Monday Morning Memo: Being Poor

Imagine that you and I are on the mountainside, sitting at the feet of Jesus.  We are talking, laughing and showing each other pictures of our kids, grandkids, pets etc.  Then, Jesus clears his throat and begins to talk, and immediately, we and everyone else around us grow quiet.  We have no idea what He will share with us, but we have heard enough about this man to know that we need to listen.

The problem is that Jesus’ first words just confuse us.  He begins by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt. 5:3 (NIV).  What in the world does He mean?  Is He telling us to not make any money so we will be poor?

I don’t think Jesus is talking about our finances in this first Beatitude.  He is saying that if we are humble; if we realize that without our Savior we are nothing, we will be blessed.  To be poor in spirit means that on our own, we can’t obtain enough or do enough to earn God’s love.  We can’t live a life that is good enough all on our own because we just don’t have what it takes.

This is a hard truth to accept in our society today.  Our culture is all about “me” and living for ourselves.  The world tells us that we can do anything if we just try hard enough. The sky is the limit if we believe in ourselves and do what makes us happy.  Admitting that we are nothing on our own isn’t a popular way of life today.

Honestly, everyone is poor in spirit.  All of us, whether we admit it or not, are powerless without God and unworthy before God.  Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  But, even though we are all poor in spirit, we won’t all be blessed.  Only those who realize their inadequacies, recognize their sinful nature and are willing to humble themselves before God will be blessed.

There were many people in the Bible who showed us what it looks like to be poor in spirit.  Remember Abraham?  We read in Genesis 18:27, “Then Abraham spoke up again:‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust andashes.’”  John the Baptist said in John 1:27, “He is the one who comes after me, thestraps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” Then in John 3:30 he said, “He mustbecome greater; I must become less.”  These two men realized that they were nothing without God.

So what will we receive if we humble ourselves before God? The first beatitude tells us that we will receive the kingdom of heaven!   I never cease to be amazed at this fact.  The God of the universe wants to spend eternity with me and with you.  That, my friend, is surely being blessed!

Well, we may not have immediately understood what Jesus meant concerning this first beatitude as we listened to Him on the mountainside.  Surely the next one will make sense, right?  Then we hear Him say, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will becomforted.”

Oh my…

Monday Morning Memo: What Affects Our Word?

I shared with you last week that I feel the Lord leading me to spend some time writing on a particular section of scripture.  In preparation for this, I asked you to send me a one-word description of how you are feeling at this point in your life.  Many of you responded and I am so thankful for your participation. 

Some of the same words were sent from multiple people, but I only listed the word once.  The words I received were:

         Overwhelmed                 Confidence            

         Weary                           Lonely                                    

         Loved                            Thankful              

         Seeking                          Preparation

         Faithful                         Inspired                        

         Content                         Unsure

         Broken                           Encouraged   

         Trust                            Trapped

         Blessed                          Pain

         Hopeful                         Hurting

         Bittersweet

We are humans made up with many emotions and I realize that our “word” can change depending on the day and what is happening to us and around us.  Oftentimes, our circumstances can change in an instant, and we can go from feeling hopeful to feeling overwhelmed, from feeling blessed to feeling lonely. 

I’ve been wondering lately why my “word” seems to change even though the God I serve never changes.  If I am supposed to be striving to look more like Him, and if I want others to see Him in me, does that mean that my “word” shouldn’t be based on my emotions?   Should it be based more on my all-powerful God and His abilities and less on my own frailties?  

These questions have taken me to the Beatitudes that are found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.  Here we find Jesus teaching on a mountainside.  Matthew 5:1-2 tells us that he was teaching his disciples, but it seems that there were crowds of others listening in, because at the end of the sermon it says in Matthew 7:28, “When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching.” Many were there that day to glean from Jesus’ wisdom and I can’t imagine what it must have been like to sit at His feet. It makes me wonder how intently I would have listened if I could have been there.  Would I have been too preoccupied with my own problems to grasp what He was saying?  Would I have spent my time thinking His words were meant for someone else and not for me? 

Fortunately, Jesus’ words were written down and we can now make the decision as to whether we will learn from what He shared that day on the mountainside, or whether we will figure the Beatitudes don’t pertain to us.  So next week, I will begin to share with you my findings concerning the first Beatitude and how it might give you and me more insight as to what our walk with Jesus should look like.  I’m looking forward to diving in to these verses with you to see if what we find out affects our “word”.

                                                           The Beatitudes

              “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
                              for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

                                     God blesses those who mourn,
                                                      for they will be comforted.
                                     God blesses those who are humble,
                                                      for they will inherit the whole earth.
                                     God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
                                                      for they will be satisfied.
                                     God blesses those who are merciful,
                                                      for they will be shown mercy.
                                    God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
                                                      for they will see God.
                                    God blesses those who work for peace,
                                                      for they will be called the children of God.
                                    God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
                                                      for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Monday Morning Memo: What's Your Word?

I believe that the Lord is leading me to write on a section of scripture for the next several weeks, but before I do, I need your help!  I would love for you to send me a ONE WORD description of how you are feeling at this point in your life.  Maybe you are happy, sad, content, lonely, confused or any other feeling that you might be experiencing at this time.  Please…NO foul language!

Feel free to email your word to me at luannfulton@gmail.com or you can private message me through Facebook.  I will not be using your name in anything I write nor will I tell anyone else what your word is.  This will just be for my use as I prepare my posts for the coming weeks.

All of us are at different places in our lives and in our walk with our Jesus, but I want you to know that wherever you are…Jesus loves you.  He doesn’t love you less if you are newer on the journey or love you more if you have walked with Him longer.  He loves everyone the same.  Remember, Jesus died for everyone…not just a chosen few. 

It is so important that we love each other the way that Jesus loves.  Unfortunately, that isn’t always easy to do, but that needs to be our goal.  If we can learn to love like He does, we can make a huge impact on eternity.  I know I have a long way to go in this department, so I’m hoping that my studying for the next few weeks will give me more insight on what Jesus wants to change in my life.  Then, hopefully, my sharing what He is teaching me will be of help to you also.

So what is the ONE WORD that describes your feeling in life right now?  Don’t forget to let me know! 

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,

you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness,

humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance

for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.

Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 

Above all, clothe yourselves with love,

which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

Colossians 3:12-14

Monday Morning Memo: Worth the Pain

Several weeks ago, I had the “fun” experience of having my knee aspirated.  If you’ve never had this done, you may just want to add it to your bucket list.  What a great time it was.  I had talked to others who had it done, so I knew a little bit of what to expect…but until you have it done yourself, you really can’t understand the process.

Just in case you aren’t getting my form of satire, to say this procedure was painful is an understatement.  The doctor warned me that it was going to hurt and of course I had a choice.  I could either continue with the pain that the fluid in my knee was causing, or I could go through the pain of the aspiration and hopefully have less pain afterwards.  No one else could do it for me, because I was the one with the problem.  In the end, I decided I would take the immediate pain because I figured I had endured a lot of pain in my life…so this really shouldn’t be too bad.

I can now laugh at my thought pattern that day, but at the time, I wasn’t laughing.  To be honest, it was all I could do not to cry and I have a very high pain tolerance.  But in the end, I have to admit that it was worth the hurt to have some relief afterwards. 

That day brought something to my mind.   How many times in our Christian walk, when we know there is something wrong with our relationship with Jesus, do we do nothing because we don’t want to go through the pain of setting things straight?  We know it is our choice whether we confess our sin to Him because He never forces us to do anything.  So it’s up to you and me to decide whether we are willing to humble ourselves now, knowing that it might be painful to admit our wrongdoing, or put it off for a later time.  The problem is that if we decide to wait, we are more apt to begin to rationalize our sin…thinking that it really isn’t that bad.  The more time that passes, the more used to the sin we become, and we can find ourselves falling farther away from our Jesus.

I think the longer we wait, the easier it often is to blame others for our actions. “If you just knew my mother, you would understand why I acted the way I did.”   “If you worked for the boss I work for, you would think what I did wasn’t so bad.”   "If you knew what my husband/wife was really like, you would understand why I left when I did.”

Rationalizing a sin so that we don’t have to go through pain in the present will just cause more pain in the end.  The sooner we take ownership of our actions and ask for forgiveness, the better off we will be.  No one else can do it for us.  Just like we won’t answer for anyone else’s actions, no one else can answer or be blamed for our sins.  We have to be willing to take responsibility, even if it causes us discomfort.

The amazing thing is that once we confess our sin, Jesus completely forgives us.  We are completely cleansed.  He doesn’t even remember our transgression and never brings it up again.  Hebrews 8:12 says, “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

It is so important for each of us to take inventory of our life to see if we have anything that needs to be confessed.  Are we dragging our feet because we know that it may cause pain in the present?  Holding off will just make things worse and more painful in the days to come.  Each of us needs to repent of our sin today, asking Jesus to completely cleanse us anew.  He is ready and willing.  I have learned from experience that any pain we experience now is so worth it to be made completely clean by Him!

Monday Morning Memo: A Dumb Ox

If you are on Facebook, you know that it often shows you posts you made on the same date in prior years.  I don’t pay attention to all of them, but one of them for yesterday’s date caught my eye.

It was this graphic that I had posted last year of Psalm 73:23-26 and I thought the words were so powerful.  I then read these verses in different translations and when I read them in The Message, they really jumped off the page.  If you aren’t familiar with this Bible version, it is written in more modern, up-to-date language, which often makes it easier to understand.  In this version, I added a few verses and read Psalm 73:21-28.  It says:

“When I was beleaguered and bitter,
    totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox
    in your very presence.
I’m still in your presence,
    but you’ve taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me,
    and then you bless me.

You’re all I want in heaven!
    You’re all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
    God is rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who left you are falling apart!
    Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again.
But I’m in the very presence of God—
    oh, how refreshing it is!
I’ve made Lord God my home.
    God, I’m telling the world what you do!”

Do you know what my first thought was when I read these verses in The Message?  All I could think of was the fact that God loves me…even when I am a dumb ox!  It just blows my mind to think that God sent His Son to die for me even before I asked Him into my heart.  And now, even though I am a Christian, I still have times when I’m sure I look and act like a dumb ox.  There are even times when I can be, just like these verses state, beleaguered and bitter and totally consumed by envy.   But even in those moments, I am still in God’s presence and He is patiently waiting for me to turn back to Him so that He can continue to walk with me every step of the way.

He is all I need here on earth and I can’t wait to spend eternity with Him.  It is so amazing to know that God never changes…even when this chaotic world swirls around me, God is my rock and will never leave me.  He never wavers…never loves me any less…or gives up on me.  And just like these verses state, even when my skin sags and my bones get more brittle, He is always faithful and firmly planted by my side.

Are you feeling all alone today?  Are you feeling like a dumb ox?  If you are, I want you to know that I’ve been there too. I’m so thrilled to be able to share with you that God is still right by your side and He loves you right where you are today.   You and I can go to Him, with all of our faults and failures, and He can make something so beautiful out of our lives.  No matter what you have done, He doesn’t love you any less and He wants to be the rock that you lean on each and every day.  Allow yourself to feel His presence in a new and powerful way because He can’t wait to wisely and tenderly lead you and then bless you!