“Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

There is a meekness that will not inherit anything. There are two types of calmness that can be found in this world. There is the calmness that is found in a stale, stagnant pond, and that which is found in the depths of the mighty sea. One is quiet because it doesn’t have anything to say. The other is so because it keeps itself from speaking. That is the greatness and glory of the latter. It is a meekness that remains silent, not because it is empty, but because of the fact that its depths are full. (more…)

“…They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest…” Isaiah 9:3

I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of joy I want to have in the presence of God – “the joy of harvest.”  But, what exactly is the joy of harvest? It is a joy that comes from resurrection. It is not a joy that comes from getting something new. It is the tremendous satisfaction in seeing those things that have been buried come bursting from the ground. It is seeing dead things rise. There is no other joy that can compare to that reality. (more…)

“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

Does Jesus mean that those who sorrow most will be the most blessed? No doubt this was a strange and foreign thought to fall on the ears of His disciples. They believed that the only kind of blessing was that which came from the world and was evidenced by being clothed in purple and fine linen and faring sumptuously every day. They thought that a man who was stricken with sorrow must be smitten and afflicted by God. So, it must have been a very surprising and startling thing to hear Jesus say, “Blessed are those who mourn…”. (more…)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

To be “poor in spirit” seems a really strange goal for me to seek to attain. However, while it might at first appear to be easy and unheroic, it is actually one of the most difficult and heroic things in the world. You see, while it may be easy to be poor spiritually, that is really not the same thing as being poor in spirit. (more…)

“Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:12

Joshua tells us that the miraculous manna suddenly ceased. That food which had come down from above since the days of the nation’s infancy would now come up from the ground since that they had matured into manhood. The powerful Presence that had been their guide while they wandered in the wilderness would now give to them the power to guide themselves. Until now every man had been fed by the hand of God, but from this time forward every man was to feed one another. The manna would no longer miraculously and spontaneously fall from the skies. Now it would be the husband’s responsibility to feed his wife, the parent’s responsibility to feed their children, and the strong’s responsibility to feed the weak. For forty years they had been nourished by way of the heavenly food, but from this point forward they would eat of the food of Canaan. In the absence of the miraculous manna they would gather from the food of the land. (more…)

“Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. ” Numbers 17:8

Have you ever stopped to consider why it was only the rod of Aaron, the emblem of the priesthood and picture of sacrificial love, that budded?  So many times we dream of and desire the power and glory of the world’s kingdoms. We look with longing at the king’s sceptre – the symbol of personal might. However, have you ever pondered why out of the twelve it wasn’t the sceptre of the king, but the staff of the priest that budded? (more…)

“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:31

Mark tells us that at this time Jesus “began to teach the that the Son of Man must suffer many things.” This was certainly a new lesson for mankind to learn. Before this, man had been taught that a “Son of Man” should never suffer – that those who were elevated should be exempt from suffering and pain. This was a thought that was deeply rooted in the hearts of Jews and Gentiles. The Gentile bowed down before overwhelming strength - such strength that would never bow down to another. The Jew honored those men who were favored with fortune’s smile. These were those, sons of the morning, that were thought to be the nearest and dearest to God. (more…)

“When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.” Luke 9:36

Sometimes God speaks through silence.  There are times when the Lord’s voice dies upon the mountain, and the mountain shares no testimony. We cry out to Heaven but hear no answer. We question the Lord but receive no reply. Yet, it is in the silence that a revelation comes in the form of a man. I descend from the summit of Divine speculation to the valley of human sympathy. I see my brother because God has chosen to hide Himself. Oh, what a divine descent it is. (more…)

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

In this verse, Jesus issues a call to the entirety of humanity because we all ”labor,” or are “heavy laden.” Some suffer under the weight of toil while others weep from the incapacitating burden that toil so often brings. However, whether it is active or passive, every one of us experiences suffering. So, Christ speaks to us through the one thing that every single one of us has in common – the cross. (more…)

“concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 1:3-4

In many ways, that first Easter day was an altogether new Christmas day, because it was on that morning that Jesus had His second birth. This second birth of Christ was even more glorious and full of grandeur than His first. His first birth certainly had its disadvantages. However, in spite of what some might think, they were not disadvantages of a lowly manger or smelly stable. Rather, they were the disadvantages of His royal lineage. Those bands of swaddling clothes that wrapped His infant body were not the proof of His poverty. They were the glory of His ancestors since the royal line of David was separated from humanity’s main line. However, when Christ came out of that tomb on the first Easter morning He changed His lineage, broke the line of David and identified Himself with the lowliest. His second life didn’t stem from Bethlehem, but from the common dust of every city – the city of the dead. (more…)