3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Right now on this planet those who are poor in spirit are blessed by God. Right now on this planet you are blessed by God if you know that you don’t have it all together like the proud and rich people think they do. Right now on this planet you are blessed by God if you know that you are a sinner and that there is no way for you to reach heaven without a Savior. This is the true blessed life because God only helps those who know that they need help, and are willing to humble themselves and cry out for it. “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” “Whoever comes to me I will by no means turn away,” were statements made by our Lord Jesus. If we are empty ourselves then we can be filled with Jesus. If we empty ourselves we will have room for all htat He has for us.
Blessed are you if this is your whole life’s attitude. It is not just coming to Christ to receive mercy and forgiveness that makes you blessed, but that your entire life’s attitude is that you are poor and needy when it comes to the things of God. Of which He is ready to pour out his blessing, knowledge, gifts of service, and all other favors and graces. The proud in heart are not worthy for such things from God. If I am rich in this worlds goods it is okay as long as I am still poor in spirit.
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven because God is near to the broken hearted and saves such as have a humble and contrite spirit. The kingdom of heaven is open only to the poor in spirit. It will be populated only by those who acknowledge the Savior and love Him to the end. God our Father is merciful and gracious beyond our comprehension, and is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the saving knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ. Sadly though, most think they are rich in spirit and can gain heaven by their own good works, which no one ever has or will. Those who are of the high spirit will perish with the kingdoms of this world in which they thought themselves to be so high, but those of the low in spirit will inherit the kingdom of heaven when the world kingdoms pass away.
4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are you on this planet if you mourn over your sin and the sins of others which placed Christ on the cross. Blessed are you on this planet if you are in that continual state of repentance in which you do not delight in gratifying the lusts of the flesh that war against your soul. Blessed are you on this planet if you really feel the sorrow of others who are struggling with sin and death, looking forward to the time when heaven will relieve all our pain. Our seeds of mourning are hereby ready to produce a harvest of joy, for we will be comforted by the Comforter himself. We will by our mourning draw the Spirit of our God to us, near us, with us. The Holy Spirit is most definitely attracted to those who mourn, and why not, it is He that is most grieved by the sins, sorrows, and deeds of men. For He knows what could have been had sin not been given entrance into the world so who better to comfort us than the One who mourns with us. What sin did to the body of God is an outward sign of what sin does to the heart of God.
“Sorrow the pledge of joy.-Grief, sorrow, pain of heart, mourning is no dividing wall between man and God. The Lord congratulates them that mourn. There is no evil in sorrow. True, it is not an essential good, a good in itself, like love; but it will mingle with any good thing and is even so sided to good that it will open the door of the heart for any good. The happy child runs farther away, the wounded child turns to go home. The weeper sits down close to the gate; The Lord of life draws near to him from within. God does not love sorrow, yet rejoices to see a man sorrowful, because in his sorrow man leaves his heavenward door open, and God can enter to help him. So good a medicine is sorrow, so powerful to slay the moths that infest and devour the human heart, that the Lord is glad to see a man weep. Grief is an ill-favored thing, but she is Love’s child, and her mother loves her.-George Macdonald
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Well Named
"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches..." Proverbs 22:1
What's in a name? Is choosing a good name at birth all that is required of us as namers? Or is there more to naming someone than just the choice of a fitting name? The ancients believed that whatever you named a child was pivotal to setting the course of their life. That is true to a point, but I believe it only goes so far because sooner or later it is the character of the person that ultimately tells us if their name is a good one or a bad one.
Let's take my name for instance. Devon is a good name I guess. I kind of like it. It's not your average name, but it's not odd enough to be teased about either. I have had it all my life, and am definitely used to it. But let me tell you that it wasn't a bad name until after I graduated high school. I was popular enough, for me anyway. I made decent grades and played sports. I was a decent kid with no criminal record and a favorable disposition. No one had any complaints about me that I knew of, and I was set to continue on a expected course of normal, successful living.
Unfortunately though, I ran into some problems after graduation as I mistook freedom from parents to mean freedom from all good sense. Yes, I started experimenting with all kinds of vices that I had not been exposed to in my adolescent years and went off the deep end. I started hanging out with the wrong types of people doing the wrong types of things. All of these things were highly addictive and took over my life. Well, let me tell you that after 15 years in the drug culture my name was ruined. You couldn't count on me for anything because I was so absorbed in fulfilling my bad habits that I just couldn't do anything else. Normal was a foreign word to me and my life showed it for sure. As a matter of fact, I had so consistently made wrong choices that that became the new normal for me. I was hurting myself and everyone else around me as riotous living always does.
As a result of these choices my name had become soiled. My name absolutely left a bad taste in my own mouth as well as in the mouths of all those who knew me. The very sight of me coming toward you would conjure up bad feelings and bad thoughts and there was nothing I could do about it. I would actually say that I had done enough. The truth is I knew all of this about myself and hated it, but was by this time powerless to change in my own strength. I knew that I needed a new life and a new name. Thank God, that He is in the business of changing lives which in turn will change names. I mean it, now after giving my life to Christ 9 years ago, I no longer have that problem. God told Abraham, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing, and I will make your name great..." For those of us who know who Abraham is, we already know that God definitely made good on that promise as he is called the "Father of the faith." Well, God is no respecter of persons and will do the same for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord and is saved, provided that they not only love God but also do what He commands.
A good name is to be chosen rather than anything else is my paraphrase of this verse. The great riches is the worldly way of saying, "if I had one wish to be granted, I would choose great riches for myself." Well, I have had great riches that came with a bad name, and when it was all said and done I would have given back all the riches for the good name, but couldn't. I was all alone and didn't have any good, solid relationships with anyone who was good or good for me. I read this in a commentary the other day on a different subject, but think it also applies here, "it is better to be cheerfully welcomed into a hundred homes, than to own a hundred homes and no one comes to visit."
Thus we have the actual meaning behind this verse. Choosing a good name is actually the result of making good and godly choices based on His word. The good name is the result of the good choices. The first and best choice is Jesus Christ. And when we are doers of His word and not just hearers only, we become great and are known by our good name. So this week remember if you choose to follow Jesus in obedience to His word you will be called a Christian, and will have chosen to be well named. By the way, I no longer leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth, especially my Lords. Have a great week.
Follow Jesus, stay humble, serve others, and become great.
What's in a name? Is choosing a good name at birth all that is required of us as namers? Or is there more to naming someone than just the choice of a fitting name? The ancients believed that whatever you named a child was pivotal to setting the course of their life. That is true to a point, but I believe it only goes so far because sooner or later it is the character of the person that ultimately tells us if their name is a good one or a bad one.
Let's take my name for instance. Devon is a good name I guess. I kind of like it. It's not your average name, but it's not odd enough to be teased about either. I have had it all my life, and am definitely used to it. But let me tell you that it wasn't a bad name until after I graduated high school. I was popular enough, for me anyway. I made decent grades and played sports. I was a decent kid with no criminal record and a favorable disposition. No one had any complaints about me that I knew of, and I was set to continue on a expected course of normal, successful living.
Unfortunately though, I ran into some problems after graduation as I mistook freedom from parents to mean freedom from all good sense. Yes, I started experimenting with all kinds of vices that I had not been exposed to in my adolescent years and went off the deep end. I started hanging out with the wrong types of people doing the wrong types of things. All of these things were highly addictive and took over my life. Well, let me tell you that after 15 years in the drug culture my name was ruined. You couldn't count on me for anything because I was so absorbed in fulfilling my bad habits that I just couldn't do anything else. Normal was a foreign word to me and my life showed it for sure. As a matter of fact, I had so consistently made wrong choices that that became the new normal for me. I was hurting myself and everyone else around me as riotous living always does.
As a result of these choices my name had become soiled. My name absolutely left a bad taste in my own mouth as well as in the mouths of all those who knew me. The very sight of me coming toward you would conjure up bad feelings and bad thoughts and there was nothing I could do about it. I would actually say that I had done enough. The truth is I knew all of this about myself and hated it, but was by this time powerless to change in my own strength. I knew that I needed a new life and a new name. Thank God, that He is in the business of changing lives which in turn will change names. I mean it, now after giving my life to Christ 9 years ago, I no longer have that problem. God told Abraham, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing, and I will make your name great..." For those of us who know who Abraham is, we already know that God definitely made good on that promise as he is called the "Father of the faith." Well, God is no respecter of persons and will do the same for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord and is saved, provided that they not only love God but also do what He commands.
A good name is to be chosen rather than anything else is my paraphrase of this verse. The great riches is the worldly way of saying, "if I had one wish to be granted, I would choose great riches for myself." Well, I have had great riches that came with a bad name, and when it was all said and done I would have given back all the riches for the good name, but couldn't. I was all alone and didn't have any good, solid relationships with anyone who was good or good for me. I read this in a commentary the other day on a different subject, but think it also applies here, "it is better to be cheerfully welcomed into a hundred homes, than to own a hundred homes and no one comes to visit."
Thus we have the actual meaning behind this verse. Choosing a good name is actually the result of making good and godly choices based on His word. The good name is the result of the good choices. The first and best choice is Jesus Christ. And when we are doers of His word and not just hearers only, we become great and are known by our good name. So this week remember if you choose to follow Jesus in obedience to His word you will be called a Christian, and will have chosen to be well named. By the way, I no longer leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth, especially my Lords. Have a great week.
Follow Jesus, stay humble, serve others, and become great.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Major Event Planner
Hey everyone, I pray you are doing well this week. God our Father is so good to us each and every day. I am amazed at His faithfulness to us and His loving-kindness toward us. We are truly blessed because Jesus is Lord. He is our all in all for those of us who have been forgiven and have received Him as Lord and Savior. I remember well the great day that I turned my life and will over to the care of Christ's control about 9 years ago. It is forever etched in my mind. On that day I changed from a poor destitute sinner, hellbent, and wretched to the core; into a blood bought, blood washed, child of the Most High God. My sins were forgiven and my destiny was changed forever. Now that was quite an event.
Now that I look back on it I can see that all through my life God was pursuing me. Like a hawk pursues its prey, He was stalking my every move. He had a major plan to win my heart and make me His forever. I truly was a formidable foe though. I fought against Him at every turn. Not realizing that it was Him I was fighting, but still fighting Him nonetheless. You know, it's funny how some of us are just so hard headed and rebellious that you just can't tell us anything. Some of us are just so dead set on living our lives in a blaze of glory that it has to take an act of God to wake us up to see where the road we were traveling on was really taking us. It took me along time to figure out that the way I was living wasn't working. Well, maybe I had it figured out, but I didn't know how to make it change direction. Thank God, that He had a plan.
Our Father always has a plan because He is a planner. He planned that before the foundation of the world that we would need a Savior. He planned that His Son Jesus would be that Savior. He planned that after Jesus did His saving work on that cross of Calvary that He would then begin the tedious work of chasing us down with His unstoppable love. The cross of Christ was the biggest of the major events that He planned, but it's not the only one. There are also the many major events that our Father has planned for each of our lives. I'm talking about the day in your life when God finally got a hold of your heart and changed it to run to Him instead of away from him. The day that you began to accept His love and truth. The day that He poured His love all over you and you knew that you were His and that He was yours. I hope you know exactly what I am talking about here. Which leads me to why I am writing this blog today.
Last week on Thursday night I got to be a part of a major event in the life of one of the guys in the Dawson St. Jail. He came into the prison about 9 months ago at age 18. He was young and full of life, but all of it misdirected. At first I couldn't really see how he was going to make it in our faith-based dorm. Everyday when I walked in to the dorm they were lining up to tell me what he had done this time to upset the applecart. I just couldn't help it though, after a while I just had such a great love for this youngster that I probably let him stay longer than he should of. Well, as you can tell after the fourth time we had moved him out for a 30 day suspension and back in again he finally was moved over to another part of the prison. But strangely enough he kept showing up over at the Thursday night inmate led church service. I mean we all loved him with our whole hearts, but he was just so wild. Well, God is faithful and even when we can't see it with our eyes we should know that in our hearts the prayers were starting to work on this young man. I thank God that on this last Thursday night when the altar call was made in a room full of worshippers, that this young, wild, handful of a man came down and gave his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. We were all so happy, but truly we should have just been patient in our love for him and waited for the major event planner to finish His work of drawing him to Jesus. I hope we remember this week that you can't rush God's work, but if your praying you can trust that He is working. Be blessed.
Now that I look back on it I can see that all through my life God was pursuing me. Like a hawk pursues its prey, He was stalking my every move. He had a major plan to win my heart and make me His forever. I truly was a formidable foe though. I fought against Him at every turn. Not realizing that it was Him I was fighting, but still fighting Him nonetheless. You know, it's funny how some of us are just so hard headed and rebellious that you just can't tell us anything. Some of us are just so dead set on living our lives in a blaze of glory that it has to take an act of God to wake us up to see where the road we were traveling on was really taking us. It took me along time to figure out that the way I was living wasn't working. Well, maybe I had it figured out, but I didn't know how to make it change direction. Thank God, that He had a plan.
Our Father always has a plan because He is a planner. He planned that before the foundation of the world that we would need a Savior. He planned that His Son Jesus would be that Savior. He planned that after Jesus did His saving work on that cross of Calvary that He would then begin the tedious work of chasing us down with His unstoppable love. The cross of Christ was the biggest of the major events that He planned, but it's not the only one. There are also the many major events that our Father has planned for each of our lives. I'm talking about the day in your life when God finally got a hold of your heart and changed it to run to Him instead of away from him. The day that you began to accept His love and truth. The day that He poured His love all over you and you knew that you were His and that He was yours. I hope you know exactly what I am talking about here. Which leads me to why I am writing this blog today.
Last week on Thursday night I got to be a part of a major event in the life of one of the guys in the Dawson St. Jail. He came into the prison about 9 months ago at age 18. He was young and full of life, but all of it misdirected. At first I couldn't really see how he was going to make it in our faith-based dorm. Everyday when I walked in to the dorm they were lining up to tell me what he had done this time to upset the applecart. I just couldn't help it though, after a while I just had such a great love for this youngster that I probably let him stay longer than he should of. Well, as you can tell after the fourth time we had moved him out for a 30 day suspension and back in again he finally was moved over to another part of the prison. But strangely enough he kept showing up over at the Thursday night inmate led church service. I mean we all loved him with our whole hearts, but he was just so wild. Well, God is faithful and even when we can't see it with our eyes we should know that in our hearts the prayers were starting to work on this young man. I thank God that on this last Thursday night when the altar call was made in a room full of worshippers, that this young, wild, handful of a man came down and gave his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. We were all so happy, but truly we should have just been patient in our love for him and waited for the major event planner to finish His work of drawing him to Jesus. I hope we remember this week that you can't rush God's work, but if your praying you can trust that He is working. Be blessed.
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