Send me a Text Message!

Hey Folks, for those of you who download early, sorry this is coming a little bit late. It's the message from yesterday (Sunday) on Matthew 6 and it's all about fasting. Fasting focuses our hunger on Jesus. Fasting is a humble cry for Jesus. Fasting is a hopeful cry for more.

But I also believe that there is a sense of urgency that fasting brings, that is desperately needed in our times. We need a heart that urgently desires more God, now, for us and others! We are hungry for more, sometimes we just don't realize it.

Send me a Text Message!

Have you ever asked God to give you tears? There is so much pain and suffering and brokenness in the world today. But do we mourn for the brokenness? Perhaps we need to pray that God would help us be tenderly moved. When we die and stand before Jesus and he asks us, "How did you feel about the suffering around you?" What will you say? Jesus felt enough cmpssn for Jerusalem to weep. He wept for every broken person in Jerusalem. He wept for their loss. He wept for people broken by sexual sin and financial greed. He wept for people who didn't love their neighbors and wept for hearts filled with unforgiving bitterness. He wept for people missing God's dreams for their lives.

Blessed are those who mourn? Perhaps we need to ask God for tears.

Send me a Text Message!

When Jesus showed up, on that mountain-top, the people who gathered around were going through a time of deep darkness. While some Jewish leaders experienced an element of prosperity and security, most of them were politically, religiously, and economically oppressed by the Roman Government. High taxes, religious restrictions, crucifixions were common. Most people knew someone who had been crucified. And then Jesus shows up. Remember the report from the last part of Matthew 4? Jesus is proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom; healing people, exhibiting the power of God and telling people about the blessings of heaven breaking on earth. And the news spread and crowds gathered.

There were crowds of people who had been broken and experienced loss and given up hope. People who wondered if God was gone and how far they were
from the blessed life and I think Jesus was telling them, "Don't quit, you are not so far."