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Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.”

There is a happiness that comes when we know that moment by moment we depend upon and beg from the Father in heaven. We cry out for help. We ask for assistance. We trust for Him to do the impossible, when we need it so desparately.

Jesus knew what it was to be poor. His mother Mary and Joseph were poor. He Himself said in reference to Himself, “The Son of Man has no where to lay His head.

Let us remember that the Son of Man refers not merely to a mere human, but to the royal-divine figure seen in Daniel’s vision. Why does the poor Son of Man have no place to -lay- his head? Because he is seated at the right hand of the Almighty looking over all of creation constantly.

Jesus suffered poverty so that we might receive the riches of God, if we would but ask.

Are you asking for the riches of God? Or are you content to work your way to comfort?

In today’s society, there are many relative standards. One of the most widely held standards is that one must not tell another that they are wrong. Explore choices, but don’t say, “That is wrong … unless someone is about to walk in front of a truck or touch a hot stove.”

Let us now suppose that Jesus is real and is the Truth standard. For some, this is a stretch, but there are very good reasons for accepting this, which we will not get into at this moment.

If Jesus is the Truth, then he must of necessity be the Way to God and the Life of God lived among us. If Jesus is the Truth, then all he said is true.

There are some who regulate speech according to what appears hateful. And they would ban Jesus almost outright, though he surely is the most gentle man ever to walk the face of the earth. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. … Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.” (Luke 14:26; John 15:23)

There is something about Jesus that calls for absolute allegiance. Either Jesus and His Father or your father, your mother, your wife, children, brothers, sisters, your life.

There is a song, “Take the whole world, but give me Jesus.” That is exactly what this is about. Jesus is worth more than the entire universe.

He is your access to God.

He is your only real hope for a meaningful life that endures.

He is the One you can trust without reservation.

He is the One you can receive love from without any sort of unkindness from Him.

Jesus is.

What relationship on earth in the West is regarded as loving more marriage? These days you will find people trying to marry all varieties of things: pets have had weddings officiated with them (not that the animals respected the vows); a woman tried to marry a French bridge (though the bridge was pretty silent about pledges of affecting and loyalty and I don’t even want to consider what sort of intimacy would follow. What will the kids be like?); however, the most popular latest perversion in the areas where I live are unions between people of the same sex/gender (how they expect to have children, I do not know, if they are to remain totally faithful to one another); ironically, the same lands demanding freedom from Biblical norms for marriage will condemn the people of the ends of the earth in the Middle East who marry older men to little girls.

So the question arises, how do we determine what is a good marriage and what is not? Look to Jesus.

Jesus said, “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

What do we learn from this: 1. Marriage is to be between a male and a female (male and female). 2. Marriage is to be permanent (let no one separate). 3. Marriage is authored by God, not people (what God has joined together, Creator made). 4. Marriage involves sexual intimacy (one flesh). 5. The Holy Scriptures describe God’s mandate for marriage (Haven’t you read). 6 Marriage is monogamous (a man … his wife … they are … two …). 7. Marriage is for humans (a man, from the passage referred to in Genesis: they are to be in his image. 8. The wife must be mature enough to have children & not be a mere child herself (one flesh, the yoking of marriage implies a certain equality before God.)

If you were to hold forth this standard in society today when someone asks you, you are liable to be called hateful and malicious. In fact, holding up God’s standards is nothing less than speaking the truth in love. Why?

Marriage is a picture of how God relates to His people. It reveals a closeness and inter-relationship that entails a correspondence and closeness not known among the angels. God will not be mocked.  One day, all the plans of man will fall short. All the works of women will fail. Only what is of the Lord will endure. He stands as Judge over all creation, of which you and I are part.

You will say, Oh, so just believe in Jesus, get married, and all will be peachy, right?

Not necessarily. In this world we will have trouble. Whether a person is called to be single and so devote themselves to the Lord’s work or whether one married and called to divide one’s interests between the Lord’s kingdom and the well-being of one’s spouse, it is not an easy road. If a person is single, often they will be looked at askance as odd in a marrying society. If a person is married and they still seek to put the Kingdom of God first, they will face some difficulty in marriage and be frustrated in their ability to go 100% for the Kingdom of God.

Regardless, we know that it is clear: Jesus called himself the bridegroom. HE is passionate about His bride, the Church, those souls who have bound themselves to Him with their whole being. He is jealous for us and does not want us to divide our allegiances between Him and the state, between Him and money, between Him and family, between Him and our own safety. We are to offer all up to Him.

Here you go, Jesus. Take my life. Let me live as much for You as is possible for a married sinner to do.

It seems like every Disney movie I recall had the same mantra: believe in yourself.

This is the rave of pop-psychology. Believe in yourself loud enough & long enough and you will achieve whatever you want.

This is misplaced confidence and leads to destruction.

Often, those who are most confident of themselves are the least loving, least trustworthy, least kind people I know. They have a form of courage, but lack the humility to temper the pride that leads to destruction.

If you believe in yourself, you are believing in a lie.
If you believe in yourself, you are believing in a mere mortal.
If you believe in yourself, you are believing in a sinner.
If you believe in yourself, you believe in someone who makes mistakes.
It is a mistake to believe in yourself.

So who can we trust and how can we get along if we cannot believe in ourselves.

If we will humble ourselves under God, He will lift us up … in due season.
If we cast ourselves on His mercy, He will support us and come to our aid.
If we cry out for mercy, He will direct our steps.
If we look to the King, he will be the source of our confidence.
Jesus is our authority, not ourselves.

I once met a person who called himself a king. To take on titles other than those which lower ourselves in the esteem of others is foolishness. This is why I avoid calling people pastor or missionary or apostle. Perhaps some people who use these titles indeed have been entrusted by the Lord with a measure of authority, but to use that title, it to take on more authority to oneself.

Jesus himself said we should call ourselves brothers. There are not brothers at large and a few big brothers to tell everybody like it is. NO! There is one elder brother, Jesus. There is one Shepherd, Jesus.

The word shepherd (pastor) is used once to describe what some were given to be. But nowadays, anytime a saint gets religious, they want to be a pastor. An apostle. An evangelist. A teachers. Is it not enough to be a saint. A saint is merely someone who is set apart for God. This word is used more to describe God’s people in the Bible than the word Christians.

Oh, people will clamor to call themselves “like Christ” (for this is what Christian means), but are they willing to be called like Christ? Are they willing to be cursed by the world and slandered and spit upon and to have their beard torn at and their bodies beaten? This is what it means to be a Christian.

True Christianity is not merely measured in terms of assent to propositional truth. Rather it is measured in terms of obedience in the face of great cost to the implications of the Truth.

If you cry out to the Lord Jesus in truth, will you obey him whether by living or dying?

If you believe God is your Father, will you treat all others who name the Name as your equals and fellow heirs with Christ?

If you claim to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, will you manifest the Spirit’s life in the most excellent way, in love towards your most cruel enemies?

You say you love, but do you really?

If you are not willing to rebuke a wicked sinner in the hopes of turning him to salvation, though he may also turn on you beat you into the ground while you are uttering blessings and kind words to them … do you really love?

If you are not willing to stand for the most helpless unborn baby and offer to open up your home to that child, do you really love?

If you are not willing to silence gossip with a call to kindness in speech and mercy in conversation, do you really love?

If you are not willing to wait years for those you pray for to repent, if they harden their hearts, do you really love?

These are hard questions, and I must confess, I fall far short.

Like a child trying to help his father clean up the dirt and dropping in shy of the waste bag, we often make a bigger mess than we help.

Lord, have mercy, not only on us, but on all. Lord, show so much mercy, that those who reject the knowledge of God will come to realize that they have ignored YOUR mercy and not just some abstract principle of mercy. Show so much mercy, that even the hardest of hearts will be softened at your gentle voice.

Lord, show mercy on me most especially, for I, the greatest of sinners, am most in need.

Recently, I say the following news about Qatar, a place one friend was banned from.

The Top Ten Things To Know About Qatar:

The largest group of Christians in Qatar are migrant workers from countries like the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Many of them live in labor camps. They work from the early morning to late at night, sometimes seven days a week. After work, they return to their labor camp where they eat and sleep.

Christian fellowship inside labor camps is prohibited, and needs to be done in secret.

According to International Monetary Fund, Qatar has the highest GDP per capita of any country in the world.

The World Cup will be held in Qatar in 2022.
The international news group Al Jazeera is based in Qatar.

According to the Qatar Statistics Authority, the country has the highest literacy rate of any country in the Arab Speaking World.

Should it become known that someone wants to convert to Christianity, the pressure from families or their peers will be severe.

According to the US State Department, Qatar has a population of around 1.8 million people, however only 250,000 of these are citizens.

Christians ask that we pray that the country will not only present itself like a moderate and modern country, but also show that it can be. Despite the rapid changes over the past decades and growth in wealth, their Islamic heritage and culture stands firm. There is no openness to other religions, which makes it difficult for foreign workers, let alone for local believers.

…
Will you pray with me that Qatar will find the King of kings and the Isa al-Masih will rule over the Emir of Qatar?

Fix your attention on your life and on your teaching. Persevere in them, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. (1 Timothy 4:16)

I have lived long enough to see people I love & respect waver in their own lifestyle to the point of violating the word of God with the fallenness of their lives. I have also seen people violate the apostolic teaching after many years as a professed evangelical, Bible believing Christian. Both situations have led many astray and into sin and judgment. Then I have seen some persevere, continue, abide in the words of Jesus until the and those they ministered to were transformed.

How does this happen? How can we so run the race that we actually get the prize? Is it just a matter of living a long time or is it actually a matter of sharing in a life that surpasses this one in glory at the resurrection, the standing up again?

1. Fix your attention. Pay attention. Focus. In both the overall picture of your life as well as the details of it. Let your soul be the subject of personal study. Study your life. Are you learning anything from your mistakes? Are you correcting errors you have made? How is your heart? What is coming out of your heart?

2. On your life. My job is to repent in my life. I must seek to set an example for others. I do so poorly, I confess, so pray for me and I will pray for you. But we must refine our lives until we are corrected to walk in righteousness. It will take time, it will take effort. But it is worth it. Your life is not an accident. God invested time in your life, you should to. The goal here is obedience. Perfect, unrelenting obedience. We may not be 100% obedient in this life, but that is to be our goal. We should live in view of the cross of Jesus, not taking his sufferings for granted.

3. And on your teaching. It is not enough to live a nice life. We should also speak up. Particularly in the face of such evil. Are you failing to teach on controversial topics? Are you failing to teach the truth on those matters? Are you failing to base your version of the truth on the Scriptures which were written by holy men of old? Are you rightly dividing the word? Are these merely your interpretation or are they in accord with the teachings of the church, the ongoing body of believers which has existed since the days of Jesus?

4. Persevere in them. Continue. Don’t give up. Don’t lose heart. Finish what you started and finish well. Does your teaching accord with your own life? If not, does your life or your teaching need to change? Do your actions and words reflect the glory of God which is eternal?

5. For by doing this you will save your self. I must ask myself, am I living as though I have been saved, am being saved, and will be saved? Do I presume upon the grace of God and act as though salvation is finished and complete already and there is nothing for me to do? Am I a bench warmer at bedside baptist or a lover of the lost and a witness to the truth?

6. And your hearers? I ask you: are you also joining me in living with Jesus every day and living for Jesus every moment since the days are evil? Are you willing to die for Jesus? Or are you living and dying for yourself alone? Do you speak more about yourself or about the Lord? Are you a light in the dark or are you speaking of shadows? Does what you do and say accurately reflect the image of God? Are you making a difference in the lives of others or are you just trying to save yourself? If you want to save yourself, you must also seek to bring others into the boat.

Noah preached righteousness in his generation. He sought to save his hearers from the coming wrath. America is about to experience great judgment for judgment is being rendered which approves what God calls evil: homosexual relations. America is identifying with evil because it has relied on the sword to defend its interests. America will die if it continues to kill the unborn and care little for the aged and weak. Schools are too often opposing the teaching of the truth about the Creator and His creation. Sin is celebrated in the streets. Are you fleeing the coming wrath and preparing this nation to repent and turn back to God en-masse at the local, state, and federal levels? Are you seeking to preach repentance to the nations? Are you living in love?

IF so, praise God! He is stirring in your heart and He will stir in the lives of those you impact. IF God has made a difference in you, you will make a difference in the world.

If however, you opinions and open doors are no different from the world’s you may have made no different choices than the devil and wrath is waiting until you repent.

Who has your “Unclaimed Property”? How will you get it back?

Currently, I am trying to claim some old property that went unclaimed for a number of years. It is a small amount of cash. (Probably to be claimed quickly by current commitments & needs of those organizations I know.) It seems like a lot of hassle to go through in order to acquire this small sum, but I am willing to do it because it seems worth it.

It made me think: How many people have unclaimed joy in Jesus?

No one has told them how call on the name of the Lord Jesus.
No one has told them to pray to our Father.
No one has told them how to ask for the Holy Spirit.

Where is the department of the church which distributes unclaimed blessings to the poor in spirit? Do we just cater to those who come to us for blessings, or do we actively go looking for ways to bless the nations which are digging for gold in empty mines?

It is more blessed to give than to receive. But first you must claim your inheritance of the Father’s blessings before you can give life to others.

Mert Hershberger
1974-20_ _.

Here lies the monument to all my choices and the choices of my ancestors.
The celebration of God’s choice is prepared for the resurrection.

Media can be used for God’s glory or our own shame.

Now I am also on Pinterest: MertHershberger .

My goal is to bring glory to God by raising up prayer for the Arabian Peninsula, for those I serve & reach out to, and my family.