My Last Blog Post (Ever?)

Posted on March 5, 2010 by russellmckinney

Regular readers of this blog have probably noticed that I haven’t been posting much lately. I assure you it’s not because I’ve run out of anything to say. My life and ministry have just become so busy that I find it very hard to write three or so posts a week.

One of the things that makes it hard is that I, like most writers, only have so much writing in me per day. I can’t just sit at a computer hour after hour churning out good material. I’m sure I could write a new post every day if that’s all the writing I had to do. But it’s not. For one thing, I always have new sermons to write. For another, I’ve started writing a second book.

This new book is on the subject of prayer, and I have a good start on it. I’ve completed the introduction and the first chapter. But I’m finding it downright impossible to work on the book and still consistently post blog entries. When I wrote my first book, Straight Talk About God’s Will, I wasn’t writing a blog. That meant that I could get up every morning and spend a couple of hours doing nothing but writing the book. That enabled me to complete the book in about three months.

I’m telling you all this so will understand why I’m going to stop writing the blog. For the next several months, I’m going to devote what writing time and energy I have to my sermons and the book. That’s the only way the book will ever get finished. Once it is finished, then I’ll talk to the Lord and see if He wants me to pick back up with the blog. If He does, that’s what I’ll do. If He doesn’t, this will be my last post. If you are really interested in the blog, all I can tell you is check it again in six months. As of this morning, I can’t even predict myself which way God is going to lead with it.

Just to be honest, I’m not the typical blog writer anyway. Blog posts are supposed to be consistent (at least every other day) and relatively short. I have trouble in both areas. My posts tend to be a bit more sporadic and fairly long. It’s not that I repeat myself in my writing. The problem is that I like to tackle “big” subjects that take a lot of explaining. Many of my posts are somewhat short, but that’s only because I made myself keep them that way. My natural way of writing is to explain and teach in detail, not just offer short little devotions and move on. And that’s not what the majority of readers are looking for in a blog. 

I started writing the blog a year ago at the suggestion of my editor. She felt that it would be a good way for me to gain some web-publicity, get folks interested in my writing, and sell some copies of Straight Talk About God’s Will. I didn’t know what to expect from the new endeavor, but I have to say that the experience has been enjoyable. It’s also been profitable, not in a monetary sense, but in the spiritual help it has provided others. The comments and feedback I’ve received have been so encouraging. There’s no doubt that God has used the blog as a tool to help many people.

Of course, the blog archives will still be available right here, and people will still be able to find posts by using search engines on certain topics. Also, since I doubt that you’ve read every post, I would encourage you to sift through the archives. Just click on a particular category and see what posts pop up. Chances are you’ll find several that you haven’t read. Also, if you feel led, feel free to leave me a comment. I will read it. I’d love to hear how God has used the blog in your life. I’d also greatly appreciate your prayers as I write, appropriately enough, a book on prayer.   

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, the Bible tells us that everything has a season. For the past year, I’ve been in the season of writing a blog. When I finish writing my second book, a new season of blog writing may come around in my life and ministry. Or it may not. Either way, I have no doubts that God knows what He’s doing and I thank you for reading.

Posted in Personal | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

My Weight Loss Goal Has Been Reached

Posted on March 1, 2010 by russellmckinney

Approximately seven weeks ago, on January 13th, I posted a blog entitled “Diet Time Again.” In that blog, I announced that I had begun a diet. I wanted to get my weight down from 201 to 180. I also gave the specifics of my tried and true plan for weight loss.

Well, I’m happy to report that yesterday morning I reached my goal of 180 pounds. Now I can move into maintenance mode and try to stay in the close vacinity of this weight. Several years ago, I had a fair amount of success maintaining my weight after a previous diet. I actually held the weight for a few years before falling off the wagon and starting the upward climb. We’ll see how things go this time.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 says: “The end of a thing is better than its beginning.” Solomon didn’t have diets on his mind when he wrote those words, but he sure could have. When those scale numbers materialized into the number 180 yesterday morning, I felt such a tremendous wave of accomplishment surge through my now skinnier body. That “end” was certainly a lot better than the “beginning” of 201!

Today, there’s no doubt that my “temple of the Holy Spirit” is in better shape than it was at the start of this year. The thirty minutes of exercising I’ve been doing five or six days a week has my muscles toned, my energy level up, and my stamina level increased. I won’t say I’m in the best shape of my life because that title will always be held by my early twenties self. I weighed this same weight then, but didn’t have the bad back, nicked up knee, and touch of arthritis in my right pinkie. I also didn’t have the wear and tear of a lot of years of pastoring and parenting! Still, though, I think I’m doing alright for a guy who’s 43.

To those of you out there who are Christians and need to lose some weight, I want to offer this thought: your dieting will go much better if you will see your weight loss as a spiritual activity. Don’t think, “Oh, this is something that I have to do.” Think instead, “This is something that I need to do to do a better job of maintaining my temple of the Holy Spirit.”

You see, Christian, when you get the focus off you and onto God the Holy Spirit, who literally lives inside your body, that will get your perspective where it needs to be. When weight loss goes from being something you are doing for yourself to being something you are doing for Him, you stand a far greater chance of being successful with that weight loss.

And the great news is, when you lose the weight under that mentality, you will receive eternal rewards as well as the obvious earthly rewards. You won’t just lose weight; you will gain heavenly rewards at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10). So, that’s like having your cake and eating it too! Oh, wait, that’s not the best comparison is it? Sorry about that.

Posted in Dieting, Heaven, Personal, Reward | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Follow Up To “Church or YBOA Basketball?”

Posted on February 24, 2010 by russellmckinney

In March of last year I wrote a post entitled “Church Or YBOA Basketball?” In that post I explained how my son Ryan’s participation in Youth Basketball of America was causing him to miss some of our Sunday morning church services. I concluded the piece by saying that I had made the decision that Ryan would no longer miss any church services over scheduling conflicts with his YBOA team.

Well, so far this year Ryan’s team has played in two tournaments. In the first one his team played three games on Saturday and one at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Since our church services begin at 10:30 a.m. and end at roughly 12:00 p.m., Ryan was able to attend church and still be at his game on time. So far, so good.

But things didn’t work out so conveniently this past weekend. Ryan’s team played two games on Saturday and was scheduled again for 12:00 p.m. Sunday. Now I had to put my money where my blog was. It wasn’t an easy decision, and I did reexamine the whole issue before making it, but when the dust settled I stuck to my guns. Ryan missed the game, but we had an excellent church service.

On Thursday of last week I wanted to talk to Jeff, Ryan’s coach, after practice. My plan was to hand him a printout of the blog post, ask him to read it, and then call me. But Jeff was too busy talking to other folks for me to have such a moment with him. So, I just left the printout in the seat of his truck with a little note asking him to read it. I called him later that night but couldn’t get in touch with him. He got my message, though, and called me the next day.

Jeff and I had a good ten-minute talk in which I explained that my decision to sit Ryan out had nothing to do with him as a coach. I said, “This is between me, Ryan, and the Lord.” Jeff understood completely and we even talked about ways in which the situation could be prevented from happening again. He said he is going to think about asking the tournament directors to let our team just play three or four games per Saturday and not come back on Sunday. That plan has my vote, but we’ll see what comes of it.

For the record, our team lost that Sunday game. That’s the bad news. The good news (at least for me) is that we lost by a wide enough margin so that no one could say, “If Ryan had been there, we would have won.” Since he is a starter, I figure that his presence could have helped some. But when you get beat by 23 points, I’m not sure Kobe Bryant could save you.

There was one thing that surprised me about my decision not to let Ryan play. I had two different people make a point of saying that they didn’t expect Ryan to play because they had read the blog post and remembered it. When I found that out, I was glad that I hadn’t waffled on my decision. That would have caused me to lose some credibility.

In the end, I don’t know how the rest of our season is going to play out. All I know is that I’m going to do my best to continue to honor the commitment I felt the Lord led me to make last March. Hopefully we either won’t be scheduled for any more Sunday games or they will tip off late enough for us to get Ryan there after church.

Again, the idea of playing all Saturday games is very appealing to me. Of course, since Sunday is always the day the tournament champions are crowned, we wouldn’t be able to actually win a tournament. To me, though, that is a small price to pay to give nine boys and their parents the opportunity to build their Sunday around church instead of YBOA basketball.

Posted in Character, Children, Choices, Church, Church Attendance, Parenting, Personal, Priorities, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Leaping for Joy About Being Persecuted

Posted on February 23, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #8)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12, N.K.J.V.)

Up until this last Beatitude in Matthew’s version of The Sermon on the Mount, Christ’s words have been quite pleasant to Christians. The poor in spirit will gain the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn will be comforted. The meek will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. The merciful will obtain mercy. The pure in heart will see God. The peacemakers will be called the children of God. If you are a Christian, what’s not to like about all that?

With the eighth Beatitude, however, Jesus broaches the unpleasant subject of Christian persecution. To make matters worse, this is the only Beatitude in which He states the Beatitude and then provides some extra commentary. You’ll notice that the actual Beatitude ends at the close of verse 10, but then we get two more verses on the subject of persecution.

Of all the Beatitudes, did Jesus have to linger a bit longer on the most distressing one? I mean, who wants to hear more about being persecuted? Furthermore, whereas the previous Beatitudes were matters the believer could control, persecution strikes from the outside. The saved believer certainly doesn’t persecute himself, does he?

As for Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, which is most likely the record of a second preaching of the sermon, it actually calls for Christians to meet an even higher standard in regards to persecution. That passage quotes Jesus as saying:

“Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets” (Luke 6:22-23, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine).

It should be understood, however, that the persecution of which Jesus speaks must be brought about for “righteousness’ sake.” In other words, a Christian’s bad behavior might cause that Christian to have trouble with others, but that trouble shouldn’t be categorized as persecution. For there to be true persecution, the Christian’s stance or actions must be in the godly right. As Jesus says in the Beatitude, the evil that is spoken against the Christian must be spoken “falsely.” If the supposed “evil” is no more than legitimate criticism, that’s not persecution. Peter picks up on this same theme when he says in 1 Peter 4:14-15:

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other peoples’ matters. (N.K.J.V.)

All in all, though, there’s certainly no denying that the early church experienced legitimate persecution. The apostles were arrested (Acts 4:1-22; 5:17-42). Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 7:54-60). James was killed with the sword (Acts 12:1-4). Paul was stoned (Acts 14:19-20). Paul and Silas were whipped and imprisoned (Acts 16:16-34). And Paul was arrested again and ultimately brought before Caesar (Acts chapters 21-28). The fact is, it wasn’t until the Roman emperor Constantine “Christianized” the Roman empire that the persecution of Christians ceased.

But does Christian persecution still exist today? You bet it does. According to a recent article on the website opendoors.org, 2 in 5 Christians in Asia are persecuted, 1 in 5 Christians in Africa are persecuted, 1 in 7 Christians worldwide are persecuted, and 365 million Christians around the world suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. A similar article in Christianity Today from a few years ago stated that each day worldwide: 13 Christians are killed for their faith, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and 5 Christians are abducted.

Admittedly, us Christians here in America don’t typically experience such extreme versions of persecution. However, that doesn’t mean we are immune from persecution altogether. Anytime a Christian takes a Christian stance and is made to somehow suffer for it by someone else, that’s persecution. For example, the Christian girl who won’t consent to premarital sex, only to have the spurned young man tell retaliatory lies about her at school, experiences persecution. The Christian office worker who gets mocked by his coworkers because he won’t join them when they hit the bars after work experiences persecution. The Christian pastor who loses some church members because he preached a sermon that was true to the Bible’s teaching regarding a controversial topic experiences persecution. You see, persecution can take on many different shapes and appearances.

Ah, but now let’s get to the good news, which is this: Christian persecution, as unpleasant and even deadly as it can be, carries with it tremendous eternal rewards. That’s why Jesus said, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” Since every Christian will enjoy a certain degree of reward in heaven, Christ’s promise here must mean that being persecuted brings an even higher degree of heavenly reward. This makes perfect sense, of course, because it’s only fair that the harder a thing is to endure for Christ, the greater the eternal reward should be for doing that thing.

Keep this in mind, Christian, anytime you find yourself being persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Remember that you are standing in a long line of believers that extends back through the early Christians, back through the Old Testament prophets, all the way back to Abel (Genesis 4:1-8). That line even includes your Savior, who was persecuted unto death. Also remember that experiencing persecution allows you to earn heavenly rewards you just can’t earn any other way. As a matter of fact, it would even be good if you would take a moment to leap for joy about the persecution. I know, I know, that’s asking a lot. It is, however, literally what Jesus said to do.

Posted in Adversity, Comfort, Commitment, Criticism, Doing Good, Encouragement, Eternity, Faithfulness, God's Work, Heaven, Ministry, Missions, Pastors, Persecution, Perseverance, Personal Holiness, Reward, Righteousness, Sanctification, Series: "The Beatitudes", Service, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Thankfulness, The Sermon On The Mount, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Peacemaking

Posted on February 20, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #7)

“Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9, N.K.J.V.)

If there was any doubt that the “blessed” who are described in the Beatitudes should be equated to Christians, it is laid to rest with this seventh Beatitude. This Beatitude carries with it the promise: “…they shall be called sons of God.” The fact of Christians being the children of God is a familiar one to students of the Bible. We find it in passages such as John 1:12-13 and Galatians 3:26, which say:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13, N.K.J.V.)

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26, N.K.J.V.)

So, the Christian is to be a peacemaker. But just exactly what does that mean? Clearly, the thought of making peace goes deeper than just keeping peace or loving peace. In order to actually make peace, a Christian must exert himself. As Psalm 34:14, Romans 14:19, and 1 Peter 3:11 put it: “…Seek peace and pursue it” (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine).

I suppose it goes without saying that mending relational fences falls under the category of peacemaking. The way Barnabas brought Saul (Paul) and the disciples together is a beautiful example of this (Acts 9:26-27). Likewise, seeking to prevent wars and end them falls under the category as well. We hear this in David’s words, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).

But would you believe that confronting problems can also be labeled as peacemaking if the confronting is done in a manner pleasing to God? As the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel recognized, it is futile to cry “Peace, peace!” when there is no peace (Jeremiah 6:14; Ezekiel 13:10). You see, since true peace can never be found in a compromise with evil, a peacemaker might sometimes have to take part in great conflicts against evil.

We see this even in the life of Jesus. On two separate occasions, He flew into a righteous rage at the site of the greedy, corrupt money-changers defiling the Jewish temple with their unscrupulous practices (John 2:13-17; Matthew 21:12-13). Anyone who witnessed those two scenes after hearing Jesus preach, “Blessed are the peacemakers” might have been quite perplexed by His warlike actions.

Jesus, of course, did know all about peacemaking. What’s the famous quote from the angels in the story of His birth? It is, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14, N.K.J.V.). Likewise, Ephesians 2:14-16 explains that Jesus is a Christian’s peace and has reconciled that Christian to God, who is the “God of peace” (Hebrews 13:20). Along the same lines, Romans 5:1 says: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (N.K.J.V.). Clearly, there are valid reasons why Jesus is called “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

It was the comparison between the Christian’s peace and the lost person’s lack of it that prompted some famous words from Jesus. He said:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36, N.K.J.V.).

With these words, Jesus was letting everybody know that the one who places saving belief in Him becomes at peace with God, and that peace immediately sets that person in conflict with lost people. Why is this so? It’s because lost people, even lost family members, aren’t at peace with God (Isaiah 57:20-21). Just as light and darkness are always going to be in conflict with one another, the same can be said of the Christian and the lost person.

Because of this, a Christian winning a lost person to Christ is the most lasting kind of peacemaking there is because it creates an eternal peace between not only the lost person and God but also the lost person and the Christian. With that in mind, I’ll close this post with two passages which speak of how important it is for Christians to win others to Christ. The first passage is Romans 10:15, and the second one is Ephesians 6:14-16. You’ll notice that both passages specifically call the gospel of Christ “the gospel of peace.” They say:

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15, N.K.J.V.)

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (Ephesians 6:14-16, N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Evangelism, Family, Inner Peace, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pureness of Heart

Posted on February 17, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #6)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8, N.K.J.V.)

The Bible doesn’t use the word “heart” in reference to the bodily organ that pumps blood. Instead, it uses “heart” to refer to the center of one’s being. Therefore, to be pure in “heart” is to be pleasing to God, not just in outer conduct but also in inner motives, attitudes, and desires. As God Himself says in 1 Samuel 16:7:

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (N.K.J.V.)

It should be understood, though, that no matter how pure your heart is, that purity cannot produce sinless perfection in either your outward or inward conduct. Ironically, it is actually your heart (the center of your being) that keeps you from living sinlessly. This “heart problem” of yours stems from the fact that you are a member of Adam’s sin-poisoned, fallen race. This is what God is describing when He speaks through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 17:9 and says:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked… (K.J.V.)

Centuries later, Jesus (God the Son) picked up on this same theme when He said:

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. (Matthew 15:19, N.K.J.V.)

So, if our hearts are such wicked wrecks, who is Jesus referring to in the sixth Beatitude when He talks about “the pure in heart”? He is referring to people who, despite their inborn wickedness of heart, have a burning inner desire to please God. David was a prime example of such a person. Even though his sin-tainted heart caused him to commit many sins (lying, polygamy, lust, covetousness, adultery, murder, and trusting in numbers instead of God) over the course of his life, he nevertheless had a very real desire to please God. This is evidenced by the fact that he cried out to God in the wake of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah:

Create in me a clean heart, O God… (Psalm 51:10)

Similarly, in Psalm 24:3-4 he spoke of the direct relationship between pureness of heart and godliness of conduct when he wrote:

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. (N.K.J.V.)

Furthermore, it seems clear that David taught this same truth to his son, Solomon. How do we know this? We know it because of Solomon’s words from Proverbs 4:23:

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. (N.K.J.V.)

Getting back to the early life and ministry of Jesus, the Jewish religious elite of that day focused exclusively on the outward appearance and completely disregarded anything involving the heart. They would have had Jesus say, “Blessed are the pure in conduct, for they shall see God.” For example, a Sadducee might have harbored an intense inner hatred for his brother, but that Sadducee wouldn’t have considered that hatred a sin as long as he didn’t actually murder that brother. Likewise, in a Pharisee’s way of classifying sin, he could lust over every woman he met as long as he didn’t have sex with any of them.

You can imagine what an uproar was created, then, when Jesus came preaching a radically different standard. He said, “Sin begins deep inside a person. If you have hatred toward your brother, you need to treat that as murder (Matthew 5:21-26), and if you look at a woman lustfully, that’s nothing less than you committing adultery with her in your heart” (Matthew 5:27-30).

Jesus even reserved His harshest preaching for some of the Jewish religious elite, and that preaching specifically referenced the difference between appearing to be sinless outwardly while being eaten up with sin inwardly. He said:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Matthew 23:25-26, N.K.J.V.)

In regards to not only the sixth Beatitude but also all the other Beatitudes from The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is referring to saved people when He speaks of “the pure in heart.” The spiritual process isn’t hard to understand. First, the “pure in heart” have a desire to please God. Second, that desire will ultimately lead them to place saving belief in Jesus as Savior. This process makes perfect sense in light of the fact that God wants everyone to get saved (1 Timothy 2:1-6; 2 Peter 3:9).

And what reward does Jesus promise those who are pure in heart enough to believe in Him as Savior? He says, “…they shall see God.” By this, He doesn’t mean, “They will see God in a sunset, a baby’s smile, or a charitable deed.” No, He means, “They will one day literally see God and they will also literally spend eternity with Him. As 1 Peter 1:3-5 says to Christians:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. (N.K.J.V.)

Isn’t it wonderful that just as the pure in heart have a desire to please God, He has a desire to be around them for all eternity? Yes, Christian, you will get to visibly see God for all the endless eons of the ages to come. Think about that! You’ll see God the Father. You’ll see God the Son. And you’ll see God the Holy Spirit. This promise comes straight from the lips of God the Son, and it’s one that you would do well to meditate upon more often. By doing that, you might just become even more pure in heart for this earthly sojourn.

Posted in Belief, Death, Desires, Eternity, God's Love, Grace, Heaven, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Got Mercy?

Posted on February 15, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #5)

“Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7, N.K.J.V.)

The Greek noun our New Testaments translate as “mercy” is eleos. Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines the word as being:

the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it.

The Old Testament Hebrew’s primary word for “mercy” is checed. William Barclay, in his commentary on Matthew, says of this Hebrew word:

…It is an untranslatable word. It does not mean to sympathize with a person in the popular sense of the term; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for someone in trouble. (It) means the ability to get right inside the other person’s skin until we can see things from his eyes, think things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings.

Putting the Vines and Barclay definitions together, we come up with a working application for mercy. First, mercy assumes need on the part of the mercy-receiver. Second, it assumes the mercy-giver has resources adequate to meet the need. Third, to ideally show mercy, the mercy-giver must place himself inside the skin of the mercy-receiver.

It’s been said that justice is getting what you deserve and mercy is not getting it. Speaking for myself, I’d call that an accurate description of mercy. You see, mercy lives on the same street as compassion and pity, and this is a street the Christian should know well because God expects that Christian to make a regular practice of bestowing mercy upon others. How big a deal is this to God? It’s big enough for James 2:13 to say the one who has shown no mercy will experience judgment “without mercy.” That is a very sobering thought.

Not only does God expect Christians to show mercy, He is even interested in the way we do it. According to Romans 12:8, He wants it to be done “with cheerfulness.” That sets the bar even higher, doesn’t it? It’s one thing to be expected to show mercy, but it’s something else entirely to be expected to do it cheerfully!

But what makes God think He has the right to demand such a lofty standard from Christians? Well, putting it simply, He has the right to demand it because He has cheerfully extended mercy to us. As Titus 3:5 says:

not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Of course, it shouldn’t surprise us that God Himself would extend mercy. After all, Ephesians 2:4 says He is “rich in mercy.” Micah 7:18 says “He delights in mercy.” And Psalm 103:8,11 says: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy…For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (N.K.J.V.)

The good news, Christian, is that if you will meet God’s standard by cheerfully extending mercy to others, you will feel the benefit of that gesture as much as them. As Proverbs 11:17 says: “The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh” (N.K.J.V.). Similarly, Proverbs 14:21 says: “He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he” (N.K.J.V.). And then there is Psalm 18:25, which says: “With the merciful, You will show Yourself merciful” (N.K.J.V.). That last reference goes right along with Christ’s words from the fifth Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (N.K.J.V.).

So, Christian, do you want to be pleasing to God in your dealings with others? Do you want to do good for your own soul? Do you want to be happy? Do you want to obtain mercy from God? If your answer to each of these questions is, “Yes,” then cheerfully show mercy to others. Figuratively speaking, when you find yourself in a position of holding a hammer over the head of a person who has sinned, don’t make a nail out of that person’s head. Instead, remember all the past times when you yourself needed mercy, and look ahead to any future times when you might just need it again.

Posted in Forgiveness, Grace, Humility, Mercy, Revenge, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Righteousness & You

Posted on February 11, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #4)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, N.K.J.V.)

With the fourth Beatitude from Matthew’s account of The Sermon on the Mount, we come to another difference between Matthew’s version of the sermon and Luke’s version of it. Matthew lists “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” as being Beatitude #4, while Luke’s account puts “Blessed are you who hunger now…” as being Beatitude #2. As for the reward promised in both versions, it is the same in that the believer will be filled.

As I explained in my post about that first Beatitude, the simple explanation for any and all differences between Matthew’s version of The Sermon on the Mount and Luke’s version of it is that Jesus preached the sermon (or parts of it) on at least two separate occasions in different settings to different audiences. Evidently, He preached the Matthew version exclusively to His disciples while He was sitting atop a mountain, and He preached the Luke version to not only those same disciples but also to a great multitude of people while He was standing on a level site. And since many individuals in that great multitude were no doubt literally poor (Luke’s Beatitude #1), literally hungry (Luke’s Beatitude #2), and well acquainted with crying literal tears (Luke’s Beatitude #3), it would have made sense for Jesus to speak directly to those needs.

However, for the purposes of this entire series and this specific post, I’m sticking primarily with the Matthew version of the sermon because it offers the most Beatitudes. So, with this in mind, I’m going to build this post around Christ’s words, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). That’s why I’ve entitled the post “Righteousness & You.”

I’ve been a pastor a long time, long enough to have learned some things about professing Christians. One thing I’ve learned is that not many of them hunger and thirst for righteousness. How rare are such Christians? They are so rare that when you do come across one, you are actually taken aback by how much he or she stands out from the crowd. Your reaction is, “Wow, now that’s the way this Christianity thing is supposed to work. That’s the kind of person it’s rumored to produce.”

I take no pleasure in reporting that a high percentage of professing Christians are only interested in living righteously enough to keep God from getting too ticked off at them. The time they spend in prayer is minimal. Their Bible study is barely a blip on the radar. They attend church only if all the planets align and the creeks don’t rise. They give sparingly, even begrudgingly (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) of their finances. They’ve never witnessed to anyone.

Even the professing Christians who do better in some of these areas typically fall short when it comes to thoroughly repenting of sins and making needed changes in their lives. I’ve known professing Christians who were at church every time the doors were open, but they were petty, bitter people who refused to forgive any perceived slight. I’ve known others who made prayer a vital part of their lives but didn’t mind engaging in premarital sex or “shacking up.” Others would give some money to the church but spend even more on alcohol or drugs. To all of these people, the idea of hungering and thirsting for righteousness was foreign. They had just enough religion to keep them at peace with themselves and certainly didn’t have a burning desire for anything more.

Imagine that a man who hasn’t eaten for two days gets the opportunity to sit down at a buffet filled with delicious food. The way that man’s eyes dance over that food is the way the Christian’s eyes should dance over righteousness. The way that man craves that food is the way the Christian should crave righteousness.

Or imagine a woman who has been stranded in the desert for hours. When she is rescued, a rescue worker hands her a bottle of water. At that moment, there is nothing on earth she wants more than that water. That’s how the Christian should thirst for righteousness.

Christian, when you are obsessively hungering and thirsting for righteousness — when righteousness is what you are chasing in life — you won’t have to be goaded into attending church. You won’t have to be begged to pray. Your pastor won’t have to chide you into Bible study. It won’t take a ten-sermon series on stewardship to get you to give generously. You won’t have to be coerced into telling others about Jesus. All of that will come as naturally to you as breathing. It will flow effortlessly out of your hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 1 John 2:29 describes this as “practicing” righteousness:

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him (1 John 5:1; John 3:1-8, N.K.J.V.).

Furthermore, in the fourth of the Beatitudes, Jesus promises that your pursuit of righteousness will not be in vain. He says you shall be filled. I see a two-fold meaning in this promise. First, it only makes sense that the more you devote your life to righteousness, the more righteousness will be exhibited in your life. Second, in regards to your eternal standing with God, the moment you realize your life is stained by unrighteousness and you place saving belief in Jesus, God actually imparts His spotless righteousness to you (Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26; Philippians 3:7-9). That is an even more important filling.

So, Christian, how hungry are you? How thirsty are you? Are you burdened enough about your level of righteousness to do some repenting? Will you commit to practicing more righteousness in your daily life? When you get hungry and thirsty enough to actually make some changes in how you conduct yourself, you’ll find Jesus standing ready to help you. He’ll be right there with a never-ending buffet and a bottomless well. But you’ll never get to enjoy the blessings of that buffet or that well as long as you are satisfied with the amount of righteousness you currently have.

Posted in Alcohol, Backsliding, Belief, Bible Study, Change, Church Attendance, Confession, Discipleship, Doing Good, Drugs, Evangelism, Giving, Money, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Righteousness, Salvation, Sanctification, Series: "The Beatitudes", Stewardship, The Sermon On The Mount, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The True Meaning of Meekness

Posted on February 10, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #3)

“Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5, N.K.J.V.)

The word “Beatitude” is not found anywhere in the Bible, but we use the word in reference to each of the instances where the Bible says “Blessed is…” or “Blessed are…” The word comes from beatus, the Latin word for “blessed.” While Beatitudes can be found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, far and away the most famous list is the one that begins Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

The Greek word for “blessed” is makarios, a word that carries multiple shades of meaning. It can mean happy, fortunate, to be envied, satisfied, joyful, or spiritually prosperous. Needless to say, the word packs quite a punch. To be “blessed” in this way is no small thing!

Of all the Beatitudes, the one that has probably been the most misunderstood is: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The problem has always stemmed from the false notion that meekness equates to weakness. The fact is, nothing could be further from the truth.

Numbers 12:3 says:

Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. (K.J.V.)

If you think Moses was a ninety-pound weakling who couldn’t take care of himself, you really need to read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Moses was a man’s man. He was an outdoorsmen who had a hot temper and could singlehandedly kill an Egyptian.

In addition to Moses being described as meek, would you believe that Jesus described Himself in this same way? In Matthew 11:29, He says:

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls. (K.J.V.)

This was Jesus, who spent forty days and nights fasting in the Judean wilderness. This was Jesus, who oftentimes slept on the ground. This was Jesus, who lived through a brutal Roman scourging. The idea of Him being weak is preposterous.

In light of Moses and Jesus, it is obvious that meekness means something other than weakness. But what does it mean? It means strength under control. The Greek word translated as “meek” is praus. It’s a word the Greeks used to describe a horse that had been broken. The horse was far from weak, but its strength had been brought under the control of a rider. Transferring this illustration to the life of the Christian, meekness equates to being broken of one’s self-will and being submitted to the Lordship of Jesus.

You see, Jesus wasn’t calling His followers to lay aside their strength and become milquetoast peons. No, He wanted them to be strong, especially in terms of spiritual might. But He challenged them to bring their strength under His control. Just as a rider can’t use a horse that hasn’t been broken, Jesus can’t do much with a person whose strength isn’t under His control.

Jesus did, however, promise an awesome reward for the Christian who lives his or her life this way. The world is still awaiting the fulfillment of this promise, but that fulfillment will occur when Jesus returns to this earth (Revelation 19:11-21) and establishes His 1,000-year kingdom upon it (Revelation 20:1-4). At that time, Christians will indeed inherit the earth and reign over it with Jesus as His bride (Revelation 2:26-27; 5:8-10; 19:6-9).

I feel safe in saying that those who literally heard Jesus make that promise didn’t truly grasp the ultimate meaning of it. That meaning was just too far off in the future. That isn’t to say, though, that they didn’t like the sounds of it. Could there really be a time when Christ’s followers would inherit the earth? Could there really be a time when the Romans wouldn’t rule the known world? Who else but Jesus would have preached such a radical idea in the midst of that culture? And who else but Him would have the power to one day make it a reality?

Posted in Brokenness, Christ's Second Coming, Dying To Self, Obedience, Prophecy, Reward, Series: "The Beatitudes", Submission, The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Those Who Mourn

Posted on February 8, 2010 by russellmckinney

“The Beatitudes” series: (post #2)

“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4, N.K.J.V.)

The Greek word for “mourn” in this verse is pentheo. It’s a word that specifically refers to the strongest, most intensive kind of mourning. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) this same word is used to describe Jacob’s grief when he thought his beloved son, Joseph, was dead (Genesis 37:34).

Okay, so how can anyone who is doing such mourning be blessed? The average commentator’s explanation is to make the mourning a mourning over one’s sins. In other words, the person who is under extreme conviction over his sinful condition, to the point of experiencing this type of gut-wrenching mourning, will find forgiveness and comfort by placing saving belief in Jesus.

However, even though this is certainly a doctrinally sound interpretation, I can’t help but wonder if we should be so quick to explain away the literalness of Christ’s words. Would His disciples really have understood the mourning to be mourning over one’s sins? I doubt it.

That’s why I lean toward thinking that Jesus was emphasizing that He was the answer for death. Mourning does typically walk hand in hand with death, doesn’t it? So, maybe Jesus was saying, “I am now on the scene, and through Me the greatest comfort can potentially be provided for those who are mourning the loss of loved ones.”

As I mentioned in the previous post, the New Testament gives us two versions of the Sermon on the Mount, indicating that Jesus preached the sermon (or parts of it) on at least two occasions in different settings to different audiences. Interestingly, in the Luke version, Jesus doesn’t say anything about those who mourn. Instead, He says:

“…Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.” (Luke 6:21, N.K.J.V.)

Of course, just as mourning walks hand in hand with death, weeping walks hand in hand with mourning. Therefore, it isn’t hard to see the close similarity between “Blessed are those who mourn” and “Blessed are you who weep now.” As for the fact that Jesus got more individually specific in the Luke version by using the word “you,” that might just have been a case of Him tailoring the sermon to fit that day’s audience.

In Revelation 1:18, Jesus says, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and Death” (N.K.J.V.). Since Hades was the Greek word for the general realm of the dead both for saved believers and lost unbelievers, Jesus was pointing out that He has complete charge over the afterlife. That means that if a person knew Him as Savior in life, that relationship continues in death. As Paul wrote to the Christians of Corinth:

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord…We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1,6,8, N.K.J.V.)

Speaking for myself, it brings me great comfort to know that the souls of my loved ones who died in Christ went to heaven to be with Him. For them, death was a promotion and a call home. Rather than mourn a Christian’s passing, we should celebrate it. As Paul said in another passage:

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (Philippians 1:21-23, N.K.J.V.)

I’ve preached more funerals than I can remember, and in each one I tried to bring some comfort to the family. I have to say, though, that the greatest comfort I ever gave any family came from assuring them that the soul of their Christian loved one was with the Lord in heaven. Such funerals preach themselves. And it is because of these experiences that I can say with certainty that Jesus really does provide comfort for the blessed (the saved) who mourn the deaths of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, even if that mourning manifests itself by way of intense weeping.

Posted in Comfort, Death, Eternity, Family, Heaven, Pastors, Personal, Salvation, Series: "The Beatitudes", The Sermon On The Mount | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments