The Beatitudes: an update!

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

'Blessed are the poor in spirit,

    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'"

Matthew 5:1-12

Nearly four weeks ago Erica wrote a post that we would be memorizing the Beatitudes. Seemingly an easy goal, especially since our church is currently teaching through the book of Matthew and we were in the verses that make up the Beatitudes around that time. So basically we would be memorizing them and learning about them every week in church. Memorize the verses? Check.

We started off well, memorizing the first three verses listed above. In the evenings when we were prepping for or cleaning up from dinner we would quiz each other to see if we were actually memorizing them. It was fun to test each other and laugh at the times when we knew what the verses were but couldn’t seem to recite the one little word that made the verse make sense. You know, the “the’s” and words like that. But we nailed it. We memorized the first three verses! 

I’m here to tell you that the first three lines are not bad lines to have in your memory bank. You see, many teachers and Bible commentaries teach that the Beatitudes are a progression, or that they build upon one another. After studying the Beatitudes a couple of different times, that theory makes sense to me. So, its interesting that if we were to memorize just the first three verses, we have at least memorized the foundational message contained within. 

Verse three says:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The “poor in spirit” are those who cry out for God’s help and depend entirely on Him for their needs. What a great place to start right? 

In this season of life we are in there have been times when we really could only rely on God’s help to get us through. To rely only on him for our needs; physical and emotional. As we enter the next many weeks called reviveTX, I can almost guarantee that we will be crying out to the Lord and depending on Him for our needs. 

50 days of anything is tough. 50 days of ministry is tougher. It will be hard on me, it will be hard on Erica, and it will be hard on Nicole. We know that the fruit from reviveTX will be plentiful and long-lasting. But, fruit that lasts is hard work and it will take its toll. The only way we can do it is with God by our side. If we are humble, cry out to Him and rely on Him, he WILL be by our side and we WILL be blessed.

Will you join us in praying for fruit from reviveTX and that our emotional and physical needs will be met by our God?

Thanks,

Shawn