THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT --Matthew 5:13

In the Beatitudes, Jesus prepares His followers to live out their faith. The poor in spirit demonstrate a contrite heart; those who mourn demonstrate a repentant heart; the meek demonstrate a humble heart, those who hunger for righteousness demonstrate a hungry hear; the merciful, a compassionate heart; the pure, a pure heart, the peacemaker, a peace-filled heart; and the persecuted, a tested heart. Once He has control of our hearts, He is ready to thrust us out into the world as His Salt.

The Bible mentions salt over 30 times. When Jesus states, "you are the salt of the earth," He was moving from the abstract to the functional; from theory to practice. Salt is used to season food. It acts as a preservative and flavors food. Paul states in Colossians 4:6, "let your conversation be with grace, seasoned with salt." Food is bland without salt and our testimony falls flat without Christ. The psalmist put it this way: " O taste and see that the the Lord is good" (Ps.34:8)

So how can we make others thirsty for God? It is true that we can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink. However, put a block of salt near the water and after a few licks he will drink. If salt remains in a salt shaker it has little value. But turn it upside down and put it on meat or vegetables and it's flavor is enhanced. Are you making other thirsty for God or has your testimony lost its flavor? "If the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything." Body cells must have salt in order to live. Blood, sweat and tears have salt. The Christian is salt because he has Christ and without Christ there is no life.

Imagine yourself as a salt shaker! There are all kinds of salt shakers: big ones, small ones; some used only in kitchens, ornate ones used at banquets or special occasions. It doesn't really matter the size, shape, color, or value! What really matters is whether there is salt in the shaker and whether it is poured out of the shaker to flavor the food. I believe God's message to us is simple: Let God fill you with His Spirit and then allow Him to pour out your life into this bland, flavorless world. It's not about you or me on the outside as much as it is all about Him on the inside pouring forth His love and grace through you. I must confess, I often feel contented, sitting smuggly along with other "salt shakers of like precious faith!" But that's not what God wants! He has put us here to be "His salt-of-the-earth" servants. "Lord! shake us out of our comfort zone as true salt-of-the-earth followers of Yours! Amen!"

I LOVE BLUE

I love blue and I love you
I bet you cannot guess just who?
The sky is blue, the ocean too
And thoughts of love are always true.

So why does blue affect me so
When other colors shine and glow
Is there some charm I fail to know?
Or is a rainbow just for show.

I know that some like red or green
And thoughts of love for them is seen
But they don't know the secret part
The color blue stirs in my heart.

So now, I guess, you want to know
Just why this color charms me so
The secret is a mystery plan
I hope someday you'll understand.
--B. Pent

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT - Matt.5:10-12

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will also hurt me! In fact, they often hurt worse! That is why God puts gossip and slander along with murder and adultery. But how are we to respond to the persecution that Jesus outlines in the Beatitudes? Well, like any school teacher, there are times when a quiz or a test is important to see what we are learning and how we are progressing. I think that is precisely what Jesus has in mind in Matthew 5:10-12.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness...blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all manner of evil against you because of me." So why do we go through times of testing? Jesus makes it clear that these come to strengthen our faith (I Peter 1:7-8) It is God's refining fire! When we avoid testing, we infect those round about us and fail in the school of discipleship. Our surrender to Jesus Christ calls for a stand against evil. We are in a battle against Satanic forces that are out to defeat us as Christians and to keep the lost in his grip.

It is interesting that the word "tribulation" comes from the Latin word "tribulum" which was a threshing instrument separating the wheat from the chaff. Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:12 that "the godly in Christ will suffer persecution." God sends trials so that the chaff of self can be torn off from the pure grain of Christ likeness. So don't run from trials but as James 1:2-4 states: "consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance...so that you may be mature and complete."

Jesus concludes His Beatitudes (v.12) by telling us that we are to "rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven." That is also how James 1:12 puts it: "blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, that God has promised." So allow life's testing to make you more like Jesus and let His fullness be reflected through your submission to the will of God. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!

THE BLOOD OF JESUS

I could see the blood of Jesus
Flowing from the cross for me.
I was bound in sin's dominion
But He died to set me free.

Once I sought for earthly treasures
In sin's blindness I couldn't see
That a priceless Gift was offered
That could cleanse and set me free.

Oh the pain He bore on Calvary
From His lips He spoke my name
"Please forgive this wandering sinner!"
Then He died to take my blame.

When I saw the God of Glory
Pouring out His life for me
I cried out in faith for mercy
Then He came and set me free.

Now I stand redeemed, forgiven
All the past is wiped away.
To the Lamb be all the glory
I am saved by grace today.
--B. Pent

FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS

"The disciple always looks only to his master...only by following Christ alone can he preserve a single eye. His eye rests wholly on the light that comes from Christ, and has no darkness or ambiguity to it. As the eye must be single, clear and pure in order to keep light in the body, as hand and foot can receive light from no other source save the eye, as the foot stumbles and the hand misses its mark when the eye is dim, as the whole body is in darkness when the eye is blind; so the follower of Christ is in the light only so Long as he looks simply to Christ and at nothing else in the world. Thus the heart of the disciple must be set upon Christ alone. If the eye sees an object which is not there, the whole body is deceived. If the heart is devoted to the mirage of the world, to the creature instead of the Creator, the disciple is lost.

What are we really devoted to? That is the question. Are our hearts set on earthly goods? Do we try to combine devotion to them with loyalty to Christ? Or are we devoted exclusively to Him? The light of the body is the eye, and the light of the Christian is his heart. If the eye be dark, how great is the darkness of the body! But the heart is dark when it clings to earthly goods, for then, however urgently Jesus may call us, his call fails to find access to our hearts. Our hearts are closed, for they have already been given to another. As the light cannot penetrate the body when the eye is evil, so the word of Jesus cannot penetrate the disciple's heart so long as it is closed against it. The word is chocked like seed which was sown among thorns, chocked 'with cares and riches and pleasures of this life'...Our hearts have room only for one all-embracing devotion, and we can only cleave to one Lord. Every competitor to that devotion must be hated." (The Cost Of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer. p.192,193,196)

I TOUCHED YOUR HANDS

I touched your little hands today
So soft with new-born skin
God took the very best He had
So you would live to honor Him.

I touched your busy hands today
So carefree through those early years
And when you fell and scraped your knees
I picked you up and wiped your tears.

I touched your youthful hands today
I was so proud to see you grow
In wisdom and in knowledge too
So Christ through you the world could know.

I touched your calloused hands today
So hard with work and family play
Yet often through the course of life
I saw you pause to kneel and pray.

I touched your aging hands today
The sunset years have scared your brow.
Still I can see your course through life
Has won the victory here and now.

I touched His nail-scared hands today
As I walked down the streets of gold.
He called me from His royal throne
"Come in, my child, and welcome Home!"
--B. Pent

BUTTONS

Buttons are treasures that touch all our lives
They're sown on a jacket or shirts without ties.
Their colors all blend on a fancy new dress
To help make you look like a royal princess.

So why do we treat them with so little worth
When buttons are used all over the earth?
Or maybe a lesson or two can be learned
From these useful treasures that often are spurned.

I think that the Lord who created mankind
Has a unique plan for each Christian in mind.
No matter how small or simple the task
The garments of Grace will be finished at last.

So next time you think your gift is too small
Remember those buttons and give Him your all.
Then with garments of praise we'll all take our stand
And hear the "well done" from His grateful hand.
--B. Pent