And another TGIF day to you! If my calculations are correct, we have passed the 1,000 mark in these Coffee Break articles during the past few weeks -- and that spans a period which began in December of 2004 on a sporadic basis.
We begin again today with the amplified version of Jesus' declaration of blessing for those who are persecuted:
Let's begin again today with the amplified version of Jesus' declaration of blessing for those who are persecuted:
Whenever we think of the term, "persecution," in today's vernacular, and especially among those who have an "end times" mindset, we tend to view it as a lead-in to "tribulation" -- and for some, the so-called "Great Tribulation."
In this week's Coffee Break, while we continue with the same theme we began last week in dealing with being God's peacemakers, I'd like to share with you a story from my early childhood years -- a story which marked the beginning of my parents' miraculous years of ministry in Alaska -- a story which illustrates the authority that we have. Once again, here is what Jesus said:
In the next couple of Coffee Breaks, as we continue with the truths of Jesus' character expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, I'd like to deal with something that some folks may consider as controversial and even heretical -- and that is the ability we have IN CHRIST to literally change the chaos and strife around us by the same simple declaration that Jesus used.
When we paused in this discussion last week, we were talking about the presence of the Lord as it manifested in the cloud. This is a discussion that could take us way off track if we followed the rabbit trail, but I'm really just wanting to draw some illustrations for you to help in understanding what Jesus means when He speaks of "the pure in heart."
Let's get right to our discussion today. This concept of being "naturally supernatural, and supernaturally natural" is rooted and grounded in the following truths.