Monday Morning Memo: Meekness or Weakness?

This week we are going to look at the third beatitude of which Jesus shared with his disciples and many other onlookers on that day on the mountainside.  I’m beginning to wonder how those who were listening reacted as they listened.  Did they begin to squirm a little more with each one that He shared or were they listing in their minds which one of their friends needed to be listening?  I know that if I’m honest, I sometimes listen to a sermon and spend my time thinking, “I sure hope so-and-so is listening to this.  THEY sure need to hear it.”  As a result, I miss out on hearing what the Lord wants to tell ME so that I can look more like Him.

I’m confident that those who were there in person were a little perplexed when they heard this third beatitude, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5) Meek?  I’m supposed to be a wimpy, soft-spoken person and become a doormat, letting everyone run over me?  Thanks Lord…but no thanks!

Once again we discover a beatitude that is contrary to what the world is yelling at us today.  Many would probably say that a meek person finishes last, so we need to make sure that we are always pushing harder and harder to get further and further ahead. We have to make sure that everyone hears everything we say and sees everything we do to get ahead of the person beside us.  But if we take the time to understand that the meekness Jesus is talking about does not mean weakness, we can begin to figure out how this should affect our lives.  

When I think of meekness as it pertains to this beatitude, the words “settled spirit” comes to my mind.  The world can be swirling around us, but our inner spirit is not frazzled because we are putting our complete trust in our Jesus.  We commit everything we are and everything we have over to Him, knowing that He always has our best interest in mind.  Then, we wait patiently (ouch!) for Him to guide and direct us, not fretting or stewing when we are faced with the detours that come our way.

There is a verse, Psalm 37:11, that also refers to meekness. It says, “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundance peace.”  The verses leading up to these words in verse 11, help us see more clearly how we should be living and is where I find my understanding of this beatitude.  Verses 3-11 say,

“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land  and delight themselves in abundant peace.”

Notice that we also see in these verses that if we are meek, we won't become angry or exhibit a spirit of revenge on those who may oppose or criticize us.  We will trust in our Jesus to handle those who may be against us, giving up our right to lash out in retaliation.

Remember that Jesus didn’t stop at saying the meek are blessed; He went on to say they will inherit the earth.  I wonder if He added these words to give His disciples that were listening that day…and His disciples following Him now…hope for our future.  I believe He added these words to give us strength to go on in meekness as we face trials and temptations.  We have our hope in our Jesus and the eternal reward that is waiting for us.  Oh what a day that will be!  Keeping that in mind should be enough to fill our hearts with joy and strength to trust Him to handle every detail in our lives until we see our Jesus face to face! 

Monday Morning Memo: Blessed Mourning

If I had to make a guess…it would be that you don’t like to be sad.  In fact, I’ll even go out on a limb and assume that you probably go to great lengths to avoid feeling forlorn.  Hospitals and funeral homes, more than likely, aren’t your favorite places to go either. I know all of this because believe me, I’m right there with you on every point.

Then why in the world would Jesus say to us in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those whomourn, for they will be comforted”?  Does this mean He wants us to be sad?  Should our goal be to make sure we are really unhappy so that He can bless us?

If we look at this beatitude through the eyes of the world, it doesn’t make sense at all.  As I shared last week, our culture screams at us to live for ourselves and do what makes us feel good, so intentionally mourning just doesn’t add up.  But I think we need to look at what the true meaning is of Jesus’ words.

To mourn means to feel or express grief or sorrow, so I think we need to look at ourselves first as we decipher this beatitude.  I think one aspect of Jesus’ words is that we should mourn over oursins, ourunworthiness and ourinadequacy as it pertains to our Savior.  We should feel grief and sorrow over our iniquities and be willing to ask for His forgiveness.  Before we can become strong in Him, we need to realize that without Him we are weak and in need of Jesus to guide and direct us.  

I think we then need to ask ourselves how long it has been since we have mourned for others who are lost or are hurting.  It is easy to get so wrapped up in our own lives that we don’t pay any attention to those who are around us.   Romans 12:15 tells us that we are supposed to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn”.  Do we do either one of those things?  Do we really rejoice when others are rejoicing, or are we too jealous?  Are we willing to reach out to those who are hurting, or are we just too busy with our own problems to help carry someone else’s burden?

Mourning with others can be exhausting and sometimes unpleasant. It may mean that we have to do some sacrificing to come alongside of those who need comforting.  But, as followers of Christ, we know that He is our ultimate comforter and He promises to do just that in this beatitude.  But there may be those whom He places in our path that don’t know anything about having a relationship with Him.  They may need to see our compassion, our desire to love them unconditionally, so that they can see Christ in us first.  I’m guessing they will be blessed by our actions and I’m sure we will be blessed too.

Hopefully we are beginning to understand that these beatitudes Jesus shared are meant to affect our daily walk with Him.  Of course the one for next week, “Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the earth”,might be one that I want to skip.  The word “meek” has never been a true description of me…so that one may step on my toes!  

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!