Stay Calm and Be Meek

  

Matthew 5:5  Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
 The next "upside Down" Beatitude is "Blessed are the meek" In today's society we think of meek as those who are wimps, weak, with no backbone. But the upside down reality of this is that Meekness" is actually a strength given by God that helps us handle the everyday problems of life and the big problems that we occasionally face, such as Corona Virus? 
   The "meek" are those who are humble, gentle, caring. It is disciplined strength that comes from God. It means NOT TO PANIC, Stay Calm and Trust the Lord. Know He is in control. It is self controlled, not by all the problems around us, but by the reality of God's Word and the Holy Spirit.
   STAY CALM and KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE LORD!!!
  a.  The "Meek" can stay calm when faced with irritating people who try to get under their skin.
  b. Even when they face the sickness or even death of a loved one - They Stay Calm.
  c. When faced with financial problems they can stay calm because they are trusting the Lord to provide.

Let's be perfectly clear: With all that is going on right now, we ALL have a certain amount of fear and uncertainty. We have no idea of what is really going to happen in the next few months. BUT THE MEEK, have their eyes on the Lord and not on the money or the virus. God is much bigger that any of this. HE HAS A PLAN. As they say, "GOD's GOT THIS!!!

Mourning turned to Blessing

Matthew 5:4    Blessed are those who mourn,  For they shall be comforted.

Bee Attitude #2: Blessed are they that mourn.  
These beatitudes have been called "upside Down" attitudes, especially this verse. Since the word, "Blessed" means happy and filled with inner peace and joy, how then can those who mourn possible be blessed?
The word, mourn is a very strong word which speaks of someone who is in deep sorrow and lament, who is grieving over someone or even something lost. It is not a quiet grieving, but loud wailing. Years ago I heard someone wail like that over losing a son to cancer. I will never, ever forget what that felt like.
There are many reasons to mourn:
1. When you lose a loved one, experiencing loss and heartache. Jesus Wept!!!!
2. Grieving over sin in your life, being sorrow for sin with a broken heart.
3. Grieving over a loved one who does not know the Lord.
4. Weeping with those who weep, feeling their pain and discomfort. You hurt for them and with them.
5. Weep with those who are going through rough waters and hard times.
6. Grieve over things lost: a marriage, a job, money, dignity, time, etc...

   Now the Good News and Promise. "They shall be comforted".                              We can know that Jesus understands and He is ready to comfort us with outstretched arms of love and caring. JESUS CARES!!! He is the only one who can really comfort our hearts and fill us with His peace and joy. He is the One who makes us "BLESSED".

Beattiude #1: Poor in Spirit

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

  So do you want to be REALLY RICH and have so much that you have to share it with others. Jesus had the key to real riches. It is not money, property, possessions, but riches in Christ! It begins by having a "Poor Spirit".
  A "Poor Spirit" doesn't mean to have a bad attitude and be in a bad mood. We have ALL been there! It means to "crouch as a helpless beggar."  It is someone who lives in absolute poverty and totally dependent on his provider. It isn't so much financial poverty, but spiritual poverty, where we are totally dependent on God our provider. It is someone who knows that he cannot handle things by himself and cries out to God for help.  
A humble, POWERLESS spirit. It is admitting that "I Can't, but God can!" The poor spirit has a servants heart, putting others and God before himself. 
Here is an honest evaluation of ourselves with a "poor Spirit".
   1. Admit your strengths and your weaknesses. 
   2. Don't put on a false macho image - The Big ME attitude!
   3. You don't always have to have your own way - "My way or the highway!" attitude.
   4. Admit your need for God and for others to help you.
   5. Don't be concerned about what you have or don't have. Have a Servants heart attitude. It ALL belongs to God anyway!
   6. Be willing to share with others without making a big deal about it! Don't do something nice for someone and then let the whole word know what you did. 

 The BLESSING of a poor spirit: "Theirs is the kingdom of God".
   We have nothing in ourselves, but we have ALL the riches and Blessing of the kingdom of Heaven.  We are POOR in Spirit, but RICH in Christ. We have ALL that we need in Him. He is our all in all. Think of all that we do have if we  know Christ as our Savior: Christ as our Savior, an eternal home in Heaven, Part of the family of God, God's grace and strength, His love for us, etc... 
So you want to be rich - It starts with JESUS!!!!  

Upside Down Attitudes

    

 In Matthew 5 Jesus sits down with His 12 disciples on a mountain side and begins to teach them. Times were hard and difficult. Israel was under Roman Rule. They were hurting financially and were just discouraged and ready to give up. Jesus also knew that these 12 men and many others would go through times of persecution and hardships. Jesus goal was to prepare them for the Real World. He taught them how to have the right ATTITUDE in difficult times. The same is true with us. We need to have the right attitude during these difficult days.
   Each Beatitude begins with the word "Blessed", which means to be "happy and filled with inner joy and peace". It does not depend on outward circumstances, but on our relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the only one that can give us an attitude of peace, bliss and peace - NO MATTER what happened around us.
   These 8 short statements go totally against what everybody else is thinking and promoting. To the Jews these statements were shocking, backwards and upside down. Just plain radical and even offensive.
   What makes YOU Happy or Blessed today?
"If only I had ________ or could do _________, I would be happy. (You fill in the blanks.)
Most people would say if only I had more money, fame, a better job, better looks, a new car or bigger house, etc... 
If you really want to be "RICH" follow these radical, upside down radical Beatitudes. This is where the real "GOLD" is found - only in Jesus Christ. It is better than winning the lottery and the key to a Happy and Blessed life and attitudes.
      Are you ready to take on the UPSIDE DOWN Attitudes of our Lord?
    Take a minute or two and read Matthew 5:1-10 and Be Ready to get started being truly Happy and Blessed.

BEE Attitudes

 Matthew 5:1-2  
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.                             ² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:


Matthew 5 - 7 are known as the "Sermon on the Mount". In Matthew 5:1 Jesus sees the multitude... Usually when He sees the crowds He takes time to share with them, heal their sick and simply teach them from God's Word, the Old Testament Bible.  But this time he ignores the crowd and takes His 12 men and disciples off to a quiet place on the mountain. His goal is not to teach to the crowd, but to to the men He was training to "take over the world", when He was gone.  These 12 men were men that Jesus has hand picked and He spent 3 1/2 years teaching them and preparing them to face the real world.The Sermon on the Mount was designed to teach them how to deal with people, struggles, problems and above how to live in this cruel world of ours.
That is exactly what God wants to do in our life. Take us aside and teach us one on one. Thinks of it "Just Jesus and Me!"
   Notice: #1: "He went up on a mountain". A quiet place Lately most of us have plenty of "quiet time". But are we using it to spend time at Jesus Feet and let Him teach us.
#2: "When He was seated": When teachers in the Bible taught, they did it sitting down. This was a position of personal intimacy. He was on the same level as His students and got their attention much better. They could identify with Him..
#3: "He opened His mouth and taught them..." What a picture of Jesus sitting down with His special men and simply teaching them What He is about to teach them will blow them away. They have never heard these truths explained in the way Jesus did. He showed then things that would change their lives for the rest of their lives.

Love in Action

Matthew 9:36   But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 
  It always amazes me how Jesus reacted to crowds when He was here on earth. There were many times that He had to simply get away from the crowds and be alone with His disciples or just alone with His Heavenly Father. It wasn't that He was trying to avoid them  or ignore them. He simply needed "down time",  or recharging time, just like the rest of us. 
Inevitably when ever he tried to go off by Himself, the crowds would follow Him and throng Him that much more to teach them or to heal their sick. Jesus could have turned them away and said "Get out of here! Leave us alone." But that was not like Jesus. 
   Matthew 9:36 that when Jesus "SAW" the multitudes..."  Saw - not just see with your eyes, but see with your heart and soul. He SAW then out of love and compassion. 
The second part of that says that He was "MOVED WITH COMPASSION..." It is one thing to have compassion for someone and care about them. It is something else to put that compassion into action, to be MOVED with compassion. To back up our love for people by giving of our self and doing something. Put our love in action! 
   So during this "social Distancing" how can we put our love into action. Maybe we can pick up the phone and call someone, write a note to someone on Facebook or email. Pray for them and then tell them that you prayed for them.  Let the Lord lead you this week in how you can put your love into action.

Quiet Please

   Matthew 13:1 is a simple, but very important verse. Jesus had been busy all day, healing people casting out demons, teaching and much more. He was physically and emotionally drained. So what does He do. "Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea..." There were several times that Jesus just needed down time by Himself and His Heavenly Father. He needed to recharge His spiritual batteries.
   Just think, if Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, needed quiet time, how much more do we need it. At least once a week I will take a trip to take a few photos or take a walk in the woods by myself. My goal is to be alone with God for a period of time so I can get my thoughts and heart in right perspective. Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right! as the old song says. None of us can handle all that is going on right now by ourselves. We need that time with the Lord to talk it over and share with Him what is on our mind and heart.