Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:3 (KJV)
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? Here is one definition:

1. Poor in Spirit: A deep recognition of ones total depravity and emptiness without God. This person totally recognizes how unworthy they are of Gods Grace.

This picture reminds me that God is present even when we feel lonely and despondent.

Hmmm ... I just looked up "despondent" in the dictionary and it says:

"In low spirits from loss of hope or courage."

So when we are not feeling "on top of the world" we can be assured that the kingdom of heaven is ours. Thanks be to God.

No Greater Love

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

LOVE does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people's wrongs. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up. Love never ends.

Laminin -"... and in Him all things hold togeether"

I just learned about laminin, "the cell adhesion molecule", and is so exciting I just had to share about it. Laminin is a molecule in our bodies that has a very important function. It is like glue in that holds everything together. Take at look at this video of Louie Giglio talking about laminin -



This is so amazing. You can look it up in an encyclopedia - it is a fact.

Show Me a Sign

Everyone is outside working in their yards - mowing their lawn, planting flowers, putting their gardens in. What a beautiful spring day! Perhaps the Garden of Eden isn't so far away in space and time. The warmth of the sun and fresh air feels like a kiss and a hug from our Creator Father God to me!

Passover

This is the week of Passover. It was a Passover meal that Jesus and his apostles were eating in the Upper Room at The Last Supper. This meal is also known as a "seder meal". Yesterday the Monday Group held a Seder Meal in lieu of our usual Bible Study. Those attending were Deb, Arlene, Ev, Adana, Lois, Berniece, Marge, Donna, and Betty. It was a wonderful experience, and we were blessed by the love of God as we learned about traditions which began 3000 years ago.

Take me to higher ground

"I'd love for you to meet my pigmy goats, Mark and Luke." says author Donna Partow. "A lot of people think they are just dumb stubborn animals. Well, come to think of it, I guess they are. They aren't particularly useful either. I can't milk them (they're both males as you may have guessed by their names.) I wouldn't dream of slaughtering them for their meat. They can't bark if a prowler shows up on the premises. They eat everything in sight...especially my husband's prize rosebushes. My husband cannot for the life of him figure out what I see in these goats. He says they are useless, and when I think about it rationally I must admit he's right.

But I don't care. I love them to pieces anyway. I call them my babies, and I enjoy spending time with them. My favorite time of the day is our morning climb. Each day I hope against hope that this is the day we can climb without resistance, without delays and detours. Those days are rare indeed.

You see, the house next door is under construction. And like most construction sites, it's an eternal mess. Styrofoam coffee cups, fast food restaurant wrappings, wood scraps, nails. You get the picture. For some inexplicable reason my goats find this trash heap irresistibly appealing. They'd rather wallow in the mess than follow me to higher ground.

Sometimes all I have to do is coax them back on to the path. Sometimes I bribe them with their favorite honey-and-grain mix. Some days I actually pick them up. Then there are those days when I have to take a tree limb and do some serious persuasion.

As you can imagine, the workmen think I'm a lunatic. I'm sure they wonder, Why on earth does she bother with those dumb animals? Why doesn't she just leave them alone and let them enjoy the trash heap? Good questions.

It's because I know something the workmen don't know. I know that despite all their protests, once I take my goats to the mountain-top they remember: This is what they were created to do. And when we get to the top of that mountain, as I sit on my prayer rock overlooking the valley, the goats are filled with joy. They leap from rock to rock, then come snuggling up to me, as if to say, How can we thank you enough for reminding us who we really are?

One day as I sat on my rock thinking, I realized, I'm just like those goats! God wants to take me to higher ground. But I resist him. Even though I know the joy and tranquility I experience when I climb the mountain to fellowship with God, how many days do I ignore his call? How often do I prefer the trash heap to the mountaintop?

I guess I'm just as dumb as those goats. Often I'm just as useless. Yet God loves me and longs to fellowship with me, just as he longs to fellowship with you. God is calling us to higher ground. Will we resist? Or will we follow willingly?"

(This is from the book Living in Absolute Freedom by Donna Partow.)