Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule." Matthew 5:2 The Message
Today, Pastor Mary talked about the first of the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." She illustrated how this works with the story of the unclean woman in Matthew 9 who had been bleeding for 12 years. She touched the edge of Jesus' cloak and was healed because of her faith. She was at the end of her rope, realized that she could not be made better on her own, and put her faith in Jesus. We realize we are most blessed when we are in the time of greatest need or when we realize our need and we know we can't save ourselves on our own.
Things to think about:
Read the account of this story in the book of Luke and Mark. How are they the same? How are they different?
How is God working in your life today? How can you reach out - or let yourself be reached?
We can't do it ourselves - we need our Savior!
Labels: Sermon on the Mount
Simplicity
Today, Pastors Henry & Amy talked about the spiritual discipline of simplicity and what it means to practice this. We read Matthew 6:25-34:
25. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
28. "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31. So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32. For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Christian simplicity is more than just living with less. We need to learn to live without worry which distracts our minds from God. Simplicity starts with our hearts where we put our possessions in their proper perspective. Richard Foster in his book on Christian disciplines suggests 3 ways to put our possessions in perspective:
1. Trust God to care for the things He has given you.
2. Receive what you have as a gift from God.
3. Allow the things you own to be available to others.
Outward simplicity starts on the inside. Where is your heart focused today?Labels: journey
Solitude
Today at MCC, we talked about solitude which is the spiritual practice of voluntarily and temporarily withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes. Pastor Henry read Psalm 62 where the psalmist is waiting quietly before God and finding his rock, salvation and fortress in God alone. Jesus also gave us the example of solitude and silence by retreating to spend time alone with His Father. Here are some reasons why solitude is good for us to periodically engage in:
1. To develop a better, deeper relationship with God,
2. To see things in a spiritual perspective,
3. To hear the voice of God,
4. To express faith in God.
You can intentionally set aside time for solitude and read a Bible passage to meditate on or you can view opportunities when you have to wait for something as a time to focus on what God is doing.
When was the last time you spent in solitude with God?
Labels: journey
Service and the Spirit
Today Pastor Amy read
Acts 2 where the Holy Spirit came down to live in the hearts of the disciples and all those who believed. We learned that the meaning of "spirit" is breath or wind and it stands for the most basic thing we need to live. The Holy Spirit fills the church with what it needs to live. It reveals wrong(sin) and right(righteousness).
If the Holy Spirit is involved in our service, it should look different. We'll do it with a Christ-like attitude.
What does your service attitude look like?
Labels: growth, journey
Meditating
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.
2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Today Pastor Jason read Psalm 1 and talked about meditiation which is an invitation to apprehend God. When we medititate on His word, we are opened up to the mind of God, His world and His presence in the world. God's word enters us and changes us. In verse 3, the person who meditates on His word is compared to a tree planted by streams of water. God turns us into the people He wants us to be when we love His word.
What passages we meditated on affected you today? What caused them to affect you in that way?
Labels: growth, journey
Fasting to Remember
Pastor Henry read
Deuteronomy 8 today where the people of Israel are standing on the banks of the Jordan waiting to cross over into the Promised Land. Moses is telling them to remember the Lord and His provision for their lives as they enter the Promised Land. He knew of the danger that a land with many good things would bring - pride, amnesia and stupidity - forgetting that all good things are from God.
The cure for this is in verse 3 - fasting. This is refraining from food or other things for spiritual purposes, or letting go of our appetite to seek God on matters of deep concern for others, ourselves and the world. In
Matt. 6:16-18 Jesus warns us of one the the dangers of fasting - that is, making it about ourselves instead of about God.
From what is God calling you to fast? Think about what is consuming your life and feast on God instead.
Labels: growth
Your View of Prayer
Today, Pastor Jason read
Luke 11:1-13 when Jesus taught his disciples about prayer. The view we have of prayer forms who we are as disciples of Jesus. It's possible we think of prayer sometimes as wishful thinking or serious desparation or manipulation. But Jesus is teaching them how to pray so that their prayer becomes true worship - so that the asking in prayer is done for the purpose of God's glory. He may not give you the things you ask for but He does give the Holy Spirit. God answers our prayers for His glory.
What are your ideas about prayer?
Labels: Prayer
