Monday 2/25/2013 The Beatitudes

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters.  It is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, where it is just 10 more months until Christmas.  What a great weekend, God is good.  Thanks for your prayers for the NASCAR fans injured on Saturday when car parts went into the grandstands.  Please keep praying for them.  Yesterday's race went fine.  Please pray for all those who are to be running this country in Washington, DC.  Dare I say this, if our President would park the jet and stay off the golf course, if those leaders in the Senate and the House would stay at work, maybe they would get something done.  Politicians in Washington, you have got the country in debt, CUT THE SPENDING, stop using scare tactics, and go to work.  There was no need for the live feed last night to the Oscars from the White House, it was a waste of  money.  Mr. President and the rest of you, remember this.  "God hates liars."  Brothers and sisters, and most of all, you up in age, do  not let them scare you, remember this.  We have God on our side, He loves us and will take care of us.  One day at a time, folks, one day at a time.  Remember, God has our backs!  I do believe that the only way we are going to save this country, the one and only way, is to PUT GOD BACK IN CHARGE.  Anyone up to an amen on that one?

Monday and the day we do pray for all of our leaders, plus our military and our veterans, plus our police and firefighters and all those who work to keep us safe and healthy.  Let me get to the message.

The Beatitudes 2/25/2013 Day One.

Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down.  his disciples came to Him 2 and He began to teach them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  (NIV)

Dear Father in Heaven, please open Your word to us this day so that I might understand it better and be better able to teach it to others.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Brothers and sisters, I have been writing messages that the Lord has given me over more than 16 years.  Never before do I remember writing about the Beatitudes, and trust me when I say I really need the Lord (as always) to open them to me.  Maybe I have steered away from them over the years, but God was clear when He sent me this way.

Matthew 5:1 - Now, when He saw the crowds He went up on a mountainside and sat down.  His disciples came to Him.

The sermon on the Mount, and the Bible in Matthew does not tell us where on the mountainside He went, but that surely is not the point here, it is the fact that He went up on that mountainside and began to teach His disciples.  Now I do want all of you to remember who the disciples are today.  You do remember that, right?  Yes, it is us, those who are willing to follow Jesus and listen to H is teachings today and work spreading the good, good news.  As I said, over the years, well,  I guess either I steered away from them or God did not think I could handle them for Him.

Yes, brothers and sisters, God grows us each day as we walk our lives with Him.  He knows full well if He gave it to us all at once, we would be overwhelmed.  I have looked at some of the scriptures over and over again and again and many times He gives me a different message from them.

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

My first thought on this, the first of the Beatitudes, was, how in the world can someone who is poor in spirit be the one who can claim Heaven?  That is what the scripture tells us.  May I point out that the scripture does not say that they do not have the Spirit in them, but they are blessed if they are poor in it.  God is telling me, opening my eyes to this, that we do have a lot of people running around out there who say they are so high on the spirit, so very high on the spirit that it might, just might be bringing out some bragging of sorts.  Notice I say they say they are so high.  Maybe some of them who are well, getting all gathered up in the moment of praising the Lord that they really forget why they are praising Him.

Psalm 1:1 - Blessed is the man who does NOT walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  (NIV)

Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.  (NIV)

Maybe I need to try and understand this as one who goes to church on Sunday, sings and jumps for joy, arms in the air, praising the Lord over and over again, and then, and then on Monday at work is telling all about Jesus and praising Him, but gets caught up in the coffee room gossiping.  Or one who jumps and shouts in the Spirit in church and then goes out to a restaurant after church only to cut into line with a friend who left church early to save their place in line.  In other words, these folks are "putting on the dog" so to speak, and brothers and sisters, GOD KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE.  To be poor in the spirit does not mean in any way that you are weak in the spirit in your love for Jesus.

Matthew 5:4 - "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

I think this Beatitude speaks volumes. j It is telling me it is okay to mourn the loss of a loved one, folks, even a pet.  But for this one I want to back up to when I was a teenager and I lost my mamma.  I can remember standing alone at the graveside, tears flowing down my face, I tried to  hold it back, I even cried at the viewing.  Tough teens don't cry, but, hey, this was my mamma and she was gone.  I stood off to the side, my brother was older and he and my daddy were close, but me, well, I was a "mamma's baby" and I was lost, in fact, the way I felt then, I lost my best friend.  I did not have Jesus ahead of my mamma back then.  Jesus is of course first now.  I had aunts and uncles come and put their arms around me, and they comforted me more and more, but the fact remained, until much later in life, when I came back to Jesus, was the first I really knew what it meant when the Bible tells us that we are Blessed to be able to mourn for we will be comforted.  It means Jesus will take care of it.  Gosh, I love the fact that I came to Jesus!!  I wish I had not ever drifted.  I also like the fact that each day is a new day and a new day in the life of Jesus and m e. j I am trying to learn to take one day at a time, although we do  need to plan ahead for some things.  I love the fact that I have Christian brothers and sisters who give me advice, some when I ask for it and some just because I need it.  They are spot on right.

Brothers and sisters, don't be afraid to mourn the loss of a dear friend, to shed a few tears, don't be afraid to cry if you have a pet pass away, God knows and understands this love, remember He watched His One and Only Son die on the Cross for us.  A death we all need to mourn, and also jump for Joy, because our Jesus is alive.  (More on that coming soon.)

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for hearing our prayers, thanks for Your words and thanks for helping me understand more and more of Your Word each day.  Lord, I might not know all of it, not even nearly all of it, but I do know this, I love You, and I pray others do also, for I want my name in that Lamb's Book of Life.  I love You, Jesus, and I give thanks and pray in Your name.  Amen.

Now go forth, sharing the love of Jesus and His blessings, and remember again as I say I love ya.  Pastor Dan.  It is not just words, I really do.