If the Beatitudes do anything for us, they should shatter the way that religion causes us to put faith in a category separate from real life. Jesus, in Matthew 5-7, is telling us, “This is what life is all about!” He is encouraging us to trade in our view of life for his view of life.

     Assess your life against these eight blessings. Reflect on them, asking the Holy Spirit to give you a clear, objective status report on your heart attitude compared to what Jesus said is vital. Remember, though, that satan loves to speak words of condemnation to us in times like these, telling us that God is disappointed in you. God isn’t. He’s very aware that there’s a gap between the ideal and the real–a space between God’s ideal and what we actually experience in our real life. Keep your eyes on the ideal and trust that God fills the gap with his grace. He loves you lots!

     Click here to watch last Sunday’s message if you missed it. Stay up with Jesus and CrossBridge during the summer when you miss our time together on Sunday.  Get the CrossBridge app so you can stream our gatherings live, watch past messages, and get the weekly Bible study. Make summer a time of spiritual growth and power.