Salt & Light

Jesus started His Sermon on the Mount by giving eight Beatitudes or characteristics that should be present and obvious in the lives of Christ followers. These are:

• Poor in Spirit

• Mourning

• Meekness

• Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

• Merciful

• Pure in Heart

• Peacemakers

• Persecution for Righteousness’ Sake

There’s a ton to learn from and go over in those, and we have looked at them in more depth over the past couple of months, but that is not the end of His sermon, rather it’s just the intro. So, let’s look at what else Jesus has to say to us.

Matthew 5:13

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”

Persecution

This week we reach the end of the Beatitudes, and this first section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount ends on a bit of a surprising note. It’s all about suffering and persecution. Let’s jump into it. 

Matthew 5:10-12 ESV “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The final things that you are blessed for are persecution, suffering, slander and accusations. I don’t know about you, but if I was trying to start a new religion or reframe an old one, I’m not sure that I would make it a defining bullet point that those who follow it can expect and even be guaranteed difficulty and persecution. It seems a bit counterintuitive, right? Yet that is exactly what Jesus did, and it wasn’t only here in Matthew that He speaks this way.

Mercy

What is mercy? In very simple terms, I've heard mercy described as ‘not getting something that you deserve.’ This is kind of accurate, but it doesn't fully express what mercy is. More appropriately, mercy is withholding a punishment or consequence. It is preventing pain and hardship from coming to someone. Sometimes that is deserved pain or punishment or hardship, and sometimes mercy is simply the act of making a hard choice or sacrificing to withhold that pain from the person. 

Mercy is defined as: “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.”

Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Egg Hunts

 What are you looking for in life? 

• 
  Are you looking for love? 

• Are you looking for acceptance? 

• Are you looking for success? 

• Are you looking for happiness? 

• Are you looking for joy?

• Are you looking for fun?

• Are you looking for excitement?

• Are you looking for purpose? 

• Are you looking for meaning? 

• Are you looking for hope?
  

Everyone is looking for something in life. Sometimes we are well aware of what we are pursuing, and sometimes we have no idea, but we know that we're looking for something. 

April Fools'

This past Tuesday was April Fools’ Day, a day traditionally associated with pranks and jokes and outlandish stories. I used to work at a press release distribution company, and every year we received tons of erroneous press releases that were put out by major companies in jest and fun. Sometimes they were simply trying to trick people or make them laugh, and sometimes they were used as part of a larger marketing campaign to bring attention to a new product or a corporate change, like a new name or logo. 

When it comes to Jesus, and Easter, God sort of played the ultimate April Fools’ Day joke. For thousands of years the Jews had been looking for a Messiah. They had been waiting expectantly for the Anointed One, the Chosen One, a Savior who was going to come restore their nation. They were waiting for a conquering warrior king who was going to usher in a new kingdom and bring the Jewish people back together and free them from the chains of slavery and oppression that they had been living under for so long.