Meekness, Not Weakness

Scripture_Matthew 5:5: 

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Greetings: Praise God for this day, and His eternal word which is a lamp unto our feet and truly a light unto our path. Today, I woke up with a song on my heart, "Jesus is the Winner Man!" I can only smile and chuckle because the Lord knows how to lift our hearts into His truth. There are times when it seems that our adversary triumphs for a season, but the end of the story is that Jesus is the Winner Man! and we are on the winning side---not because we win enough battles and have victory, but we trust in the only one who won forevermore when He came to earth as a baby born in a manger, died on a cross for our sins, and was raised from the grave ascending back to the Father...our winner man Jesus Christ!

Meditation:

As we recall, the term Beatitude means happy, fortunate, or blissful.

In this discourse in Matthew 5:5, Jesus  pronounces a blessing upon the meek declaring that they shall inherit the earth. Oftentimes, meekness has a connotation of weakness, timidity, and the like which usually come to mind. In this world, people are praised for their strength, ability to get the job done like a bulldog, even if it means that people along the journey are pushed down, or cast aside, or the weak, elder, defenseless are oppressed. The end justifies the means. 

However, Jesus shows us a more excellent way to live. The real meaning of meekness in the original language means gentle, of a soothing disposition. Meekness has the connotation of having an attitude toward God that He has allowed situations in our lives for a reason and we trust in His sovereignty. 

In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus says:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls.

In the preceding scriptures, Jesus prays to the Father thanking Him for revealing Himself to babes, not the wise and prudent. Then he quotes the scriptures above calling anyone in earshot to come and find rest for your soul. Jesus, the son of God declares himself to be meek and lowly in heart as an example for us to follow. Having all power, all authority in His hand and the ability to exercise it, He chose instead to be yielded to His Father's will. He says elsewhere that He does nothing unless the Father tells Him. 

How do we embrace this attribute of meekness, allow it to become a part of us, and live it out as doers of the word we hear? Definitely not by our might or power, but with the help of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ within us. I can speak from example, the moment I set out to do something like...be humble, for instance, the Lord will bring a wonderful situation to clearly show me just how long my humbleness last. Then a few seconds later I am repenting for having reacted. It is our nature to defend ourselves, stand up for our rights, and not to allow others to take advantage of us. In and of themselves, those qualities don't seem bad, but when we look in the light of the word, the Lord may enlighten and alter our path if we inquire of Him. 

I can give you example after example, but will boil one down. In this case, many years ago, :)) I asked a previous employer to talk and come back to his office just as he was about to walk out the door for the weekend. I needed to understand some bad behavior and the sun was going down, but it wasn't going down on my wrath! I turned on all the lights as I usually closed up his office, and sat down in his easy chair. To conclude, God took this big lemon of a situation I created and turned it into lemonade because he understood the pain in my heart and had seen everything. As this was totally out of character for me, my boss became a diplomat which ticked me all the more. He apologized and then turned the tables and brought to my attention a few things that I wasn't aware of that I do, since we were having this open discussion. A good 2-for-1. We both learned to be more sensitive toward one another and not take one another for granted. We both changed and readjusted with God's help. The evening ended with a big hug and wonderful words that were said from one who was my boss and in a sense like a grandparent.

Do we seek the Lord's direction to respond to life's challenges, or challenges with others? The Lord sees the end from the beginning and knows the intention of the heart. Although that person was wrong, although the boss was unfair, God sees the heart and if we allow, would work something of compassion in our hearts to pray for them to change, not only for our justice, but for their deliverance (and ours too), and for those who come after us. There are also times when He will rouse us to confront matters because He sees another spirit in operation, but we will do so with His heart and spirit if we seek Him first. He will strengthen us, conform us, and bring to light the real  issue to be dealt with or relationship that needs to be healed. He will teach us how to pray.

The bottom line, as I remind myself, is that if we seek the Lord, learn of Him, we will find more rest for our souls than our souls can ever have on our own. He will give us direction, instruction, and greatest of all, His heart on the matter. 

I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5-9...

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

The Lord had plenty of opportunities to retaliate, take revenge, but He kept His eyes forward on the mission He was sent to accomplish which was to walk a sinless life and be the atoning sacrifice for us and redeem us from our destruction. He said on the cross, "Father glorify thy name." Although it seems as though the adversary won for a season, we too can say the same, "Father this looks awful, but glorify thy name in this. If I must go through it, get glory out of it." We know the end of the story. Jesus rose from the grave and ascended to the Father and everyone who trust in Him shall be saved. Jesus is the Winner Man!  Let's pray.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for your love. Thank you for being born in a manger as a baby, a humble baby who could do nothing alone, but be totally dependent. As you were, so are we in this world. We depend upon you. Please draw us to your throne of grace to find mercy and help in our time of need. You are the winner! Heaven is our final destination where we will be with you for all eternity and you will give us strength every day and purpose in the meantime. We rejoice in this season because your Spirit of generosity permeates the world. Cause your light in us to shine amidst the darkness as you did so long ago. May those who are afar off be drawn to you. We ask this in Jesus' name. 

Eternally yours,
Amen.

I pray this has blessed you!

Blessed Mourning

Scripture_Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Greetings: Praise God for this day, for His eternal word which is a lamp unto our feet and truly a light unto our path. Today as we meditate on the second verse in the Beatitudes, I pray that you be blessed. If you find yourself in a momentary place of mourning, rejoice because the Lord is coming to you with comfort that only He can give. He will never leave us or forsake us. As I write to myself, once again, you are privy to this conversation with the Lord as I have found myself poor in spirit at times and mourning. When He reminds us, and we remind one another about who the Lord is to us, who we are to Him, and all the good deeds He has done, we are lifted out of that place of mourning.

Meditation:

As we recall, the term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful.

In this discourse in Matthew 5:4, Jesus  pronounces a blessing upon those who mourn saying happy, fortunate, and blissful are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. I don't know about you, but I am not naturally happy when I am down. I am tempted to think on the wrong things and our adversary surely knows how to send a fiery dart or two to confirm what is over, finished, past, and done. Nonetheless, in God, we will praise His word because He sends arrows of deliverance! We must remember that no matter what the problem is, Jesus knows about it and will glorify His name through it all.

I think of the wisdom the apostle Paul gave us from a place where he could have chosen to write words contrary to what we read. He was imprisoned because of his stand for Christ,  certainly not a lovely place to be, but it was a fruitful place from which we receive words that still encourage us today. At this residence,  he wrote in Philippians verses that show us how he found this rest and contentment, and how we too can rejoice when tempted to given in to discouragement. Paul writes in 4:6:

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 4:7, And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Then he says in verse 8:  

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

What are you thinking about? What thoughts run a marathon through your mind? Do they align with pity, on the side, discouragement, or His name? If not His name, we need to call on praise to trip them up and take them out! Do we talk as though there is no helper? I must admit, I had to listen to myself today and say, "This is not the conversation that aligns with lovely, pure, good reports"  and once again, pull up that shield of faith and hold high the sword of His word. Praise God He pulls us up and out.

However, some may be grieving, especially in this season of year which can be lonely for a multitude of reasons. In these times, I have found comfort in remembering and reflecting on the Christmas story in Luke 1-2. The Lord came  to us as a babe born in a filthy manger, not a palace. He came to the lowliest abode because he knew He would redeem a poor people, a contrite people who have no other hope. He lived to die so we can know Him eternally and he is acquainted with all of the feelings of our infirmities.  If you find yourself down, please surround yourself with others who love God, and stretch out your hand to someone in need. Not only will you partake in sharing the love of Christ Jesus who gave Himself for all mankind, but somehow...those feelings do fade. We comfort others with the comfort the Lord gives to us. Even when we may not feel comforted, reach out. His compassion will flow to you and through you.

God will always put a rainbow in the sky. It ain't over!!! Let's pray.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, you have been good to me. When my heart detours,  please bring to remembrance that you are greater than my heart and ever faithful. My soul waits upon you. From you comes my expectation. Above all that I see, I rejoice because I belong to you and you are mine. As I sang in my youth, He's Got the Whole World In His Hands. Surely, you have my life in the palm of your hands. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning! For this I give you praise! In Jesus' name.

Eternally yours,
Amen.

Do You Want to Be Rich?

Scripture_Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Greetings: Praise God for this day, for His eternal word which is a lamp unto our feet in the corridor of life. Today, I desired to finish part 2 of the previous devotion I Will Make You! But all I kept hearing in the spirit is this phrase...Blessed are the poor. The world in which we live says the opposite...You must be full of knowledge, worldly wisdom, and basically, full of yourself, to make a life for yourself, by yourself. But if we are full of ourselves, how can we have the capacity to receive from God? Selah . . . As I write this to myself and let you in on the conversation, I pray that you be blessed.

Meditation:

First, what is a beatitude? Stacy's definition: The attitude that the Lord wants us to become. Wikipedia gives more insight. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful.

In the scripture, Jesus had called a few disciples, students, close followers, and went about doing good healing multitudes of people suffering from all manner of disease who then  followed Him.  Jesus and His disciples went into a mountain and  the Lord shared a number of teachings, the Beatitudes, with the multitude. They are also referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. 

In the first discourse in Matthew 5:3, Jesus  pronounces a blessing upon the poor in spirit saying happy, fortunate, and blissful are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The KINGDOM of HEAVEN! 

There is just one thing, only those of us who agree that we are poor in spirit can receive this gift. Perhaps if we compare ourselves with one another, we will see that we are not that bad, not too poor. But if we gaze upon the Lord, His word,  what we immediately know for sure in the vision of such holiness is our spiritual poverty.

When we acknowledge that we are a poor people the Lord has drawn into divine relationship with Himself, we can receive the Kingdom of Heaven from the King of glory, Jesus Christ. We are poor, yet rich because we have Jesus. These "Be Atitudes" are impossible to attain to on our own...they are just not natural. Attaining to them is a divine, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.  Can I spare you some heartache trying to do it by yourself? We will review them in the coming weeks together. Let's pray.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for your word. Please grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Thank you for enlightening the eyes of our understanding that we may know what is the hope of our calling and the riches of the glory of the Lord's inheritance in the saints. Help us to be poor in spirit that we may receive the exceeding greatness of your power because we believe, according to the working of your mighty power which was won in Christ when he rose from the dead and was set at the right hand of all power in heavenly places.

Thank you Lord that all things are under your feet. (Ephesians 2:17-22). My financial situation is under your feet. My impoverished thoughts, attitudes are under your feet. I thank you that you delight to answer this prayer for it is your will. In God, I will praise your word. I am poor and needy, yet you think about me. You are my help and my deliverer (Psalm 40:17). Please grant us the kingdom of heaven. We receive it by faith and believe you to manifest the reign of your kingdom in and through our lives on earth as it is in heaven.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Eternally yours.

I Will Make You

Scriptures_Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17

(Matthew): And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

(Mark): Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Meditation: (Part 1)

Are there not enough television shows that promise a fabulous make over? I know at times in my life, I wanted to have a make over because I so wanted to be this or that. Granted, I believe that a new mind needs a new hair do, but the new wardrobe, hair do, new shoes, new car, new job, new city...those things are wonderful additives, but what so many of us really desire is more than the exterior change...we want to be made new! We want to possess a new outlook on ourselves, on life, on the world. Don't you?

When the Lord Jesus spoke the words in the two scriptures above, he was  at the beginning his work on earth which was, essentially, to do good, destroy the works of the evil one, lay his life down to die for us, and be resurrected.

To frame it a little more, Jesus had just overcome great temptation in the wilderness to choose a different pathway for his life. He was fully God and fully man, living on earth and could have chosen to make himself a king with all the earthly glory the title and status affords, exalt himself throughout all the world, but instead, he stayed the pathway leading to the cross where he would be mocked, scorned, beaten, and brutally killed (which was the Father's good plan and agreement all along).

Along this journey, we too can be tempted to pursue the way of the world, the accolades and what society deems as "making it," or settle for less while having an inner knawing of the soul because you know you were created for so much more and the vision is still foggy.

Selah (Let's pause and think about that.)

Alternatively, we can inquire of the Creator of the universe who created us by His divine design and seek what He has in store for us. Any creator, inventor knows exactly what the creation is supposed to do, how it will be achieved, and how to fix it when things are not functioning properly, need replacement or maintenance. How much more is our Heavenly Father, who knows the thoughts he thinks toward us, thoughts of peace to bring us to an expected end, well acquainted with our frame? (Jeremiah 29:11) He knows we are but dust filled with His breath.

God gives us talents, skills, the capacity to become who He desires us to become, but there are blessings we cannot receive until we know Him in His fullness and believe. (I didn't write the last part, it is from a beautiful song.) When we invite Jesus into our hearts, surrender our lives into His hands, and cultivate this new relationship, we can know our Father's heart...by His word.  He will reveal His desire for us, toward us, and make us to become a jewel in His crown. God's words have the power of the Holy Spirit behind them to accomplish what he sends them to do. 

Part two of this meditation will follow.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you for you are so good to me. Thank you for inviting me to know you. I don't want an exterior make over to look different, I want to be made new from the inside out into the person you desired by your design. Please reveal to me day by day who you are and who I am in you and help me to wait on you, for my flight instructions come from my Heavenly controller who is also Master of the universe. 

Publish Post

Thank you Master, Jesus. You are the reason I live and move.

Eternally yours,

Amen.