Who do You Say is Blessed? by Chase Butler
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&view=post&articleid=Who-do-You-Say-is-Blessed-by-Chase-Butler&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Chase Butler
Do you ever experience coincidences that stop you in your tracks? The pastor on the podcast explained the text would be from Deuteronomy. I turned it up and pulled directly behind a car with a tag that read "DEUT28." A minute later the pastor said, "We'll be looking at chapter 28 today." He had my attention. I'm not going to rehash the whole sermon, but I do want to share the core of the message that followed as I drove home and has stuck in my mind to this day. We have lived a long time with the idea of blessings and curses. There is an unspoken economy in our souls: do right and be blessed, do wrong and be cursed. Moses went into great detail in the Torah to explain the system of blessings and curses.
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Do you ever experience coincidences that stop you in your tracks? The pastor on the podcast explained the text would be from Deuteronomy. I turned it up and pulled directly behind a car with a tag that read "DEUT28." A minute later the pastor said, "We'll be looking at chapter 28 today."
He had my attention. I'm not going to rehash the whole sermon, but I do want to share the core of the message that followed as I drove home and has stuck in my mind to this day.
We have lived a long time with the idea of blessings and curses. There is an unspoken economy in our souls: do right and be blessed, do wrong and be cursed. Moses went into great detail in the Torah to explain the system of blessings and curses.
But we learned the system doesn't always make sense. We can't earn or merit blessing in a grace economy. We can't keep any law perfectly. Plus, the wicked sometimes prevail, and the righteous still find suffering. What really is blessing then?
Jesus shows up in the New Testament with his mic-dropping "you've heard that it was said BUT" statements and flips the whole thing upside-down. Who is blessed? It's definitely not the rich, religious, or even rule keepers.
Poor. Mourning. Meek. Hungry. Weeping. Hated.
Imbedded in poverty, financial and in spirit, is an advantage. Within wealth (and self-righteousness) is a diminishing return, a distraction, a temptation to hoard, to store up, to believe the lie that happiness lies in excess.
The true kingdom isn't accessed through pearly gates but rather through sharing life and it's goodness, not hoarding it, not laying up treasures. The only message that will change your life, the core of all right living, the path to "blessing," is a life devoted to humbly loving your neighbor as yourself.
Simple, not easy. I've heard it before. You've heard it before. But God, we need to be reminded, over and over and over again. Sometimes it just takes a podcast, a car tag, and a trip to Chipotle to notice.
Chase Butler
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=234074&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
There seems to be a recurring topic that continues to come up in my life—the balance between contentment and goals. Do I appreciate what I have, and am I working towards something meaningful that forces me to grow? An either/or approach never works. On one hand, you lend yourself to apathy and stagnation. On the other, you live under the tyranny of nothing ever being enough, endless striving that costs you something you never intended. I don't pretend to have this figured out. Every once in a while, I sense the alignment between the two within myself, but it's normally a fleeting moment followed by the pendulum tipping back towards one side.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=233123&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
There are moments when I long for an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, or hope and receive nothing. Even in earnest seeking, eager anticipation, a proper posture, an open heart, a willing spirit—nothing. Then there are moments when I receive an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, and hope when I least expect it. Not seeking, not anticipating, yet a glimpse is given. So what to conclude?
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=231499&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
If the idea of selling everything and living out of a backpack on the road sounds like a nightmare instead of a grand adventure, this post might not be for you. If challenging the status quo and questioning societal norms in the pursuit of a full and satisfying life sounds intriguing, then let's continue. The beauty of friendship is that conversations tend to draw out aspects of yourself that otherwise would have been left untouched and dormant, or at the very least overlooked or ignored.