Life Down Under

Sermon on the Mount

As you've probably read from an earlier post, the Lord has been putting his finger on the Sermon on the Mount recently, in my own personal life. I've been doing a bit of study on this portion of Scripture, and have been struck with the importance of it. Not only the importance of it, but in light of that, how little time I have given to be deliberate in studying - and then cultivating - these realities in my own life. And just to rub a little salt in the wound of my own barrenness, one of my favorite preaches says that if we are not actively seeking to develop these values in our lives, we are just pursuing another religious self-help strategy with a little bit of "Jesus" language sprinkled on top. That if the Sermon on the Mount values and realities aren't imparted through our ministries, then we don't have a ministry at all. Now that says it plainly! At the end of the day, this is the essence of who Jesus is and what Christianity is all about. Of course, the subject matter of Matthew 5, 6, and 7 is taught many other places in Scripture as well. But the point is that this is the road map for us to follow if we are seeking to build a strong house that will stand through the storm of time. Jesus said it Himself at the end of the Sermon - whoever reads these sayings of mine and does them is like a man who built his house on the rock. And when the storm (read=great tribulation/judgment seat of God) comes, the house stands, because it was built on the rock. Of course, this is way easier said than done. But that's the beauty of how the whole sermon starts. Blessed are the poor in spirit - in other words, if you realize that there's absolutely no way you can do this thing on your own, then you're in a good place to begin this journey. Because you can't do it on your own.

Jesus is so kind. He doesn't leave us to figure out how to survive the hour of trouble that is just around the corner; He actually gives us quite clear instructions. Build your life on these realities, be deliberate to cultivate them in your inner life, seek them out as fine treasure; and then you'll be okay. Your house will stand.