Beatitudes

Excerpt from “Jesus People”

Beatitudes, Books

Like ravens we have gathered around the carcass of cheap grace. From it we have imbibed the poison which has killed the following of Jesus among us.

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship

In 1933, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party came to power in Germany and began to systematically transform Germany into a totalitarian state. They eliminated all opposition, and all power was consolidated within the Führer himself. From there, he proceeded to implement his nationalistic, militaristic, and racist policies. As part of his agenda, Hitler saw the local churches of Germany as an important ideological battleground. In order to increase and galvanize his influence, he sought to unify all of the Protestant churches of Germany into one state-sponsored, pro-Nazi Church. And thousands of churches and pastors caved in under the pressure.

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The Beatitudes & Social Unrest in America

Beatitudes, Cross, Justice, Kingdom of God, Racism, Social Commentary

For the last two years, much of my focus in prayer and thought has been soaked in the Beatitudes. Part of this is for a practical purpose. I am currently writing a book to be published in the Fall of 2021 by Fortress Press (working title: Jesus People: Communities Formed by the Beatitudes).

But more importantly, I have become convinced that the Beatitudes are, indeed, the lens through which we are called to live. They encapsulate Jesus’ entire life, ministry, teaching, death and resurrection. Each of us would do well to commit them to memory and prayerfully reflect upon them every day.

Because in the tumultuous storm that is currently raging throughout American society, the Beatitudes give us an anchor that enables us to offer a grounded, Christlike response.

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