1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian 1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian | Page 3

HI CHURCH
Over the course of the next ten weeks we will be covering one of the most
challenging themes possible. This theme is born out of the teaching of Jesus
called “The Beatitudes”. You will find these teachings in Matthew 5 v 1 – 11. I
have entitled this series “The Proof” because I am convinced that if we as
human beings have an authentic relationship with Christ, whereby the Holy
Spirit has invaded our lives, there has to be some proof as seen in the way that
we live out our lives. I do not believe that something as huge and catastrophic as
this can leave a person unchanged. “The Beatitudes” should, I believe, portray
what this changed life should look like.
I need to tell you upfront that what we will be discussing may well change your
perspective on what true Christian living looks like; I personally hope that it
does for you what it has done for me. This series has caused me to rethink some
of the values that I thought were so valuable and has challenged my own
thinking on what true Kingdom living is all about. It’s almost like coming into the
light after you have been sitting in the dark; initially the light hurts your eyes,
but if you resist the temptation to return to the dark, your eyes get used to the
light and it is able thereafter to show you things that you never saw before. I
guess it’s kind of like this: when you are confronted by the light of these truths,
the temptation is to retreat into the darkness of your old Christian living
because it is more comfortable there. But I encourage you to hang in there and
face the light of these truths and allow them to change you to become what Jesus
intended for you to become.
I believe it true to say that it is possible for you to live a Christian lifestyle, but
that does not make you a Christian. There is a version of “cultural Christianity”
that suggests that as long as I go through certain religious rituals and pay lip
service to certain religious facts, that that makes me a Christian. Jesus confronts
this thinking head on in his teaching in the Beatitudes.
I hope that these devotionals will inspire you to a new level of Kingdom living
that will, I assure you, run in the face of cultural and comfortable Christianity. I
will be praying for you as you journey through these texts.
God bless
Trevor