MAKE EVERYDAY A GOOD DAY

I want to take a minute to share with you some ideas that will help make for today and every day a good day. You might even consider writing these suggestions down and putting them in an accessible place; and, when your day leaves something to be desired, pull them out and see what you can do to make the day better.

Be upbeat and positive about life.
Paul said on one occasion, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). If anyone could/should rise above the negativity that exists in the world today, it ought to be the Christian. Do you want to know what makes a Christian happy?

Having children makes Christians happy. “Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them” (Psa. 127:4,5).

The ability to work makes Christians happy. “For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee” (Psa. 128:2).

Being obedient to God makes Christians happy. “He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he” (Pro. 16:20).

Practicing compassion makes Christians happy. “He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he” (Pro. 14:21).

Learning to help others makes Christians happy. “If ye know these things [how to be a servant], happy are ye if ye do them” (Jn. 13:17).

Be flexible when facing obstacles.
Christians need to learn how to bounce back when difficulties and challenges arise. I really like how one person put it: “When you can’t direct the winds, adjust the sails.” In Donald McCullough’s, “The Pitfalls of Positive Thinking,” He said the following:

· Alexander the Great conquered Persia, but broke down and wept because his troops were too exhausted to push on to India.

· Hugo Grotius, the father of modern international law, said at the last, “I have accomplished nothing worthwhile in my life.”

· John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the U.S.—not a Lincoln, perhaps, but a decent leader—wrote in his diary: “My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations, and in ceaseless rejected prayers that something would be the result of my existence beneficial to my species.”

· Robert Louis Stevenson wrote words that continue to delight and enrich our lives, and yet what did he write for his epitaph? “Here lies one who meant well, who tried a little, and failed much.”

· Cecil Rhodes opened up Africa and established an empire, but what were his dying words? “So little done, so much to do.”

While sometimes to our feeble minds it seems that life is not worth the living, remember that Jesus said he came to make it worthwhile (Jn. 10:10).

Be upright in all the decisions you make.
Whether it comes to business practices that are out in the open, or decisions made in the privacy of your own home, practice purity. The Bible teaches us to hate evil and hold on to good; to avoid appearances of evil and be holy as Jesus is holy (Rm. 12:9; 1 Pt. 1:16).

Be sure to pray each and every day.
The psalmist observes that truly happy people are those who frequently come into the presence of the Lord. “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasure for evermore” (Psa. 16:11). One of the ways we enter God’s presence is when we approach Him in prayer.

In William Barclay’s, Prodigals and Those Who Love, he said that when we pray remember:

The love of God that wants the best for us.
The wisdom of God that knows what is best for us.
The power of God that can accomplish it.

Great things happen when we pray! Only prayerful people will be able to enjoy life. Paul explained it well when he said, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:16-17).

Be diligent to prioritize your life.
In a 1992 issue of Our Daily Bread, someone calculated how a typical lifespan of seventy years is lived. What they came up with is the following:

Sleep................23 years..….......32.9%
Work.................16 years...........22.8%
TV....................8 years.....….....11.4%
Eating................6 years.......…....8.6%
Travel................6 years..........….8.6%
Leisure.............4.5 years..........…6.5%
Illness...............4 years.........…....5.7%
Dressing..............2 years..........…2.8%
Religion............0.5 years.........….0.7%
Total................70 years..........…..100%

How interesting! On average, an individual who lives to be seventy years of age only spends about .7% of his or her life engaged in the religious. Question: how close are you to the average?

Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

—Neil Richey

THEY MADE LIGHT OF IT

The king prepared a wedding feast in honor of his son. With enthusiasm for the upcoming event, the king sent his servants to invite special guests for the dinner. He killed the oxen and the fatlings. Everything was prepared just right—you know, with all the fixings. To the king's surprise, those invited refused to come. In fact, "they made light of it." Consequently, the king had all of these killed. In their place, the king sent his servants out into the highways and everyone that the servants saw were invited to the wedding feast.

This little story was told by Jesus in Matthew 22:1-14. It was a parable intended to show the importance of setting the right priorities in view of the coming judgment. You'll notice that in the midst of this little parable, when the special guests refused to come to the dinner, it was said that they were making light of the king's invitation. For the purpose of our study, let's use that expression as a springboard for our essay—"They made Light of It."

My friends, when we refuse the commands of the Lord, we are making light of divine inspiration. So, let's discuss some of the ways in which we make light of that holy book—the Bible.

We make light of it when . . .

We fail to faithfully attend all the worship services of the church.
First of all, let me clarify what I'm saying. By all I simply mean whenever it is sacrificially possible to attend. If I'm on a bed of affliction, then the Lord will not hold me responsible for not attending Sunday's, Wednesday's, Gospel Meeting's, and other periods of worship specifically designated by the Lord, or our elders. The Lord will not hold me responsible if I'm unavoidably detained at work. However, I must not be a slave to my job. So what I'm saying is this, use common sense.

However, when I put family, friends, ball games, vacations, above faithfully attending the services of the saints, then I'm making light of God's word (Heb. 10:25).

We refuse to rectify personal offences.
The Bible says that If I have some problem with a brother, then I need to go to him (Mt. 18:15). Furthermore, it's impossible for my worship to be accepted on Sunday if I'm boiling with anger on the inside because a brother sitting on the other side of the auditorium has offended me. The Bible says, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Mt. 5:23,24). That's going to mean swallowing your pride. But remember, two souls are potentially in jeopardy if you do and say nothing—your's and your brother's.

We are not active in trying to bring souls to Jesus.
For souls to be saved, for church buildings to be overflowing, and for heaven's gates to be full one day, it 's up to every Christian to be evangelist's. Did you know that statistically and biblically speaking, only one out of every four souls who hear the Good News, will be saved (Mt. 13:1-9). Then there are all the souls that have never heard the Word. Brethren, WE have OUR work cut out for US. Let me get into your heart. By name, who is one person that you have talked to about Jesus this year?

We cease to be students of the bestseller of all time—the Bible.
The Bible contains "facts to be believed, commands to be obeyed, and rewards to be received." While visiting a congregation of the Lord's church I noticed in the foyer of their building a bulletin board. On it was a picture of a Bible and beside it were these words, "Only sin can keep you from this book, and only this book can keep you from sin."

The Bible contains the answer to man's most thought provoking questions—where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going? It answers man's greatest question—what must I do to be saved? The Bible tells us to study in order receive divine approval (2 Tm. 2:15). If you want to enjoy life, read your Bible. If you want to know how to act as a parent, child, husband, wife, employer, or employee, then read your Bible.

We don't faithfully execute church discipline.
It's called the "forgotten commandment"—withdrawl of fellowship. I think it would be better called the "ignored commandment." By ignored I mean it is not consistently practiced in the Lord's church. But it's also important to note that the commandment is ignored when we don't take the withdrawal seriously.

I find it amazing that when one is withdrawn from, he/she will sometimes be invited to a "fellowship meal." Did not Paul say, "with such an one know not even to eat" (1 Cor. 5:11)? On occasion, if there is a special function or activity the withdrawn from member will be invited to participate. This will be done under the guise that "we're including him so perhaps he'll come back." With respect to erring brethren, did not Paul say, "have no company with him, that he may be ashamed" (2 Thes. 3:14)?

Brethren, when we fail to yield to the divine handbook for Christian living, then we've made light of God's word.

—Neil Richey

GOD'S INVOLVED IN MY LIFE

As I study my Bible and experience spiritual growth as a Christian, I become more and more impressed with the characteristics of God. God is the subject of the first sentence of the Bible. Within the Bible’s opening remarks we are informed of the powerful God who is in control of His creation. When the seven days of creation come to a close, we recognize that God is not only in control of His creation, but He equally cares for that creation. In point of fact, the use of the name for God changes in the Hebrew language from Elohim (Supreme God) to Yahovah (Lord of His people—relational).

In this study we want to develop a greater appreciation for the fact that God is still in control today and cares enough to work in your life and mine. Another way of looking at it is, “What do the Scriptures Say About God’s Providence?”

The best I can tell, the word providence, with reference to God, never appears in the Bible. However, there is ample evidence in the Bible of God’s pro-vidence. Consider the special providence of God as it related to Joseph. Read Genesis 45:4-8.One of the greatest examples of the providential hand of God is found in the book of Esther. Read Esther 4:10-14 and be especially impressed with these words, “who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Does God work in our lives today? No question about it. We simply want to know how. Quite frankly, we could theorize on how God operates or we could simply discuss how God’s providence affects humanity. I am more interested in the latter. So, by way of our study together, I only want to make three observations as it relates to the fact of God’s involvement in our lives.

Men have made mistakes about God’s involvement.

Some men have made the mistake of saying that God created the world and then backed off. Another word for this is deism. The problem with this is that it is simply not true. It denies historical and biblical facts (Dan. 4).

Another error made by men is that God created the world and then predestined what would happen in the lives of every individual. This is called Calvinism. It’s the idea that what is going to happen will happen. Again, there is a problem here. It disregards the biblical truth of free choice (Josh. 24:15; 2 Pt. 3:9).

Then there is the philosophy that says that everything that happens in the life of a Christian falls under the banner of the miraculous. Those who teach Pentecostalism hold this view. Again, this view violates Scripture (1 Cor. 13:10).

So you ask, “How do you know God works today?” Read Matthew 6:25-34 and be impressed with the fact that humanity enjoys the general providence of God, and God’s people enjoy His special providence.

There are limits to God’s involvement.

It would be quite easy for us to sit back and say that because God is all-powerful, He is providentially guiding every situation of life. The only problem with this is that it oversimplifies the issue. For example, consider Job and his “three friends.” When Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar heard of Job’s condition they said in essence that God is doing this great wickedness to Job because of something that Job had done. However, it was not God at all who was causing this great suffering to fall upon Job. It was Satan (Job 1:12). God allowed it, but God did not cause it.

We certainly do not want to oversimplify things and say that God causes everything. There are several reasons why. One, there is something called coincidence. Solomon said, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all” (Eccl. 9:11). Two, there is the fact that the devil is at work today. Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pt. 5:8). Three, some things just occur due to the fact that we are mere mortals. By that I mean such things as old age, illness, and then death.

What the Bible says about God’s involvement.

The Bible tells us that there is both a general and a special sense in which God works in the lives of His creation. In a general sense, it is true that God is involved in the lives of all humanity. Jesus said, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt. 5:45).

There is a special sense in which God works in the lives of His people. David credited God for helping him in a special way (Psa. 23). The Proverbs writer said that God is always to be acknowledged and that God will direct the paths of His people (Prov. 3:6). Jesus taught his disciples to pray for specific blessings and that those blessings would be provided (Mt. 6:11; Mt. 7:11). Jesus further taught that as His people put the kingdom of God first, God would shower upon them their necessities (Mt. 6:33).

The Bible does not call it providence, but the principle of God’s pro-vidence does exist, nonetheless. I may not know how God’s providence works. I may not know the extent of God’s involvement in my life. However, I do know that He is my Creator God who continually cares for His creation. That is good enough for me.

Sources:

1. The scripture references are from the King James Version.

2. Louis Rushmore. “The Providence of God,” oldpaths.com/ archive/rushmore/louis/everette/1954/providen.html

3. Glenn Colley. God is Involved in My Life. West Huntsville Church of Christ, November 20, 2005.

THE TONGUE: CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITIES

While looking for tidbits about the use of the tongue, I ran across a rather interesting quote: Can it be that the average person spends one-fifth of his or her life talking? That’s what the statistics say. If all of our words were put into print, the result would be this: a single day’s words would fill a 50-page book, while in a year’s time the average person’s words would fill 132 books of 200 pages each!

This being true, I think we can see the importance of using our tongues wisely. When we do, behold the possibilities.

The Tongue Should be Constructive
Here is how James 3 begins: “My brethren, be not many masters [teachers], knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (3:1). In an overall context that dwells on the proper use of the tongue are words to public teachers.

Not every Christian should teach in a leadership capacity (i.e. Bible Class teachers, preachers, etc.) (1 Cor. 12:28; 12:17). Only those who spend time with the Word, and then applying the Word should be allowed to teach—“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Tm. 4:16). Only the faithful are qualified to be teachers—“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tm. 2:2).

Think about the constructive possibility of the tongue. It has the ability to bring a precious student to Christ for the salvation of the soul. It has the potential to encourage the young to pursue a life of spiritual excellence—faithfulness. It has the capability of instructing the young adults how to be successful in child rearing. It can tell the aged saint about the responsibility of teaching the younger. It offers encouragement to the discouraged; help to the helpless; hope to those in pain; life to the one experiencing death. Oh the constructive possibility of the tongue!

The Tongue Should be Controlled
Without question, the tongue is a difficult member of the body to control—yea, the most difficult. Benedict de Spinoza said, “Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues...”. James, the inspired writer said, “But the tongue can no man tame [it cannot continually be tamed]; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (Jas. 3:8).

When the tongue is not controlled, it is “a fire, a world of iniquity” (Jas. 3:6). “It defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of Hell [gehenna]” (Jas. 3:6). When it is not continually being tamed, the tongue is “an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (Jas. 3:8).

In “Growing Strong”, Swindoll quoted Publius, a Greek sage who observed, “I have often regretted my speech, never my silence”. Willian Norris, the American journalist who specialized in simple rhythms that packed a wallop once wrote: “If your lips would keep from slips, Five things observe with care: To whom you speak; of whom you speak; And how, and when, and where”.

Oh if we could only learn to control our tongues. If we could see the potential for tragedy ahead of time, maybe we would be more careful. “Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” (Jas. 3:5).

The Tongue Should be Consistent
Perhaps James was looking out his window at one of the fountains of Palestine when he wrote, “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?...no fountain [can] both yield salt water and fresh” (Jas. 3:11,12). Maybe an olive tree caught his eye when he wrote, “Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs?” (Jas. 3:12).

James reminds today’s reader that it is impossible to for one to say that which is righteous, and then say what is unrighteous, all the while remaining on the right side of the ledger (Jas. 3:9-10).

I read recently, the story of Robert Redford walking through a hotel lobby, when an admirer spotted him. She followed him to the elevator and asked, with great excitement, “Are you the real Robert Redford?” As the doors of the elevator closed, he replied, “Only when I am alone!” I also read about a rather pompous-looking deacon who was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. “Why do people call me a Christian?” the man asked. After a moment’s pause, one youngster said, “Maybe it’s because they don’t know you.” Oh how we ought to be consistent with our tongues, and with our lives.

Consider the possibilities of the tongue in the areas of constructiveness, control, and consistency.

—Neil Richey

SATAN'S SUBMARINES

The sport utility vehicles in Tanzania, East Africa are not the typical SUV. Some of them look like what you find in America, but they are more powerful—to deal with the rugged terrain. While working there for a couple of weeks in August, there was one particular SUV that caught my eye.

On the back of the vehicle was a colorful wheel cover. It was actually a work of art. It was called, “Satan’s Submarines.” On it was the picture of a boat floating on the ocean. On the boat was the word “church.” In the water were several submarines. On each of the submarines was a word. Some of those words were indifference, worldliness, materialism, etc.

I was immediately impressed with this wheel cover and thought, “Man that would make a great sermon.” For the purpose of this essay, let’s use the idea of “Satan’s Submarines” as the focus of our study.

Anxiety is One of Satan’s Submarines
“And what does your anxiety do? It does not empty tomorrow, brother, of its sorrow; but, ah! It empties today of its strength. It does not make you escape the evil, it makes you unfit to cope with it when it comes. It does not bless tomorrow, and it robs today. For every day has its own burden. God gives us power to bear all the arrows of his making; but he does not give us the power to bear th sorrows of our own making, which the anticipation of sorrow most assuredly is.”

Jesus said, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Mt. 6:27). Worry does nothing for the Christian. I heard somewhere that worry is a lot like a rocking chair—it gives you something to do, but you never go anywhere.

Anxiety is one of Satan’s submarine’s, and it robs Christians of productivity.

Indifference is One of Satan’s Submarines
If you recall your biblical history, after some seventy years of Jerusalem captivity, Judah returned in three stages. The first group was led back to Jerusalem by Zerubbabel and Jeshua. They then rebuilt and dedicated the temple. The second group was led by Ezra. It was marked by a great revival among the people—the revival was led by Haggai and Zechariah. The third group was led by Nehemiah. It was under Nehemiah’s leadership that the walls were rebuilt.

As you study the background material to the utter devastation of the city walls, you can’t help but be impressed with the fact that those walls were rebuilt in just fifty-two short days (Neh. 6:15). How did they do it? Nehemiah provides the answer: “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work” (Neh. 4:6).

Though the people as a whole were characterized by great zeal, there were still others who were indifferent. Some were pictured as lazy, and others were just plain negative (Neh. 4:5,10). They needed a healthy dose of James 1:25: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Indifference is one of Satan’s submarine’s, and it robs Christians of diligent service.

Confusion is One of Satan’s Submarines
I like the illustration about the teacher who received a not from one of her students. It read, “Dear teacher, please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it on Monday, we thought it was Sunday.”

The religious world tries to confuse the masses. I think they are following the advice of H. Truman when he said, “If you can’t convince them, then confuse them.” “One church is as good as another,” they say. “Your was of salvation is o.k. as long as mine is,” they say. “You’re o.k., I’m o.k.,” they say. “You can believe it that way, and I can believe it my way,” hey say.

Here’s the problem, God says, “[I’m] not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Cor. 14:33). God says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6). God says: there is one body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, and God (Eph. 4:4-6).

Confusion is one of Satan’s submarine’s, and it robs Christians of salvation.

Time is One of Satan’s Submarines
I read somewhere that “we are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end.” That’s a work of the devil. He wants to catch us griping about our time while causing us to forget that one day, all time will end.

When the devil can’t convince us that there is no God, or that there is no plan for man, or that one plan is just as good as another, his next option is to convince us that we have all the time in the world to obey God—the problem is, we are believing that lie! May God help us to “number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). May He help us to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16).

Time is one of Satan’s submarine’s, and it robs Christians of daily service.

—Neil Richey

HEAVENLY ATTITUDES

In the beloved Sermon on the Mount, preached by Jesus, the perfect presenter of truth began His sermon with what has been dubbed “the be attitudes.” Others have called it, “the attitudes that should be.” Both are accurate, but I’m calling them “heavenly attitudes” because in point of fact they are the attitudes that heaven requires of those who would wear the name Christian.
The text for our consideration is Matthew 5:1-12. May I suggest that you read that text before considering the thoughts below? Now, let’s take these attitudes line by line and discuss them.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their’s is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3).
This is so fundamental. To have this quality of life, we must empty ourselves. The word “poor” here is the Greek word ptochoi and describes one who has been beaten to his knees by life. Contextually, this is one who realizes that he is nothing without Christ (i.e. Paul—Rm. 12:3,16; 11:20; Gal. 2:20). To be poor in spirit is to be without pride, self-assurance and self-reliance in relation to the spiritual qualities of life. The result of poverty of spirit is that we are compelled to turn to God’s spiritual resources.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (5:4).
What a contrast. The world places priority on the enjoyment of life, and living life to its fullest. Its whole philosophy is to seek physical pleasure. This is referring to a spiritual condition and attitude toward life. So, what type of mourning is the Lord talking about here? It is not despair, depression, or even disappointment in life. To mourn is to possess the attitude of the Publican—“God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Lk. 18:13). The mourners Christ has in mind are those who grieve over their sin.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (5:5).
This is the opposite of the world’s ideologies—strength, aggressiveness, and power. Meekness is a mental attitude and the expression of that attitude in my relationships with God and others. Those who are meek are those who trust in the Lord, who delight in the Lord, who commit their ways to the Lord, and who are still, restful, before the Lord (cf. Psa. 37:3-7,10-11).

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (5:6).
The term “righteousness” is used in the New Testament some 92 times. Here the Lord declares that those who feel a most intense desire for righteousness shall obtain it. Isn’t it interesting how the Lord uses language here that is so practical? Man’s two most primary needs are food and water—hunger and thirst. If we’re hungry or thirsty, we’ll let nothing stand in our way to have those needs fulfilled. So should be the intensity of our desire to know the Word of God.

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (5:7).
This attitude has reference to the forgiveness of offences. There are so many examples in the Bible of those who were merciful—read again the account of Joseph and how he treated his brethren (Gen. 45:1-15); David, and how he treated Saul (1 Sam. 24:16-22; and, the good Samaritan and how he treated the weary traveler (Lk. 10:29-37).

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (5:8).
This describes those who are free from evil desires and purposes—not just moral purity, but a consistent love for God (Mk. 12:30). These are the ones who now see God by faith. Add to that, these will one day see God face-to-face in the heavenly after awhile.

“Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God” (5:9).
There are a number of misconceptions about who a peacemaker is. A peacemaker is not an “easy-going, peace-at-any-price” type individual. These have no strong convictions one way or the other and lack the intestinal fortitude to take a stand for what’s right. Peace does not come by compromising. On the other hand, a peacemaker is one who pursues peace, and that from a pure heart and void of jealousy, hatred, and envy (Rm. 14:19; Eph. 4:3; Heb. 12:14).

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:10).
What is the Lord not talking about here? He’s not talking about the hard to get along with—these often think they’re persecuted for being righteous. He’s not referring to those who have misdirected zeal—religious fanaticism. He’s not talking about those who jump on some political, social, or selfish church band wagon to try to get their own way—these often think they’re being persecuted by their own brethren, and that because the whole of the congregation does not see things their way.
What the Lord had in mind here is simply being like Him, which will often result in persecution—exposing evil in the world will cause men to hate you. The Christian lifestyle is in contrast with the lifestyle of the world.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (5:11).
When we’re reviled, and persecuted, I suppose the temptation is to whine, complain, indulge in self-pity, retaliate with vengeance, or even to give up. The Lord said that we should “rejoice, and be exceeding glad” (Mt. 5:12).

I once heard someone call the Sermon on the Mount “The Christian’s Constitution.” These are the attitudes that we should have through every phase of our Christian life. Now, what about you? Do you want to be happy—be blessed? Then place these heavenly attitudes within your heart.

—Neil Richey