Pastor Prince

  Medical science has developed amazing tests to look at our physical hearts.  They include catheterizations, CAT scans, MRIs and more.  They can even open our chests and examine our hearts with their own eyes.   But science will never develop a test that can look at our spiritual hearts.  That's our inner world of being, where we are who we are.   Ancient people believed their hearts were not only the center of their emotions, but also of their thoughts and will.  We say, "I thought."  They said, "I said in my heart."   In this context, Jesus spoke his sixth beatitude, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." The word "pure" means to be "thoroughly clean," even "scoured."  To be pure in heart is to be pure in your inner world, in the place where only you and God can see. Many religious leaders in Jesus' day weren't pure in heart.  They felt as long as they were clean in the...

When you're hungry, all you can think about is food.  When you're thirsty, all you can think about is water.  That's because these are our most basic needs.  If we don't have them, we die. In his fourth beatitude, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness."  Blessed are those who deeply long for righteousness. The Greek word Jesus used for "righteousness" comes from a root that refers to a standard, like a plumb line.  If a builder held a plumb line against a wall and the wall matched its straightness, it was righteous.   Biblical writers used "righteousness" in the context of relationships.  Relationships bring standards or expectations with them.  When we get married, we make vows to each other.  When we fulfill our vows, we're righteous.  If we don't, we're unrighteous. Our most important relationship is with God.  When we meet the demands of our relationship with him, we'...

In his third beatitude, Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."   "Meek" is one of the most misunderstood words in the Bible.  When I think of "meek," I think of Clark Kent.  Superman's secret identity.  Apparently Superman thought it would be good to choose an alter-ego who was the opposite of himself.  Clark Kent is a meek, mild-mannered reporter for "The Daily Planet" who speaks softly and runs from danger. But the Greek word for "meek" in this passage doesn't describe someone who's shy and cowardly.  Instead, to refers to people who have their power under control.   So when you think of "meek," think of Superman, not Clark Kent!  Superman is extremely power, but he's disciplined in the exercise of it.  He could tear people apart, but he chooses not to kill. Two people described by the Bible as meek fit this idea: Moses and Jesus.  Numbers 12:1ff describes Mo...

Nobody likes to grieve.  That's because we grieve when we've lost something.  And losing something is rarely good! But Jesus said in his second beatitude (Matthew 5:4) that those who mourn are blessed , because they will be comforted.  God will come alongside and help them in their loss. To be sure, God comforts us when we lose our loved ones.  I can testify to God's help in my own losses.  But I think Jesus was reaching beyond mourning the loss of our loved ones.  He was talking about mourning over our sin. In 2 Corinthians 7:8-10, the apostle Paul spoke of sorrow that led to repentance.  Godly sorrow can lead to good change.   Our great grandparents mourned over their sins.  Many churches had "Mourners' Benches" in them, where Christ followers would fall on their knees and confess their sins to God.  But we don't do such things!  We don't reflect much on our sins.  "Sinners" are other people! The res...

In Matthew 5:3 Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Who are the poor in spirit and why are they blessed?   The poor in spirit are the humble who know they need God and others.  Sometimes it helps to understand what something is by looking at its opposite.  The opposite of being poor in spirit is to be prideful.  Revelation 3:17-18 speaks of the church of Laodicea.  It was a church that thought it was rich and didn't need a thing from God or anyone else.  But Jesus tells it that it's really poor, miserable, blind and naked!  He calls on it to humble itself and turn to him for what it needs! The church in America today is a lot like that church.  It's wealthy and spoiled.  Oftentimes American churches are inward-focused and blind to the needs of the communities that surround them.  They have great buildings and programs.  But they're spiritually impoverished. The poo...

Two constants of human life are birth and death.  Every human experiences them.  Birth is a time of joy.  We celebrate our birthdays each year to commemorate the years we've lived since then.  Death is a time of sorrow and loss.  It's the great consumer of human life. Isaiah 25:6-9 says one day God will change all that.  He will take away the shroud that covers all nation.  He'll swallow up death forever.   In John 12:20-25, Jesus said the time had come for him to be glorified.  He said that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  Then he said those who try to save their lives will lose them, but those who hate their lives in this world will keep them for eternal life.   He was referring to his own death and resurrection, and to the life that would come to us through them.  The apostle Paul used a similar image in 1...

We walk the earth thinking we own lots of stuff.  Our houses, cars, jewelry, cell phones, stocks, etc., etc.  But the truth is we're only stewards. We receive or earn things and use them for a while.  But at last we pass them on to others. If you're a Christ follower, you're also a steward of the good news of Christ and the gospel.  You received it from others and now God has entrusted it to you.  What will you do with it? Jesus spoke of this in his parable of the tenants in Matthew 21:33-46.  Originally, it was a parable directed at Jewish leaders.  It's really more of an allegory than a parable.  In it, Jesus shows how the priests and Pharisees had taken a living faith and turned it into something corrupt that took people away from God.  Ultimately, they rejected God's Son when he came to him. Those leaders blew it.  It seems some of us are doing the same thing.  Some of us have created a legalistic conservative e...