His Whisperings – Page 46 – Inspired by His Word

Luke 6:21a, Matthew 5:6 Blessed are the hungry

Posted on July 11, 2008 by Janice D. GreenJuly 11, 2008

Luke 6:21, Matthew 5:6 Click on these links to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

Have you ever been truly hungry? Did you consider it a blessing? Would the world consider it a blessing? These questions come to mind as I read Luke 6:21. Jesus’ response according to Luke was that the hungry will be satisfied. It seems that Jesus was speaking in terms of eternity. This is in keeping with other statements Jesus made such as “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”

It can be tempting to let this passage ease our consciences and allow us to become complacent about the multitudes of hungry people in the world. If Christians were truly allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them in their study of Scriptures, they would not be tempted to slip into this kind of thinking. Consider Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5:31-46 where he speaks of separating the sheep from the goats. Jesus told his listeners that whatever they did for the hungry and thirsty they did for him, and if they did not feed or give them water they were also denying it to him.

But God is also mindful about the here and now. Jesus had compassion on the hungry when he multiplied bread and fish to feed the multitudes. God had compassion on the Israelites wandering in the desert and gave them manna from heaven. He also gave them water out of a rock. Perhaps our greatest hindrance from receiving his supernatural blessings is our own lack of faith that he can or will supply our needs.

Matthew expresses this Beatitude in spiritual terms as he refers to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus’ promise that they shall be filled, fortunately, more readily offers hope for at least partial fulfillment in this life. Similar verses such as “Seek and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7) quickly come to mind. Jeremiah presents the same concept emphasizing the importance of seeking God with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

I can not leave this Beatitude without bringing up fasting. This is a voluntary condition of physical hunger that holds promise of spiritual blessings for us. I confess that I have never undergone a total fast, so I am very limited in my personal experience; though a personal friend (who is much younger than I) went on a fast for several days. I was amazed at her testimony of how God worked through her in a supernatural way during her fasting experience. This is surely a means of drawing close to God that is underestimated by many Christians today.

Heavenly Father, enlighten us with your Holy Spirit to understand the teachings you have for us in your Holy Word, the Bible. Help us not to fall away by denying the truths you have given to us. Help us to be aware of your blessings when the world tells us we are losing. Help us to give thanks in all circumstances, even if we are hungry and thirsty; and if we are well fed and satisfied, help us to have compassion for others who are not.

Disclaimer: Since I began this study of the Beatitudes in the book of Luke, I have continued with 6:21 recognizing that doing so has caused me to skip Matthew 5:4-5 which I will pick up later. I’m glad I’m only commited to a blog and not a book or magazine article as I write this, in which case I would start over and use Matthew to guide the study with cross references to Luke.

Luke 6:20; Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor (in spirit)

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Janice D. GreenJuly 9, 2008

Luke 6:20; Matthew 5:3 Click on these links to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

As I read the first of the Beatitudes in Luke I kept saying to myself that this wasn’t the way I remembered it. I searched several translations, but still couldn’t find one that started “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Instead I kept finding “Blessed are the poor.” I finally realized that I learned the Beatitudes from Matthew and not Luke.

So which is it? I could get all uptight over this and say that both should report this exactly the same way, but I have resolved in my heart to not let such minor differences unsettle my faith. In fact, quite the opposite. The fact that two different people reported the same instances with so many details that are the same bears witness to the fact that they didn’t need to consult with each other to tell the story. Both were capable writers and independent witnesses to the historical facts of Jesus’ ministry on earth.

So which is it? I believe that God was present in the Spirit when both accounts were written and both accurately express what he wants us to know. There are blessings that only the poor can know. Life can be simpler when you don’t have to worry about losing your fortune if the stock market crashes. The poor are less likely to have a child kidnapped for ransom. But even more importantly, the poor have learned to trust God to meet their needs.

Comparisons have been made on who is more generous, the rich or the poor, and it is the poor who will give the greater percent of their income to help others. This is perhaps one example of the freedom that the poor experience but that is elusive to the rich. Perhaps this is in part how theirs (the poor) is the kingdom of heaven.

The insertion of the words “in spirit” as seen in Matthew’s account changes the meaning a little, but it is still within the framework of the rest of Biblical teaching. Therefore I believe this is equally valid in the Beatitudes. When I think of being poor in spirit, I think of brokenness. We are a stiff-necked people, we make our plans and expect God to bless them (not the other way around). We tend to think we are in control of our lives, and when things seem to start spinning out of control we panic and fall to our knees making demands on God. Somewhere down in the bottom of all this turmoil is where we come to our wit’s end. This is where our spirit is finally broken, and where we look up to God and ask him to fix the mess we have made of our lives. The blessing God gives for a broken spirit is eternal life as we turn our lives over to him. This is the kingdom of heaven.

I have been worrying over my financial future as I face an earlier than advisable retirement in January. So now that I have wrestled through these scriptures, I need to re-read my own post. It is re-assuring that God has so much to say about trusting him with our tomorrows. Then to consider that I might be more fully blessed if I am poor than if I were rich… that boggles my mind in a comforting way.

I have been weighing out in my mind whether I should spend next week in a Salkehatchie Summer Service camp. It will be a last minute decision, but it is something I’ve been wanting to do for thirteen years, ever since the time I first learned about the program. I think this passage of scripture will take on even more meaning as I work through the week.

Father God, you know the blessings that are the best. Help us to see life through your eyes and not the eyes of the world. Help us to be satisfied, even generous, with what you have given us.

Luke 6:17-23 The Beatitudes – unexpected blessings

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Janice D. GreenJuly 9, 2008

Luke 6:17-23 Click on this link to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

When most people think of blessings, they think of the last time they received unexpected money, honor, man’s applause, being healed of a disease or injury, gifts, things going right making life easier for ourselves… the list could go on and on. But Jesus gave us a new twist on how we should view blessings in the spiritual realm.

The word had gotten out about Jesus’ power to heal the sick and the multitudes began to seek him out wherever he went. Jesus saw that the people were seeking him only for the physical healing he could give them. He then spoke to his disciples explaining the source of true spiritual blessings. His words suprised the people then, and still surprise us today. They are like a foreign language to those who are unable to see the wisdom contained in them. It is clear that Jesus expects his followers to rise above the “me first” way of thinking and to be willing to sacrifice our own needs and wants for the sake of others.

I plan to deal with each statement in the Beatitudes with separate posts.

Lord give us wisdom to understand everything you have to say to us. When your words seem difficult let us seek you out with hearts that are willing to listen. Help us to step outside earthly wisdom to seek the higher wisdom that you have to give to those who are willing to seek it.

Luke 4:31-37 Jesus ministers with authority

Posted on July 5, 2008 by Janice D. GreenJuly 5, 2008

Luke 4:31-37 Click on this link to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

After leaving Nazareth, Jesus returned to the region of Galilee and went to the city of Capernium. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue and taught the people who were amazed at the authority with which he spoke.

A man in the crowd was possessed by a demon who knew who Jesus was. The demon began mocking Jesus and identified him as the Holy One of God. Jesus told the demon to be quiet, and then commanded him to go out of the man who had been possessed. The demon left throwing the man down, but did not injure the man.

The people were all the more amazed at Jesus, at his authority in his teaching, and at his power to command the spirits. And the people spread the word about him to the surrounding communities.

Jesus wasn’t just another teacher, he had demonstrated his authority in many ways to the people. It was in his teaching, in his miracles, and in his ability to cast out demons.

Today we have many spiritual teachers who use various techniques to get their messages across to their listeners. Some have earned our respect through their command of the Scriptures, and are able to bring many people to their knees under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Many great teachers also effectively use their spiritual gifts for healing and for casting out demons even today. Praise God for his faithful messengers who are able to use their God-given spiritual gifts to reach the lost for Jesus.

Unfortunately, we also have spiritual teachers who have resorted to less than honorable methods to reach the lost. They use manipulation to create an appearance of a “movement of the Spirit.” While there are many examples, a few of the more common ones include noise for the sake of noise, people falling back with a push on the forehead rather than an authentic experience of being “slain in the Spirit,” and tongues that can be self-generated instead of Spirit-generated. Often spiritual leaders who use deceitful methods can also be spotted by an over-indulgence of self-promotion as well.

I am aware that I will have probably offended many of my readers at this point. I am not saying that all instances of noisy worship, people being slain in the Spirit, or people speaking in tongues, are less than acts of God and his Holy Spirit. We serve an awesome God who manifests his glory and his love in more ways than we can count. He has used each of these and more to meet the needs of his people.

Heavenly Father, grant us discernment as we seek out genuine Christian teachers who will handle your Word faithfully as they help us to draw closer to you. Give us wisdom that we might recognize the wolves in sheep’s clothing who might deceive us into blindly following their leadership which may lead us farther away instead of closer to you. Help us to fix our eyes on you alone as revealed in your Son, Jesus the Christ.

Luke 4:16-30 Jesus rejected in Nazareth

Posted on July 5, 2008 by Janice D. GreenJuly 5, 2008

Luke 4:16-30 Click on this link to read the passage. You may select your own version of the Bible after the link opens.

After Jesus began his public ministry in the region called Galilee he went to his hometown of Nazareth where the people had already heard rumors of the wonderful things he had been doing in the other towns.

Jesus first went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, the same as he had done in the other towns. When he stood up to read he was given the scroll that contained the book of Isaiah. He unrolled it to the prophecy that was written about himself and read it to the people. Then he put the scroll down and told the people that today the scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing.

Because the people had already known Jesus they could not believe this message. His purity up to this point had been taken for granted, and they were unwilling to give him credibility as the Messiah or as a miracle worker or healer. Instead they ran him out of town and attempted to throw him over a cliff. Because of the disbelief of the people of Nazareth, Jesus was unable to bless them with his miracles.

How often do we deny God the opportunity to do miracles in our lives because we take him for granted or because we think the miracle we hope for is too big for God to handle? Are we sometimes afraid to risk our own credibility by publicly asking for prayer because we are afraid God won’t answer our prayer and we will be seen as foolish? I have known people whose liberal “Christian” theology and sceptical faith in miracles have prevented them from asking for blessings they could have received.

Let us not be guilty of having the hometown mentality that the people of Nazareth had on that Sabbath day. We need to be careful that we don’t let our familiarity with rituals and the Christian language become a form of vaccination that prevents us from understanding the Christian message in its fullness, and keeps us from digging deeper for a closer and more genuine walk with Jesus.

Father God, walk with us daily. Help us to see the good news of Jesus as fresh and new every morning so that we don’t lose its meaning in its familiarity. Help us to keep our faith alive and well so we never lose the blessings that are ours through faith in you.