In this message of the Red Letter series, we delve into a sermon that Jesus is delivering from a hill in northern Israel. We look at Matthew 5, where He is defining a series of eight blessings, commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. For most of us, the Good Life would be defined as: life on a beach, no debt, living happily ever after. Jesus's definition is quite a bit different. He calls us to be poor in spirit so that we will realize our need for Him...to mourn over our sin, and to demonstrate humility. By His definition, we are blessed when we hunger and thirst for justice and when we are merciful with pure hearts, working for peace. To top it off, Jesus tells us to be happy when persecuted, lied about and mocked for doing right. Jesus's definition of the Good Life is easy to say, but oh so hard to do...UNLESS we rely on His strength. Thanks be to God that we can live out Jesus's definition of a Good Life by applying Phil 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
