Helping believers follow Jesus in troubling times through Matthew 25, the Kingdom of God, Restored Dominion, books, devotionals, and practical resources. Be a Matthew 25er * See the Truth * Love Your Neighbors * Plant for better Futures Start Here Books about LIFE with Christ Today Good News for Our Time is a ministry of Gary Fairchild, drawing on decades of pastoral ministry, cross-cultural mission, and humanitarian service. He invites readers to see that the Kingdom of God has arrived—not yet in its fullness, but already at work, restoring what sin, fear, and the powers of this world have broken. About Gary and Connie

Day 9-- Peace Challenged “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10-11 The Eighth Pylon Jesus turns to the cost of Kingdom faithfulness. As He says, persecution for righteousness is relational, costly, and often deeply personal. It can include misrepresentation, exclusion, damaged reputations, and quiet losses that rarely make headlines. The words Jesus uses—insult, revile, speak falsely— describe social and relational harm as much as physical danger. Most believers throughout history have not faced martyrdom, but they have faced misunderstanding, marginalization, and rejection for their loyalty to Christ. Why the Kingdom Still Belongs to Them? Jesus makes a remarkable promise here. This Beatitude ends exactly where the first one began: “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Nothing has been lost. Those who suffer for righteousness have not been placed outside God’s reign. Their suffering confirms where their true allegiance lies. Jesus reminds His followers that they stand in a long and faithful line: “In the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” To suffer for righteousness is often evidence of God’s nearness. There have been times when seasons of cultural upheaval have made Jesus’ words feel especially urgent. Jesus delivered His sermon with confidence that when a fellowship of people is transformed from the inside-out—committed to humility, meekness, righteousness, and mercy—their spiritual strength becomes contagious. The pursuit of peace is never finished. Until Christ returns, humanity will see mercy, justice, and reconciliation as ideals. But the peacemakers Jesus blesses will continue to work until these values unabated. Opposition is the natural consequence of a life shaped by the preceding Beatitudes. Those who hunger for righteousness, show mercy, seek purity of heart, and labor for peace inevitably challenge the values of a conflicted world. Sometimes resistance is subtle and at times severe. Yet Jesus assures His followers it is evidence of the presence of His Kingdom. Throughout history, faithful Christians have, because their allegiance to Christ, been placed them at odds with the powers of their age. In recent years, thousands of Christians in Iraq and Syria were driven from their homes, imprisoned, or killed during the rise of ISIS. Entire communities that had worshiped Christ for centuries were scattered simply because they bore His name. Many endured their suffering far from public attention, sustained only by their faith and hope in God's promises. Like the prophets before them, they suffered because they pursued God's peace in a world resistant to His rule. Yet persecution often accomplishes something unexpected. Evil tends to overplay its hand. In opposing what is good, true, and just, it reveals its own character. The supreme example is the cross itself. The crucifixion was intended to silence Jesus, but instead it exposed the cruelty, fear, and injustice that stood against Him. In condemning the only truly righteous man, evil unveiled itself before the world. The same pattern continues today. Whenever people are mistreated for pursuing righteousness, defending the vulnerable, showing mercy, or remaining faithful to Christ, the violent opposition reveals more about itself than about those it seeks to silence. The persecuted become witnesses to the truth of the Gospel and to the bankruptcy of the powers that oppose it. Human beings possess a deep awareness that dignity matters, that injustice is wrong, and that people should not be treated as objects to be used or discarded. Christians understand this because every person bears the image of God. Though that image is often obscured, it can never be erased. When oppression denies that reality, the contradiction eventually becomes publicly visible. For this reason, Jesus commands His followers to “rejoice and be exceedingly glad.” They rejoice because their faithfulness bears witness to a Kingdom that cannot be overcome. The righteousness for which they suffer will one day be vindicated, and the peace they pursue will one day be made complete in the reign of Christ. The blessing belongs to quiet, faithful believers whose perseverance bears witness to Christ amid suffering. Thought Questions Jesus teaches that faithfulness to God's Kingdom may sometimes lead to misunderstanding, criticism, exclusion, or loss. Have you ever experienced opposition because of a commitment to truth, mercy, righteousness, or your faith in Christ? How did that experience shape your relationship with God? Jesus calls His followers to rejoice even when righteousness is costly because their true citizenship is in God's Kingdom. What helps you remain faithful when obedience carries a personal cost, and where do you need greater courage or hope today? Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Explore bi-weekly Christian devotionals for following Jesus, seeing the truth, loving your neighbor, and planting hope for a better future. Devotional Gary's Bi-Weekly Devotionals Gary's Bi-Weekly Devotionals Gary's Bi-Weekly Devotionals Gary's Bi-Weekly Devotionals If you'd like to join a growing community of Matthew 25ers—people committed to seeing the truth, loving their neighbors, and planting hope for the future—fill in your name, email address, and check "I'm in" in the adjacent form to receive devotionals directly rather than through social media. Contact us First name* Last name Email* Write a message I’m in. Check to join Matthew 25ers and receive devotionals directly Submit Sermon on the Mount Devotionals Day 9 Matthew 5:10-11 Read More 9/4/26 Blessed Peacemakers Challenged Sermon on the Mount Home Day 8 Matthew 5:9 Read More 8/21/26 Blessed are the Peacemakers Sermon on the Mount Home Day 7 Matthew 5:8 Read More 8/7/26 Blessed are the Pure in Heart Sermon on the Mount Home Day 6 Matthew 5:7 Read More 7/24/26 Blessed are the merciful Sermon on the Mount Home Day 5 Matthew 5:6 Read More 7/10/26 The Hunger Beneath Hungers Sermon on the Mount Home Day 4 Matthew 5:5 Read More 6/26/26 Blessed are the Meek Sermon on the Mount Home Day 3 Mathew 5:4 Read More 6/12/26 Blessed are those who Mourn Sermon on the Mount Home Day 2 Matthew 5:3b Read More 5/29/26 Blessed are the Poor Sermon on the Mount Home Day 1 Matthew 5:3 Read More 5/15/26 Blessed Sermon on the Mount Home

Day 8--Peace Making “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9 The Seventh Pylon Throughout the Beatitudes, a pattern has emerged. First, we confront ourselves. Then, we encounter God. Then, we are sent toward others. Jesus names the inevitable consequence of that journey. A person who lives out the values of the Kingdom of God will eventually collide with the values of the kingdoms of this world. The peace we carry within us often provokes resistance. Scripture is unambiguous about this reality. The apostle John writes that the world lies under the power of the evil one, while believers live God’s Kingdom. Two reigns exist at the same time, in the same place, governed by fundamentally different loyalties and values. That tension cannot be avoided. The Gentle Weapons of the Kingdom Notice how Jesus frames this Beatitude. The persecution Jesus describes comes because of righteousness. In the Kingdom of God is justice, fairness, truthfulness, mercy, and faithfulness lived out in community. It is the refusal to lie when lying is rewarded. It is the refusal to exploit when exploitation is normalized. It is the refusal to remain silent when silence protects injustice. The weapons of this Kingdom are not coercion or domination. They are humility, meekness, mercy, righteousness, and peace. These are gentle weapons—but they are deeply threatening to systems built on power, fear, and control. When Righteousness Is Redefined History teaches that righteousness can be distorted. There have been moments when Christians defended violence, slavery, racism, and oppression while believing they were honoring God. That was a “righteousness” shaped by culture. Jesus’ words here force a question: Is the suffering we endure for righteousness—or for something else wearing religious clothing? In the early 2000s, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo was engulfed in a complex humanitarian crisis. Tribal conflict, political instability, and violence had claimed countless lives. Marcel, a church mobilizer working for a Christian NGO, gathered Christian leaders from opposing tribes for a week-long retreat focused on peacemaking. When the delegates arrived, they discovered that each would share a room with someone from a tribe they regarded as an enemy. No one liked the arrangement. Many demanded different rooms. Marcel refused. The retreat center was very spartan and offered only one large bed per room. That forced some interpersonal negotiations, and, for the first two nights, one man slept on the floor while the other slept in the bed. By the third night, they began working out ways to share the bed. By the end of the week, former enemies were laughing together, praying together, and calling one another brothers. Later, back in their home area, when these men were urged by militants to participate in attacks against the neighboring tribe, they refused. Their explanation was simple: “We cannot do that anymore. They are our brothers.” The peace Christ created in that retreat comes through the transforming power of the gospel. This is what Jesus means by peacemaking. Peacemakers do more than avoid conflict. They enter places where division, fear, and hostility reign and become instruments through whom God creates reconciliation. Such work is costly. It requires humility, courage, forgiveness, and trust. Yet those who participate in God’s work of reconciliation bear a family resemblance to their Father. They shall be called children of God because they do what their Father does. Thought Question Jesus calls His followers to make peace. Where in your family, workplace, church, or community might God be inviting you to become an agent of reconciliation, truth, and healing rather than remaining a spectator? Explore more about following Jesus in troubling times at https://goodnews4ourtime.com . Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Day 1—Blessed When Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount with the word “Blessed,” He stepped into a familiar biblical stream already flowing from passages like Psalm 1, where the blessed life is contrasted with the way of the wicked. His listeners would have recognized that He was describing the kind of life that flourishes under God’s favor. Yet Jesus does more than echo that earlier vision—He deepens it. While Psalm 1 emphasizes turning away from corrupting influences and delighting in God’s law, the Beatitudes reveal what that life looks like from the inside out: humility, mercy, purity, and a hunger for righteousness. In this way, Jesus moves from guarding the path to describing the heart of those who walk it, inviting us not only to avoid the wrong way, but to become the kind of people who truly live in the blessing of God’s kingdom. The Beatitudes begin with the word, “Blessed.” It is an address, an identifier of the people around Him. On that day, the crowd like the other crowds in Jesus' ministry, oppressed by Rome, pressured by religious leaders and suffering from hungry and disease, felt anything but blessed. Jesus says that to be blessed (makarios) is to be grounded in God’s kingdom, not dependent on the accident of one’s birth, accumulated wealth, social status, or power. His sermon confronted His listeners then, and us today, us with a question: Do we trust His definition of what a blessed life is? That confrontation is necessary because most people, regardless of wealth or status, are still shaped by an internal scorecard—measuring success in terms of security, recognition, control, or quiet comparison with others. Even if these aspirations are not fully reached, they are still deeply desired and subtly governing. “Blessed” challenges those to assumed paths to fulfillment as insufficient—unable to bear the weight of a human life or provide lasting purpose. “Blessed” cannot be reduced to contentment. While a kind of “settledness” may grow from it, Jesus applies the term to those who mourn, hunger, and are persecuted, conditions that do not produce contentment. Yet, He speaks of a deep inner stability while simultaneously longing for righteousness and justice not yet realized. Encapsulated in this term is the realization that the crowd that day—not the center of anyone’s attention—are blessed because they were the center of His. Furthermore, the inner qualities of the heart matter more to Him than their work, thier heritage, or intelligence. Of course, He cares about our vocation and our intellectual growth. But they are not qualifiers for the Kingdom of God. And so, He turns His attention to matters of the heart, to matters of being, rather than having—power, wealth, status, or any other thing by which the world decides who is important and who is not. Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Day 4--“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 The Third Pylon Meekness is misunderstood. In everyday language, it is confused with weakness, passivity, or timidity. But biblical meekness is none of these. Meekness is strength under control, power restrained, authority guided by wisdom, and capability willingly submitted to a higher purpose. A classic image for meekness is that of a powerful horse fitted with a bit. The horse has not lost its strength; it has learned to yield that strength to direction. The bit does not weaken the animal—it makes the animal useful. Without restraint, strength becomes destructive— with it—strength becomes effective. One of the most vivid modern pictures of this kind of meekness appeared in June of 1973 at the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Secretariat, a massive and powerful chestnut thoroughbred, stood calmly in the starting gate as the other horses were loaded. Someone present later remarked that Secretariat seemed almost relaxed, even leaning lightly against the gate as he waited. All that power stood quiet, contained, disciplined, ready. Then the bell rang. Secretariat exploded out of the gate with breathtaking force. Stride after stride, he widened the gap between himself and the rest of the field. His strength was undeniable, his dominance overwhelming. Yet even then, his power remained under control. When he was far enough ahead to secure victory, the jockey leaned forward, whispered, “Let’s go, big boy,” and loosened the reins. Secretariat surged forward and won by twenty‑five lengths! That is meekness—not the absence of power, but power released at the right moment, in the right measure, for the right purpose. Meekness often looks unimpressive because it does not demand attention. It does not seek applause or insist on recognition. And yet, meekness is what makes life work and communities thrive. It is what allows strength to serve rather than dominate, to protect rather than destroy. I have had many surgeries in my life, and like most patients, I am grateful for decisive, confident surgeons. Their skill and authority are essential in the operating room. But it is the nurses who make recovery possible. They rarely receive public recognition, yet their quiet strength sustains patients when vulnerability is at its highest. I remember one nurse who removed the tubes from my chest after heart surgery requiring firmness, calm, and compassion all at once. I remember another nurse who had already left for the day and was walking through the parking lot when something unsettled her. She turned back, ordered another test for a patient, and discovered that the patient’s blood sugar had dropped to a dangerous level. That nurse’s strength was not loud—but it was lifesaving. Then, there are thousands of teachers who return to their classrooms everyday to teach excitable and vulnerable pupils, not just reading, writing, and arithmetic, but to introduce them to the world. An awesome responsibility done with patience, strength, and skill without fanfare. This is the strength Jesus calls “meek.” It is not weakness. It is strength that refuses to be ruled by ego, fear, or the need to prove itself. It is strength yielded to God. In the architecture of the Sermon on the Mount, meekness functions as a load‑bearing support. Poverty of spirit exposes our need. Mourning tells the truth about what is broken. Meekness then surrenders the will itself—not in defeat, but in trust. Only a will placed under God’s authority can be entrusted with real purpose. This is why Jesus promises that the meek will inherit the earth. Not because they grasp it, but because they are the only ones capable of stewarding it without destroying it. The third pylon holds. Be a Matthew 25er. Tell the truth. Love your neighbor. Plant hope for the future. To receive these email directly in your inbox, click here . Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Day 3 — Mourning as Truth Telling “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 The Second Pylon Builders understand that once excavation for the foundation for a new building begins, whatever lies beneath the surface must be faced honestly. Unstable and weak ground is uncovered. Fault lines are revealed. Nothing hidden can be ignored if a structure is to endure. With the second Beatitude, Jesus presses us deeper into this foundational work. Mourning, as Jesus uses the word, is a truthful response to loss, sin, and brokenness. It is sorrow that arises when we see ourselves clearly before God. This is not sentimental sadness or passing disappointment. It is the grief that emerges when truth is finally allowed to speak. King David offers a vivid example. In a moment of desire, he took another man’s wife, attempted to conceal his sin, and arranged her husband’s death. When confronted by the prophet Nathan, David mourned—not only because he had been exposed, but because he had sinned against God and against his own deepest convictions. No one begins life intending to disappoint themselves or God. Yet when that moment arrives, mourning is the appropriate response. David’s grief was honest, complete, and unguarded. And because it was honest, it led to comfort. Mourning arises from many sources: personal failure, painful circumstances, the natural rhythms of loss, and situations beyond our control. Cars break down. Children struggle. Jobs are lost. Illness lingers. Pain becomes chronic. Aging brings limitation. Mourning does not minimize pain or reframe injustice as acceptable. It brings what is broken into the presence of God. Jesus does not dismiss this grief. He dignifies it. Jesus’ promise sounds paradoxical: How can mourners be called blessed? The answer lies not in the mourning itself, but in what mourning makes possible. Only those who mourn are still alive to truth. Only those who grieve have not surrendered to denial or despair. Mourning is a sign that the heart remains responsive. Scripture consistently portrays God as one who draws near to the brokenhearted—who binds wounds, heals the sick, and restores what has been lost. The promised comfort is not the removal of all pain, but the presence of God within it. Comfort is not anesthesia. It is restoration, forgiveness, healing, and hope. The world works hard to avoid mourning; Jesus challenges that illusion. A life that never mourns cannot be deep. A community that refuses lament cannot be just. Where mourning is absent, suffering is ignored and injustice becomes invisible. The Kingdom of God moves in the opposite direction. It begins where truth is allowed to grieve. Architecturally, mourning functions as a load‑bearing foundation. It prevents the structure from being built on denial. It ensures that what rises above ground can withstand pressure. Spiritually, mourning keeps Kingdom life from becoming superficial. It grounds faith in reality. It prepares the heart for meekness, for hunger, for mercy, and for peace. Jesus promises that mourning, though it may last forever, will not be wasted. The second pylon holds. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Want future devotionals delivered directly to your email? Send a message to gary@goodnews4ourtime.com with the subject line "I'm In," and I'll add you to the mailing list. Be a Matthew 25er. Tell the truth. Love your neighbor. Plant hope for the future. To receive these email directly in your inbox, click here . Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Discover the background of Gary and Connie Fairchild Gary/Connie Gary C Fairchild and his wife, Connie served together in Christian ministry, internationally and in the US for 45 years. Before heading overseas, they were church planters in two US cities. Moving to Java, Indonesia they lived and served in three of the largest cities on Java. Gary also took part in pastoral training settings throughout Indonesia, giving him valuable insights and experience in the Muslim communities on Java and diverse ethnic communities of the outer islands of the archipelago. After 13 years in Indonesia, Gary and Connie returned to the US where Connie was at once recruited by World Relief and Gary served in two pastorates over the next 10 years. When the earthquake and tsunami struck Indonesia in 2004, Gary joined World Relief’s staff in the response. He played a leading role setting up World Relief official presence in the country and its response to three major earthquakes in six months. Over the next several years Gary and Connie travel throughout the world escorting donors and potential donors to World Relief development projects in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. It's a wonderful privilege to see the Church at work and to meet many of His precious saints. Gary and Connie have been married for 56 years and are blessed with three children and 10 grandchildren. They are enjoying retirement in Holly Springs, NC. Contact Us The Unexpected Call Home

Day 10--Living as Salt “You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5:13 The Ninth Pylon Human beings and institutions naturally absorb the values of the cultures and powers surrounding them. Wealth, influence, and success can easily be claimed as evidence of divine favor. Over time, even God’s people can quietly adopt the ambitions, fears, and methods of the world around them unless something preserves what is distinct. Jesus calls that preserving presence “salt” and “light.” When Jesus calls His followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world, He is revealing an identity. People shaped by the Kingdom inevitably affect the world around them. Salt enters places where decay exists. Light shines where darkness is real. Both images assume a world where something has gone wrong. Salt In the ancient world, salt was precious. It kept food from spoiling. It preserved what would otherwise decay. It made simple meals worth eating. Without refrigeration, salt stood between nourishment and corruption. Salt does its work quietly. It does not announce itself. It does its work simply by its presence. Its power lies in contact. Salt kept in a jar changes nothing. Only when it is scattered does it fulfill its purpose. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, World Relief helped restore salt ponds in Aceh Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The giant waves washed away the carefully managed ponds, broke the dikes, and filled them with mud and debris. The seawater could no longer evaporate into pure salt. The salt ponds had lost their ability to produce what they were created to produce. Before they could produce salt again, they had to be restored. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." Salt that no longer functions as salt has lost its purpose. In the same way, when our lives are overwhelmed by the world's values, we lose our ability to preserve, heal, and influence the world for God's Kingdom. By this point Jesus is reaching into the deepest places of the human heart—naming poverty, grief, surrender, hunger, mercy, purity, peace, and even the cost of faithfulness. And now the question hangs in the air: What does a life like this look like once we walk back down the hill? What happens when people shaped by the Kingdom return to ordinary days, ordinary work, and ordinary relationships? “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” He declares an identity. Purpose flows from who they already are by the life of Christ within them. Quietly. Faithfully. Like salt. Thought Questions Jesus declares that His followers are the salt of the earth. In what places—your family, workplace, church, neighborhood, or community—has God positioned you to quietly preserve, encourage, or strengthen what is good, true, and life-giving? Salt fulfills its purpose through contact and presence. Are there areas of your life where you have been tempted to blend in with the surrounding culture, instead of living distinctly as a citizen of God's Kingdom? What might faithful presence look like in those situations? Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Day 5 — The Hunger Beneath Hungers “Blesse are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 The Fourth Pylon The failures of buildings often begin, not because of storms, but with something quieter: unbalanced structural weight. A building may have beautiful design and strong materials yet still crack if its weight is placed where the frame was never meant to carry it. Over time, pressure finds the weak points. What was never intended to bear the burden begins to buckle. Human life is similar. We all carry weight—longings, fears, regrets, and hopes—that weight gets placed somewhere. Meaning gets loaded onto careers, relationships, achievement, pleasure, reputation, or control. For a while things seem to hold. But eventually the deeper pressure shows itself: human life needs more than unreliable supports. Jesus names this pressure in a single word: hunger. His audience would have understood immediately. Many who gathered to hear Him lived close to the edge of survival. Hunger and thirst were not abstract ideas but familiar companions. They knew what it meant to long for bread, clean water, security, and relief from burdens imposed by powerful people. The poor often experience injustice first because they have the fewest resources with which to resist it. This helps explain why “righteousness” can also be translated as “justice.” Those with greater resources often pursue justice in matters that are important but not essential to survival. The poor seek justice because their lives often depend upon it. They long for fair treatment, honest rulers, protection from exploitation, and the restoration of dignity. They hunger for things to be made right. Jesus takes that familiar experience and directs it toward an even deeper reality. Human beings hunger not only because their stomachs are empty but because their souls know that something is wrong with the world and within themselves. We long for a life that is rightly ordered, a world where evil does not prevail, relationships are healed, and God reigns in righteousness. In the Kingdom of God, righteousness is both personal and social. It is right relationship with God—restored communion, healed distances, and peace with the One who made us. But it is also God's justice breaking into the world, setting right what sin has distorted and oppression has damaged. This is why the hunger is so intense. Human beings hunger for a moral anchor, for coherence, for justice, for mercy, and for heart change that is real. We hunger for the day when both our lives, communities, and God's world are made right. Nicodemus is a compelling portrait of this hunger: cautious but curious, protective of his reputation, dissatisfied with familiar answers yet honest enough to ask, “How can these things be?” Jesus' response is direct and spiritual: “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” The hunger for righteousness cannot be satisfied by willpower, education, or religious intensity. It requires something humans cannot generate from within. This is where the Kingdom logic becomes clear. Hunger is spiritual. That hungry will be satisfied by God Himself. The Scriptures are full of examples of people who hungered and thirsted for righteousness: Daniel— remained faithful to God despite pressure from powerful rulers. Amos — passionately called for justice and righteousness, declaring, "Let justice roll down like waters." Nehemiah — sought to restore both the physical and spiritual life of Jerusalem. In the nineteenth century William Wilberforce — spent decades fighting the slave trade because he believed righteousness required it. In the twentieth century Martin Luther King Jr. — motivated by biblical convictions, pursued justice and equality despite great personal cost. Henri Nouwen (1932–1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, pastor, and one of the most influential Christian spiritual writers of the twentieth century. He taught at prestigious institutions including Yale Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School, yet he often struggled with loneliness, self-doubt, and a longing for deeper intimacy with God. What made Nouwen especially relatable was that he did not write as someone who had life figured out. He wrote honestly about his wounds, fears, and spiritual struggles. Many readers find him compelling because he described the Christian life not as a journey of strength but as a journey of grace. The turning point in his life came when he left the academic world to join L'Arche Daybreak, a community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together. There he became a caregiver and friend to residents, including a severely disabled man named Adam. Nouwen believed that this experience taught him more about love, humility, and the Kingdom of God than his years in academia. Some of his best-known books include: The Return of the Prodigal Son The Wounded Healer In the Name of Jesus Life of the Beloved Nouwen said: "The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it." He hungered not merely to know about God, but to live a life shaped by God's righteousness, compassion, and love. The Fourth Pylon Holds Architecturally, hunger is not the weakness of the structure; it is the signal that the structure is being asked to bear a weight for which it was not designed. The problem is not the presence of hunger; the problem is feeding it with what cannot satisfy. It prepares the way for the next Beatitude. Because those who have been reconciled to God soon discover the character of the One who reconciles. “Blessed they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Thought Questions 1. Jesus teaches that every person carries a deep hunger for meaning, wholeness, and right relationship with God. What are you most tempted to look to for satisfaction, security, or significance, and how has that pursuit ultimately fulfilled—or failed to fulfill—that deeper hunger? 2. To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to desire God’s transforming work more than personal success, comfort, or approval. In what area of your life do you most long to be made right with God, and what step might you take today to respond to that hunger? My website is growing. If you are like me, you wish there is something you could do about the troubled world we live it. On the opening you may find what you are looking for. Be a Matthew 25er. Tell the truth. Love your neighbor. Plant hope for the future. Each the website features a Matthew 25er who is making a difference. Dr. David Thommpson's work in Africa is imprssive. Check out the Book Store menu. I have displayed about 70 books that have most influenced by life. I think they would impact you too. I also feature a book that was a helpful read; you might it enjoy it too. https://GoodNews4OurTime.com Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Day 7--Integrity: Purity of Heart “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 The Sixth Pylon A structure can be carefully designed and strongly supported, yet weakened over time by hidden corrosion, compromised materials, or mixed ingredients. The damage happens out of sight. The surface can look intact while the interior loses integrity. Jesus speaks into this hidden realm—the inward life that no one else can fully see. After mercy has begun to reshape our relationships, Jesus moves the Beatitudes inward again, to the place where motives are formed, desires are ordered, and the heart becomes either unified or divided. This is the moment when that desire grows greater. Then Jesus speaks the promise: “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” It is tempting to treat purity of heart as a personal inward virtue. But the Beatitudes are communal in tone, and purity always has communal consequences. A divided heart produces double-minded living: a public life to please an audience, and a private life that can hold resentments and hidden motives beneath religious language. A purified heart produces integrity: truthfulness in relationships, consistency over time, and stability that makes trust possible. Relationships collapse from open conflict and from hidden duplicity. Purity of heart is not withdrawal from community—it is what makes genuine community possible. The phrase “pure in heart” is easily misunderstood, especially if we hear it as a demand for flawless moral performance. If purity means perfection, then no one qualifies, and the Beatitude becomes either crushing or irrelevant. But biblical purity of heart is about inner integrity that is no longer divided. Purity of heart is sincerity and wholeness in place of fragmentation: a will and desire oriented toward God. A pure heart is a heart whose desires are ordered under a higher love. The heart, in Scripture, is the core of a person: where trust is placed, where loyalty is chosen, where motives are born, where decisions are shaped. Jesus will later say in the Sermon on the Mount that the inner life is decisive: anger is not solved by avoiding murder; lust is not solved only by avoiding adultery; truthfulness is not solved only by avoiding lying under oath. The spirit of the law lives in the heart. That is why purity matters. Without purity of heart, faithfulness becomes external compliance instead of inner transformation. The “letter” may be honored while the “spirit” is quietly resisted. Purity is what unifies the inner life so that the outward life can become truthful. The Sixth Pylon Holds. Purity of heart is like material integrity—what prevents the structure from weakening invisibly from the inside-out. It is the strengthening of the hidden places. Spiritually, purity of heart is what allows a person to receive the Kingdom and to live in faithfulness. It is what makes the life of discipleship sustainable but because it removes divided loyalty. The consequence of meeting God is to experience peace. Pacemakers bring that peace to others, so this Beatitude leads outward. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Thought Questions Jesus describes purity of heart as an undivided life—one in which our deepest desires, loyalties, and actions are aligned toward God. Where do you experience tension between what you profess publicly and what is happening privately within your heart? A pure heart creates trust, stability, and peace in relationships. How might greater integrity, honesty, or consistency in your own life help bring healing, reconciliation, or peace to those around you? Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Light If salt addresses decay, light addresses darkness. Throughout Scripture, light is associated with truth, life, and revelation. Darkness stands for fear, deception, and confusion. It simply shines—and the room is no longer the same. Jesus presses the image further. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. A lamp is lit to be uncovered. Light fulfills its purpose by being seen. Jesus explains: “Let your light shine before others , that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” When humility meets courage, when mercy interrupts cruelty, when peace enters conflict, people begin to ask where such a life comes from. This is the effect of light. The world is rarely changedby arguments alone. It is changed by lives that make a different future believable. The Quiet Effect Salt and light capture the essence of Kingdom living. Believers are called to be fully present in the world without being shaped by it. Christ sends His followers into brokenness without allowing them to become broken by it. They are visible without being self-important. A city on a hill is obvious. Salt seasons a whole dish. Light fills an entire room. The Kingdom of God is meant to be seen in shared life—in communities shaped by grace, truth, and love. Ordinary people, living ordinary lives, carrying an extraordinary presence. The crowd listening on that hillside began to understand that this life they have just heard described is meant to go with them—into fields and homes, marketplaces and families, friendships, and conflicts. What follows shows what Beatitude-shaped lives look like when applied to the most difficult and contested areas of human life—lust, revenge, anxiety, integrity, and money. These are moral issues that touch hearts, bodies, and relationships. They surface wounds as well as convictions. For many, they awaken personal stories of failure, betrayal, disappointment, and harm. Jesus answers with two images so simple that a child could grasp them—and so profound that they still define the Church two thousand years later. Quietly. Faithfully. Like salt. Like light. Thought Questions Jesus says that His followers are the light of the world. In what ways are your actions, attitudes, and relationships helping others see the character of God rather than simply drawing attention to yourself? Light brings truth, hope, and clarity wherever it shines. Where has God placed you—in your family, workplace, church, or community—to be a source of encouragement, wisdom, reconciliation, or faithful witness, even when doing so may feel uncomfortable or vulnerable? Read more about Good News For Our Time here. Sermon on the Mount BACK TO TOP Previous Next