The Bread of Life

Darrell points out that we live in a world which believes in "The myth of Scarcity". This idea that there is nothing that can ever satisfy the world and our human hearts - a total lie. I often seek to fill my heart with bread of this world, and continue to hunger and thirst. I pray that I could continually remember The One who satisfies me, and the rest of the world. Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming!

"When we find ourselves hungry, we can tell we are out of the habit of coming to The Lord Jesus"

This reminder that each day we need to fill up not on things of this world, but on Christ alone, brings me great Joy. The Lord continually provides for us all that we need. Each day, hour minute, may I feast on The Bread of Life. I need You more than I need my next meal, Jesus!!! Amen

Peace

“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERES, FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF GOD”

Jesus offers us a peace that is different from the peace of this world; it is Shalom. It is the total harmony of all relationships for which we were created for and it is only experienced when we let God be God. We will always feel uneasy and dissatisfied when we have something else sitting in Gods place.

I am someone who absolutely dislikes confrontation or making people upset with me. Some might speculate that I don’t want to disturb the peace, but I think they’re wrong. If I truly wanted to cultivate shalom, I would be okay “stirring the pot” or offending people by the way I follow and proclaim Jesus—of course, not intentionally. The eighth beatitude tells of the consequence that will follow having the first seven. I don’t want to be rejected or criticized, but shalom is experienced through the cross. As I listened, I remembered that a crucifixion is always painful, slow, and public. Jesus has called me, and all of us, to live with self-giving-sacrificial-servant love which requires us to go to the cross. By doing so, we are peacemakers.  

Lord, show me the way to Calvary and help me carry my cross there. Show me where I resist You and put back in to place things that I idol. Would I experience your peace and make peace here on earth.        

seeing God and being seen by God

Seeing God, that's such a cool promise and its so easy for me to just casually read over it without realizing it's weight. DJ pointed out that every other promise of the beatitudes pales in light of the promise of seeing God but it also brings them all into focus. And the way we see God is by seeing Jesus, and we see the face of Jesus in the face of the small child that interrupts us and in the face of the marginalized, but that's not all. We don't even know how else we'll see Jesus, but whatever he's promising I want it.

Pure in heart means unmixed at the center. People that are pure in heart are the ones where there isn't a question of reliability, they aren't hiding anything, and you know they won't be different people in different situations. And the way we become pure in heart isn't by striving for it, but by letting Jesus and his gospel take hold of us. When that happens we can be transparent before God because we know he already sees us and loves us fully.

"Don't be preoccupied with the purity of your heart. Look at Jesus."

"it is enough that Jesus is Lord."

Amen

Peacemaker + Merciful & Pure in Heart

Blessed are the Peacemakers

"Peace is so much more than inner tranquility or absence of war", it is remarkably more than how it is defined by the world. Of course peace is so much more than it seems! It is easy to believe we can create shalom on our own or can obtain it when all is perfectly ordered in the way we desire it to be. But the peace of God is unexplainable and absolutely created by Him alone. He has brought deep peace in my life when all around was chaos, and this peace, this shalom was sufficient. Sufficient not because all was going well, but because God had brought it, and God Himself was the Shalom. 

Lord I pray that I would be in sync with you and your gospel. I want echo DJ’s prayer, “Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. Oh divine master, grant that I may not so much console as to be consoled, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is through pardoning that we are pardoned, and in dying that we are born into eternal life.”

Blessed are the Merciful

God does not call me to bring judgement or what I feel someone deserves upon them. Only the Lord has that authority and I am not God. What a reminder-- you, Kailie are not God. God is God and He is in control. He is the righteous judge who extends mercy upon mercy despite what we do and do not deserve. 

I think my desire to bring judgment rather than mercy is often a distrust that God’s loving mercy is enough and truly the best thing for that person. 

What God does call me to is a heart of surrender to Him, giving Him all resistance within me to withhold mercy. 

Father please meet me in the resistance with a reminder and push to let go of control and forgivingly and genuinely extend mercy to another.

Blessed are the Pure in Heart 

My thoughts on this are a little difficult to communicate, but to look at this beatitude in light of all the others was very helpful. To be pure in heart means much more now than it did. When in the word, I'm beginning to recognize the connections of each of the beatitudes, especially in Proverbs.

After listening, I recalled some moments where Jesus has been seen. Some of the most clear and recent moments were in the days following the past few summers. Why is it that in and after times like these that God is so easily seen? It is here that I have allowed my heart to seek and commune fully in unity with Him and have draw near as He has drawn near. Jesus, I pray that this deep communing and heart focus would be true in all seasons.

A few other things DJ said that caught my attention: 

“Hoard nothing of yourself, surrender it to the Lord.”

“The pure in heart praise Him from sunrise to sun down even when they feel broken, distracted, insecure and uncertain.”

Lord, thank you for these past few weeks of listening and writing together. Please continue to draw us to yourself in all things. 

Blessed are The Peacemakers

What a great way to wrap up this series of Sermons.


The way which we become peacemakers, and which the other qualities that Jesus blesses in His beatitudes is simple - Let God be God. This part of the sermon was a reminder that I needed to hear in these trying times when I am so tempted to let other things take control of my mind and heart. If only I could just let God be God!

Lord would your Gospel grab a hold of my heart and life. Would you shatter my hardened heart and make me an instrument of your peace. Would I submit to being a creature of The Creator. Amen!

Looking forward to the blogs to come!!

What does Jesus, Glock, Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer, Ruger, and HK have in common?

Answer:  They all have promised making "peace" or making you a "peace-maker" =)  (All the names in the title are gun companies.  Guns are often nick-named "Peacemakers".....for those of you that were scratching your heads from my title)

As DJ preached in his sermon, the things that can happen to a peace maker are:

1.     Receive approval and blessings from God.  That sounds good to me!

2.     Receive blessings but probably SCORN from other people because....."that is just the way it is....SORRY"  - DJ      

Ahhh come again!  Say what?  LOL - The truth plainly preached is funny, refreshing, and at time uncomfortable.  

Jesus - "They are going to hate you because they hated me".......SORRY, THAT IS JUST THE WAY IT IS!  In light of that ....Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God!

    The world's idea of "peacemaking" is not God's.  God's way in found in self-giving-sacrificial-servant-love (see Jesus' life).  As we follow Jesus' example..............we shall be called the children of God. 

   Thanks everyone for the past weeks of listen and sharing together.  I look forward to jumping into the Barnabas and Driver - Trainee blog with you all! 

Reid

Week 7 - Healing the Hearts of the Human Zoo.....One CRUSH at a time.....Blessed are the Peacemakers

Week 7 - Healing the Hearts of the Human Zoo.....One CRUSH at a time.....Blessed are the Peacemakers

Luke 19:41-42 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

When it comes to being a peace maker this verse has simultaneously haunted me and inspired me. 

Haunted – With minor chord melancholic music filmed in slow motion you see Jesus being lead through Jerusalem as a king while he speaks these words as a narrative over the music and the lauding crowd.

Inspired – Knowing that his descent into hell at the hands of idiot, ignorant punks leads to the soul pounding, exultant, tear-filled, intimate & joy-filled reunions Jesus had in the wake of the resurrection.

Inspired - The absolutely impossible comeback that time and time again brought ecstatic joy and passionate intimacy between bride groom and bride with each glorious appearing. 

U2’s song Always has the lyric, “here today, gone tomorrow. Crack the bone, get to the marrow.” Each sermon of this series has positively focused my attention on what’s good and necessary.

This week’s message "2 x 4’d" my mindset again (as in previous messages) to the marrow of life which is to consider it pure joy to trust that the ludicrous and laughable posture of laying down my life for anyone at anytime is the reason that I exist and the calling on my life each day/moment.

As U2 puts it in their song Zoo Station, when it comes to the high risk/excruciatingly painful/life threatening stakes of making peace in the human zoo  I want my reflex response to be…

I’m ready for the shuffle
I’m ready for the deal
I’m ready to let go of the steering wheel
I’m ready
Ready for the crush

Isaiah 53:9-10 – “though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’ will to crush him and cause him to suffer….”

(JESUS) -- “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace”…….(My prayer) “I’m ready…..ready for the crush.”

Pure Heart, Clear Eyes

“BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD”

To be pure in heart does not mean perfection. It means to live in the new creation with Jesus who sanctifies and aligns our hearts desires with His. Jeremiah says that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9). But the Lord will search the heart and test the mind. Jesus is the Savior and physician who has come to heal the sick and save the lost.

This beatitude puts all the others into focus. As we draw near to the heart of Jesus, we mourn yet receive comfort, we accept and give mercy, we allow God to be our justifier, we crave right relationship and realize we are dependent on God alone. There is so much freedom that comes in knowing Jesus, for He is holy and deserving of all honor and praise. Jesus tells us to follow Him; He will make us clean and we will see the Lord!

Shalom!

Sometimes when these Sonshine blogs/podcasts align on the same topic of my morning devos I feel like God is really calling me out on something, and that’s exactly what happened today.

Since humanity has turned its back on its maker, we as disciples of Jesus, or shalom makers, are called to bring peace to all the relationships we have with each other, ourselves, God, and the earth. As DJ explained later in his sermon, the things that can happen to a peace maker are:

1.     Receive approval and blessings from God.

2.     Receive blessings or scorn from other people…because if we rejected Him, they might reject us.

This morning I read 1 Corinthians 4:

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

When we bring peace through evangelism or taking up our cross, we will encounter scorn or judgement from others or even ourselves. But in 1 Corinthians, Paul is essentially telling us that a person who is grasped by the gospel and gets criticism, scorn, or judgement will not be devastated. They are far less concerned with themselves or others and way more concerned with the Lord’s judgement.

When we choose to bring shalom on this earth, it is important to ask ourselves, “Am I doing this because I lust for recognition or because I want to make myself feel good? Or am I bringing shalom to this earth because I want to be a steward of Christ, and could care less about who brought the peace in the relationship but are just SO happy to see the joy and peace in the relationship in itself?”

Shalom is a gift and experienced only in relationship with God. Therefore, the more we get to understand the gospel, the more we want to change and bring shalom. 

Lord, make us instruments of your peace! Thank you for letting us be your children!

good news: there's mercy

Jesus shows up proclaiming the good news of a healed humanity and mercy is evidence of His kingdom breaking through. I think what struck me most in this message was that unwillingness to extend mercy comes from a place of not truly recognizing our own need for mercy. How can I extend mercy to someone if I am in a place of believing that I can pay my own debt or that I don't have any to pay. Of course if I believe I can do it on my own, I would expect others to do the same. BUT, that mindset means I am desperately in need of mercy. I like how March 23rd's staff devo puts it, "Jesus saves for you sweet mercy for your brokenness and severe mercy for your pride." Even when we aren't in a place of recognizing our brokenness there's still more mercy, though it may look different.

Also, none of the beatitudes exist in isolation from the other beatitudes. Those who are merciful are also poor in spirit, they mourn, they are meek, and they hunger and thirst for righteousness. The kingdom of God is breaking into our world and as a result we as his people recognize we are empty handed before the savior of the world, we mourn because we have a taste of what life was intended to be, we realize we don't have to grab power for ourselves but trust the one with all authority, we crave right relationship, and we freely extend mercy because it's been freely given to us. And that's some good news in the midst of such uncertain times.

An uncomftrable life

Sorry these are late, but here are some of my thoughts on the past few sermons.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
 Like some others have written, I was greatly refreshed by how DJ emphasized that righteousness means "right relationship" and we strive to have living, breathing, and personal relationship with the Lord. I also enjoyed the reference to the fact that we are the bride of Christ, that metaphor gets me every time.
The days after I listened to this sermon, I would find myself temped to dishonor my relationship with the Lord. I can still forget that my sin takes away from my relationship with the Lord and at times of emptiness there is an emotion/feeling of just pure hunger and starvation. I think this beatitude ties in really well with the first one.
I love the end when DJ points out that we will be satisfied!

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 
 I'm really glad DJ took the time to explain what mercy meant. Mercy is one of those words that I think I understand but sometimes I really need to slow down and think about the real definition of mercy. I always envision like a king (Lord of the Rings style) and some peasant who begs the king for mercy and sometimes he gives it, and sometimes he does not. DJ said "Mercy is giving someone what they do not deserve" and "Mercy is not giving someone what they do deserve." 
Mercy is very hard for me to give out sometimes, this sermon kinda punched me in the gut. Especially when he brought up how that giving mercy means taking risks, and not caring about how the person ended up where they are. We are still called to give mercy, though it may be so challenging.
 I cannot comprehend of how if it is hard for me to give mercy, how could God give mercy to us all when we have fallen so far from our true nature? 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
 This sermon made my head twirl a little, with all the questions DJ was asking I was like "I have no idea DJ, aren't you supposed to know the answers?"
The greatest relief came over me when DJ said that 'pure of heart is not perfection' but rather they are adherents to the other beatitudes (with Jesus) and crave truth and integrity and they accept the truth about themselves. Just another example of the beatitudes being awesome and reminding us we accomplish these things through the power of Jesus!

Hope you all are safe,
Konrad

 

blessed are the pure in heart!

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL RECEIVE MERCY.

My main takeaway from this sermon was the idea of begging for mercy from God while refusing to give mercy to those who ask of it from you. I love what DJ said about mercy always involving risk. Mercy does not care about the loss of a name, mercy instead sets the individuals understanding of mercy aside and allows God's truth of mercy to intercede for them. One who does not extend mercy to others when mercy has been freely given by God has lost touch with the Truth of God. 

BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD.

How I long to be pure in heart. The biggest thing that stood out to me in this sermon was the absolute truth that the pure in heart has to be seen in light of the other beatitudes prior to it. The pure in heart does not mean perfect, it does not mean that they have arrived at their destination, it does not meant that they can make it on their own, and it does not mean that they believe themselves to be righteous. To be pure of heart is to have integrity and to be transparent; it is to seek Truth in all aspects of life. To seek the truth, to crave the truth, to face the truth, to tell the truth, and to live out the truth! 

Lastly, holiness is not to be understood as fullness. It is to be perceived as an emptiness that you discover, in light of Christ, that you recognize as a space for God to take residence.

Praying for everyones safety and well being during this season!

Week 6 - The Necessity of Good Heart Hygiene to See All things Including TP Hoarder Crazies Through God's Eyes

Week 6 - The Necessity of Good Heart Hygiene to See All things Including TP Hoarder Crazies Through God's Eyes

With all the focus on washing hands and keeping it “sterile” I appreciated the message’s emphasis on God’s role in keeping our hearts clean (In short, beatitude living is good hygiene for the heart.)


With our postponing/virtualizing the start of the Barney program, I appreciated the message’s encouragement that with a clean heart comes the intuition and wisdom to see God more clearly and to see the world through God’s eyes.

“Seeing the world through God’s eyes.” --- At the admin retreat, the clips we watched from Bruce Almighty sought to emphasize the painful missteps and discipline that accompanies the process of “seeing the world through God’s eyes.” The movie suggests (to me at least) that when experiencing discipleship the pain is always far greater than we expect but so to the gain!


The sermon encouraged me to pray that God would help me see --my kids, the admin team, the Barneys, the other staff, my wife, society, pandemics, and the “CRAZIES” stockpiling decades worth of toilet paper – the way that “God sees them now!” – Quote from Bruce Almighty

Week 5 + 6

Week 5- Mercy 

A comment that really stirred my heart from this sermon was “If we are asking God for mercy while refusing to extend mercy to someone else, then we are in that moment not asking for mercy….When we can’t give mercy we are in most need of mercy”.  When I find myself asking for mercy, I ask in order to be purified again or feel the presence of God, but that simply shows I am more concerned for myself and not for others. Although this idea is exposing my imperfections with my relationship with God, I am encouraged to know that it is in moments like these where mercy is most near. I pray that I don’t seek mercy to justify myself but to be in sync with the gospel. Mercy bears much fruit and my prayer is that God continues to soften my heart so that I can show compassion and forgiveness to others so that I can be a bearer of that fruit. Lord, continue being the surgeon of my heart!   

Week 6- Pure in Heart

Loved hearing how this beatitude is an extension of the other beatitudes; you can’t think about this beatitude separately from the other ones. To be pure in heart is not imitating Christ, because in that sense we are still standing alone. Rather, it is the incorporation of Christ in our life as that allows us to walk side by side with Him. I think this concept is something I have struggled with for a while because I see myself wanting and craving Him, but at the same time it is hard for me to give up my brokenness to the Lord. I want to run to life from death, and the only way to do that is exactly what was explained in all the previous beatitudes. I want Jesus, I want him today, and I want him now. I pray I’m not preoccupied with my own heart and hold everything to myself, but rather give everything up to him who has already taken all my sins from me. Lord continue to purify my heart!  

"Freely you received, freely give"

“BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY”

In any relationship, the more you are around a person, the more you take on their tendencies and traits. Likewise, when we hang around Jesus, we become more like Him. Jesus is mercy. Therefore, mercy in us is a sign that we are following Jesus.

Mercy is showing kindness and granting pardon. What stood out to me in the story of the good Samaritan is that mercy does not demand to know and understand reason. The Samaritan did not care if the man was guilty or innocent of his suffering. It is easy for me to show kindness to those that I believe deserve it, but if I deem them unworthy of my kindness and forgiveness, it is a lot harder to extend mercy to them.

Praise the Lord for showing us mercy when we cry out to Him!

This made me think of Jesus’ instruction given in Matthew 10:5-8, “These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, ‘do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach saying, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.’”

Since our King has shown us great mercy, we too should show mercy. N.T. Wright says it well in his book, Following Jesus, “Jesus is lifted up to draw us all to Himself, and to enable us to be for the world what He was for the World.”

Lord, show me your ways and allow me to have compassion and mercy for all, as You have done so for me.

Off Topic Prayer Request

A couple weeks ago Sarah was exposed to Corona. She got her tests back yesterday. Negative. Since she is now (as of yesterday) off quarantine she heads back out on the front lines Monday. Since she was the first confirmed exposure to a provider in Lodi by the first two diagnosed patients in the county odds are she/we will be in “exposure quarantine” again soon. If you could keep Sarah and our (understandably) concerned kids in your prayers I’d appreciate it! Management said the next ten days are going to be craaaaazy!

Thx!

Come and get me, Jesus.

Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see God.

Oh how deeply I desire to be Pure in Heart. For years I have wrestled with a feeling of impurity and broken relationship with the Lord. This Beatitude brings me to my knees in  prayer that Jesus would draw me in to Himself.  In light of all the other beatitudes, I pray that Jesus would continue to capture my heart, crucify me, and let me know Him.  I pray that He would expose in my all the things that break my right relatedness with Him and release me from them.

Jesus come get me!!!! Let me see The Great Light!!! Make me clean!!!! Amen

craving right relationship

Sorry for the late post, but here's week 4 and hopefully I'll have week 5 up in the next couple days.

Righteousness seems like a scary christianese term, but I really appreciate DJ's emphasis, that it simply means right relationship. And God's laws are given in the context of that relationship. Disobedience means we aren't taking the relationship seriously. No wonder God is grieved by our sin, because when we sin we are telling God we don't think the relationship he offers is worth enough for us to live in the way he calls us to, oof. But, good news! God longs for right relationship with us, and he hasn't given up! We also have that longing, and when we let that longing heal our other appetites, there's the promise that we'll be satisfied. It reminds me of what DJ said in the 10 commandments series that only an infinite God can fill our finite hearts. Relationship with him is what fills us, satisfies, and makes all of the other relationships work the way they were made to. I was reading that in Psalm 34:8 when it says "taste and see that the Lord is good" the word taste has the implication of "try this, you'll like it." Praying that as I taste and remember God's goodness, I'll crave him even more.

Hunger and thirst / Mercy

I apologize that both of these posts are late, here are my thoughts on weeks 4 and 5

Week 4

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

I was inspired by the right relatedness of the four relationships we were created for described in this sermon. Of all the beatitudes thus far, this one cut the deepest. Am I hungering and thirsting for righteousness like the one who is starving, or the one who will die without a drink? I hope and pray that Jesus Gospel would continue to be revealed to me as Jesus draws me more in Synch with Himself.

A piece of this sermon that I have been sitting on and has been transformative for me is the idea that Disobedience is so grievous because it is not taking a relationship seriously. I often look at disobedience as a step out of the rules or guidelines of living that I have been given. But in the context of breaking a relationship, it must be taken much more seriously.

Lord I pray that I could seek, and you would reveal to me the One who is Righteousness in all things! Amen

Week 5

Blessed are the Merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

The parable of the good Samaritan is one of my favorites and one that I am often drawn back to. I have always assumed that the beaten one was innocent, but looking through the context described in this sermon all the more Jesus reveals Himself. Mercy without needing a reason why someone is suffering is the true mercy which God shows to us.

I was also struck by the third question Darrel posed in his sermon. Admittedly, Mercy is generally not my default reaction to the suffering. The gospel cut to my heart that when I deny mercy to the suffering I feel that I myself am not in need of the Mercy of God.

Lord would you crack open my heart and make me merciful towards all those who are suffering. Grab hold of my heart Jesus. Amen.

Pure in Heart

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"

I appreciated hearing this beatitude in light of all the other ones.  Remembering that each beatitude is not a stand alone "achievement," but rather a gracious gift given by God (Blessed) to one who is preoccupied with Jesus.

Blessed are the poor in spirit......
Blessed are those who mourn....
Blessed are the meek....
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst....
Blessed are the merciful.....
Blessed are the pure in heart....
Blessed are the peacemakers.....
Blessed are those who are persecuted for right relatedness with God.....

All of these gifts given by God are innate occurrences to those who are preoccupied with Jesus. 

May I be so preoccupied by Jesus, the gift giver, that I am completely unaware of how His gifts have graced me.

-Reid 

Satisfied in You

“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEY SHALL BE SATISFIED”

There is so much hope in the promise that Jesus gives us: those who thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.

We were created for relationship with God, and through relationship with Him, we have life! The law—which is to preserve right relationship with God—was given after His grace and after He established relationship with us. We do not need to be perfect and sinless in order to get this relationship. Rather, through relationship with Him, our lives will be transformed, and He will sanctify us. He longs for us and will satisfy us.

Blessed are the Merciful, for they shall receive MERCY

In the midst of a crazy week (with all that is surrounding public health) the savior speaks, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive Mercy."

In John chapter 12 a woman pours out perfume and tears to Jesus.  She, to a large extent, offers all she has to Jesus and He calls it good.  Her worship of Jesus is extravagant, passionate, and without limit. So swept away by the savior’s sacrificial love & MERCY for her, she pours herself out.  She leaves no pause in her mind, body, and heart for questions like “is this right?  Is this enough? Does Jesus want 10% of this perfume or should I sacrificially give more than 10%?”   Her love poured out (worship) is totally impractical and embarrassingly vulnerable.  Instead of being conservative and pragmatic she is reckless and unconstrained.  She doesn’t seek to control but surrenders control to the one whose love will be soon poured out for her in a few days on the cross.  When seized by the passionate love AND MERCY of Christ she smothers Him with kisses, great affection, and sacrifice. (Culture Point - Passion)

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive Mercy?  Or is it.......Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive Mercy!!!

"When in that moment we cry out "Lord have mercy on us," He does.  He comes near, so very near.  Mercy Himself comes near, and then empowers us to do for others what He has done for us." - DJ

Mercy (just like the Way, Truth, and Life) ends up being a person.  The person...Jesus. "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" -John 14:6

Mercy is not something/someone I can control, but rather surrender to be controlled by.  Mercy is not something/someone I wield about when ever I choose, but rather surrender to be wielded about at Mercy's bidding. When we encounter mercy, we encounter the risen Lord Jesus. Hard to believe? Yes, (for me at least) I so often don't want to believe or accept the offered gift of Mercy Himself.

Mark 16:9-14 -  When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.  Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.  Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their hard-hearted stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.    

Come Mercy come and do whatever it is you want to do!

WEEK 5 -- MERCY - "THE LIFEBLOOD THAT FUELS THE DREAMS OF CHAMPIONS!"

MERCY - "THE LIFEBLOOD THAT FUELS THE DREAMS OF CHAMPIONS!"

We often use the Parable of the Good Samaritan and the Parable of the Merciful King in our training to help express the radical, unconditional, merciful generosity of God and the unimaginable kindness and compassion of God’s heart.  I always feel encouraged when speakers use these stories to illustrate the radical abundance of mercy and compassion that characterizes God’s heart. 

My kids are on  Spring Break this week.  Two nights ago we watched the movie Kicking and Screaming together.  The main character of the movie, Will Ferrell, is a kind, compassionate, meek, gentle dad who throughout the movie slowly begins to question mercy as the right approach for relationships and finally test drives selfishness, savagery, and cruelty as an approach for experiencing fulfillment.  His abandonment of beatitude living fails miserably. 

The clip below captures the moment where he hits rock bottom. The scene in the clip, as well as the entire movie,  parodies the insane death trap we set for ourselves when we stop trusting the Father’s merciful heart and instead put our faith in forceful coercion and brutality. 

Spoiler alert – After Phil/Will Ferrell alienates himself from what matters most to him, his wife and son, he seeks their apology and puts his trust again in mercy and compassion.  Ultimately, like Darrell preaches, he learns that the practice of mercy is the lifeblood that fuels the dreams of champions!

Next time I’m feeling like trusting force over mercy I’m going to watch this clip below to remind myself how foolish and ridiculous I become when I don’t see the blessing of mercy when it comes to building relationships with God and others. 

the Divine Appetite

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied
Or better understood: "blessed are those who knowingly unrighteous hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied"

God REFORMS our appetite

The hunger and thirst for righteousness heals the compulsion of eating, it heals the obsession of desiring sexual intimacy, it heals the egocentricity of achieving greatness; If you hunger and thirst for righteousness you crave what God craves - the divine appetite!

It was a great reminder for me that Jesus offers Himself to me every day, and He promises that He will satisfy. Seeing my relationship with Him through this sense brings me to a place of remorse as I realize that I don't always take advantage of His offering to me. It grieves me to know that sometimes I can choose myself over the free gift that I've been given daily through Christ.

Righteousness

I always seem to forget (despite the many times we have gone over this term) that righteousness means right relationship. Each time that I am reminded of righteousness meaning right relationship I am in awe and a bit of shock. That’s it!? Right relationship, that simple?? It is like a deep breath of fresh air, a weight lifted off of my shoulders as I am reminded to stop all striving towards the type of righteousness that the Pharisees thought was righteousness. DJ mentioned that “we can be following and conforming to the laws set by God and not be righteous [in right relationship] at all”. All things connect and flow together when I remember and am communing in right relationship with our Father. 

A few points that stuck out:

-God craves right relationship as well.

-All of our longings are longings for God.

“You’re really looking for me… ask of me and I will give you living water! If you come to me you will not hunger, if you believe in me you will not thirst. Out of your inner most being there will be streams of living water!”

-God has not given up on His own hunger and thirst!

-Do not give up on your hunger and thirst for this right relationship!

Meekness

It has been encouraging to read the blogs you all have posted on meekness. Thank you for sharing! 

Throughout the message I continued to be reminded that these blessed qualities are not something we can make ourselves to be, but come when we are in sync with Christ and His gospel. As I listened I was reminded of the Proverb that talks about pride coming before the fall, Jesus again showing me that it is Christ in us that causes this gentleness and that He deserves and will get all credit, praise, and glory for His qualities [Himself] shining through us. 

Additionally, it was very interesting to learn that emotional discipline is part of meekness.

DJ says, “the meek deliberately redirect their emotions and find their peace and wholeness in a person [the person of Christ]”. He goes on to mention that “the meek are those who when offended surrender their wounded ego and the one offending their ego to the perfect judge!!!”

These words are a great reminder to absorb all insults and hurt feelings and surrender them to our Father who will surely meet us and fulfill every need and searching within our woundedness.

Lord I pray that I would give you all credit, glory, and praise for who you are through me. I entrust my whole being to you, including my mind to “[you] who judges righteously”. God please show me what it is to be in sync with you and your gospel.

week 3

Sorry to be late for the week three sermon, but here are my thoughts...

I enjoyed how DJ explained that meek is not what we typically think it is, using Psalm 37 to help explain it. And for me the biggest takeaway was how the meek choose to be meek because they know their strength relies not on things of this earth, but on the Lord Almighty.

And he reminded us that to succumb to the things of this earth is easier to do than to actually be 'meek' and surrender to the Lord. "Responding to violence with violence is weak," and "the meek do good in the face of evil" is what I wrote down in my notes. This is just another example in my opinion of how Lord tells us true          (fill in the blank) is opposite of what we expect. Our human idea of 'strength' is very wrong from the Lord's idea of humanly strength.

Konrad McKeague

Craving for Righteousness

As I’ve processed this sermon, I realized that craving, or rather not having, is the root of recklessly giving oneself. When we are so desperate to have something, we start to put ourselves in situations that allow us to attain what we want, which forces us to give ourselves away.

In the case of craving righteousness, one is forced to put themselves in situations that equate to “right relatedness/relationships” such as serving and sacrifice, or in other words picking up ones cross and giving oneself away. When we want to foster a relationship with someone or something but are restricting ourselves from sacrificial servitude, we will never then fully receive the satisfaction we desperately desired from the beginning. Simply put, we are not taking the relationship seriously. Righteousness and right relationships (with God, others, ourselves, or the earth) go hand in hand; when the craving of righteousness is neglected, so is the foundation of any relationship.  

God is at work repairing the relationships of those who crave righteousness with a serving heart as they will experience satisfaction, and for that I am grateful. I pray He continues to reform our appetites to heal our earthly cravings for a craving for righteousness.

blessed are the meek

I am late to the blog on last weeks sermon, however I thought I'd share what stuck out to me. This week was especially a hard week living at home with my family, and the Truth that lies in the character of meekness is something I absolutely needed to be reminded of.

THOUGHTS:

1) Let God be the righteous judge. So often I get "hot under the collar" towards my family, and I begin to conjure up what their intentions are, why they did it, what they think of me, and how THEY have fallen short. Less often do I reflect on my own heart towards them and how I can better love and serve them in order to bring glory to the Father. So often with my family I struggle with the temptation to allow my behavior to be determined by others. I love what DJ says in regards to this: "offer your emotions to God, who manages them in a redemptive way".

2) Why fall into the way of the old order when we know how the story ends? Those who are grabbed by the gospel understand how to enjoy the Earth and how to live in it as God has granted it to those He blesses. With an understanding of what it means to delight in the Lord and to trust Him with your life on Earth.

My Apologies -- This is a very Ultra Packety Post -- "Lust-filled Communion for Quenching Thirsty Souls/Hungry Hearts:"

My Apologies -- This is a very Ultra Packety Post -- 

"Lust-filled Communion for Quenching Thirsty Souls/Hungry Hearts"

For some reason this message reminded me of Jesus sitting with the disciples and saying out loud, “I have eagerly desired [lusted] to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Luke 22:15

I’ve always marveled at how Jesus’ passion in this moment for His friends trumped all other worries, concerns, and anxieties over His looming torture, humiliation, and death.  

Christ’s zeal/passion for community drowned out all other worries and concerns.

When I was a child I heard a preacher once paraphrase the 23rd Psalm by quoting the misspeak of a child. He quoted the child saying – “THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD.  HE’S EVERYTHING I WANT!”

So, Christ's hunger and thirst for communing with His friends and this paraphrase from Psalm 23, that I heard when I was a kid,  were my first two thoughts after hearing the sermon. 

The two thoughts left me with an appreciation about how intimacy with Jesus is the fuel for our relationship with Him and to some extent His relationship with us. 

So taking into account the message and these two thoughts I had after the message, I'm left here wanting to say out loud to God

Jesus –
May my passionate love for you be a feast on a table for you in the presence of your enemies. 
May I feed you with my love.
May I satisfy you with worship in Spirit and Truth.
You long to commune with me.  Find your fellowship with me now in all things but especially in the fellowship of Your sufferings. Becoming like you even in your death.

May every spilled pint of my blood be filled with your unique jealous fury to perfectly honor our Father through sacrificial, self-giving, blood-letting, servant love.

I'm hungry and thirsty and the only cure is more RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!

I absolutely love Jesus' promise for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.....THEY WILL BE SATISFIED!!!

So often my lack of satisfaction in life is nothing but misdirected worship.  My hunger and thirst have been misplaced.  I am seeking satisfaction from someone or something that was never designed to satisfy me.     

Jesus extends grace and mercy in this beatitude by reminding us who we were created by and what we were created for. 

Right relationship with the Living God!



-Reid

God, our Justifier

“BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.”

Meekness is a character trait taken on by those who have encountered Jesus; it is not inborn. As Darrel read Psalm 37, I found that the commonality between all the descriptions was trust.  

The meek do not fret because of evil since their trust is in the Lord and they allow God to be their justifier. This reminded me of what Richard Foster said in Celebration of Discipline, “If we are silent, who will take control? God will take control, but we will never let Him take control until we trust Him. Silence is intimately related to trust.” So often I am quick to justify myself or adjust my public image using my words. Those are the moments that I forget that my identity is found in Christ and He will take care of me. When I try to seek my own honor, I no longer seek God’s honor nor the honor of my neighbors.

The other day I had a conversation with my dad and found myself frustrated because he did not understand my side of a debate. Of course, I opened my mouth to express my frustration, and justify my reasoning. After getting nowhere, I realized that maybe I was not right to be upset by it, or maybe rightfully so. Either way, I can hand over my hurt and frustrations to Jesus.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “one who lives by justification by grace is willing and ready to accept even insults and injuries without protest”, which Jesus does so well. Even when He was criticized and hurt, He never retaliated, rather He repeatedly handed it over to His Father. We are called to do the same.

Week 3 "Blessed are the meek" helped me understand Week 2 "Blessed are those who mourn"

After listening to week 3 - "Blessed are the meek" I finally had something to mourn about, my own lack of meekness!

I had many thoughts about last weeks sermon on meekness.  I will only focus on two and make brief comments on them.

#1.  The meekness list.  DJ kind of rambles off a list of what "meekness" looks like.  For the most part I agree with him, but my brief comment is, "I don't think it is that black and white."
Jesus "aggressed" the temple........how does that fit?
Jesus flips over tables, fashions a whip, and drives out the money changers......how does that fit?
Jesus confronts His followers and the religious crowd constantly with the question...."Did I offend you?"
Moses murders a guy........Meek?

I just don't think it is as black and white as DJ makes it sound.  I believe the process of life that God takes us through produces meekness only because of the ONE who we followed through the process.  I know DJ said that in his sermon. 

#2     Moses' response to the sin and complaining of the Israelite people is a HUGE example of meekness to me.  Since January, I have made my way through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  I don't have an exact number on this, but Moses' response to Israel's complaining and outright sin is to fall to his knees and plead to God for forgiveness.  Many times God wants to destroy the people, but Moses intervenes on behalf of the people.  I have counted this response so far and it is above 10 times!  His response is counter my natural response to what I read.  My first response is, "Smoke them Lord!" Moses' response is to hit the deck and pray.

Blessed are the Meek!

Lord, forgive me for my lack of meekness in many situations.  All it reveals is how often I go into a situation alone because I think, "I got this" and I am not following you.

James 1:19-27
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

-Reid

The Practices of Jesus

One of the most beautiful realities talked about in this sermon was that although nobody on this earth is naturally meek, we can become meek through Jesus. What I love about the practices of Jesus in Psalm 37 is that they are not just exercises to become meek or cultivate a character to become like Him; they are practices that teach us how we open our minds to a power far greater than our own and effect change. Here are some practices that really stood out to me:

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the Lord and trust in him.

Committing and trusting Him means we must follow his rhythms of life in our daily thoughts and actions. If we want to experience the life of Jesus, we have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

“Wait patiently for him” doesn’t mean being stagnant. There is a call to respond in the phrase “wait”, not a justification to do nothing at all.

Psalm 37: 8

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret- it only leads to evil.

When we let go of our anger, anxiety, and anything else we grip on so tightly on our own, not only do we become meek but we start moving through the world shoulder to shoulder with Jesus and life becomes more freeing. An easy life isn’t an option; an easy yoke is.

I appreciate how DJ explained how the beatitudes are not only Jesus painting a portrait of himself, but also a portrait of us if we choose to dwell in him. Through practices like these, we can inherit everything the earth has to offer simply because we choose to embrace him- what a gift!

Week 3 - Blessed are the Meek!

This sermon cut deeply into my own heart and challenged me to fall at the feet of Jesus. As Darrell tied together the third Beatitude "Blessed are the Gentle, for they shall inherit the Earth"  and Psalm 37, I was overwhelmed. Below are some of the qualities listed out of Psalm 37

The Meek trust in the Lord and do good (Psalm 37:3)

The Meek delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4)

The Meek commit themselves to the Lord and Trust Him (Psalm 37:5)

The Meek rest in the Lord and they wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:7) 

The Meek do no fret over evildoers (Psalm 37:1)

The Meek do Good in the face of evil (Psalm 37:3)

The Meek depart from evil (Psalm 37:27)

One by one as I listened through each of these qualities I read them through the lens shared earlier in the sermon: "When we encounter Jesus, we become more like Him". In light of the qualities of true power shared through this "Gentleness" I was drawn to the feet of Jesus. For His Gospel breaths these qualities into our lives and allows us to live more like Him. The false power portrayed to us in our lives is no match for the power of Jesus Christ. I cannot help but think of how this plays out for each staff on the water during the summer. In moments where we are being drawn closer and closer to Jesus through self giving sacrificial servant love we are being called to live out this truth. Many times I choose not to live in this Truth, signaling that all the more I need Jesus to breathe life into me. Blessed are the gentle! Amen! 

The meek do not respond to evil with evil, for that is utter weakness. Don't be an echo! what a great reminder, I need to hear this more often than I do!!!!

I also loved how Darrell ended his preaching with the words "Jesus Wins". What a great sign off! 

Jesus Wins. Amen.

"I've been searching for a Heart of God"

I just feel that I learned so much from reading all your posts this week, I really need to just thank you all you guys for posing such awesome posts.

I just loved the sermon's reminder of how Jesus, while a being of eternal joy, also had great sorrow and grief. And Kailie's post really helped me see that this sermon was talking about how God is inviting us closer to his heart. Whereas when we are invited to have a closer relationship with his heart, we also get to experience the sorrow in his heart.

Sometimes the sorrow is not fun, some posted about how it turns to anger. I definitely feel that a lot. I was thinking about how like 'this sucks, there is so much sin in the world" but DJ gave that super helpful reminder of how we are not in this alone. "Don't carry the weight of making this vision come true on your own shoulders"...but trust in the Lord Jesus.

The realization of our own sin and the sinful state of the world is a sorrowful realization, but is not meant to push us away from the heart of God, but we need reminders that it is okay to experience sorrow. (It's okay to cry DJ said). I guess I would rather experience sorrow while being enveloped by the heart of God, rather than experience sorrow for material possessions or other worldly things that do not deserve our deepest grief.

Lord, allow me to share with your sorrow and "break my heart for what breaks yours." Amen.

Konrad

coexisting mourning and joy

God comes into our lives calling us into the kingdom and mourning is a sign of it! I think what stood out to me most in this message was the coexistence of grief and joy that DJ emphasized. When we meet Jesus in all his fullness we are faced with the grief of the reality of sin, BUT there is also the joy of knowing Jesus. We see in the gospel that Jesus was eternally joyful, and yet sorrowful over sin. The more we see what the kingdom of God is about, the more we realize the world does not have to be this way. I am encouraged that we can mourn for sin while still embracing the joy that comes from living in the kingdom.

Some other great DJ quotes:

• Comfort is not found in insulating your heart, its found in opening your heart.
• The kingdom has come, the kingdom is coming, and nothing will stand in its way!
• Everlasting joy will be the everlasting condition!
• This command blesses those who are vulnerable before life and embrace the pain

Week 3 -- Who is Sufficient for these things? II Cor. 2:16......Blessed are those who sense their own deep, spiritual insufficiency -- Unleashing the Meek!

Week 3 -- Who is Sufficient for these things? II Cor. 2:16......Blessed are those who sense their own deep, spiritual insufficiency -- Unleashing the Meek!

I proof-read the Sonshine Devotional today.  

I love reading through it each year before the season.  

If you ever need to feel the holy spirit pry the corners of your mouth into a grin – sit and read the devotional cover to cover.  Might not be for you, but it sure feels to me like a great mental, emotional, and spiritual tune up. 

After reading the devo I listened to the sermon and felt as if both, in many places,  were singing a refrain back and forth to each other on how we can fall deeply in love with Jesus by seeking Him first and in all things and at all times. 

Several times as Darrell riffed through different takes on the idea of meek, I felt him describing a solid, effective Sonshine staff.  Sometimes during the message I interchanged the word meek for “Sonshine staff.”

Blessed are the Sonshine staff. The gentle. For they will inherit the earth.

We become Sonshine staff because of the power of Jesus’ gospel. 

Sonshine Staff -  trust and do good.

Sonshine Staff -  delight themselves in the lord. They find joy in the living god.  They concentrate on 

doing the right thing cuz that’s what God wants. 

Sonshine Staff – Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for the Lord.  Waiting with great anticipation.

Sonshine Staff - Are ready to act. 

Sonshine Staff – Do not fear.

Finally, the message reminded me of the freedom we have in Jesus to like Paul make the following claim: “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamaties; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  I Corinthians 12:9-10. 

Praying this week for all of us to experience the intimacy that comes with surrendering our weakness to God’s strength. 

The Heart of Jesus

“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN, FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED”

“Comfort is found in opening up your heart”

I sometimes catch myself with a pessimistic attitude about the world because of all the sin and brokenness. Sometimes I try to ignore it, but Jesus invites me to mourn with Him. When I open myself up to the pain in the world, Christ gives me His peace and comforts me. Christ allows me to empathize and grieve with His people. The world is not supposed to be like this, and that is why there is pain. God is telling us something is wrong. It is the same as our own physiological pain. It is a response to an injury or threat; a warning mechanism to signal that something is not right. By the grace of God, we experience this pain, so that we do not keep on sinning. He exposes our sin the closer we draw near to Him. The closer we get, the closer we get to the heart of Jesus, and it is a broken one.  

“Everlasting joy will be the everlasting condition”

I find comfort in Jesus’ words, “‘Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful’” (John 14:27). Jesus’ peace is unwavering and goes beyond our comprehension. I am encouraged to trust Jesus because He will be satisfied and restore joy to this world.

Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours and instill in me hope, peace, and joy because You will have your way.