Fresh Views of Timeless Truths
For the next two weeks, reflect on the rich, practical wisdom found in The Beatitudes. This free pdf consists of scripture, prayers, reflections, and 12 new hymns for public and personal worship.
It is part of the new series, Fresh Views of Timeless Truth, focused reflections on key topics.
LINKS:
Free pdf of The Beatitudes
Complete list of available volumes in Fresh Views of Timeless Truths
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Monday – Blessed Are the Merciful
Hymn: Let Mercy Shine (recording) (printed)
Tuesday – Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Hymn: Holy in Me (recording) (printed)
Wednesday – Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Hymn: God of Peace (recording) (printed)
Thursday – Blessed Are the Persecuted
Hymn: Captives of Eternal Love (recording) (printed)
Friday – The Beatitudes Describe Jesus
Hymn: All in You, Breath by Breath (recording) (printed)
Saturday – Hymn: Lord, Life Becomes More Simple (recording) (printed)
for more, visit
ThinkSingPray
at KenBible.com
about
Monday – Living in the Father’s Presence
Hymn: Children of the Lord (recording) (printed)
Tuesday – Blessed
Hymn: Beatitudes Hymn (recording) (printed)
Wednesday – Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
Hymn: Poor in Spirit (recording) (printed)
Thursday – Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Hymn: We Mourn (recording) (printed)
Friday – Blessed Are the Meek
Hymn: Meekness (recording) (printed)
Saturday – Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Hymn: We Taste Your Life and Long for More (recording) (printed)
for more, visit
ThinkSingPray
at KenBible.com
This is the final installment in an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.
Do you want to better understand the Beatitudes, or any of the Bible’s teachings, for that matter? Look at the life of Jesus. The Beatitudes are describing Him. He is the fullness of the person they are recommending. He is the way to the Father, the truth about the Father, and the life of the Father made human flesh (John 14:6).
He is thoroughly pleasing to His Father. At His baptism, the Father spoke from heaven:
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. (Matthew 3:17, NASB)
At the transfiguration, as Jesus was about to be rejected, humiliated, tortured, and murdered by the Jewish leaders, the Father repeated virtually the same words of glowing approval.
The Apostle Paul, having described Jesus’ humble obedience, even to the point of death, phrased the Father’s pleasure and blessing this way:
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, NIV)
Jesus’ life is the life most fully blessed by the Father. To understand the Beatitudes, look to Him.
He was poor in spirit. He had emptied Himself of all His own power and glory. He made Himself completely dependent on His Father for every word and every action. Though Lord of all, at His death He owned absolutely nothing. His only possessions, the clothes on His back, were divided by the soldiers as He died. Yet truly the entirely kingdom of God was His.
He wept with the other mourners at Lazarus’ death, and He wept over unrepentant Jerusalem. Though already full of righteousness and pure in heart, pleasing His Father was His food and focus and constant passion.
He was meek, and He was merciful. He spoke one-on-one with people from all walks of life, including the very lowest levels of society, and He always showed each individual dignity and respect. He forgave the worst of them, even His enemies as they were torturing and killing Him.
Though He was persecuted, pressured, and pursued most of His public life, He constantly lived God’s peace and spoke God’s peace. In the face of Jewish leaders intent on His execution and an angry mob calling for His life, He remained silent and calm. He never defended Himself, speaking only to faithfully witness to the truth.
Jesus is the life blessed by our Father. Embrace Him. Exalt Him. Desire Him. Follow Him. Be filled and led by His Spirit.
Above all else in this world, seek a close relationship with Jesus Christ.
Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Lord, Life Becomes More Simple
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
This is the tenth of an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.
Jesus eighth and final beatitude is this:
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12, NASB)
The Sermon on the Mount, and particularly the Beatitudes, teach us how to live in the presence of our Father who is almighty, all-wise, all-loving, and always with us. Trusting such a God turns our usual way of living upside-down. Giving now makes sense, not grasping…meekness, not pride…hungering and thirsting after holiness rather than glory and gold. We mourn what others consider normal or even good.
But here, as we suffer persecution and injustice, the opposite happens. In a situation where others mourn, we rejoice. Consider these verses:
When people insult you and persecute you…rejoice and be glad. (Matthew 5:11-12, NASB)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials. (James 1:2, NIV)
Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering…rejoice. (1 Peter 4:12-13, NIV)
Why should we rejoice when life is painfully unjust? Why should suffering that is unfair and even life-threatening become a compelling reason for joy? God’s Word gives us these reasons:
When Jesus listed the qualities that God blesses most richly, the qualities that are the keys to true and eternal success, the climax of His list was suffering for Christ.
Father, when I have to suffer for following Christ, help me not to be surprised, discouraged, angry, or afraid. You offer each believer a unique opportunity to share in His sufferings in some small way. When my opportunity comes, help me to accept it for what it is: a precious and personal gift from You.
Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Captives of Eternal Love
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
This is the ninth of an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.
Jesus’ seventh beatitude is this:
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9, NASB)
Father, You are the God of peace.
In You there is no conflict of any kind.
You are wholeness.
You are harmony.
You are complete and pure well-being.
You are the ultimate peacemaker.
You sent Your only Son from Your heavenly peace
into our battleground world.
Prophets announced Him as the Prince of Peace.
Saints and angels greeted Him as the coming of Your peace.
Throughout His 33 years He lived Your peace and taught Your peace
while wrapped in the most severe poverty and persecution.
And before returning to You, He spoke Your perfect peace
into the hearts and lives of His followers, saying:
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27, NASB)
In Christ, You have brought Your peace to us.
Paul told the Ephesians:
He Himself is our peace. (Ephesians 2:14, NASB)
And to the Colossians he said:
It was the Father’s good pleasure…through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:19-20, NASB)
In Christ, we have peace with You.
Romans 5:1 says:
Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NASB)
In Christ, our hearts and minds are wrapped in Your peace
throughout every circumstance
as we trust You.
Philippians 4:6-7 says it so beautifully:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NASB)
In Christ, You have promised to permeate all creation with Your perfect peace.
Many centuries ago, Isaiah described our future this way:
The wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6, 9, NASB)
In the meantime, Father, You have left us here, wrapped in Your peace,
to be Your peacemakers.
You are the ultimate peacemaker.
You made peace here
by coming to us,
by crossing every barrier to reach us in our need.
You made peace by
loving,
healing,
forgiving,
talking,
listening, and
giving,
by accepting suffering daily, and
in the end, pouring out Your life completely.
You call us to make peace the same way,
by daily, constantly pouring out our lives for others.
And as we make peace,
You call us Your children.
Father, what reward could be greater?
How could we do any less than share the precious gift of
Your peace?
Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: God of Peace
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
This is the seventh of an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.
Jesus’ fifth beatitude is this:
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7, NASB)
Father, You are merciful.
You are kind to the undeserving.
You are generous even with the greedy and selfish.
You freely forgive those who wrong You.
You warmly welcome the unworthy.
You are gracious and patient and always good.
You call us to be the same.
If we are to be Your children,
we are to think and love and act like You.
We are to be merciful.
What’s more, the giving and receiving of mercy are inseparably linked.
We cannot receive Your forgiveness
unless we extend it to others.
Your forgiveness cannot flow to us
until it flows through us.
Until we grant forgiveness to those who have wronged us,
we remained enslaved by sin,
suffering the lovelessness, resentment, anxiety and anger that injustice brings.
We can only free ourselves by also
freeing those who have wronged us.
If mercy is the solution for sin,
it is the solution for every last one of us.
Father, Your Son showed us the way of mercy.
While being tortured till death, He prayed,
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34, NASB)
When I suffer because of someone else,
give me His Spirit.
Give me His love.
When I am asked to share with the undeserving,
give me Your generous heart.
You lavishly pour out an entire world of blessings
on both the wicked and the good.
Father, grow in me
Your compassion,
Your open heart,
Your open hand,
Your freedom from selfishness.
May the needy sense in me Your eagerness to
smile and help and bless.
Let all who cross my path,
including the unkind,
get a glimpse of Your beautiful, life-giving mercy
through me.
Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Let Mercy Shine
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
This is the fifth of an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.
Jesus’ third beatitude is this:
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5, NIV)
Father, as we see Your greatness, we face our smallness.
As we glimpse Your power, we grasp our weakness.
As we marvel at Your transcendence, we embrace our lowliness.
Standing before You, humility is natural, honest, and sweet.
As we worship You, we forget ourselves.
As we crown You Lord, we gladly resign the throne of our lives.
Self-protection is unnecessary, for You, Sovereign God, are our protection.
With Psalm 123, we pray:
I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hands of their master…
so our eyes look to the Lord our God
till he shows us mercy. (vv.1-2, NIV)
As we gaze on Your great glory, we abandon our own.
James 4 says:
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble…
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (vv.6, 10, NIV)
As we rely completely on Your provision,
we no longer grab and grasp and worry.
We simply pray:
My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:1-2, NIV)
When Your own Son came to us, filled with all the fullness of the godhead,
He was meek.
He was completely empty before You,
completely dependent on You.
He relied on You for everything He said and did.
This Jesus invites us to come to Him.
He says:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV)
Jesus invites us to lay down our constant, crushing burden of self-concern
and take up the one easy burden of simply trusting You.
Father, give us the Spirit of Your Son Jesus.
Give us His Spirit of meekness—
not weakness, but meekness.
And from His Spirit, grow within us
His gentle heart with
His gentle words and
His gentle hands.
Make us truly and completely Your children, meek before
You,
Your people, and
the world.
Father, empty us of ourselves
that we may be filled forever with You.
Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Meekness
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
This is the fourth of an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.
Father, we are Your people.
As we live in Your presence, You say to us,
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4, NASB)
In what ways should knowing You, Lord, cause us to mourn?
We see this world, and we remember Eden.
We remember all You had planned for us.
Now we see all these people You created for Yourself,
into whom You breathed Your own life.
They are so very far from You, their only source of good.
They sin, they suffer, they cause suffering, and they die.
O our Father, we mourn for all that has been lost!
O God, forgive us!
We see all these dear ones, engulfed in grief and pain,
dying in the darkness every day, and
we mourn with You, loving Father.
We mourn our own sin.
We were like them, so far from You.
Evil filled our hearts and minds and hands.
You redeemed us, You bought us back at the price of Your only Son.
But even now as Your children,
our response to You is so cold and inconsistent.
We still think and act selfishly.
We are still fearful and mistrusting,
though cradled here in Your loving arms.
We are easily distracted from You and
so indifferent toward You.
We see You, glorious Father, and
we see ourselves, and
we mourn.
The nearer we grow to You, Father,
the more we mourn our separation from You.
The more we love You, the more we long to be with You
completely and constantly,
with no separation, no distance, no barriers, no veils,
nothing but You.
Father, You Yourself are the comfort for our mourning.
Your presence is fullness of joy.
You promised us Your Son, and You have given Him.
You promised us Your Spirit, and He is with us and in us right now.
You have also promised to live among us as our God and our Shepherd.
You have promised to wipe every tear from our eyes.
Father, we are waiting for that day.
We long for You.
We mourn for You.
O Lord, come!
Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: We Mourn
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
This is the third of an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.
Jesus’ first beatitude is this:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 5:3, NASB)
God has decreed the well-being of those who are poor in spirit. His sovereign word says they will have abundant life, and that they will be “prosperous” and “successful” in an ultimate sense, beyond mere money. But what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?
To be poor is to lack possessions. To be poor in regards to spirit is to have a spirit, or a heart, that lacks possessions; a spirit that does not “possess” or claim ownership of anything; a spirit with no wealth, no glory, no will or way or strength of its own.
Such a spirit is what we had in Eden before the fall. Then we were surrounded by God’s abundant gifts, but none of them had taken root in our hearts. We possessed nothing. We clung to nothing. We claimed ownership of nothing. God was all-in-all, and our spirits, hearts, and desires were reserved for Him.
When we are again poor in spirit, possessing nothing as our own, we are free to cling to God alone. When we do, we enjoy all things in Him. All He has, all He is, His entire Kingdom is ours, and we are entirely His.
Blessed indeed is such a person!
Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Poor in Spirit
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
