Blessed Are The Meek

The third beattitude says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."  Jesus is showing us how the kingdom of God operates.  Each beattitude builds on the next.  First we are spiritually helpless, then we go through mourning and repentance, now we enter into meekness.  Meekness is the attitude that brings power under control.  Jesus and Moses are two people who were meek in the Bible.  Both of them were powerful leaders, and yet both were meek.  Moses is described as the meekest man on the earth, Num. 12:3.  The Lord said he knew Moses face to face, not as other prophets.  The closer a person is to God, the more meek they become.  People who are meek do not need to defend themselves.  Moses was criticized by Aaron and Miriam about the Ethiopian wife he had married.  Moses did not defend himself, but the Lord defended Moses.  The meek shall inherit the earth.  This is a quote from Ps. 37:11, "But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."  The are 5 references to inheriting the earth, or the land, in Ps. 37.  The Old Testament promises of the land of Caanan were fulfilled.  So what does Jesus mean in the New Testament when He says the meek shall inherit the earth?  This is understood as a proverbial statement of great blessing, perhaps the sum of all blessings.  Perhaps you've heartd the saying, "He has the world by the tail!"  We understand this is a proverbial statement, and not to be taken literally.  Ps. 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's..."  The earth and all creation belongs to the Lord, and He isn't giving it away.  But He did give man authority to have dominion over the earth.  Then man gave that dominion away to satan.  However Jesus died to take that authority away from satan, and in turn, he gave it to the church, and He gave to us the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  Now we are the ones to exercise authority through meekness.  The meek, those fully submitted to God, will exercise authority, and whatever they say will come to pass!  Jesus used His authority by cursing the fig tree.  Kings use their authority by speaking words, and declaring decrees.  We as children of God, walking in meekness, exercise authority by our words and decrees.  Jesus walked in authority over sickness and disease, demons, weather,  and laws of nature.  Through meekenss, we shall not only do these things, but even greater.  Walk in submission to God, and walk in your inheritance in Christ.

Am I walking in meekness today?

Those Who Mourn

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Matt. 5:4.  At first it may sound like a contradiction that those who mourn will be blessed.  But our walk with God is to be a process of continual change.  God is always in the process of changing us.  At the moment that we recognize that we are not what we should be, there is a place of mourning.  That precise moment is a time that we can change, if we will go through the mourning.  When we say, "God, I recognize I need to change in this area of my life, and I am sorry for the way I have been living,  now please change my heart, and help me to live in the way You want me to," we are being changed into His image.  We mourn, and then we are comforted by His grace and love.  We see that He loves us unconditionally, and He loves us too much to leave us the way we are.  Mourning becomes an essential part of our growth, for can we really change, if we are not sorry about our past?  Mourning gives way to change, and change brings comfort.  Those who mourn their sin will be blessed.  Think of Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector, who was ready to make restitution four fold to anyone he had taken from  wrongfully.  Think of the joy in heaven over one sinner that repents.  At the revelation of Jesus we are changed.  Peter cried out, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord," as Jesus revealed Himself through the net breaking with fish in Luke 5.  In the presence of this miracle, Peter saw his own condition, and mourned his sinfulness.  He was being changed, little by little, to become a great man of God, but his change came through mourning, and then being comforted.  He again mourned when he denied Jesus three times.  He went out and wept bitterly.  But Jesus comforted him, and exalted him because of his humility in mourning.  Judas also mourned, but did not repent.  His sorrow brought death.  Godly sorrow is sorrow that brings repentance, and brings us back to God.  There is always forgiveness available, 1 John 1:9.  There is always mercy available.  "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."  Pro. 28:13.  Goodness and mercy follows those who go through the mourning.  The peaceable fruit of righteousness is for those who endure the chastening.  You will be a blessed person, when you mourn, and you will be comforted.

Are you going through the process of mourning today?  

The Poor In Spirit

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Matt. 5:3  This is the first of the beatitudes Jesus spoke at the beginning of His ministry.  This beatitude is first, because it opens up the whole kingdom of heaven.  Those who are poor in spirit will have access to all that is in the kingdom of heaven, both now, and in the future.  To be blessed is written as follows in the Amplified version:  "Happy, to be envied, spiritually prosperous - with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions."  Jesus gives us the key to living a happy and abundant life, regardless of outward conditions.  We can so easily think to ourselves, that if we just had this thing, or circumstances were different, then we would be happy.  But Jesus is showing us that true happiness does not come from outward conditions, but from the attitude of the heart.  But what does it mean to be poor in spirit?  When Jesus was asked who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, He brought a little child, and said that unless we become as little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  The poor in spirit are as children; trusting, humble, lowly, innocent, and believing.  The poor in spirit do not claim any righteousness of their own.  They are not arrogant or prideful.  They are not like the Pharisee who went to the temple, reminding God of all the good things he had done.  Beside him was the tax collector who prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner."  The poor in spirit do not boast of self, but rely on the mercy of God.  This attitude of dependence on God opens up for them the whole kingdom of God.  They are able to receive help from God in any area of life, because "...God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  Grace is available to the poor in spirit.  Jesus was the perfect example of a person who was poor in spirit.  Phil. 2 tells us that His equality with God was not something that He grasped and held onto.  He did not demand special treatment because of who He was.  Rather, He made Himself a servant, and humbled Himself, even to the death of the cross.  The poor in spirit do not exalt themselves, they let God exalt them.  Jesus was highly exalted, and given a name above every name.  Promotion comes from the Lord.  He exalts those who humble themselves.  The poor in spirit are clothed with humility, submissive to others, and cast their cares upon the Lord.  They give the control of their life to God.  They realize that two people cannot drive at the same time.  They relinquish control of the wheel of their life, and trust the Lord as their new driver.  They believe that God will direct their paths.  When they find themselves back behind the wheel, they ask the Lord to once again come in and take control.  The poor in spirit are happy, regardless of outward conditions, for they have trusted their lives to the One who knows all things, and theirs is the kingdom of God. 

Have you given control of your life to the Lord today?