Skip to main content

72. Blessed Are the Poor In Spirit


Matthew 5:5, Luke 6:20, Psalm 86
Key Verse: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 
Matthew 5:3

Even though the verse in Luke: "blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” may sound as though Jesus is referring to physical poverty, in contrast to Matthew's more spiritual emphasis, this would not be accurate.  Both verses are meant to be applied in a spiritual sense.  Blessed are you when you have a spirit of humility for in that attitude, you will inherit the Kingdom of God. 

A person who is poor in spirit has given up trying to do life on their own.  They recognize that their way is probably not God's way.  They are willing to surrender to God, for His Will to be done. 

Their prayer of surrender will sound like the Psalmist when he says, "Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.  Guard my life, for I am devoted to You.  You are my God; save your servant who trusts in You.”  (Psalm 86:1-2) We see his humble attitude continue throughout the Psalm when he says, "Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.”  (Ps.  86:11)

It is the humble person who will listen.  It is the humble person who will obey.  It is the humble person who can decrease and let Christ increase as we saw John the Baptist do earlier.  (John 3:30, Day 53).  God loves to work through humble people, such as Moses, (Numbers 12:3).  When we are humble, and not concerned about who gets the credit, God has proved that He can do mighty things.  Those humble ones who give God the glory for any good thing in their lives are those who will live in the Kingdom of Heaven, for they know that it's really about Him. 


Hymn: "Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart"  

An interesting variation

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

142. White Washed Tombstones!

Isaiah 29:9-16 , Matthew 15:1-20 , Mark 7:1-23 , Key Verse: "Nothing outside a man can make him "unclean," by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him "unclean." Mark 7:15 Approximately six hundred years before Jesus, the people of Judah had sinned so badly by ignoring the word of the Lord that God allowed them to be punished by being destroyed by the Babylonians. Jerusalem was completely ruined. Many of the citizens were killed and only a relatively few, referred to as "the remnant," were carried off to live in Babylon for 70 years before being allowed to return and begin again. This event proved to be a real wake up call for the people. The priests and Levites developed an extensive list of rules and regulations by which the people were to live that would outline very clearly how not to break the Ten Commandments again, or any of the whole Law, or "Torah," from Moses in the first five books of the
Post a Comment
Read more

Spiritual Warfare

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18 Listen Link:  http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw There’s a war on! And it’s not overseas. I am not talking about the war on terrorism. I am talking about the war in which your heart is the battle ground. It is a war between spiritual forces of good and evil. The victory is ours in Christ. The battle belongs to the Lord. But we are called to play our part. That is why Paul instructs believers like you and me to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”  The life of discipleship gives us no time to relax and live our lives ignoring the spiritual battle. We are ordered to fight. It’s not a pleasant metaphor these days. But Paul had no qualms about telling Christians to be good soldiers, prepared for battle. Even when we do take a Sabbath and rest in the Lord, it is only so that we made ready for the next battle. But this kind of battle won’t wear us out if we are strong in the lord. In fact, we will rejoice! This is not a gr
Post a Comment
Read more

Advent Devotionals day 3 The Problem of Evil

Post a Comment
Read more