one step: Matthew 5.11

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Scientifically, sodium chloride (salt) does not lose its taste. How then can the words of Jesus apply to us today?

We must understand the uniqueness of the purity of our salt today. In first-century Palestine, salt was quite impure. The salt that was mined had other elements intertwined. It was possible for that salt to leach out, leaving only the other non-salt elements. This resulting mass of useless waste lacked the power to function in the way that genuine salt does.*

Salt heals wounds. Salt improves the taste of foods. Salt preserves. If the salt leaches out or “loses its taste,” wounds are not healed, life is left bland, and decay takes over. Such is the condition of the world if believers do not live as God invites in the beatitudes.

Before we get caught up in trying to do things to be salt, notice the words of Jesus: “you are.” The words of Jesus in this passage, like in the beatitudes, speak more into what we are than into what we do. Only the believer who receives the grace of the King to live the lifestyle of the kingdom will live as salt and avoid being thrown out.

Inside this passage also exists the invitation to invite the refining of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The prayer of my heart is that God would refine me such that if the salt of my life fades there would be nothing left of me to behold: O Lord, that you might refine us so that only salt remains.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to invite His refining. Perhaps you realize that you have allowed your salt to leach out and the impurities that remain fail to function as God intended in this world. Maybe the witness that Jesus is calling you to be has as much to do with who you are as what you are trying to do.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 103-105, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 5:13–16) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 5.10

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These two verses seems to expand upon the last, explaining the treatment that a believer can expect from this world: angry, cutting words, persecution, and false testimony.

As one step: Matthew 5:9 explains, the persecution mentioned comes from living as ones made right by God, not by obnoxious or wrong behavior. In fact, the language used here, “falsely on my account” reminds us that the evil spoken against the believer should not be based on truth.

A brother or sister in Christ pointing out wrong in my life is not persecution. Even if an unbeliever points out wrong in my life, they are not speaking evil of me falsely. They may be speaking evil of me, but it might be from a place of truth; It might not be on the account of Christ but on account of my own failings.

This passage presents a challenge to reflect on my own life. Am I living a life above approach? Am I living as one made righteous in Christ, or am I hiding my faults to appear this way?

If I can say honestly that the angry, evil, persecuting words and actions of this world are false and are because of Christ and no other reason, then I can rejoice and be glad. Why? Because the overflow of blessing from God awaits me in heaven and I stand in good company. The prophets were treated this way, and so was Christ.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to live true. Perhaps God is asking you to lay down the false Christian life and to actually live life above reproach as an overflow of the righteousness given to you. Maybe God is inviting you to see the hardship of today through the lens of eternity. Perhaps God wants you to hear His words: you are not alone.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 102-103, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 5:3–9) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 5.9

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In my life, I have encountered a few individuals that marked my soul by their boldness. Though they were made fun of, looked down upon, and misunderstood, with bold proclamation and seemingly fearless words, they loudly proclaimed Christ everywhere they went. Seeing the persecution that they encountered caused me to question if perhaps I should act as they did. Should I carry my Bible around? Is my Bible big enough to be seen? Do I need to get a Bible as big as theirs? Should I find this kind of loud, in-your-face boldness within myself?

There are many reasons to be persecuted in this life. People are persecuted for being different and not fitting in. This is called bullying. Some are persecuted for doing wrong. This is called punishment. What of these few Christians that I knew? Were they persecuted for righteousness, or for some other reason?

Simply stated, I cannot answer that question. Only God knows their hearts. That said, I can ask God to show me my own heart, and I must.

As I walk out this Christian life, I must ask the Lord, “Am I avoiding boldly proclaiming Christ because I fear persecution?” Sadly, many times I have allowed this fear of rejection and hurt to quiet my voice. However, I must also ask this question: “Am I experiencing persecution because of the message that I share or because of how I am delivering it?”

It is well with those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. It goes well with those who are persecuted for living as a Christian should live in this world, walking in a way fitting for those who have received right standing with God by grace and through faith in Jesus Christ. It is well with those who obey. It does not go well for others.

Jesus does not promise that it is well for those who experience persecution because they did wrong as is the case of those facing punishment. He does not promise that it is well for those who experience cruelty from those with influence as is the case in bullying. In each of these scenarios, something must change. In the case of the one doing wrong and being punished, they should cease their actions and change their ways. In the case of the one being bullied for not fitting in, the persecutors should be held accountable and required to change their ways.

In the case of the one being persecuted for righteousness, what can change? The world will not stop being broken until Christ returns. The believer cannot change their ways, for they are living in a way fitting of Jesus and obedience to God. The way we live might open the eyes of the blind. It might bring the proud to humility. It might show the world Jesus. It might shift eternity for the one who persecutes. This way of living must not change.

So what comfort do those who obey the leading of Christ have?

Those that live the way of Jesus and experience persecution, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to invite Him to inspect your heart for motivations. Perhaps the persecution you have been experiencing is one fitting of believers living in righteousness, and God is asking you to allow Him to reframe that suffering. Maybe the step that God wants you to take is to stand up against the cruelty that causes another to wrongfully suffer. Perhaps today God is asking you to pick up your Bible and proclaim with boldness.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 98, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 5:3–9) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 5.8

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

There is something in our souls as believers that sees the hostility of this world and rises up. This thing in the soul of the believer cringes at injustice, cries at discord, and yearns for peace and unity. The underlying feeling of, “this is not how things should be” vibrates as a guttural response to the conflict surrounding.

Often we quiet this feeling. We tuck it away into a religious box called “peace.” We say things to ourselves like, “I’m not going to let this steal my peace.” Or we say things like, “I’m going to have peace in the storm.” These statements are not wrong, but they are incomplete.

Religion takes a measure of truth and uses it as a formula to live by. Relationship with the Lord Jesus involves pressing so closely to Him that our thoughts and actions begin to mirror His. Jesus instructs us to do something that He lived: be peacemakers.

The peacemaker does not attempt to keep the peace. Pacifiers calm environments to placate individuals into maintaining the status quo. Such is the work of the peacekeeper. What if the status quo is a norm of hostility, violence, and division? These three words describe the condition of this world. Jesus did not come as a peacekeeper. He came as a peacemaker. He held onto peace while in the storm, but then He spoke to the storm to bring peace to it.

The challenge for believers is to walk into situations in life and to bring peace. Quiet can serve as an unhealthy counterfeit to the peace that Christ wishes to bring. Do not seek quiet. Seek peace.

Those that walk as peacemakers fulfill what membership in the family of God really looks like. All believers should aspire to walk in this way.*

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to begin to speak and pray for peace over a situation. Perhaps God is asking you to question the status quo in your world. Maybe today God is asking you to speak the truth in love. Perhaps God is asking you allow the brokenness of this world to disturb you enough to partner with Him in doing something about it.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 100-101.

one step: Matthew 5.7

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Pause for a moment. Breathe in those words. Breathe in “pure in heart.” Breathe in “see God.”

The weightiness of these words must not be lost on us.

Breathe.

Pure in heart.

See God.

Breathe.

Jesus later tells us that the heart houses and releases evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies (Matthew 15:19).* Think now of all that has been hidden in your own heart. Think of the bitterness, the un-forgiveness, the revenge, and the hate that you have housed and released. I think of my own heart and I shudder.

In this place, the depth of the center of our very being, we hide all sorts of filth. Here, in this place, Jesus calls us to purity; He calls us to be clean.

Cleanliness on the outside comes easier than cleanliness on the inside. Not only does it come easier, but it serves to distract from the filth on the inside, and this is helpful to those of us who like to pretend that we are doing well. It’s helpful in our charade of perfection as we foolishly attempt to convince those around us that we are pure. But what do we get to see when we play this game?

Nothing. We are blind.

To see God, however, we must actually be pure. We must allow God to cleanse us. To do this, the game of charades must end. The pretense of perfection must die. We must come to grips with the log in our own eye, the filth hidden in our hearts, and we must allow Him to see it.

In allowing God to see the filth in our hearts and purify it by His Word and His touch, we will then be able to see Him.

As discussed in one step: Matthew 5.6, the words of Jesus are eschatological in nature. Meaning, Jesus calls us to a purity in heart that allows us to see God in the end of our lives and in the eternity set before us. The purity that comes from the transformation only found by His grace allows us to behold the face of God for eternity. Oh what a promise set before us!

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to admit what hides in your heart. Perhaps today God wants to you to exchange pretend purity for real cleanliness. Maybe today the religious game should end. Perhaps God is asking you to confess to God the filth that He so desperately wants to clean.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 100.