Matthew 5:13-15 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
 
TODAY is All Saints Day. This is a good scripture to define a saint. Yes, you are a saint if you are saved in faith through your confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. “Saint” means to set apart. You are set apart from the world to show Jesus to the world. A saint’s life is to impact the church as salt and light impact physical life. 
   Jesus’ salt and light illustrations were very effective for his listeners. Salt today may not seem as important as it did in Jesus’ time. We in the U.S. even seem too fearful of salt in our food. But salt has been key to life as a means to preserve food. Our English word “salary” comes from “salt” as salt was used in Rome and other cultures to pay wages. We need salt for our body’s health and life. Too little or too much salt can cause a number of problems - even death. Balanced salt intake leads to balanced body chemistry and healthy living. When Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” he spoke high, life-giving value to the Jews.
   Light, too, is a wonderous thing, isn’t it? I once saw a re-enactment of Thomas Edison’s first demonstration of electric lights. He turned on several electric lights in a dark room. As he flipped the switch, the camera panned to each light and then pulled back to capture the responses of the men and women in the room. In awe they smiled, they laughed and clapped for the technical wonder they had just witnessed. This phenomenon was completely out of the realm of their understanding; yet, they knew they had seen something wonderful. From that time, the unstoppable progression of electric lights has covered the globe.
    Light is the first element God brought into his universe: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:2-3) From that moment on, God’s light has been unstoppable to bring life into the world. With awe and wonder, we can look through time to see God at work. He has chosen people from Abel to you today to reveal life to a darkened world.
   That’s why All Saints Day is a good day to recognize and to celebrate Jesus’ commands: “Be salt. Be light.” As the Holy Spirit indwells us, he is our life source. Without him we do not live in Christ. He quickens our souls to live in the Savior’s proclamation, “I am the Light of the World.” (John 8:12).
   On the mount that day in Galilee and throughout his ministry, Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. He urged his disciples to follow him, to live and be as he. This is salt and light living. Your purpose is to be a life-saving messenger to a lost world.
   Are you a saint? Be salt. Be light. Rejoice you savor, share and see more clearly.
 
Prayer: “Father, open my eyes that I might see you more clearly, savor you more fully and share you more freely. Amen” (from “Pray for Me – A Prayer Guide” by Tony Souder)
 
 

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 
WE really don’t like this beatitude, this blessing, do we? Oh, we can tell one another, “Stand for Jesus in all circumstances! Rejoice in the ways people ridicule you, hate you, despise you or kill you because eternal life is yours in Jesus!”
   Yes, such words may come from our mouth, but we surely do not speak them from a blessing perspective. Think, for example, of how fearful and anxious we become when we want to do something new in Jesus’ church. Persecution surely comes if you want to change the music, drop a “program” (a bad word for ministry), paint the walls, discipline an unrepentant member or even teach Jesus’ truths of the Bible. Many a pastor has been silenced because they preached Jesus’ truth. There is even a silent persecution in churches when Bible studies are offered, and a small percentage of the church comes.
   No, we really prefer not to stand out for Jesus. We reject opportunities to talk to people of Jesus. We stop short of total commitment to a church ministry. We keep our mouths shut, refusing to stand for Jesus because classmates, workmates, and church mates will dismiss us a “religious” person and reject any personal relationship with us. We want to be wanted, even by those who do not want Jesus.
   These are the most common persecutions, but they are the easy forms of persecution. In the church’s history, beginning with Jesus’ lashings and cross, faithful Christians have followed Jesus where they do not want to go. Faithful men and women have been treated with exceptional cruelty and violently killed. And the persecution continues. At this moment in history, more people are killed for Christ’s sake than ever before. Where is the happiness in being persecuted?
   The happiness is in Jesus. Perhaps, “Happy are those who are persecuted.” is truly the best way to describe a kingdom heart’s response to Jesus’ unrelenting sacrificial love. If you love Jesus with all our heart, soul and strength, would you not be exceedingly glad to suffer in the name of the One who has suffered for your eternal life? Living for Jesus to the point we’re persecuted means we really do believe Jesus is who he says he is. This commitment, too, also means we are who we say we are. When you say, “I am a Christian.” you must be prepared to die to yourself. Remember, to live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) This not a moral or proverb to feel good; it is a sacrificial commitment to Jesus’ love for you.
   Christians persecuted in body and soul reflect their Lord’s faithfulness to the Father and his violent death. They become his love in the flesh, suffering as their Savior suffered, loving as their Savior loved. When the persecution assaults you in various forms, you can, indeed, be happy you are found worthy to battle evil in God’s strength.
  
Remember: “Martyr” means “witness”. Can someone call you a martyr?
 

 

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
 
LET’S consider the hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour”. One line in the song is “Temptation loses its power when you are near.” And another is, “I come to thee”.
   Why is there too little peace in our lives and in the world? Of course it is because of the raging spiritual warfare between God and the Evil One. Satan’s temptation caused the first conflict – the first “War of the Worlds” – when he asked Eve, “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:2). The devil’s purpose was to divide and conquer, to cause God’s children to hate God and to hate one another. The battle between love and hate – good and evil – rages. We strive for things we should not have, and we even work hard to avoid the things of God we truly need. Complacency reigns in our hearts, replacing a loving passion for the LORD God Almighty.
   Isn’t it true? We are tempted to take a spiritual “nap” when we should get up and eagerly work to learn of God. We are tempted toward too much physical work when we should find a rest in God’s sufficiency. Retaliation tears at our hearts when we should be merciful. “Not me!” is too much our response when the Lord calls us, “Follow me.” Surely it is easy to avoid a friend who really, really needs a soft heart and a helping hand. Life is so complicated when we care for another. Sadly, we are even tempted to tempt others into our own weariness and sin. Somehow we are empowered when others are as sad as we are.
   There is little or no peace for many of us because we forget we “need Thee every hour”. Our goals and desires is to live life in our own form. But in temptation’s power, our lives are formless. Each unholy remedy for the conflicts that encounter us becomes another conflict in our souls.
   God’s continual remedy for the conflict is his constant teaching. Temptation does lose its power when God is near. Jesus taught us this in Satan’s war against him in the desert (Matthew 4, Mark 1, Luke 4). How strong we will be when we use Jesus’ weapon: Matthew 4:4 “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Temptation lost its power when the Living Word used the word to be near to God. And what great power we can know in these words of peace from James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. And remember Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
   You, too, can turn the connect into peace as you go near to God. Pray for the Spirit to open your mind to trust that God really did say what is good. Speak this peace to others.
 
Romans 15:33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen. 
 

 

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
 
JESUS’ teaching here is no surprise. Many scriptures consistently point to the desire and benefit of a pure heart. For example, out of deep sin, David prayed for a pure, redeemed heart: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10) The Bible teaches the pure heart is the access point to the king: He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend. (Proverbs 22:11) And God’s Word encourages, even admonishes us all to strive for a pure heart. Paul’s last words to Timothy urged him on against evil and for God: Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)
   The church, then, is to be a community of pure hearts. That does not mean we need to be sinless to be in a church, but we must consistently work to help one another purify our lives. Together, our desires must be pure as we strive to know God’s holiness. Indeed, a pure heart is synonymous with holiness - God’s perfection. Pureness is without blemish. Our holy, pure Father in heaven is teaching us through the sinless Son and the Holy (Pure) Spirit that we must strive for holy eyes to see his perfection. The Pure God changes us as we are born again. He begins to transform our impure eyes that naturally see people and events from the perspective of our sins. The church is God’s means to re-focus our view, to help all love God and love our neighbors with the eyes of the gospel. We are to gaze upon God in unity, pure from earthly influences that distort our view of God and each other.
   Praise God, then, he has sent his Helper, the Holy Spirit, to fix our focus. The Holy Spirit removes the spiritual dirt that blocks our view of God’s purity. Day by day as we hear, read, study and live the Bible, the Spirit awakens us to God’s holiness and Jesus’ saving truth. The gospel of God is your vision to first glimpse, then to see the love, joy, peace and truth of salvation more fully.
   God is steadfast you open your eyes, so you will see God: Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Further, the apostle John writes: 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 
   The blessing grows deeper and wider during our life here on earth as the gospel daily clears our vision. Live, my friends, with a desire for a pure heart. Strive to be clean in your thoughts, words and deeds. Worship God with a true desire to repent of your sins and praise his forgiveness. Celebrate your Savior come. And always pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Live pure in Jesus’ truth through the Spirit’s power.

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
 
WHEN we experience a loss of some kind, whether it’s losing the ability to do something we like to do, losing a job or losing a beloved to death, how is it possible to feel and know any form of blessing? Jesus’ first answer comes with his promise of comfort. A blessing in the kingdom of heaven occurs amid loss when friends offer encouragement and even come to you to exhibit their love and compassion. In their kindnesses, you graciously experience a closer, loving relationship with people that does not ordinarily occur. Through a heightened focus on God’s Word, prayers and compassion, mournful hearts are made more secure. Blessing comes in the experience of living in unity with Jesus’ compassion.
   Blessing also comes to those who mourn their sinful habits. As the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, we grieve the sin and turn from it. Mourning sin leads to a repentant heart. Repentance opens the way for God’s blessings to fill your life with his joyful truths.
   Third, those who mourn experience blessing as they weep over others’ sin. When we truly mourn the unrepentant, the Spirit will move our hearts to teach and demonstrate God’s salvation truths to them. Mourning sin stirs us to act against sin, so we can lead others to God’s comfort.
   Mourners, too, are blessed even as they suffer: The apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:3 We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Suffering leads to salvation. This is a powerful blessing in itself. We may have experienced some form of persecution or violence against our lives because we are Christians. Each nation has its own form of rejecting God and his followers. Faithful Christians will face trouble. Be comforted to know Jesus’ eternal blessing: “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17)
   Yes, when we know loss in so many different forms, we can know our gain is in Christ’s personal care over us now and forever. Joy comes when you know the LORD God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. 
 
Isaiah 58:14 “Then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the Lord has spoken.