Blessed Are The Righteous

Last week at The Pulse we started a new series called "Blessed". In Matthew chapter 5 we see Jesus go up on a mountain top and give a sturdy 20 point message before finally coming down. His first point is all about how to be blessed and that is the point we will focus on at The Pulse for the next few weeks.

The word blessed is kind of awesome. In the original Greek it means happy. Jesus starts out his message on the hill by telling the people how to be happy! I love being happy and I'm sure you do to so I think it is worth taking a closer look at what He has to say.

In Matthew 5:6 Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled." This is such a cool concept because it is impossible for us to be righteous because we are human. When I have a fit of road rage while I am driving or I do something out of selfish ambition I am being unrighteous. You see, it is impossible for us to be righteous on our own and I think Jesus knew that and that's why he said we should hunger and thirst for righteousness.

When I hunger and thirst for righteousness I am looking for ways and situations to act in a correct and Godly manner. It changes my perspective on my day. It is overwhelming to wake up and say, "I am going to do everything with integrity and purity today" but it is doable to say, "I am going to search out situations where I can act with honesty and integrity".

I tried this concept this week and I was surprised how many situations I could find where I had the opportunity to act righteously when I was seeking it. The best part was the happy, content, fulfilled feeling I had at the end of the day knowing I did what was right!

Trial Run

Lately I have taken up running. I want to be perfectly clear that I'm not a "runner". There are some people that love to run, that crave it. I can run though. I have 2 legs that work and the lung capacity of a cheetah but for me running was usually reserved for when I'm either chasing something or being chased by something. However, running has taught me a lot about trials and suffering over the last few months. Here are some quick thoughts.

Trials are painful: When I started running a few months ago I ran 2 miles and thought my legs were going to implode but the pain was necessary for growth. 1 Peter 4:12 says, "Do not be surprised by the painful trial you are suffering, as thought something strange were happening to you." For Peter, pain and trials were connected.

Trials are necessary for growth: This last week I went on 7 and 8.5 mile runs. Those runs wouldn't have been possible without all of the pain and suffering leading up to them. Trials are horrible in the moment. During times of trial I have felt helpless and abandoned, lonely and tired but as Paul says, "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into your hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3)

For some reason God chooses to use trials to shape us and build our character. I don't know why that is. I don't believe God takes joy in my pain. It seems out of God's character for him to be that cruel. Maybe the author William Newell was on to something when he wrote: "God is infinite; and there are things of God, and in God that only suffering gives the capacity to know."

I guess that's the point. Trials don't have to be enjoyable and fun. The important thing is that we learn what God wants us to learn, grow from them and move on. If you are in the middle of a trial remember that all trials end someday and that through it all Jesus says, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

Take A STEP Forward

Have you ever noticed that there are certain times when temptation is worse than others? Maybe it is as simple as eating foods you know you shouldn't eat or as complicated as a drug addiction. What if I were to tell you there is a formula that makes you more susceptible to temptation? This formula doesn't apply to every situation and I could definitely add more to it a so could you, but I think it is a good place to start. The formula is HALT. Here is what I mean:

H- Hungry

A- Angry

L- Lonely

T- Tired

When we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired we are more susceptible to temptation. It was profound when I realized there were times when I was more easily tempted. Knowing how easily I can be tempted made me come up with a solution. It is called STEP.

S- Scripture

T- Teachable

E- Encouragement

P- Prayer

Scripture- Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Memorizing Scripture is key. It is a practice that can't be stressed enough and also something I am really convicted of. In Luke 4:1-12 Jesus is in the wilderness being tempted by Satan and he quotes scripture 3 times to ward off the temptation.

Teachable- Luke 2:52 says, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men". Jesus was God, but he also had a human component that needed to grow and learn just like we do. From an early age Jesus was teachable.

Encouragement- Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of 3 strands is not easily broken. It is important to have people around you that you can text or call when you are bing tempted.

Pray- Luke 22:40 says, "...Pray that you will not fall into temptation" and Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." I would be willing to bet that God doesn't want us to fall into temptation and if we pray for his help we will receive it.

Here's the deal: Satan wants to HALT our spiritual growth but Jesus wants us to STEP forward.

Why Be Content?

Lately I have been battling a feeling of contentment. I live in paradise, I have a beautiful wife and a good job and to top it all off, God is starting to use me to do some amazing things. I can honestly say that life is good. But it’s not enough. When I stop reflecting on how good things are right now I realize how much more God wants to do.

For Jesus, dying on the cross wasn’t enough. He wasn’t content with what he had already accomplished. He also wanted everyone to know that he made that sacrifice for a purpose. Even after he rose from the dead he wanted his followers to know there was more to life than their own personal salvation and charged them with the responsibility of telling the know world that Jesus defeated sin for everybody.

It puts life in a different perspective and it changes how I look at the everyday. As a follower of Jesus I need to be content with the fact that Jesus died for my sins. Sometimes I’m not so sure about this and I even doubt whether or not my sins are truly gone but I shouldn’t. Instead I need to be content with my salvation, but that shouldn’t be what gets me out of bed in the morning. What gets me out of bed in the morning is God’s plan for me. God long ago set me down a path to tell others about the love and peace that I have found in unique and fresh ways. That is my destiny.

I believe God gives each of us a different and unique purpose and that includes you. What is it that you are going to do today to alter history? Are you content to merely live your life happy and secure in your own salvation or are you going to dream big and ask God to empower you for a greater purpose? The world needs playmakers like you so get in the game.

A Free Future

Thanks to Japan everyone in southern California is talking about earthquakes and what we should do to get ready in case "the big one" hits. I spent some time thinking about what I would put in an emergency kit but then I heard one guy on the radio say that a 2 week supply of food and water is a joke and that you need more than that so I gave up thinking about it. It still got me thinking tho.

As Christians I don't think we spend enough time thinking about our spiritual future. When a life emergency happens often times we aren't ready for it. When our faith gets shaken we start to doubt the reality of God and eventually ditch our faith and bury ourselves in our self misery.

To stay connected to Jesus we need to spend some time storing up spiritual things. Right now I feel the presence of God in some way or another every day and I can't imagine living my life outside of his embrace. It is important to me to do whatever I can so I never slip away from Him.

Here are 3 quick suggestions to ponder:

1. I can't overstate the importance of spending time in God's word every day. Sometimes the word of God is the only solid ground we have to stand on.

2. Having an ongoing conversation with Jesus may seem awkward at times but it is good for the soul. Churches call it prayer but to me it is an ongoing conversation.

3. Staying connected to your church is the most practical thing you can do. There will be seasons where I don't pray as much, or where its hard to find motivation to read my Bible but when I start to lose connection with my church family I know I'm in trouble.

I pray that a crisis never happens but I pray even harder that if it does I would draw closer to God and I pray that for you too.

An Ambiguous Thing

A person's purpose in life can be an ambiguous thing because it means something different to different people. A teacher might say that their purpose is to teach and a doctor might say that their purpose is to heal. For me it is something deeper than that. When a person aligns their unique gifts with the heart and vision of the Holy Spirit living inside them they begin to find their true purpose.

Want to find your purpose in life? Here are some suggestions.

1. True purpose starts with Jesus Christ. If you haven't accepted Christ into your heart then you won't find your true purpose. We can do purposeful things but life will never have a deeper sense of meaning without a relationship with Jesus.

2. Do what excites you. There are usually one or two things that really stir something with us. Each of us is programmed differently by God to have certain gifts and abilities. We are happiest when we are working in those gifts.

3. Connect to the heart of God. God cares about people. Everything he does is done to benefit humanity. We need to be thinking the same way.

Your real purpose is discovered when your gifts collide with the heart of God. Combine that with the power of Jesus and you will find an unstoppable formula for success.

I Doubt It part 1

Do you like nicknames? I do. I alway secretly wanted a cool nickname. I was even jealous of friends that had awesome nicknames. However, I came across a guy once that had a nickname that I wasn't envious of. The guy's name was Thomas and people called him "Doubting Thomas". How would you like that for a nickname? His friends has really cool nicknames that made his seem that more lame. There was Peter, aka The Rock, and the brothers James and John, aka The Sons of Thunder. I especially like that last one.

To be forever known as the man who doubted the reality of Christ's resurrection must have been demoralizing for poor Thomas but personally I'm glad he was because it gives me someone I can relate to. Like Thomas I have found myself doubting God. In times of trial or tragedy I have felt so weak and alone that I wondered if a far off God even cared about little old me. I began to doubt wether or not God was even real.

It took some time for be to overpower the feelings of doubt with the confidence of trust. In fact I still have little battles within my heart from time to time where I know that God is real and he does care, but my faith is shaky enough to make me doubt how much. That leads me to my goal for 2011. This is my year of complete trust. This is the year that I beat down doubt with the power of the Holy Spirit and say, "I may not understand God, but I am going to trust you!" I feel that 2011 is going to be different. For more on Thomas' story grab a Bible and read John 20:24-29