NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Reasons To Believe Jesus Cares More About People Than Issues

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Instead of obeying those in authority, Christians would rather become those in autority.

Jesus Exemplified
A People-First Approach
To Ministry

There is no question that Jesus cares. He endured great difficulties during His short life and that alone gives us a measure of His interest.

Just being born exposed Him to humiliation, inconvenience and threat, and then later He was buffeted by insult, doubt, rejection and finally crucifixion.

And none of that was a surprise. He knew this would happen but it didn’t deter Him.

All of that is to say He’s invested. He cares but the question is what exactly does He care about?

He had to have a good reason to willingly subject Himself to these abuses and we need to ask what that was. [Read more…] about Reasons To Believe Jesus Cares More About People Than Issues

Judgment vs Judgmental

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Bad judgments are still judgments.

Judgment Is What We Do
Judgmental Is What Others Do To Us

Judgment and Judgmental are two concepts that are easily confused. They aren’t the same. Judgment is something everyone uses everyday for every decision. It’s a process we go through before making decisions.

Sometimes we side with our better judgment. Sometimes we ignore better judgment. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad but either way, the outcome is what we do to ourselves.

There are many skills needed to make good judgments (analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, patience, ethics, pragmatism, and more) but the more important issue is something we don’t usually talk about.

We need to make judgments because we don’t automatically have all the answers to the situations that confront us regularly.

We are not all-knowing. We can’t see all the details.

King Solomon’s first test as a leader is a good example. When two prostitutes squabbled over a baby, Solomon relied on a skill we don’t often associate with good judgment, emotional intelligence (I Kings 3:16-28).

It was a tangled mess. Two mothers were claiming to be the parent of one baby and there was no clear physical evidence to prove one true and the other false.

The ability to judge these situations was scarce. No one knew how to solve this problem so they resorted to the King. The good judgment he employed in solving this problem made him widely respected and it reveals the value of good judgment.

It wasn’t Solomon’s charisma, good looks or physical stature that won the hearts of his people. It was his wisdom (good judgment) that made him great in their eyes. [Read more…] about Judgment vs Judgmental

10 Reasons To Believe Jesus Wants You To Be Happy

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Being Happy For The Right Reasons
Is Never Wrong

Does Jesus want you to be happy?

Yes, He does and there is no place where He makes the point more clearly than in the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12).

Unfortunately, what people say about the beatitudes doesn’t always convey “happy.”

Even the word “Beatitude” is a bit misleading. It has a ceremonial ring to it and casts the pall of religious sludge over teachings Jesus intended to be refreshing.

Not only is the word not found in the Bible, it is stretching the point to call it English. It is a transliteration of the Latin word “beati” – meaning blessed or happy – and, to my knowledge has no other use other than referencing the first part of Jesus’ Sermon. Google it for yourself and see.

No doubt the word is still used today because clerics popularized it and their intent was anything but clarity.

Generally speaking all religions, including Christianity, are not known for showing a happy face but believe it or not, this word actually means “supreme blessedness or happiness” according to The Free Online Dictionary. Usual interpretations convey everything but.

Take for example the following statement by John Gill:

All mankind are spiritually poor; they have nothing to eat that is fit and proper; nor any clothes to wear, but rags; nor are they able to purchase either; they have no money to buy with; they are in debt, owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay; and in such a condition, that they are not able to help themselves. The greater part of mankind are insensible of this their condition; but think themselves rich, and increased with goods: there are some who are sensible of it, who see their poverty and want, freely acknowledge it, bewail it, and mourn over it; are humbled for it, and are broken under a sense of it; entertain low and mean thoughts of themselves; seek after the true riches, both of grace and glory; and frankly acknowledge, that all they have or hope to have, is owing to the free grace of God.

This is Mr. Gill’s explanation of “poor in spirit” which was the first point Jesus made in His sermon. No disrespect intended but where’s the “happy?” I don’t even get a warm fuzzy after reading those remarks.

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The sad part is many others sound just like him. There are minor differences in wording but the spirit is the same. [Read more…] about 10 Reasons To Believe Jesus Wants You To Be Happy

Anger And Murder In Modern Society – Matt. 5

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Anger was one topic Jesus mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount and the interesting thing is, He associated it with murder.

Before He made His famous remarks, a long history of anger-fueled violence had riddled the pages of holy writ going all the way back to the first family. It occurred often even in those early years and frequently resulted in the death of another person. It wasn’t peculiar to the so-called bad guys either. Some of the people who committed murder surprise us.

  • Cain, the first-born child to the first family murdered his first sibling, Abel, and it was motivated by anger.
  • Esau was so angry he wanted to kill his brother, Jacob. Fortunately the parents intervened and sent Jacob away. The resentment, however, never left. There was constant tension between the descendants of these two brothers which occasionally escalated to war.
  • Jacob’s sons, motivated by resentment, planned to kill their brother, Joseph but instead sold him as a slave.
  • Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, in a state of rage, murdered all the men in an entire town because the son of the chief had raped their sister and they did this even though the perpetrator wanted to make things right.
  • Moses angrily defended his people by killing an Egyptian guard. The guard was abusing Israelite slaves and killing him was Moses’ idea of deliverance.
  • Later, Moses again became so enraged that he disobeyed a direct order from God, suffering the consequences personally this time. [Read more…] about Anger And Murder In Modern Society – Matt. 5

Mercy One Person to Another

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Expressing mercy elicits mercy.

Maintaining Relationships
Without Mercy
Is Like Washing A Car
With A Dry Cloth

It is no surprise that Jesus mentions mercy in the Sermon on the Mount. Of all the characteristics attributed to God mercy predominates.

God was merciful to:

  • Adam and Eve when they ate the forbidden fruit.
  • To Cain when he murdered his brother Abel.
  • To Abraham when he lied about his wife Sara, not once but twice.
  • To Joseph when he was in prison through no fault of his own.
  • To the Israelites when He delivered them from Egyptian slavery.
  • To David when he committed both adultery and murder.

And there are many statements in the Bible which declare mercy to be one of God’s most outstanding qualities. It certainly is the one that most defines His relationship to humanity. [Read more…] about Mercy One Person to Another