Weekly Devotional - A Joyful Solution

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." - Matthew 5:6

When I first read this verse, I imagined a straight laced, uptight, Bible-toting church boy. That kid who never let anyone see him do something wrong, and was always ready to call out sin when he saw it.  But I don't know if that's an accurate picture.

This is the girl who has lost a loved one to cancer. This is the boy who's father beats him every single day, for no real reason. This is for the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing, who wonder why someone would hate them so much. This is for those of us who have been oversees to third world countries, and seen the most abject poverty, and wonder who these people can still smile. These are the people who have come face to face with the brokenness of the world, and can't deny it. And they thirst for this brokenness to be fixed.

Enter the Gospel.

Jesus promises that one day they will. On the cross, Jesus dealt the death blow to Satan, sin, and death. And we look forward to the consummation of that victory at his second coming. Until then, He invites us into the joyful solution. Jesus has come to save the world, and as his Church, we're called to be his hands and feet. If you call yourself a Christian, you need to know that we're his plan.

So, echoing the words of Jesus, I invite you today to look out into the world, find something touched by unrighteousness, and do something to fix it. However small your action, it doesn't matter. Choose today to go be the Church.

Sit Down And Shut Up

Our culture is obsessed with talking. We love to hear the sound of our own voices. We love to tell the best stories; we enjoy having our opinions heard; we love being asked for advice. And those aren't always bad things. But sometimes we talk too much.

Matthew 5:5 says this, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." But the word meek doesn't mean much to us these days. It's just not a common word. So let’s look at another place in scripture where the word "meek" is used.

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." - James 1: 19-21

Here we have this example of a person who is a good listener, he thinks before he speaks or becomes angry. And then James sums up these characteristics by using the word meek.

Are you a better listener than you are a speaker? Next time you're hanging out with your friends, try listening instead of speaking. Don't think about what you're going to say as soon as they stop talking. Listen. Next time you're hanging out with one of your best friends, ask about their life. And again, really listen.

Why? Because the meek shall inherit the earth.