Tag Archives: worship

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – CONCLUSION

Bible Study, ,

Hebrews 13:1-3 NIV
[1] “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. [2] Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. [3] Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

Having concluded his masterful explanation of the gospel of Jesus in the Old Covenant, our writer dumps his readers into the middle of New Covenant living…loving one another because God loves us! There is no better way to show the world that we are citizens of another realm than to love one another.

When we identify with each other and stretch out a helping hand in the worst of circumstances, we are echoing what God did in Christ for us. We demonstrate, in this way of life, that we understand what grace is and what grace does. Instead of running from faith in Jesus because of the cost, we dig in there and stand together in our suffering because we believe in a great future.

Hebrews 13:4-6 NIV
[4] Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. [5] Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” [6] So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Not only are we, as believers, characterised by our love for one another but also for our faithfulness to God’s standards.

Marriage and money…two requirements that separate God’s people from the world. The world has made a mockery of sex and marriage. From the world’s point of views, sex is for entertainment and marriage a noose! When things go wrong and the consequences bite, it’s all God’s fault!

And as for money…it’s a good servant but a terrible master. Fascinating that Jesus made a significant point. It’s not that we love we serve but that we serve what we love. Just like marriage! The world says, “Marry the one you love (and get out when you don’t love her any more).” The Bible says, “Love the one you marry. You’ll stay faithful if you do.”

When we keep these two requirements in their correct perspective, remembering that God had promised grace to obey, we build our lives on a solid foundation…confidence in the promise of God’s presence. This should be enough to steady us no matter what happens.

Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT
[5] “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” [6] So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

So, if stuff happens, and stuff did happen to these readers, (and stuff will happen to us), God is still there. The Roman government imposed impossible restructions on them to force them to quit their faith. For example, Rome demanded that they confess that Caesar was Lord before they could buy or sell at the markets. They stood firm and took the consequences.

As Father, God was committed to their care over and above anything humans could do to them. All they had to do was to remain in that realm of faith and obedience. God would take care of the rest.

So, how would they remain in God’s realm of promise and care?

Hebrews 13:7-14 NIV
[7] “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. [8] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. [9] Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. [10] We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. [11] The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. [12] And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. [13] Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. [14] For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Remember! How easy it is to go astray when we forget the things that hold us steady and on track!

Remember your leaders. Sheep are in danger without a shepherd. People get lost without leaders. Some leaders take their followers to hell, others are worth following because their destination is heaven. Follow and imitate those who are leading you in the right direction.

Remember Jesus. He never changes. If you stick with Him, you’ll be okay.

Remember what Jesus did. Animals didn’t take away sin, Jesus did. By offering His own blood, He did what no animal could do. Although He was disgraced and died outside the city like an outcast, He is the one who made atonement for our sins. Let’s go to Him because He is the only one who can save. No matter what the world does to us, our eternal destiny is safe if we hold onto Jesus even in suffering.

Remember our destiny. Jesus promised to take us to the Father. When we follow Him, we can be sure we’ll reach the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the home of the Father.

How do we say on track?

Worship!

Hebrews 13:15-17 NIV
[15] “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name….”

There is only one we are to worship. Praise, thanksgiving, and gratitude keep us focused on the object of our true worship.

Serve!

[16]”And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased…”

Serving God’s family is serving the Lord Himself.

Follow!

[17] “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”

Spiritual leaders have great responsibility. They are the earthly representatives of our heavenly model, Jesus.

Our writer concludes with miscellaneous instructions and greetings and a magnificent benediction which wraps up the gospel in a great prayer…

Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV
[20] Now, may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, [21] equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

That’s is, dear readers! God has done it all for us and He will keep doing in us whatever we need in this life to take us to our eternal destination.

Fear, gone! Sin, gone! Judgment, gone! Only hope, promise, and joyful celebration for what is past, is now, and is yet to come!

WHY NO OTHER GODS?

Christian Life, ,

God hates idolatry! He prefaced His instructions to His people with an emphatic…

Exodus 20:2-3 NIV
[2] “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery…”

… and launched into His resume of requirements for a covenant relationship with His people….

. [3] “You shall have no other gods before me….”

Throughout Scripture, God insisted that His glory was paramount in everything He said and did, and that His people should reverence Him and promote His glory in all the details of their everyday lives.

Isaiah 42:8 NLT
[8] “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.”

God chose one nation to be the vehicle through which He would display His love and power to the ungodly, idolatrous nations around them; for example, He crushed Egypt with ten plagues and delivered the Isaelites from the power of Pharaoh, exposing the impotence of Egypt’s gods.

Isaiah 43:21 NKJV
[21] “This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.”

Idolatry is the worst form of insult to God since idols are man-made, useless, powerless, reflecting the worst of human nature, and are, ultimately, both visible and invisible representations of demonic spirits. Idols are substitutes for the only true God. They can do nothing to us or for us.

The worship of idols is the expression of human defiance against God, unbelief in who He is, and a determined effort to replace Him with self. Since humans create their own gods in one form or another, humans regard themselves as the creator above the great Creator. People create gods in their own image to elevate themselves.

How does idolatry affect people? When people worship anything or anyone other than the living God, they are living out the essence of Adam’s rebellion. “I don’t need God. I can be God!”

The spinoffs of idolatry are clear.

Humans create gods like themselves, worship them and eventually become like them, entrenching in themselves the wickedness of their gods. Idolatry becomes a vicious circle of demonic control and wicked behaviour.

Hosea 9:10 NLT
[10] “The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshipped.”

The greatest tragedy of all is that Israel attempted to marry their idolatry to the worship of God. They attributed to idols what God had done. They urged Aaron to make gods to represent the God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

Exodus 32:4-6 NLT
[4]” Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” [5] Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!” [6] The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”

As God’s children, we may no longer worship carved idols, but the remnants of idolatry are in us if we do not guard against the elevation of self in its many subtle forms. Let me highlight three ways in which we set ourselves above God.

  1. Self-importance and self-suffiency go together.

When we inflate our opinion of ourselves above who we are, we think we don’t need God or people. Pride is nothing less than. A form of idolatry. You have heard the statement about a proud person, “He is a self-made man who worships his creator!”

  1. Unforgiveness is another form of idolatry.

An unforgiving person displays an attitude of arrogance. “I am better than you. I didn’t say/do what you said/did. You owe me. I will not lower myself to your level. I will not let you get away with this. I will punish you by withholding my forgiveness. I… I… I…”

Withholding forgiveness is a form of manipulation, keeping the debtor in my power, playing God in another’s life.

Jesus forgave in the most extreme of cruelty and indifference to His suffering…

Luke 23:34 NLT
[34] “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.”

  1. Self-pity is a subtle form of idolatry.

“Look what has happened to me. I don’t deserve this! Poor me. I am a victim. Please feel sorry for me. Please pay attention to my suffering. Me…me…me?”

Again, it’s all about me!

Jesus is the perfect example of a human who had the correct perspective in life.

Luke 23:27-28 NLT
[27]”A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. [28] But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

In His temptations, He refused to deviate from the Father’s instructions and His commitment to obey Him. “It is written…” was His response.

In His suffering, He entrusted Himself to the Father,

1 Peter 2:23 NLT
[23] “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”

His example offers us a way to escape idolatry.

There are also significant spinoffs in worshipping the living God, the true God of the Bible. Jesus, as God, is worthy of our worship.

Jesus did not reject worship.

John 9:35-38 NIV
[35]”Jesus heard that they had thrown him (the blind man whom Jesus healed) out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” [36] “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” [37] Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” [38] Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him.”

The same principle is true, that we become like the object of our worship, when we worship Jesus, the Son of God. We become like Him.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
[18]”And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Likeness to Jesus is God’s goal for His children. He is recreating us into Jesus’s image so that His children will all resemble His Son in His eternal family.

Romans 8:29 NLT
[29] “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Worshipping God is an attitude and a way of life that witnesses to our belongingness to Him.

Colossians 3:17 NLT
[17]”And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

1 Peter 2:9 NIV
[9] “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Worshipping God, living every moment connected to God as the centre and focal point of our lives, is God’s purpose.

John 4:23-24 NLT
[23]” But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. [24] For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Worshipping God is the way we live in covenant with Him. In this covenant, sealed with Jesus’ signature in His own blood, is the guarantee of all the benefits of salvation and God’s provision for life. God’s requirement for us is to believe in Jesus. His promises are the conditions of His covenant, ratified and fulfilled by Jesus. We add our “amen” to receive them.

Worshipping God alone is central to everything we have been promised and everything we enjoy in the New Covenant. Conversely, idolatry in any form cancels our participation in this new life we have in Jesus.

1 John 5:21 NLT
[21] “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”

THE CHURCH, GOD’S “BULLSEYE” – 10c

Bible Study, ,

Now let’s go back to God’s purpose for the church on earth.

‭Ephesians 3:6 NLT‬
[6] “And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.”

‭Ephesians 3:10-11 NLT‬
[10]”God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. [11] This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The goal of the church is to be God’s showpiece to all of creation. This includes the powers and principalities, led by God’s arch enemy, that attempted to unseat God and take the throne of the universe for themselves. The entire created order of the universe would know by looking at the church, that God’s wisdom in all its variegated facets, prevailed.

Despite all odds, God pulls off a daring plan to overcome every attempt to derail His plan. Since the heavenly powers disqualified themselves by their desire to dethrone God, He created, redeemed and perfected another race, humans, who would be His new “divine counsel”, ruling the nations with Jesus in eternity.

Even the physical world, also corrupted by sin, eagerly awaits the day when all God’s children come of age.

Romans 8:19 NLT‬
[19] “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.”

The church, then, has a unique and specific purpose on earth, preparing all its members for their heavenly reign. The Bible gives us three pictures of the church, each of which hones in on one of its functions on earth.

  1. Ephesians 1:23 NLT‬
    [23] And the church is his BODY; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

On one occasion, Jesus encountered a man who wanted to join the disciples to follow Him. Jesus cautioned him with words that have been misunderstood and misrepresented in much preaching.

‭Luke 9:57-58 NLT‬
[57] As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” [58] But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

Jesus was not saying He was poor. Fixes and birds don’t live in dens and nests. They have babies in dens and nests. He was explaining that, at that moment, He, the head, had no body on which to lay His head so that He could reproduce Himself.

On the day of Pentecost, the church was born and Jesus and His body were connected and completed. Through His body, He would build His church until the full number of Jews and Gentiles are called in.

Thus, the body of Christ, in union with and obedience to Him, would be His representatives on earth. The church would reveal His nature to the world and and call unbelievers to obey the gospel and become part of His body. The church’s function is to WITNESS to Jesus on earth.

‭Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT‬
[8] “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Through the Holy Spirit in them, they would reflect Jesus to the world.

How? By their supernatural love…

‭John 13:35 NLT‬
[35] “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

… and their supernatural unity…

‭John 17:23 NLT‬
[23]” I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

  1. ‭1 Corinthians 3:9 NLT‬
    [9] “For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s BUILDING.”

The second picture of the church is a building, set apart for WORSHIP. God’s building is a temple, built out of living stones, in which the Holy Spirit lives, individually and corporately. This temple replaces the physical temple in Jerusalem and becomes the ‘naos’, the Holy of Holies where God and man meet at the Mercy Seat.

‭Hebrews 10:19, 21-22 NLT‬
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. ‭‭
[20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
[21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

‭John 4:23-24 NLT‬
[23] “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will WORSHIP him that way. [24] For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

‭‭ individually, we are God’s temple…

‭1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

…and corporately, the church is God’s temple…

‭1 Peter 2:5 NLT‬
[5] “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.”

  1. The third picture of the church brings us to the heart of the church – the WOMB. The womb is the centre and purpose of intimacy. A man and a woman are united in marriage to become one to reproduce through their intimacy.

‭Malachi 2:15 NLT‬
[15]”Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.”

Intimacy speaks of absolute knowledge, absolute trust, absolute acceptance, and absolute faithfulness.

The church is the BRIDE of Christ, the pure virgin whom He has chosen and perfected for Himself for intimacy. He nurtures her in preparation for the day when they come together as one. Marriage between a man and a woman on earth is to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and His church.

‭Ephesians 5:22-27 NLT‬
[22]” For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. [23] For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. [24] As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. [25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. [27] He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

Our engagement period is a preparation for marriage during which we separate ourselves from all others and adorn our wedding gown with good works.

‭Revelation 19:7-8 NLT‬
[7] “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his BRIDE has prepared herself. [8] She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

The bridal gown is Jesus’ own righteousness which He gave His bride. She adorns her gown with the jewels of good works, every unselfish deed that shows her love by blessing others.

These three symbolic pictures of the church give us a clearer understanding of the functions of the church during her life in earth. This “composite woman”, made up of all the individuals in Christ’s body, is here to witness, to worship, and to be the womb through which God gives birth to His purposes by impregnating her with the seed of His Word.

Is it any wonder, then, that church is so precious to Jesus that He focuses all His attention on her protection, provision, and purpose in His dealings with the world!

Let me remind you again for your encouragement and hope…

‭Ephesians 1:20-23 MSG‬
[20-23] “All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”

Jesus is working, through His Spirit, in every individual member of the church by His grace so that each one, in his/her uniqueness, becomes a replica of Himself on earth. In this way, like all the pieces in a mosaic which make up a picture, the world will catch a glimpse of the real Jesus. Every small group of people doing life together is a picture of Jesus. So, the church as a whole witnesses to the power in us to overcome selfishness and to be God’s family in the world.

JOYOUS PRAISE IN THE MORNING

Devotion, ,

JOYOUS PRAISE IN THE MORNING


When I open my curtains in the early morning, I catch a glimpse of the first rays of the sun peeping through the tree at the bottom of our garden. Then my mind turns to Matt Redman’s beautiful song, “Ten thousand reasons,” and I begin to sing as I make my bed.

“The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing His song again.
Whatever may pass and whatever may befall me
Let me be singing when the evening comes.”

My heart leaps with joy as I burst into the chorus…

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,
O my soul,
Worship His holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship your holy name.”

The first verse sets the tone for my day – a declaration of trust in the one I worship, that He is God and will order all the circumstances of my day as He pleases.

The second verse directs my thoughts to this God whom I bless and praise in my song.

“You’re rich in love and you’re slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind.
For all your goodness I will keep on singing,
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.”

I have every reason to trust Him for today and tomorrow since my yesterdays are all a testimony to His goodness.

And what of my future? God has written my days in His book and He alone knows when my final day will come. However, like Matt’s song, I have confidence that the song I sang this morning will be my song in eternity…

“And on that day when my strength is failing,
The end is near and my time has come,
Still my soul will sing your praise unending.
Ten thousand years and then forevermore.”

My faith is strong; I have declared my trust in God for another day. I am equipped with a praising heart to face whatever comes with expectation that He is working for my good in all things.

Will you also sing His song in the morning and let its lyrics and melody resound in your mind throughout the day?

PRAYER
Father God, I can give you no greater honour than to sing your song, and to live today in the atmosphere of worship. As Jesus’ disciples confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” so, I, too, confess that there is no one greater than you in whom to believe.

With all my heart I thank you for your great salvation, for your love that surrounds and sustains me in every test and trial, and for your grace that helps me to endure.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and everything that is within me, bless His holy name.

THE BEATITUDES

Christian life, ,

THE BEATITUDES

“Blessed…blessed…blessed…blessed…blessed…blessed…blessed…blessed…blessed…”   Matthew 5:3-11.

What is this blessing of which Jesus speaks nine times in the opening verses of His “Sermon on the Mount”?

Before He launches into a description of the ways of the Kingdom of God, He answers the question many people are asking: “How can I be happy?” Does God really care about our happiness? Yes. Isn’t He more concerned about our holiness? According to Jesus, no. God cares about whether we are happy or not and He tells us how we can be truly happy. The problem is that most people look for happiness instead of realising that happiness is a by-product of something else. If we focus on happiness, we will find that it is elusive but, if we follow Jesus’ prescription, happiness will be the automatic outcome.

There are two words for “blessed” in the Hebrew language.

“Baruch” is the word used for the supernatural blessing God gives to us just because He can. We cannot merit God blessing. It is the evidence of His divine favour.

“Baruch” is also the word used when we bless God in worship. “Bless the Lord, O my soul…”

“Asher”, also translated “blessed”, refers to the happiness that is the outcome of obeying God’s word, of living the way He prescribes. Happiness (being blessed) is the natural outcome of living within the boundaries of what God intended for us. In the Old Covenant system, living God’s way ensured that His people would live in the land God assigned to them, under God’s protection and enjoying the blessings of His provision and prosperity. This was what His people understood about His kingdom, and the outcome of living this way would be a truly happy life.

Happiness is the by-product of the way we relate to and treat other people. To seek happiness for ourselves is to miss the way in which we can be truly happy. When we live for ourselves at the expense of other people, we cut off the source of happiness which is being unselfish and generous towards those less fortunate than ourselves.

The thrust of the Beatitudes is not inward- but outward-looking. What can we do to make life better for other people so that we can experience the happiness that flows from that lifestyle?

Interesting that these are called “be” attitudes and not “do” attitudes, since our doing can only flow from being! So Jesus focuses on heart attitudes which only come from the transformation that must happen before our behaviour can change.

The “Sermon on the Mount” is Jesus’ explanation of what living in the Kingdom of God is all about, and the Beatitudes His introduction to that way of life. Without understanding the Beatitudes, the rest of the Sermon on the mount is more difficult to grasp. In the next nine postings, I intent to explain the Beatitudes in the context of Hebrew literature and interpretation so that we can attempt to understand them as Jesus taught, from a Jewish rabbi’s perspective.