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Myths in sheep’s clothing

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We want a better life. We want security and peace of mind. We want to love and be loved. We want to believe that even our failures can work for good if we learn from them. Many of us want to become the person Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount, a person who loves his enemies, but when we look into our heart, we realize that not only do we not love our enemies, we don’t even love some of our family and friends.

The popular myths we believe are often the source of our failure. We’ve bought into ideas that initially looked reasonable, but ultimately were lies. Let’s consider one of the most destructive: the notion that we can bring about positive change in our life by our willpower.

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How God changes lives, Part 3: The myth of the overnight disciple

Our culture is obsessed with the notion of overnight success. Hence the popularity of the lottery and shows like American Idol. Many of us even believe instant success can be attained in the spiritual realm. We hear the prosperity preachers quote Bible soundbites, and we conclude that God wants to make us healthy, wealthy, and successful. But the soundbites don’t tell the whole story. In this episode of Life in Christ, we will explore the lessons learned by of one of history’s most famous disciples.

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The Sermon on the Mount: A Harmony of Matthew 5–7 and Luke 6:17–49

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Portions of the Sermon on the Mount are found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Below is a harmony of the two accounts that I prepared for use in a biography of Jesus I’m writing.

Reading this sermon in one sitting can be a tremendous soul training tool. I hope you will have the opportunity to spend some time this week prayerfully considering Jesus’s radical alternative to life in the rat race.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for it is to them that the kingdom of heaven belongs.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for it is they who will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for it is they who will inherit the earth.

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The necessity of the new birth

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In C.S. Lewis’s book, The Lion The Witch, And The Wardrobe, we are introduced to a magical land filled with talking animals and mythological creatures. Four children enter Narnia at a time when it is under the curse of an evil queen whose touch can turn people to stone. A series of adventures removes the curse from the land and liberates those who had been turned into statues. They are set free when Aslan the lion breathes on the stone people, and they miraculously come to life.