Author: Phil Rehberg

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” Matt. 5:6 (ESV). God is pleased when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. This isn’t just judicial righteousness that we receive when we first believe, it is also lived righteousness, that is, living a godly life, a life that is truly good. And this is something that Jesus wants us to passionately pursue, that we would actual be hungry to be good. That our throats would be parched and dry because we do not have the water of God’s righteousness. And the encouragement is that if we adopt that passion then God will satisfy us, He will wine and dine us with his goodness so that we do live righteous lives. Jesus said ““If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37 ESV). He will do this both in this age and in Continue Reading →

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Mt. 5:5 ESV). A meek person is someone who is gentle and not argumentative or aggressive. When Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey he described his coming by saying “your king is coming to you, [meek} and mounted on a donkey” (Mt. 21:5 ESV). The irony is that the one is not warlike is the one who will inherit leadership over the earth. In other words, ultimate political victory will not come by the strategies that humans usually use. Rather, God will bring a time when his followers, the ones who do not conquer their home or town or the world by force, will be the ones who will be in control of the world and those who are not meek will be absent. This is a tremendous promise for us when we choose to be meek instead of adversarial Continue Reading →

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” Matt. 5:4 (ESV). This is the second beatitude from the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus continues his technique of reversing the natural order. He promises his followers that the ones who mourn will not be remain empty from their loss. Instead, the ones who mourn will be blessed by God because He will comfort them. We all have times of mourning, whether it is a loss of a friend, a loss of opportunity, a loss of health, or a loss of something else important to us. In such times it is healthy to mourn. Remember that Jesus did not say his disciples shouldn’t mourn. Sometimes teachers give the impression that we should always be joyful and thanking God without times of mourning. But this is not biblical. Romans 12:15 teaches us to “mourn with those who mourn” (NIV). So not Continue Reading →