Daily Devotional for Monday, February 15, 2010 Have you missed any of our devotionals? Remember they can be found in the Archive section of our Website
http://www.gospelines.com Powerful verses from the Sermon on the Mount will be the focus for Dr. Tommy Harrison for the next month. If you have favorite verses from Matthew 5 - 7 which you would like to see included in this series, please send a note to [email protected] . "Paradise Now" "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3 (NIV) "To be poor in spirit is to recognize that all we have is God's gift: our very existence, our families, our health, our talents, our situations in life. And Christ goes even further - even our successes." - Holy Cross Family Ministry The Pharisees of Jesus' day believed that poverty was a sign of God's disfavor. In stark contrast, the Sermon begins with a bold contradiction to this Jewish doctrine. "Blessed are the poor in spirit" speaks about those who have learned to depend totally on Jesus. Another way to explain it is that a Christian is at his best when he learns to live in "spiritual poverty." Whether as a rich man or a beggar man by the world's standards, we are filled with abundance through Jesus Christ when we are able to say, "I can only do it through Christ." At that point you are no longer trapped by humanistic self-reliance, but you are now free to explore in minute detail a life that is totally dependent upon God. The poor in spirit are blessed because we have no inner resources to change things; we must put our whole trust in God! The Greek word for blessed, makarios, describes the gods; for Christians it means we possess a divine and godlike joy. To better understand this word, the Isle of Cyprus was called makaria, which means "The Happy Island," a place so lovely, rich and fertile that a man never had to leave the coastline to find the perfectly happy life. The climate was perfect, there were flowers, trees, minerals and natural resources which provided a place for perfect happiness. It was a self-contained paradise of perfect bliss. Like the Island of Cyprus, Christian happiness is perfect in every way, untouched by human circumstances; it is completely independent of the world around us. Human happiness, on the other hand, is totally dependent on life's changes; it can be given or taken away by those things and people which surround you, both good and bad. The Sermon continues: "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In the Lord's Prayer He says, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." So we know that Jesus came to be the King of the kingdom which exists both here and in eternity. When we acknowledge our own helplessness, our own poverty of spirit, we become a part of this kingdom on this imperfect earth NOW, just as we will be a part of it in a perfect heaven at a later time! The kingdom of heaven is NOW.and later. We experience the joy of the kingdom of heaven NOW. and later. And we will know that reward when we acknowledge that Jesus is the source of all our strength. NOW! GospeLines Prayer: Father, if Thomas Moore is right, "Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal," then hasten the day when all my hurts will be made whole; but if YOU are right, and I believe so, enrich my life by your kingdom blessings NOW, and I will stay here as long as you give me breath to speak Your Name to the people. Amen and amen. O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] Twitter URL www.twitter.com/OAddisonGethers -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en.
