October 22, 2012
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:1-12

OBSERVATIONS
1. Though the crowds are present and listening (Matthew 7:28-29), Jesus is teaching His disciples, those who have decided to follow Him. Why does He focus on His disciples, is it because of the radical nature of His teaching? Should we do the same thing when we gather, sensitive to the crowds but focusing on the disciples?

2. According to Jesus, life in God’s world works according to opposites. Contrary to popular thinking or normal experience, it is the poor in spirit, the meek, the mourning, the peacemakers, those desperate to live holy lives, the persecuted who live truly happy (or God-blessed) lives. Is Jesus setting this up as a new set of rules, or is He showing us where God’s grace rests, among the weak and lowly?
3. Rejoice when persecuted? How does one do that? Ever tried to rejoice during pain, misery, rejection, injustice? It does not come naturally. Jesus seems to be saying that God’s heart is especially close to those who are suffering like this. This is enough to inspire joy, but it’s still hard. It’s opposite, it’s backwards what is normal. For us, this is upside-down, but Jesus seems to be suggesting that it is right-side up.
What do you notice in this passage?

APPLICATION
1. I sense the Lord challenging my categories (what is normal) and my priorities (what is preferable). I sense the Lord encouraging me in my struggle (hungering and thirsting for what is righteous, good), but also challenging me to reevaluate my life, my goals, my thinking and my priorities.
2. What do I consider blessing, and is it the same as what God considers blessing? Is being rich or happy or successful in a worldly sense really a sign of blessing, or it is actually a curse? Not a curse from God, but a burden a struggle, a barrier to true happiness and blessing. It is important to note how so many people poor in this world seem richer than those who are wealthy.
3. What do I need to do with this today? Instead of bemoaning my struggles, I could identify them and thank God for them (???) and ask Him to show me how they are blessings. Is it possible that I woud be worse off if I was better off? Is perhaps God using my struggles and burdens to make me a better person, to shape and refine and purify me (like gold in a fire). Can I rejoice in my burdens and struggles, focusing on God at work in the midst of them?
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?

PRAYER
God, I am struggling to know what to do with this message. Do I try to make myself poor in spirit, do I try to mourn, to be meek, to be persecuted? No, I sense You urging me to set my heart on You first, like Jesus did, and trusting You no matter what the consequences are, seeking and rejoicing in Your blessing and not seeking worldly blessing. This is a tough lesson. Please help me today to learn this better.