Blogging for the Glory of God

In the past, I have made a few attempts at blogging. A couple of the attempts were productive, while a couple of the other attempts were not. My most productive blogging attempt was while I served as the Sunday School Director of Highland Park First Baptist Church here in Louisville. I (sporadically) maintained a Sunday School blog, which was primarily used to keep those wonderful teachers updated and equipped for the challenging task before them. I am very thankful for that experience (both the ministry experience & the blogging experience), and I will attempt to build upon that knowledge in this new endeavor.

Since I have become the privileged pastor of Morningside Baptist Church, I have taken a break from blogging, but have been busy over at Twitter. However, I feel that the time is right to re-enter the blogosphere.

So, welcome to "Righteous Satisfaction". The name of this blog is based upon Matthew 5:6, in which Jesus states: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (ESV) In these introductory words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summarizes what should be the goal in the lives of his disciples: to hunger & thirst for righteousness.

However, in order to truly feel the weight of this statement, we need to back up and understand the three previous verses (Matthew 5:3-5). These three verses are the first three beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, and they build upon one another before we come to our primary verse of interest. In verse 3, Jesus says "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Here, Jesus is focusing on those who recognize that they are spiritually bankrupt, apart from the grace of God and the work of Christ. In verse 4, Jesus says "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy before God rightly mourn their helpless state. They mourn the fact that they have sinned against God. They mourn the fact that they have profaned the God who created them. In verse 5, Jesus says "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Here, Jesus is not referring to being a coward, but to one who does not attempt to justify or defend himself against the slander, mistreatment, and insults of others. Similarly, when those who recognize their spiritual poverty and rightly mourn over it, they will not then seek to justify themselves before God. Instead, they will seek One who will justify them. They seek One who will deliver them from their spiritual poverty. They will seek the One who can comfort them. They will seek for the One who can make them righteous. They will realize their desperation, and they will hunger and thirst for this righteousness. And when they find that, through the work of Christ, they have been declared righteous, then they will be satisfied.

These first four beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount rightly point out the unbeliever's need for salvation in Christ. Yet, Jesus is primarily addressing His disciples, so this teaching applies both to them, and to His disciples in 2009. I remember the brokenness & helplessness that I felt when I first realized my many offenses against God. I rightly mourned and grieved over my sin. I realized that I had absolutely no defense against a perfect and holy God. I rightly deserved my sentence of eternal punishment in hell. Yet, God began to move in my heart and reveal to me that there was hope! I could gain the righteousness that I had so desperately lacked, but only through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the good news of the gospel!

As God radically and completely saved me, my hunger & thirst for righteousness grew. I wanted to live for God. I wanted to honor God. I wanted to worship God. However, as time went on, the lines began to blur. I began to confuse the blessings of God for my talents and skills. I began to trust in my own creativity and power. I began to live for myself. I had forgotten the fact that I was spiritually bankrupt, apart from Christ. I no longer mourned over my sins. Instead, I began to make excuses for my sins, ignore my sins, or blame my sins on others. To put it simply and bluntly, I was no longer meek, but was focused on defending myself. My hunger & thirst for righteousness was more like a snack here and there. Instead, my appetite was more focused on glorifying myself rather than glorifying God.

Have you been there? Does this describe your life? If so, there's hope for you!

That's why I have begun "Righteous Satisfaction". God, in His grace, has made me realize my spiritual poverty once more. By His grace, I have come to realize many sins in my life for which I mourn. He has shown me that I have nothing to boast about, except for the fact that He has chosen to save even a sinner like me. Finally, He has shown me that to hunger & thirst for righteousness is not a one-time event at salvation, but it is a lifetime of dependence upon Jesus Christ. It is a continuous quest of being satisfied in Christ alone.

So, what's the point to all of this? This blog is written by one who does not have all of the answers about life. But, I know the One who does. And as He has revealed in His Word, the goal of His disciples is to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and only He can satisfy that need. And praise God, because He has promised to do so.!

So, over the coming days, weeks, months, and (hopefully) years, "Righteous Satisfaction" will seek to fuel your hunger and thirst for the glory of God and the righteousness that only He can provide. May God bless you in your walk with Christ!