According to Webster’s Dictionary, "mourn" means: ‘ To feel sorrow, grieve.’ Jesus words were: "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted". The principle of this beatitude is brokenness. A broken person will be open to God’s will.
What does a ‘mourner’ need? He needs to be comforted. In II Corinthians 1:3,4 we read that God is the Father of Comfort. Verse 4 from the Amplified Version reads: "Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
When we desire to become more spiritual, brokenness is the key to a deeper work and understanding of God. He uses this as a means of taking us deeper into our need for Him, it teaches, and purifies and brings us into a deeper relationship with Him.
We may see such breakings in a Christian that will lead to bitterness, but if we desire to be more spiritual, God will turn the trials into blessings. He is seeking to help us learn to depend on Him, see our need for God, and bless us in doing this.
My Prayer: Oh Lord, I desire to have the mind of Christ. If it takes brokenness for me to learn this, then I accept it as a means of teaching me new insights and new blessings from Your Hand. You are my Comfort and my Joy. Amen
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Poor in Spirit
I think just about everyone has heard of the Sermon on the Mount…even the non-believer. This sermon, found in Matthew 5, is begun with 8 blessings called beatitudes. These beatitudes are actually principles for us to follow in learning how to please God.
For the next few weeks I plan to look at one of the beatitudes each week and see how it can be applied to each of us. The first four are related to each other in that they show our dependence on God and our need for God. The last 4 Beatitudes are related to each other by showing us as ‘giving’ to others.
The first Beatitude in Matthew 5:3 is "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Amplified Version gives it this way: "Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life—joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!" The poverty spoken of here is spiritual. Without God we are totally helpless.
Until one realizes he or she is poor in spirit, one can not repent; but to repent is to be poor in spirit. It is then that one realizes redemption depends on God alone.
Even after we have repented and received salvation, we are poor, in that we still have a tendency to sin. We have to realize that even as a believer we can do nothing unless we depend on God. If we want to live a spiritual life and a righteous life, we must realize how helpless we are on our own, and depend completely on the Lord.
Being ‘poor in spirit’ is our first step in helping us become a spiritual being. When we are poor in spirit, things of the spirit will become more important to us than the material world.
The poor in spirit know they need God.
My Prayer: Dear Lord, You say the ‘poor in spirit’ is blessed as he is the one who is humble before You. He is the one who realizes that he is nothing in himself, and yet in You he has everything. Here is my heart, Lord. I bow humbly before You; I know that without You I can do nothing. I offer You my worship and my praise. Amen
For the next few weeks I plan to look at one of the beatitudes each week and see how it can be applied to each of us. The first four are related to each other in that they show our dependence on God and our need for God. The last 4 Beatitudes are related to each other by showing us as ‘giving’ to others.
The first Beatitude in Matthew 5:3 is "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Amplified Version gives it this way: "Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life—joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!" The poverty spoken of here is spiritual. Without God we are totally helpless.
Until one realizes he or she is poor in spirit, one can not repent; but to repent is to be poor in spirit. It is then that one realizes redemption depends on God alone.
Even after we have repented and received salvation, we are poor, in that we still have a tendency to sin. We have to realize that even as a believer we can do nothing unless we depend on God. If we want to live a spiritual life and a righteous life, we must realize how helpless we are on our own, and depend completely on the Lord.
Being ‘poor in spirit’ is our first step in helping us become a spiritual being. When we are poor in spirit, things of the spirit will become more important to us than the material world.
The poor in spirit know they need God.
My Prayer: Dear Lord, You say the ‘poor in spirit’ is blessed as he is the one who is humble before You. He is the one who realizes that he is nothing in himself, and yet in You he has everything. Here is my heart, Lord. I bow humbly before You; I know that without You I can do nothing. I offer You my worship and my praise. Amen
Monday, August 16, 2010
Inspiration From the Psalms
So many Psalms have spoken to God’s children’s hearts down through the ages. The Children of Israel sang them; they were sung by the early Church in the First Century AD. We don’t know the tunes from those long ago days, but many have put them into song in recent years, or been inspired to create new verse from some of them.
My mother was blessed with the ability to write both words inspired by the Psalms, and some she put to music, either the Psalm as written in the Bible, or her own inspired words from the Psalm. The following is one she wrote from Psalm 121:1 & 2 entitled
"I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes":
"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills,"
The mighty ageless mountains.
The towering rocks,
The wooded hills,
The streamlets tumbling down the rills;
The rushing falls,
The lakes serene,
The mighty peaks that I have seen.
"I will flee as a bird to the hills,"
My anguished heart once said.
In them find joy
Where troubles cease,
Amongst the hills there’s surely peace.
But lo, there was no peace of mind,
No ease from sorrow could I find.
Then a question clear I heard,
"From whence shall my help come?"
From towering rocks?
From wooded hills?
From streamlets rushing down the rills?
I pondered long,
And dark my way—
Till God revealed Himself one day.
Yea, my help cometh from the LORD,
The ONE who made the mountains.
His Mighty Word,
His loving Hand
Did make these hills on which I stand.
In HIM alone I now can see
Is perfect peace and VICTORY.
-- By Marjorie S. Paton
My mother was blessed with the ability to write both words inspired by the Psalms, and some she put to music, either the Psalm as written in the Bible, or her own inspired words from the Psalm. The following is one she wrote from Psalm 121:1 & 2 entitled
"I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes":
"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills,"
The mighty ageless mountains.
The towering rocks,
The wooded hills,
The streamlets tumbling down the rills;
The rushing falls,
The lakes serene,
The mighty peaks that I have seen.
"I will flee as a bird to the hills,"
My anguished heart once said.
In them find joy
Where troubles cease,
Amongst the hills there’s surely peace.
But lo, there was no peace of mind,
No ease from sorrow could I find.
Then a question clear I heard,
"From whence shall my help come?"
From towering rocks?
From wooded hills?
From streamlets rushing down the rills?
I pondered long,
And dark my way—
Till God revealed Himself one day.
Yea, my help cometh from the LORD,
The ONE who made the mountains.
His Mighty Word,
His loving Hand
Did make these hills on which I stand.
In HIM alone I now can see
Is perfect peace and VICTORY.
-- By Marjorie S. Paton
Monday, August 9, 2010
Praise to God
Why should we praise God?
Psalm 63:3 answers this question: "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise you." In II Samuel 22:4 is says "I call on the Lord, who is Worthy to be praised…" In Psalm 48:1 "Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised…" Psalm 65:1 states it like it is: "…praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion…" From these verses we read that He is great, He is Worthy, He is an awesome God and it is His due.
By Praising God we will keep our focus on the Him; Praise is a way of helping us to obey God’s commands. You cannot refuse His commands, and praise Him at the same time. It just doesn’t work.
How are we to Praise God?
The answer to this question is found in Psalm 138:1 "I will praise thee with my whole heart…." Psalm 34:1 says that His Praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 63:3 states that we will praise Him with our lips. Psalm 103:33 states that we should ‘sing’ praises to God. We who are children of God should praise Him with our whole heart; we should praise him continually with our lips and with singing.
When should we praise God?
In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us to be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, as this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We should praise Him in the midst of trials, and it will help us to see our trials as friends (James 1:2-4). Psalm 72:15 and 119:164 both say that we should praise Him "all day long." Psalm 63: 4 states the "I will bless You while I live, I will lift up my hands in your name." In Psalm 84:4 we find that "they will be singing Your praises all the day". Psalm 113:3 says that we should praise Him "from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised." We never stop praising the Lord!
My Prayer: O Lord, I praise You that You are in control of my life. I praise You whatever befalls me. I accept and trust Your working in my life. I will praise You in everything and continually, for this is my "Sacrifice of Prayer." Amen
Psalm 63:3 answers this question: "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise you." In II Samuel 22:4 is says "I call on the Lord, who is Worthy to be praised…" In Psalm 48:1 "Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised…" Psalm 65:1 states it like it is: "…praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion…" From these verses we read that He is great, He is Worthy, He is an awesome God and it is His due.
By Praising God we will keep our focus on the Him; Praise is a way of helping us to obey God’s commands. You cannot refuse His commands, and praise Him at the same time. It just doesn’t work.
How are we to Praise God?
The answer to this question is found in Psalm 138:1 "I will praise thee with my whole heart…." Psalm 34:1 says that His Praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 63:3 states that we will praise Him with our lips. Psalm 103:33 states that we should ‘sing’ praises to God. We who are children of God should praise Him with our whole heart; we should praise him continually with our lips and with singing.
When should we praise God?
In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us to be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, as this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We should praise Him in the midst of trials, and it will help us to see our trials as friends (James 1:2-4). Psalm 72:15 and 119:164 both say that we should praise Him "all day long." Psalm 63: 4 states the "I will bless You while I live, I will lift up my hands in your name." In Psalm 84:4 we find that "they will be singing Your praises all the day". Psalm 113:3 says that we should praise Him "from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised." We never stop praising the Lord!
My Prayer: O Lord, I praise You that You are in control of my life. I praise You whatever befalls me. I accept and trust Your working in my life. I will praise You in everything and continually, for this is my "Sacrifice of Prayer." Amen
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Word of God
Besides being my Prayer Partner (as last week’s blog pointed out), the Holy Spirit is also the ‘Spirit of the Word’. It is the Holy Spirit who will cause the Word to become a joy to our hearts and help us to understand it. In order to have a healthy spiritual life one must take in the Word of God as well as prayer, each and every day.
Jesus loved the Word and treasured it in His heart. He used it for victory over Satan when in the wilderness. He had a habit of going to the synagogue every Sabbath and reading from the Scripture, see Luke 4:16. When He was but a youth He sat among the teachers, both hearing them and asking questions of them. Luke 2:47 states that all that heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. He even quoted from the Word while on the Cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (See Psalm 22:1)
In Isaiah 55:10-11 we read: "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." We must feed upon God’s Word to give us strength and life, each and every day.
My Prayer: Your Word, Lord, gives light to my path, so I need to use it every day. When I am in doubt, I go to Your Word; when I need comfort, I go to Your Word. When I want to hear You speak to me, I go to Your Word. But still my heart longs, yea yearns, to actually sit at Your feet and hear the timbre of Your voice, the ‘love-words’ you will speak to me. It will be like the oil on the head, to run down over my garments, speaking peace and love to my soul. Your "mouth is full of sweetness" (Song of Solomon 5:16) Your Word is like a refreshing spring rain. Amen
Jesus loved the Word and treasured it in His heart. He used it for victory over Satan when in the wilderness. He had a habit of going to the synagogue every Sabbath and reading from the Scripture, see Luke 4:16. When He was but a youth He sat among the teachers, both hearing them and asking questions of them. Luke 2:47 states that all that heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. He even quoted from the Word while on the Cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (See Psalm 22:1)
In Isaiah 55:10-11 we read: "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." We must feed upon God’s Word to give us strength and life, each and every day.
My Prayer: Your Word, Lord, gives light to my path, so I need to use it every day. When I am in doubt, I go to Your Word; when I need comfort, I go to Your Word. When I want to hear You speak to me, I go to Your Word. But still my heart longs, yea yearns, to actually sit at Your feet and hear the timbre of Your voice, the ‘love-words’ you will speak to me. It will be like the oil on the head, to run down over my garments, speaking peace and love to my soul. Your "mouth is full of sweetness" (Song of Solomon 5:16) Your Word is like a refreshing spring rain. Amen
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