Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

I am what you might call a "salt-aholic." I love salt. If it's too salty for you, its probably just right for me: popcorn, french fries, soup...I have to have salt on it. This isn't always a good thing, because too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and a number of other health problems down the road. So I have to monitor my salt intake. But Jesus makes a great point about salt....it adds flavor! Without flavor, food is bland and inedible. I have endured many a stale bag of popcorn, just because the salt made it more bearable. But what happens when salt loses it's saltiness? Is it worth anything at all?! Not really, you would just throw that type of salt in the trash can.

Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth. As Christ followers we contain the knowledge of the one thing that will preserve us beyond this life to eternity. We have the love, grace and peace that the world is so desperate for. Our words need to be seasoned with the love and grace of Jesus Christ, because the world is desperate for a life that is full and abundant and not just bland and hallow.

Jesus also says that we are the light of the world. Have you ever been in complete darkness? I mean...you can't see your hand in front of your face from an inch away...complete darkness? In that moment when you strike a match or turn on the back-light of your cell phone, the darkness starts to scatter and you can see more and more. It is like that with Christians in this world. Let you light shine, live a life that reflects the light of Christ.

The world is desperate for light and desperate for salt. Jesus says we are both salt and light. Don't let your light dim and your salt lose its saltiness. Be different, live live righteously and purposefully to make a difference in this world hungry for meaning.

Beatitudes and More

The Beatitudes are the verses of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 from vs. 3-12. Jesus mentions a type of person who is blessed (not necessarily happy but filled with the joy of Christ) and then talks about the promise that God has for such a person. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness (who are insulted or lied to.)

The poor in spirit are blessed. What does that even mean, “The poor in spirit.” I find poor in spirit to mean humility; and selflessness. The world would tell you that you have to look out for yourself in order to get anywhere in life. Jesus says that if you are poor in spirit, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to you! Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted. The world would tell us to suck it up, life is hard, deal with it, but Jesus is saying here that it is ok to mourn, because your Heavenly Father cares and will comfort you. Blessed are the meek (the gentle and soft-spoken), but the world says that the aggressive and powerful are blessed. The meek person will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right will be blessed according to Jesus, whereas the world will tell you to do whatever it takes to get ahead. Jesus says the righteous will be filled and won’t remain empty and hollow. The pure are also blessed, as well as the peacemakers and the merciful and even those who endure persecution because of their faith in God. The promise to those blessed people: seeing God, being part of God’s family and receiving a reward in heaven. Jesus sees things in a way that seems backwards to the people in society.

They are used to having to be aggressive, even nasty to succeed in life. But Jesus comes

on the scene and speaks with authority about being humble, and being merciful, and peaceful, and pure, and taking persecution as a badge of honor. That wasn’t what they were used to hearing! It was refreshing, it was confusing, but it was good.

Jesus goes on through the rest of chapter 5 to talk about God’s stance on some more specific issues of the day such as the law, anger, divorce, promises, and revenge. In all of His teachings the overwhelming tone is love, peace, grace and mercy. Is it even possible to live in this world and be loving and peaceful and gracious to everyone we meet? Some days it doesn’t seem possible but Jesus shows us that it is. Not only did He teach about it; He lived it out. The words that we speak, need to be filled with love; our thoughts and actions need to be pure; we need to desire to do what is right and point others to the Truth with our actions and with our deeds not just our words.

Covered in Dust: Jesus Was Tempted

Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus was tempted. That fact alone gives me relief when I am going through the ringer day in and day out. There is nothing that I will go through that Jesus didn't go through also, and He did it without sin. We've all been in the desert; in fact we live in the desert (Arizona, get it!?). It's how we respond when our lives are in the desert that shows what we are made of. Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the desert. He was there for forty days. In Jewish culture the time frame 40 days was symbolic. It meant a really long period of time. Can you imagine not eating, drinking, playing xbox360 for six weeks?! The idea of being denied some of these things we depend on, is too much to bare for some of us. This is where the celebration of Lent comes from; Jesus was tempted and was in the desert for 40 days, so during Lent people are challenged to fast or give something up for those six weeks. What would you give up if you were fasting?

The first temptation involved turning stones into bread. Jesus knew that God provides and He responded by stating that He gets His nourishment from every word that comes from God. The second temptation involved Jesus throwing himself off of the top of the temple and having angels rescue Him. Jesus said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." The third temptation of Satan was for Jesus to worship Him, and he would give Him control of everything He could see. But Jesus commanded Satan away because we are to worship the Lord our God alone. Jesus did not cave to temptation for basic human needs such as food and water; Jesus did not cave to temptation to test God and be spectacular; and Jesus did not cave to temptation to have power and glory from worshiping Satan. Jesus knew that our purpose, and our acceptance comes through and by God and God alone.