Blessed Are: The Merciful

Blessed are those who are merciful, because they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7

What does it mean to have mercy? Is it just another word for compassion, or something more?

Both have an element of forgiveness in them, yet I believe that in general humans show compassion easier than mercy. Compassion heavily involves the emotions of the heart. If we feel sorry for, love, or are able to empathize with someone, we tend to forgive them and do nice things for them without much effort. Mercy on the other hand, is still an attitude of the heart, but is rooted in obedience and love for God. In other words, you can have mercy on someone you don't care for at all because you care so much for God.

Now, the tricky thing about mercy is that just because we portray it, doesn't mean we have it. Proverbs 12:10 says, "A righteous man cares about his animal's health, but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel." Though the wicked man showed what he considered to be mercy out of obedience to law, or whatever ruled him, but it was still considered to be cruel. His mercy was rooted in obedience, yet not at all in love.

So how does that work concerning the mercy we will receive? Some of it between humans is that old cliché "What goes around, comes around." God however, will show us mercy instead of justice, when we show mercy to others. The law He is obeying is His own. 

"Let your eyes be turned to me, and have mercy on me, as it is right for you to do to those who are lovers of your name." Psalms 119:132 (BBE)

"...For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." Exodus 20:5b-6 (NKJV)


We will receive mercy when we show mercy, and one of the blessings we will receive from the Lord is His faithful and loving mercy while still in this life. Why? Paul says it best...


"But I received mercy because of this, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate the utmost patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:16

Rest

Every once in a while God just wants us to rest. He created the Sabbath for a reason.

Take a moment to rest in Him today. I know I will be.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalms 46:10 (ASV)

Blessed Are: Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6

In order to know if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you need to know what that means. I love to define words in order to get a richer meaning, and I'd like to do that today. Here are some definitions for a few of the key words in this verse.

Hunger: Strong's #3983 - To be hungry, famished, starved. (The Complete Word Study Dictionary NT)

Thirst: Strong's #1372 - To be dry or thirsty. To thirst in a figurative sense, desire ardently. (The Complete Word Study Dictionary NT)

Righteousness: Strong's #1343 -Righteousness, what is right, justice, the act of doing what is in agreement with God's standards, the state of being in proper relationship with God. (Strong's) 

Filled: Strong's #5526 - to gorge (supply food in abundance) :- feed, fill, satisfy. (Strong's Greek and Hebrew Dictionary)


Now, that you have read the definitions, let me give you the Amplified Tiffany Version...

Fortunate are those who are starving for, and longing to be quenched by, doing what God loves in order to have the best possible relationship with Him, for they will dine at His buffet of what is right!


God will never leave us hanging to dry. If we desire to be with God and love Him at any cost, He will not only meet us there, He will exceed what we could have ever imagined.

Are you hungry for Him?

Blessed Are: The Gentle

Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5

Doesn't that sound like a verse anyone could get behind? Whether Buddhist, Muslim, Taoist, Christian, or any other religion which promotes any form of peace, this statement in and of itself could be agreed upon by most religious people.

However, the gentleness which inherits the earth will not be one we can obtain on our own. This is a gift we receive from the Spirit as we try to imitate Christ Jesus in our lives. Jesus says in Matthew 11:29, "All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves."

We often wonder why it is we need to be gentle though. Wouldn't it be easier if we could beat someone over the head with our Christianity? Yes. It would. That is why it is so important to be gentle. It shows gentleness as a gift from God in difficult situations instead of a work of self.


Here are some examples from Scripture where we are told to be gentle when it would normally be difficult:

Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you won't be tempted."
- Human Response: Judge and look down upon that person.

1 Thessalonians 2:7 "Although we could have been a burden as Christ's apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother nurtures her own children."
- Human Response: Take what is our right and what we are owed.

2 Timothy 2:24-25 "The Lord's slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patience, instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance to know the truth."
- Human Response: Have the last word.

1 Peter 3:3-4 "Your beauty should not consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold ornaments or fine clothes; instead it should consist of the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very valuable in God's eyes."
- Human Response: Our outward appearance is #1, no matter the consequences

Take some time to have an inward beauty treatment. The special today? Gentleness.

Blessed Are: Those Who Mourn

Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4

This verse begs the thought, "But I wouldn't have to be comforted if I wasn't mourning!"

That's the whole point, though. We would never realize the need for a Savior, if we never felt the need to be saved. That is our great comfort: Our salvation. Once again we need to not look at our lives in cute little boxes of time that we can comprehend. We were created to exist for eternity. The mourning we experience here in this lifetime for the sins we commit will be comforted by the blood of Jesus Christ as we share in His eternal inheritance from the Father.

Don't get upset! We will have comfort here in this life as well through the joy the Spirit gives us. Jesus speaks of this kind of joy to the disciples just before His crucifixion. "I assure you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. When a woman is in labor she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy." John 16:20-22

What a beautiful picture of our birth to salvation. When we are convicted of the sin within our own lives we are in anguish, but do not worry - our time has come! We will then be comforted with the joy of our new lives in Christ. Jesus promised the disciples that no one could take away their joy once He was resurrected. History tells us that they all lived difficult lives and died horrible deaths for the sake of the Gospel, yet they were comforted with the joy of their salvation to the end.

Does that count for everyone who mourns? Sadly, no. Remember Judas, Jesus' betrayer? He mourned his decision to betray Him, but did not accept the comfort of salvation. He tried to comfort himself by ending his own life. (Matthew 27:3-5) We must never forget that the only true comfort comes from the Comforter. It is nothing we can obtain on our own.

Blessed Are: The Poor In Spirit

Over the next several days I'd like to take a closer look at the teachings Jesus gave His disciples in Matthew 5:3-12

Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

For years I saw it as an unhealthy form of humility: A brokenness in spirit like an animal trained too hard - beaten down and hopeless. Later, I thought that it meant to be weak, or lacking, in spirit. This conjured images of those who just didn't know any better and followed blindly. I wondered how a loving Father could ever expect and desire for me to be poor in these ways.

I've come to realize, however, that a lot of the issues we have when hearing this verse stems from the fact that in America we are bred on success: Pulling ourselves up by the seat of our pants to gain an advanced education and money, money, money. While there is nothing wrong with hard work and commitment, we have placed way too much emphasis on self. We are told we are special. We can do anything if we just put our mind to it. We have the power within ourselves to accomplish our dreams. We have the right...

I love the line from Disney's movie The Incredibles. The young boy Dash complains to his mother, "But Dad said our powers made us special!"
"Everyone's special, Dash." she replies.
He mutters back to her, "Which is another way of saying NO ONE is."

There can only be One who is Special. And we are not Him.

The New American Commentary summarizes it well. "'Poor in spirit' as a virtue, must refer not to a poor quality of faith but to the acknowledgement of one's spiritual powerlessness and bankruptcy apart from Christ".

We can not live as though we, as individuals, are the most one important to God. Yes, He loves us and has gone through all this trouble for us, but apart from Jesus we are nothing. John 14:6 states, "Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one come to the Father except through Me.'"  Again in Acts 4:11-12 we hear, "This Jesus is The stone despised by you builders, who has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved."

Jesus Himself wonderfully defines what it means to be poor in spirit:
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angles in the glory of His Father, and then will reward each according to what he has done.'" Matthew 16:24-27

This is what we need to understand to be poor in spirit:   Stop trying to be your own Jesus.

Say A Little Prayer

Say a prayer for me will you? The Lord is working in my life so amazingly right now that I'm blown away. I really can't even put my finger on it. I just have faith that it will all work out for His glory.

I'm working on a daily lesson for you on the Beatitudes that I mentioned yesterday in the book of Matthew. The Lord has laid it on my heart to take each verse one by one and expound upon them. I had planned to post the first today, but feel I need to listen a little more before jotting anything down.

I've also sent in a form to possibly start writing some material for a Christian publishing company as well! I'm scared to death that they may say yes because I know how unworthy I am. However, the Lord (and a few others!) have mentioned I should try, so I am walking by faith and not by sight! If the Lord wills it, it will happen and be a great opportunity for reaching others. If it doesn't - whew! At least I can say I tried... ;-)

Also, if any of you feel led, I have made up a sort of business card to advertise this blog sight. They are very basic and meant to be handed to people directly or placed in free Wi-Fi areas such as coffee shops. Email me if you would like some cards or the page sent to you for printing. The amazing thing about the internet is you don't have to live in the same city to read it!

I will leave you with a few verses I found about coming together for prayer. Who says we all have to be in the same room?

Acts 16:13 "On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there."

2 Corinthians 1:11 "And you can join in helping with prayer for us, so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many."

2 Thessalonians 3:1 "Finally, pray for us, brothers, that the Lord's message may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you."

Hebrews 13:18 "Pray for us; for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything."

AMEN

Beatitudes

When I was little I thought the passage in Matthew 5:3-12 was actually called the "Be-Attitudes" because that is the way our attitudes are suppose to be. Take some time to read over Jesus' teaching today:

Matthew 5:3-12
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every king of evil against you because of Me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

You want to be blessed? Here is how.

Let these Words wash over you anew today.

Hmmm...

Matthew 3:16-17  "After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!"

I've always wondered...
Did God speak here in Hebrew, because they were His chosen people? Or did He speak in Greek because Jesus was there to bring salvation to the Gentiles as well?

Diet Pledge

What do you think of when you hear the word, Pledge?

Here are some of the definitions according to dictionary.com:

• a solemn promise or agreement to do or refrain from doing something: a pledge of aid; a pledge not to wage war.
• something delivered as security for the payment of a debt or fulfillment of a promise, and subject to forfeiture on failure to pay or fulfill the promise.
• to promise solemnly: to pledge one's support.
• to stake, as one's honor.
• to make or give a pledge: to pledge for someone.

We often think of saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, or of fundraisers. Perhaps you have made a pledge to a club of some sort for membership. Whatever type of pledge you have made, I'd like to ask you a question; How seriously did you take it?

This may seem totally unrelated for now, but I'd also like you to think about dieting. In this country, people usually think of low-fat or low-calorie foods when they consider a diet. Diet foods are easy to find in any grocery and can often be found with the title of Lite, but have you ever read the label? They tend to have a long list of ingredients that are harder to pronounce than the names in the Old Testament. Even if not, there is a certain amount of processing that has taken place to reduce something that was originally there, such as fat.

Over the years as I struggled with weight and health issues I've had to come to the conclusion that if it is too processed and "un-natural" that my body wasn't meant to have it. I was stuffing myself with all of these "diet" things so that my body wasn't getting the natural nutrients and minerals it needed. What it has boiled down to is, eat smaller portions of the real stuff instead of larger ones of the fake stuff. Not only does it taste better, but I enjoy what I can have all the more. If I have felt convicted not to eat a certain food, then I just don't eat it. I don't eat the Fake it.

This is what I feel we have done to our pledges. We have processed them down so much that we at times have changed their whole meaning. When we pledge to something, I truly believe we are staking our honor to it as one of the definitions described. If we are stuffing ourselves on empty pledges, we loose the flavor and richness of the true one. This too, is not healthy for us.

When I pledge to the flag, I am pledging to "One Nation under God." If we pledge money to an organization, we are committing ourselves to what they stand for. Our commitment to what we pledge is directly related to our all commitments. If we are lackadaisical in our pledges and commitments to those around us, what makes us think we will be different with what we pledge to God?

Your Everyday

One of the things I love about the parables of Jesus is that they are so personal. He used things that the people understood; things that they worked with or experienced on a daily basis. One of the things I have been encouraged with while doing this blog, is that God very much is in the everyday. He time and again teaches me by what I am experiencing around me and then confirms it through His Word.

Recently while studying, I read in Mark 1:17 when Jesus calls to four of His disciples to follow Him. These men have been, or have been around, fishermen since the day they were born. Jesus doesn't call them to come and study under Him as He might to a student or apprentice. He doesn't tell them to pen His precises Words as He might have to a scribe. He tells them, "Follow Me,... and I will make you fish for people!" He calls them to a live for Him through who they are.

Remember the Samaritan women at the well in John 4? She came every day to draw water. Jesus didn't tell her that she should come and fish for men, did He? She may have taken that completely the wrong way with her background! (4:18) Instead, He speaks to her about asking for the living water so that she would never thirst again. (4:10-14).

Christ calls to us to start following Him where we are. It is then by His amazing grace and providence that we become so much more. Simon, the fisherman called to fish for people, became a Rock (Peter) on which the early church was helped to stand. The outcast woman, drawing water alone, became the catalyst for her town's understanding of the True Living Water. (John 4:39-42).

Take some time today to think about where the Lord has called you to follow Him from. Where is He calling you from now?

To what part of who you are does the Lord, Jesus Christ say, "Follow Me, and I will make you...............!"

The Wrong Verse At The Right Time

Don't you love it when the Spirit teaches you through mistakes?

I was turning to a particular Scripture for a lesson and went to the wrong book of the Bible for some reason. Instead, I read Exodus 6:2-9. In this passage, God is talking to the Israelites through Moses, telling them that He has chosen them to be His special people and that He was going to rescue them and give them a good land to possess.

Verse 9 really spoke to my heart.
"Moses told all this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor."

Sometimes God is speaking to us, promising the desires of our hearts for His good glory, but we are too broken to believe. Have you ever experienced a time when you knew with every ounce of your heart  and soul that what the Lord was telling you was true, but you just couldn't bring your mind to believe it? This was the Israelites at that point. They were just too tired to believe it fully.

The amazing thing about this is that the Lord did not say, "Fine. Forget it then. I'm going to go pick some people who will believe me fully. You blew it." No. God fulfilled His promises to them anyway. He loved them enough to bring them along to a place where they were no longer too weary to follow.

Right after that is when He gave them the Words I was suppose to read - Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Listen, Israel: The Lord our God is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

Sometimes I believe we need to just meet our God with whatever strength we have, and He will aways provide the rest. What a loving God He truly is.

Have you met with God today with all that you are, no matter how little you may feel it is?

Perspective

Yesterday was yet another rough day for me in many ways. All day, I was concerned about different things going on in my life. At the same time, I've mentioned some pains I've been having. I don't know if any of you have ever dealt with chronic pain, but after two or three weeks of it building, one can get pretty cranky inside. I've also been preparing for a quick trip to Kentucky to see family for the day, and as much as I love them, that takes a bit of a toll in and of itself.

I rushed the kids to bed so that I could get a few more things done and enjoy the oblivion of sleep. They were exasperating me with too much energy, to be honest, as I tried to get the list a bed-time stuff done. We brushed our teeth, took medicine, practiced our Bible verses and then it was time to say our prayers and go to sleep.

That's when my youngest, Elijah, closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and prayed, "God? Thank you for giving us so many chances to be good."

I was floored. All my frustration and worry vanished as I praised the Lord with him in that simple prayer.

"Lord, thank you; for giving me so many chances to be good."

A Place To Praise

Yesterday I had horribly difficult and absolutely wonderful day.

Physically, my day was a bust. I was in a lot of pain from many different things that have all peaked at the same time. I've also had very little sleep and the cure for that seems to be nowhere in sight. But over all, it was a great day.

My Wednesday morning Bible study group started up again after breaking for the summer: How I've missed those ladies! Afterwards I met with a sweet woman I've wanted to get to know and the Lord has placed in my path recently. I was also looking forward to choir practice at night because I get to sing to the Lord for a whole hour, and afterwards was meeting with another lady who has a heart for women's ministry as well.

On the way home, I realized that everything bad on the day was surpassed by the things of the Lord. How wonderful to have such a joy in the Lord when so miserable otherwise. It was so interesting to see the two co-exist in my life today. The children had stayed at home with my mother that evening, so as I was driving home from church I opened up the windows, blasted some great praise and worship, and praised God all the way home. There was no one else in the car, so I felt free to sing with all my might and it was wonderful!

I'd like to challenge you to find a place to worship God this week where you can loose all inhibitions. Then blast some of your favorite songs and love your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.

The only thing I discovered would make it better would be a convertible to raise my hand better toward God and speed control to keep me in check!

Old Glue

I have to admit that I am very tired right now. There are a few things contributing to this, but the most annoying are some persistent pains I'm having. As I flopped down a few minutes ago trying to decide what I should write about for today, an old poster my mother brought from her 1st grade classroom in Florida rolled over to me. On the back was some old glue from a hot glue gun which held it to the wall for a few years. Peeling it off, I started playing with it while my laptop thought about starting up. It was one of those moments where the very simple things in life - like playing with old glue - can be very comforting.

Now when I am very tired and hurting I tend to get contemplative. While fiddling with the old glue, I began to wonder where it had been and the things said and done around it. What were the children like who sat in that class, and where are they now? Who was the janitor that cleaned up the room where it hung? Were there extremes in temperature so that it expanded and contracted? Then it hit me that sadly, I bet no one ever noticed that glue - for years. This stuff that I was so intent on at the moment, was never given a thought by anyone it was around. No one even knew it was there.

That's when I felt the Spirit whisper, "I knew."

He brought these verses to mind from Matthew 10:29-31. "Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet none of them falls to the ground without the Father's consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Don't be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows."

We have a mighty and awesome God, and truly can't wrap our minds around how all-knowing He really is. To think that He knows everything that is going on everywhere. He loves us and has spent so much time and effort on us.Yet, some people don't even know He's there.

I thought of it this way: The Creator of the universe - of all time - knows all the details of that old dried up glue on the wall. He even took the time to place it next to me tonight, knowing that this lesson would comfort and encourage me. He loves us so much and is so detailed, that He worked it all out for me, to share it with you. And yet that God, is totally ignored by millions today. Some because they don't know He's there. Other's because they can't see Him "behind the poster holding it up". But most, I fear, because they just don't care; thinking it doesn't have anything to do with them.

Let's take some time today to marvel at who He is..., and then share Him with others who haven't really looked.