biblical wisdom

Jesus’ Beatitudes Still Speak Today

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A serene landscape featuring Jesus teaching a group of followers while sitting on a rock, with a scenic view of mountains and a lake in the background, and a book open in the foreground showing a passage from the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 5:1-16

Following Jesus has always required a certain daring. Imagine being one of his first followers. You’ve just left everything familiar because this teacher spoke with an authority that felt like the very voice of God. You saw him heal what no one else could. You said yes to his call, but now what? What does he expect of you? What will this new life look like?

Matthew 5:1–16, often called the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, answers that question. Jesus draws his disciples out of the crowd and begins describing what life under his reign looks like. Not rules to earn God’s favor, but a picture of the kind of people his grace creates: the people of his kingdom.

Jesus’ descriptions, known as the Beatitudes, run counter to much of what our culture celebrates. Our world often says, “Blessed are the self‑sufficient.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” those who know they need God’s salvation. Our world says, “Blessed are the comfortable.” Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn,” because they can face grief honestly, knowing loss does not have the final word. Our world says, “Blessed are the winners.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek,” those strong enough to trust God rather than grasp for control.

These are only a few examples. I encourage you to read the rest for yourself and consider why these qualities stir something deep within yus. They paint a world we long for, yet they also confront us. We like mercy until someone wrongs us. We like purity of heart until loyalty to Christ costs us something. That tension is why Jesus ends this section with the surprising words, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”

Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor imprisoned under communism, once witnessed ordinary Christians living these words under extraordinary pressure, responding to humiliation and torture with forgiveness, mercy, and even joy. He realized the Beatitudes are not for spiritual elites but for everyday people whose hearts have been reshaped by Christ.

Many people, whether committed Christians or even atheist, find themselves drawn to the Beatitudes. They describe a world we ache for: mercy instead of outrage, humility instead of self‑promotion, and much more. If these words stir something in you, consider why. Their power doesn’t come from sentiment but from the authority of the One who speaks them.

I invite you to open a Bible and read Matthew 5:1–16 for yourself. Listen to Jesus’ voice. Ask why his vision of life still reaches across centuries and cultures. You may find that what draws you is not just an idea, but a Person, who is God’s Son.

No Scheme Can Out-Save God’s Plan

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Genesis 12:10-20

Have you ever bent the truth just a little, just enough to avoid discomfort?

It’s Thursday night. You’re halfway through dinner when a text buzzes in: “Can you help Saturday?” You sigh. You don’t want to go. So, you and your spouse craft a reply: “So sorry, we’ve got commitments.” You actually have no commitments. The reply is smooth. Polite. No drama. But across the table, your 10-year-old heard every word. The discomfort. The collaboration. The carefully worded excuse. And your child’s learning, not just how to decline a request, but how to make deceit feel normal.

Multiply that by thousands of households, week after week, and what do we get? A society where truth becomes negotiable. Integrity optional. Why not be honest, and trust God to work out the relationship?

Genesis 12:10-20 recounts a more severe trail than a text message for help, Abram (later Abraham) faces a famine and is forced to seek refuge in Egypt. Fearing for his life, he tells his wife, Sarai, to pose as his sister. It’s a clever half-truth meant to protect them. But it backfires. Pharaoh takes Sarai into his harem, and Abram is powerless to stop it. His scheme works too well! He gains wealth but loses his wife and jeopardizes God’s promise. If Sarai becomes another man’s husband, how will she give birth to the son of promise (compare Genesis 12:1-3).

Have you ever eaten a stolen apple? It never tastes as sweet as you thought it would. You eat it in secret, and it sours in your stomach. But an apple handed to you by your father, picked with love, tastes sweet. You eat it out in the open, in the field.

Fear often drives us to schemes. But God calls us to faith, to trust in God. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and is righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

The good news? God doesn’t abandon us in our foolishness. He miraculously rescued Abram and Sarai, not because they were clever but because He is gracious. He saves their marriage and protects his promise.

God still rescues today, most significantly through his Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17).

If you’ve been hiding behind a small deceit, or letting fear drive your choices, bring it into the light. Call it what it is. Repent. Trust that God’s ways are better than your own (Isaiah 55:9). He won’t let you down. He keeps His promises.

No scheme of ours can ever out-save God’s gracious plan.

Learning From Lives That Point to Christ – Deep Roots, Part 6

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Philippians 4:1-9

We end this six-part miniseries on Philippians 4:1-9, with one final piece of practical encouragement. The Apostle Paul turns our attention to something deeply practical: follow worthy examples. The believers in Philippi had learned from Paul, not just through his teaching but through his life. What kind of life was he living? Not one of self-promotion or comfort. He writes from prison, not to complain, but to rejoice: “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). His concern isn’t his own safety; it’s that others might hear and grow in grace.

We need examples like this. People whose lives, like Paul’s, show us what it means to seek and follow Christ. Not perfect people, but faithful ones. If you don’t have someone like that in your life, ask the Lord to lead you to a mentor, a believer who has traveled a little further down the road than you. Their successes will inspire you, and their failures will teach you. The Christian life is not meant to be walked alone.

This passage, began with, “stand firm thus in the Lord.” Not in your own strength, not in your circumstances, but in the Lord’s perfect purposes for His beloved.

Years ago, when my wife and I lived on the rocky coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts, we often visited Halibut Point State Park. Large granite boulders stood against the crashing waves. Sometimes the waves rose so high they swallowed the rocks from view. If you didn’t know better, you’d think those waves could shatter them. But they never did. Generation after generation, those rocks endured.

We live in a time when the waves feel overwhelming. Markets shake. Nations tremble. Families fracture. Yet, there is a foundation that cannot be moved. Do you have a rock to stand on, one that won’t crumble under the crashing waves? If you do, are you standing on it? Stand firm in the Lord.

What will this look like in practice? Fractured relationships will mend, joy in the Lord will be evident even when circumstances seem dire, thoughts will be caught up in what’s worthy of our head space, and Christ-like examples will guide us.