they should worship God. Although she tried to switch the subject, she happened upon the fundamental issue of worship. Jesus said,“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23–24 NLT
The Kingdom of God comes offering a pure perspective from a heart that is purified to see God for who he is. Worship starts when we see God for who He is. Failed relationships can war against a pure heart. Idolatry and adultery are closely linked throughout the Bible and today. Israel’s heart was turned to idolatry. God exposed idolatry as adultery through the prophet Hosea. As a result of idolatry, Israel was exiled and separated from Jerusalem and the Temple.
Listen to the heart of God revealed through the prophet Ezekiel.
17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. To me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstrual cloth. 18 They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols, so I poured out my fury on them. 19 I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. 20 But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the LORD, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ 21 Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations.
22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”God promises a pure heart. And when you have a pure heart, you worship God in spirit and truth. When you see God for who HE really is (worship), you can experience the reality of a supernatural God working in everyday life. From a pure heart we can truly see who God is. Free from the pollution of sin and selfishness we can know a God who goes out of his way to offer living water to the lonely heart.
Can I challenge you to ask Jesus to purify your heart so that you can see God? Good New God has a pure heart for you.
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Those Who Mourn
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4
I had a long visit with my granddaughter a few days ago. I was asking about her classes in school. She said her least favorite subject was her social studies class. When I asked her why, “Because I don’t like watching the news.” My understanding is that every day, the class watches CNN 10. Basically it is the days news in 10 minutes. When I asked her to explain further, her response was, “I am just a kid Gigi. I am not ready to be an adult.” As we talked more it became clear that my granddaughter was forced to grow up too fast the last couple of years. She talked about Covid, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, angry people, violence, all things that she can’t control. The fear and the sadness in her eyes broke my heart. In the course of the conversation she said, “Gigi, I am twelve years old, I don’t get to be a kid much longer. I want to enjoy it.”
As I sat in the darkness that evening, I thought about the condition of this world. Sin has defaced and distorted God’s creations, God’s truth and God’s love. The world my grandchildren are growing up in, is in such turmoil. And I mourn for all the children. I mourn for those who do not know God. I mourn for those who have rejected God. I mourn as a result of my own shortcomings. I mourn for my country. I mourn for the homeless. I mourn. I know that I am not the only one who mourns for the lost innocence, a simpler time. It is this state of mourning that brings me to my knees for my children, my grandchildren, my friends, my country. It is the realization that sin is running rampant in this world that keeps me praying daily for those I love, those I encounter and those who are hurting in this world.
But, when I pour out my heart to God, when I acknowledge my failings, when I offer Him my tears, I find comfort in His Presence. I experience His peace. And I know that no matter what is going on in the world, God is in control. God is aware of everything that has happened, that is happening, that will happen. And I find comfort in knowing that no matter how much sin I see in the world, no matter how crazy things may become; I know the one who holds it all in His Hands.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
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Groans
The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will (Romans 8:26-27 NIV).
The cries from the victims of tyranny and injustice are prevailing in the Kingdom of God. Hear the prayer from the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Washington D.C.
Heavenly Father, Your Son taught us, “Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God.” In this time of great worry, we fervently pray that Your Holy Spirit sustain all the people of Ukraine to be vigilant and dedicated to peace and justice. Grant their leaders’ wisdom and prudence. Yet, may they also have the strength and perseverance to defend their land from all adversity and foreign attacks. Help us all to live according to your Divine Will. O God, our Father, in the days to come, we beseech you to comfort the suffering, heal the wounded, and accept the souls of the faithful departed into Your Heavenly Kingdom. We ask also that the Most Holy Mother of God extend her blessed mantle of protection over our Ukraine. Amen. [1]
Is this a good prayer? What is a good prayer anyway? Does the prayer have to line up theologically to be considered a good prayer? What posture should I take when I am praying? Do I pray loud like the Pentecostals? Should I have incense or light a candle?
Jesus cut through all these questions; the mourners will be comforted. The prayer that prevails is a groan that comes from deep within a person’s spirit and is carried along by the Holy Spirit to reach the ear of the Father in Heaven. Spiritual groaning is like the birthing cry of a mother giving way to new life soon delivered.
Is there groaning in your spirit, desperate for a change? Throughout history, mighty deliverances began with a groan. The Hebrew slaves cried out from their bondage in Egypt, and God heard their cry and remembered the blessing He had promised. The moans turned to songs of deliverance.
Let us not pray safe prayers. Let us groan. Let us cry out with those in despair because of the wicked pursuits of the rulers of this world. Holy Spirit help us in our time of weakness.
[1] “A Prayer for Ukraine,” National Review, March 6, 2022, accessed March 9, 2022, https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/a-prayer-for-ukraine/.
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Wonderful News for the Mourner
“Wonderful news for the mourners! You’re going to be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).[1]
The beatitudes are hard to understand from the world’s perspective. The Fiesta Life is a paradox, that turns the principles of our culture upside down and inside out. To understand the proclamation of the new Kingdom Covenant we must understand the nature of what Jesus taught. N.T. Wright explains,
“This is an announcement, not a philosophical analysis of the world. It’s about something That’s starting to happen, not about a general truth of life. It is gospel: good news, not good advice.”[2]
I was a freshman in high school the first time I experienced the loss of a loved one. In the year that followed the death of my little sister Regina (pictured above with me in a leisure suit). I would traverse unknowingly through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and eventually acceptance. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross identified these stages in her book On Death and Dying in 1969. I met Dr. Kübler Ross via teleconference in a seminar held at my high school the following year. Today, more than three decades later, I may understand the theory of the grieving process better, but the act of mourning is still mysterious.
The stage I remember most was depression. There was a season that I was mostly numb. I didn’t feel anything. I was not sad, happy, or angry. I was just numb. Before I could reach a place of healing I had to return to the place of mourning and crying out. I remember the time when I once again cried from my belly until I was exhausted. And then the Holy Spirit ministered his peace to me once again. The Holy Spirit spoke without words. I remember a peace coming over me. And though I had no answers of why Regina died, I knew Jesus was alive, and God was present. I knew God was a good God and He cared. And I knew He was at work making all things new.
The paradox of the Kingdom of God is that it is already present and still yet to come. And so, the blessing that Jesus preaches is to be experienced today and, in the days, to come, especially when He returns. I experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit while I mourn because God’s presence is real. And I know there is a hope of the resurrection of life to come. So I would respectfully offer this amendment to Dr. Kübler-Ross’s stages. The final stage of grief is more than acceptance, it is comfort and hope because of the wonderful news that Christ has come.
[1] Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 34.
[2] Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 36.
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Wonderful News! The poor in spirit inherit the Kingdom of God.
Things are not always what they appear to be. God looks at things differently than we might have assumed. Jesus said the poor in spirit are the ones who are blessed and are the ones who are in. We are people who have wealth or status and say they are blessed. And what does it mean for those who do not have money or are not well known? Are these people cursed by God? Jesus says no they are blessed, now.
To have a need and to recognize you have a need is key in the Kingdom of God. The person who has wealth or position thinks they are in control of the situation. But the person who is unknown and doesn’t have funds must rely on someone other than themselves.
Your need is your ticket into the Fiesta-Life.
How does the beatitude, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God change your calculus? Please comment below.
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Teaching The Kingdom
“Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, two and he began to teach them, saying:” (Matthew 5:1-2 NIV)
Previously I shared Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, and as a result, people were healed and delivered and saved from trying to control their world. Matthew then tells us Jesus taught crowds about the character of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew wants his readers to see Jesus as a second Moses. Jesus preaching the Kingdom of God is like Moses going to Egypt to tell Pharaoh’ “God said, let my people go.” Moses made it clear the Hebrew people were not the possession of the Pharoah. They were to be set free to worship God. The prophet Moses proclaimed Yahweh as the only true God. The gods of Egypt were frauds. God delivered his people, and the rule of Pharoah was abolished. After being delivered through the Red Sea, God’s people went to Mt. Sinai, where God established covenant with His people. At Mt. Sinai, through the Torah (Law) given to Moses, God taught his people how to live as a people who belonged to God alone. Jesus sat down on the Mountain and taught the people following Him how to live as people of the Kingdom of God.
The teaching begins with what has become known as the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes in Matthew are like a table of contents for the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. Each beatitude usually starts by saying blessed are _. And for some reason, many people pronounce this with two syllables. Some have read these attitudes as character traits that a person should strive to display to be blessed truly. NT Wright comes from a different perspective. He starts each beatitude with “Wonderful News!” Instead of seeing the blessing as a result of the attitude on display, the beatitude reflects the wonderful news of the Kingdom of God that has come in Jesus.
Think of the beatitudes as the attitude that God has. The Kingdom attitudes of God are surprising. The Kingdom of God turns the kingdoms of this world upside down, inside out, and every which way. Starting with “Wonderful News, the poor in spirit are the ones who inherit the Kingdom of God. Good news to the poor is that you are partakers in the Kingdom of God now. Your bank account does not reflect how God feels about you.
I encourage you to think about the Wonderful News of God’s Kingdom already at work in your life. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a part of God’s people. You are called to live and love out the attitude God has. That is what we are calling the Fiesta Life.
This week’s posts from different contributors will look at the first beatitude. “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.”
In Christ,
Matt Larson -
Poor in Spirit
DRLarson, I am the original DRLarson. In fact, I have been DRLarson since my birth. I am Dawn Renee’ Larson. My brother, Dr. Matt Larson actually put in the hard work and long hours to earn his DR. He asked me to share some of my writings with you. I consider it a great honor, a privilege to journey with the New Hope family.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3
What is a beatitude? According to Bakers Bible dictionary a beatitude is a condition or statement of blessedness. So what is blessedness? Blessedness is spiritual joy. If we break it down just a bit more, Blessed is to consecrate or make holy. If we add all this together and shake it up a bit, what do we get? A beatitude is an attribute or spiritual attitude that allows us to experience spiritual joy.
Over the years I have read the beatitudes and tried to decide which one is the best one to “be.” But, the more familiar I become with the beatitudes, the more I read them, the more I am convinced they are not like spiritual gifts. These are indicative of a journey of the heart and life of a follower of Jesus. In other words, these attributes are for all Christians. And as we live the beatitudes we share the kingdom of God here, on earth. So, let us consider one beatitude at a time.
The first step of the heart’s journey is be poor in spirit. Notice it doesn’t say you have to be poor, as in financially. That is a separate topic all together. We are to be poor in spirit. So what does that mean exactly? Poor in spirit refers to a spiritual condition, not an emotional one. It is not about being sad or depressed. Rather, it is a realization that we cannot be holy, we cannot experience spiritual completeness within ourselves. To be poor in spirit is to recognize our need for God. This is the first step in our Christian walk. It is when we are poor in spirit that we realize that we are sinners. We realize and acknowledge that Jesus died for us. The path to true spiritual joy is experienced when we admit our frailties and sin.
Although it is the first step in a journey, it is also a state of being to maintain. Every day we need to acknowledge that we cannot do life without Jesus. Our joy, our blessedness is diminished when we try to do things ourselves. When I become a little “big for my britches” and figure I know how to do this walk on my own. I usually land flat on my face, humbled before God. It doesn’t matter how mature in Christ I become. It doesn’t matter how many times I read through the Bible or how many times a day I pray. I will always need the help of Jesus to walk in holiness.
And Jesus will always, always deserve my humility and praise. For it is only in Him that I live.
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Preaching The Kingdom
Matthew 4:23–24 (NIV84)
Jesus Heals the Sick
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.
Jesus went about preaching the Kingdom.
We are not told exactly what the text of those sermons or proclamations were, but we do know the results. When Jesus preached the Kingdom people were delivered from oppression & people were healed because, of the authority of Jesus. The Kingdom of God is the place or realm where God is in control. The earthly nature is to try to control and dominate. Micro and macro power struggles abound in the story of our world. As I write this a power hungry dictator in Russia has invaded Ukrain to try to reassemble the Soviet Union empire to prominence on the worlds stage. The desire to control inevitably leads to violence.Jesus preached the Kingdom of God has come. With this pronouncement the rulers of this world we given their orders to release those whom they dominated. This was not only true of the political and religious power brokers, but it applied to the demons and diseases.
Receiving the Kingdom or being received into God’s Kingdom requires putting your trust in Jesus to control your life. This means you repent of trying to control and dominate. Instead you become one who follows Jesus. Have you given up control to follow Jesus?
Christians use the phrase getting saved. You may ask, what am I being saved from? You are being saved from yourself and the other things that would try to control your life. If you pray to ask Jesus to come into your life, and you give him control, he becomes your Lord (the one who leads) and Savior (the one who heals). Being saved starts with a prayer, but the real act is to give control to God and trusting him to lead you in every pursuit and every dream.
I want to invite you to pray and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. You can use your own words to tell Jesus. He is the one you trust and will follow. Invite him into your life, and he will come in and work His Kingdom in your life.
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Kingdom Party
The Kingdom of God is not what you might expect. There are times the people of the Kingdom rejoice when others mourn. To think about Jesus at a party might stretch your imagination. Remember Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding party. He turned the water into wine.
Kingdom Parties are different than the parties of the world. Instead of self indulgence, Kingdom parties are about living a life that is not “me-centered.”
Here at Fiesta-Life the party does not end on Ash Wednesday when lent season begins. The Kingdom Fiesta begins as we journey through the beatitudes. The messages from New Hope will be posted here. Plus, there will be interactive posts for you to consider the life Jesus envisioned and taught.
