Happy are... the Poor in Spirit

Thought for the Day

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

What? Being poor will make me happy? Not necessarily; the Lord is not saying here that there is happiness in physical poverty. As a matter of fact, I grew up pretty poor and would not say that it brought a whole lot of happiness to me. The arena of poverty to which the Lord is speaking is in the spirit. Poverty is defined as a deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients to adequately sustain life. Jesus is telling us that it is only when we recognize the complete and utter deficiency of our heart apart from God's grace that we can truly experience the kingdom of God. 

One person put it this way, "When we realize that Jesus is all we have, we discover that He is all we truly need." I think John the Baptist gave us the mission statement for being poor in spirit when he said of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Right there lies the secret to the blessedness of being poor in spirit; it is only when we see that the answers and resources necessary for a blessed life are not in us, that we discover the true riches of God's wisdom and grace in Christ. Jesus said in John 15:5, "Without me you can do nothing." This is poorness in spirit - the recognition of Jesus as my all in all! 

Application

Do you see yourself as nothing without Christ? If not, the happiness and peace of mind that you seek will continue to allude you until you take the burden off yourself that was never designed for you to carry, that of sustaining your own spirit. That is a Creator sized burden and we must relinquish it to His good hand.

If you are uncertain of your relationship with God check out the link "How to Know God" at www.fbc301.org.

Happy Are...

Thought for the Day
Matthew 5:1-3

(1)  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:   (2)  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,   (3)  Blessed are ...

Happiness is a commodity that is desired by all, but obtained by seemingly few. Today we have our views on what will bring happiness, and herein lies the problem in our hearts- God has a version of happiness and we have our own version of happiness and they are at odds with each other. Our own pursuit of happiness often leads to frustration and turmoil because we seek it on our own terms rather than our Lord's.  

In the beatitudes Jesus lays out for all the true definition and path of happiness. The word blessed that Jesus used has the idea of inner happiness that comes from a self-emptying, God seeking, and others serving course of life. It can be found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Application

We must come to the end of ourselves and yield to the all-wise plan of our God today to truly experience the life altering happiness that can come from Christ alone.

If you are uncertain of your relationship with God check out the link "How to Know God" at www.fbc301.org.