Tuesday, June 3, 2014

June 4, 2014

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

Are you poor or are you rich?

How do you know?

What determines poverty or wealth?

You are poor if you have more basic needs than you have money.

You are rich when you are able to provide all your basic needs and still have money left over.

So, to further simplify, the rich have more than they need and the poor need more than they have.

By that definition you would think those who are rich are blessed but those who are poor are not blessed.

Right?

In the first of eight beatitudes Jesus makes a curious statement when He says, "Blessed (happy, joy-filled, satisfied) are the poor in spirit"

Wait! Did I hear that correctly? Happy are those who need more than they have? How can that be?

Before I answer those questions, let me ask one more, "How do you go from 
needing more than you have to having more than you need?"

Therein, lies the secret to understanding this first beatitude.

Remember, Jesus is speaking of "spiritual" poverty and essentially what He is saying is, "Blessed are those who understand that (spiritually) they don't have what they need and they need what God has."

It is a blessed day when you understand the depth of your spiritual poverty and the richness of God's grace!

It is a more blessed day when you confess you don't have what you need to be saved and enter into the Kingdom of God!

That was a blessed day in my life when I declared spiritual bankruptcy and opened my spirit to receive His riches through faith in Christ Jesus! When I confessed that I didn't have have what I needed to find joy in my spirit, He gave me more spiritual riches than I ever dreamed I would have!

Have you become aware of just how spiritually destitute you are without Jesus?

Are you aware of how rich in grace and mercy Jesus is?

Are you willing to declare spiritual bankruptcy?

If your answer is, "Yes" to these questions, you can become wealthier than you ever thought possible!