Blessed to be in the kingdom of God

Luke 6:20-23 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 
What really matters?  As Jesus sits down his disciples to talk to them about what is important, the Kingdom of God matters first.  (cf. Mt. 6:33)  We are to seek it, hunger for it, thirst for it, even suffer for it. .  When we do, He promises we will find it, and with it we will find all it has to offer, in this life, and the life to come.  Truly blessed are those who belong to the kingdom of God.

What about us???

Matthew 19:23-26 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 
The disciples are disturbed.  is this some game of "Seek and Hide", where we are to seek the Kingdom of God, but He makes it hart to find or obtain?   No.  enter God's grace.  It is only by His grace that we are able to find His kingdom.  It is not hidden from view; in fact, His Kingdom was standing before them.  We are the ones who make it difficult; we are the ones who hide from Him.  He keeps His promises.  If we seek Him first... everything else falls in place, and we find ourselves in His kingdom.

Because He's God...

Matthew 6:31-34 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 
There's that little, big word.... "but."  This popular verse, verse 33 is quoted, alluded to, and even sung    over and over again.  It is such a core truth: seek the eternal, the will of God, what is really important, first, and the temporal will fall into place.  That is set in contrast to what we usually do: we worry.  When God rules and reigns in our hearts and lives, when He has His rightful place, we won't worry.

Looking for rain... looking for love...

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48 ESV)
So, seeing as today the weather affects much of what is planned... I looked at the weather.  For 8am, it says zero chance of rain, while, the water pours down outside.  And the chance this afternoon is only 60%... of scattered showers.   God does not scatter; He dumps his love upon us.  He is not looking for rain; He is looking for love - our love poured out.  Let's give Him what He's looking for.

Hope for each new day... even the hot ones!

 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
  his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
  great is your faithfulness.
 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
  “therefore I will hope in him.”
(Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV)
As I talk to people, read their posts, and watch the news, I know that many are struggling with the heat. It's hard to even want to get up in the morning to face another hot day.  But just as their is hope in sight for the weather to break, there is hope in our hearts found in the Lord for each new day, especially today.  May we find our hope and our reason to live today in Him.

Why do you do what you do?

II CORINTHIANS 9:6,7: The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

When we were in West Virginia last week, we all spent long, hot days working hard in what we were doing.  Why? What motivated us? Why do we do whatever we do "for the Lord?"  Whatever we give - our time, resources, energy - do we give it voluntarily, lovingly, cheerfully, out of gratitude for Who He is and what He has done for us?  Or do we do it for brownie points, to absolve our guilt, or "because we have to?" God LOVES a cheerful giver. That's the point; that's what He's looking for.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I PETER 3:15       …but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect
At the mid-point of our missions trip last week, we stopped for some self-evaluation.  Are we doing what we do out of respect and reverence for Christ?  If so, it will show in our respect for others.  We cannot go to an area and act like "look what we're doing for you."  We need to humbly serve as Christ did, not looking down or people's predicament or problems.  We must also honor and respect our fellow servants.  We are in this together.  Out of reverence for God, may we show respect to everyone we meet today.