“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21, CSBAfter spending several days in the Beatitudes, there is a danger we need to address.You can read everything Jesus says and slowly turn it into a spiritual scorecard.Poor in spirit? I need to become more humble. Mourning? I need to take my rebellion more serious...  Read More

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” - Matthew 5:10-12, CSBIt is one thing to follow Jesus ...  Read More

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” - Matthew 5:7–9, CSB Eventually, what is happening inside you becomes visible.You can hide a lot for a while. You can learn Christian language. You can know when to say amen. You can attend church, read Scripture, serve, g...  Read More

“Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” - Matthew 5:5–6, CSBYesterday, Jesus began with empty hands. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Before kingdom character ever becomes visible through what we do, Jesus deals with how we see ourselves before God. We recognize our need. We stop pretending we c...  Read More

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” - Matthew 5:3–4, CSBNobody wants to feel needy. We spend a lot of our lives trying to prove the opposite. We want to feel capable. Independent. Strong. Put together. We want to be the person who can handle it.So when something starts falling apart, our instinct is usually...  Read More

“Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.” - Philippians 3:20–21Jesus is coming back. We say that. We believe that. But there is a difference between believing something doctrinally and al...  Read More