Matthew 5:1-2

Several months ago my pastor challenged several of us in a church planting internship to write out the Sermon on the Mount verse by verse and to analyze how we stack up against each verse. I read through it several times, but never really put pen to paper and began to seriously do this. Today I started.

At my current pace, it will be a long process, but I have already begun to really analyze myself deeply. I honestly thought I’d breeze through the first two verses and really get to work in the Beatitudes - I was wrong! These two verses have caused me to really think about myself and my motives. When Jesus withdrew his disciples followed so they could hear what he said - probably expecting to hear something profound from someone they really believed in. When I listen to Jesus or read the word, I desperately long to hear something that will change my life, but this morning I began to wonder if I actually come to him believing that I know most everything I need to know. I have been raised in the church, spent some time with some incredible apprentices of Jesus, and done the seminary thing, but I often have no feeling of empowerment or inspiration to do more than I do. I have many of the same struggles I have had since my youth. Where is the victory? Where is the conviction? Where is the transformation? Isn’t that what Jesus was all about…speaking truth into people’s lives transforming them from “me”-dom to Kingdom?

Jesus, while my thoughts are certainly incomplete, help me to follow you and hear you and learn from you so that I will be transformed by who you are. It’s not just about salvation, by your work on the cross, but it’s about allowing all of you to transform all of me.