Blessed are the poor in spirit…

The 9 beatitudes  are an introduction to the sermon on the mount.  The sermon then goes into greater detail of living out the beatitudes in everyday life.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of God.  Matt. 5:3

The definition of blessed is, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, enjoying the eternal happiness of heaven. Jesus pronounces this blessing first and foremost,to those who are poor in spirit.

Most people in Jesus’ day were poor, they knew what it was like to have nothing. Jesus himself knew this, but he went a little deeper in his teaching than just saying “those without money or possessions,” he said “poor in spirit.”

Most of us are certainly not poor. We may be broke, but we’re not like Jews in first century Palestine. We have food in our fridge, two things they didn’t have at all. But we have plenty of things, and if we are not careful, “things” can distract, impede or sever our reliance upon God.

I believe this is the key point  to this beatitude, and if we miss it, we will lose the rest of the entire sermon .

Our dependence is to be placed entirely on God, physically and spiritually !

If we don’t, can’t or won’t do this, we’ll simply go about living our lives the way we want  and not the way God intends . Missing the blessing that he wants to give to His children, who love and obey Him.

God is Relational

The Lord God said,” It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for Him.” So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, He took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that He had taken out of man. When He brought her to the man, the man said,” This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called woman, for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.  Gen.2:18,21-23  (NAB)

God is perfectly relational within the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and even though we are created in His image, He has limited our ability to be just like Him to being like Him. It is in this way He has called us to community. Man was incomplete without woman and is acknowledged  as such when, the man states,  bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called woman, for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken. As the end of chapter 2 clearly states, this is why man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two become one body. They need each other. Man needs woman and woman needs man and without this oneness the family, the culture, the world would not exist. Much like God Himself would not exist with one member of the Holy Trinity missing.

This is the beauty and sanctity of the sacrament of marriage! A living witness of the love that exist in the Triune God. God is love. Perfected love within the oneness of community.   We are created separately, to become one. Though we won’t be perfect, it is the witness of two becoming one, the unity it symbolizes, the dependence we have upon one another that reflects His image and His likeness.

Paragraph 357 in The Catechism of The Catholic Church states: “Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer Him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.”

God Rules

And the Lord God commanded the man saying,”Of every tree of the garden, you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”    Gen. 2:16-17 (NASB)

As stated last time, God allows us to rule over creation. Yet we cannot rule over Him, God is the ultimate ruler. Also, as stated last time, we must submit to His rules, His authority or suffer the consequences.

When I was younger, I tended to look at church, with all it’s rules and regulations as “the no fun zone.” I didn’t understand that God’s rules, His commandments, were given to us to keep us safe, to keep us healthy and happy and in total communion with Himself. Just as I tell my children,”Look both ways before crossing the street,”or “Brush your teeth after every meal,” to keep them safe and healthy.

Our hedge of protection is built first with obedience (1 Sam. 15:22). If all we do is “praise” God or “worship” God, but have no “fruit” to show with it, then guess what, it ain’t real! As James would say, that’s a “dead faith”. Obedience to God is not optional, if we are His child. We must not look at sin as the “fun” thing. That’s a very hard thing to do in today’s society, but we must trust God and the rules He’s given us, to keep us from the danger and destruction of sin.

Secondly, our hedge of protection, is built with faith. We can say we have faith all day long but how is that faith manifested? I must act upon God’s promises, believe He is who He says He is, and act like it. It’s a life-style. This is how we co-operate with His grace; we choose to! Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, before the “Fall”; before the inclination to sin was present in them. Once they sinned, their hedge of protection was gone (in the fullest sense). Their protection now was in the form of a restoration process, through obedience. Today it’s still the same.

If I think I can live, do, say, think or act any old way I want to and be a Christian, then I am a fool! As Paul would ask,”Who has bewitched you?” (Gal.3:1). Ever wonder why people won’t go to church with you? Could it be they do not see the power of the gospel, lived out in your life?

So in His image and likeness we know good and evil (Gen. 3:22). Let us choose God in obedience and faith, bringing glory and honor to our Father in heaven and being a light to this dark world.

God Allows

And God blessed them; and God said to them,”Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.  Gen. 1:28 (NASB)

God gave us the command to subdue (conquer) the earth and rule over it. We have that God-given authority. Not a king of the world mentality, but rather a priest of my family mentality.

As the priest did in the Old Testament, and still do today, we need to submit in service to God and take care (rule over) what He has entrusted to us. In our study of the domestic church, we learned how the husband and wife were to submit to God and to each other in leading their family. That’s a prerequisite, submission to God, whether or not you’re a husband, wife or single adult. We must do this and in our obedience He gives us the authority to subdue and rule what He has entrusted to us.

If we are not submissive to God, then we will have the tendency to let our circumstances rule us instead. We will also tend to let others dictate to us our worth, our priorities and even our spirituality. We must remember that God has given this command and we will be blessed by Him if we, in His image and likeness, obey Him. To not rule over our lives in Godly submission is to reject what God has ordained, and that rejection leads to chaos. Just look at today’s culture.

Living in God’s image and likeness isn’t an easy thing to do. We must develop a spiritual discipline to say “Yes” to God, more than we say “Yes” to sin. Like I said, it’s not easy but it can be done, for we have this promise in scripture, ” Greater is He that is in you, than he who is in the world.” 1 Jn. 4:4

Amen.

God Unites

God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them.   Gen 1:27  (NAB)

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (soul). Gen. 2:7 (NASB)

God takes dust, dirt and creates a human (man). Well, didn’t He do the same thing when He created the animals? In chapter 1 verse 24, Then God said,”Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures…” That’s a different description than the one we get in chapter 2:7. Which is God forming, as a potter would, the man. A personal, intimate molding of this special creation, in His image and His likeness, the crown of all His work, to which he found it to be “very good”. We also see that He did not breathe the breath of life into the animals, which means they would have no soul, or inner being.

What is united, I believe, is very important. The physical world is united with the spiritual world. God brought the two together, and we must live out the two in our own experiences. So how do we, in our own experience, unite the material and physical worlds? When we are born from above (Jn. 3:3) and baptized (Tit. 3:5), we are a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). We receive the Holy Spirit of God and He is united with our bodies. Technically, this is something that we can not control, as if controlling God, but it is in the decision we make to choose God’s plan for us that we are allowed this control. Acting in His image and likeness.

Paul also tells us in Romans 12:1 that as we present our bodies to God a living sacrifice, this is our spiritual act of worship. See how the two connect here? Living out our faith in the body, is spiritual worship!

And as I have discovered since my conversion to the Catholic Church, the greatest of this uniting is in the Mass. Where heaven and earth meet in the renewal of the new and everlasting covenant. Where again, the physical and the spiritual meet in the Eucharist, a foretaste of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, when we will be in heaven with Him. Again, these things are not things that we can control, except in our decision to participate.

As we decide to act in His image and likeness, we can unite the spiritual and physical worlds. A pure life, prayer, studying scripture, going to church and receiving the Lord in the Eucharist, all things we can do to achieve this.

In His Image:God Moves

And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.  Gen. 1:2(NASB)

What is the formlessness, darkness and emptiness in your life? The darkness of depression? The emptiness of a lost relationship? The formlessness of your life; what’s it all about? What’s my purpose in life? These are questions that everyone asks in life, at one time or another. Some seek to find the answers, while others settle into their circumstances.

In His image and His likeness, we have the ability to look upon the formlessness, darkness, emptiness and move through it. To not be content with the status quo but moving beyond what is considered by most to be acceptable, and desiring completeness.

There are situations in life that call for contentment (Ph.4:11, Heb.13:5) knowing God will supply our needs but if we are not overcoming, persevering, victorious Christians then something is wrong; and what is laking is not allowing ourselves to act in Gods image and His likeness during our trials and tribulations.

Father, grant to us this day the grace to be more like You and less like us. We ask in Jesus name, amen.

In His Image: God Creates

In an attempt to understand that humanity was made in the image of God, we must have a true image of who God is. And how that image, that is given to us, should be acted upon to reflect that image. In the very first book of the Bible, God starts to reveal to us His image, His likeness, thus handing down to humanity, the blueprint of who they are to be and their responsibilities.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Gen. 1:1  (NASB)

In His image and His likeness, we have creativity. Not that we can take that which never existed and make it exist, like making a tree from thin air, but we can take that tree and make a table or a chair. We can take colors and paint a picture, arrange words to tell a story or write notes to make a song. But He gave us the greatest creative power of all when He gave us the ability to participate with Him in the creation of human life. This participation in creating life is to be done within the bonds of holy matrimony.

Yes, God is the ultimate Creator, but through the blueprint of His image and His likeness, He has passed creating life with Him, down to us (Gen. 5:3).

So the next time you are doing something creative, remember, you are participating in His image, His likeness. So do whatever it is to the very best of your ability and you will be honoring God in the highest way we can: imitating Him.

Amen.

The Traditions Of Men

                                             2 Timothy 3:1-5 

But understand this: there will be terrifying times in the last days. People will be self-centered and lovers of money, proud, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious, callous, implacable, slanderous, licentious, brutal, hating what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, as they make a pretense of religion but deny its power. Reject them.

• 1968-1970, Independent Charismatic Church, Former Denominational Pastors, all around the USA
• 1914, Assemblies of God, Former Evangelical Pastors, Hot Springs, Ar.
• 1908, Church of the Nazarene, Phineas F. Bresee, California
• 1907, Church of God (Pentecostal), Ambrose J. Tomlinson, Cleveland, Tn. 
• 1901, Pentecostal Churches, Charles Parham & John Seymour, Topeka, Ka.
• 1879, Christian Science Church, Mary Baker Eddy, Los Angeles
• 1865, Salvation Army, William Booth, London
• 1830, Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, New York
• 1827, Church of Christ, Thomas & Alexander Campbell, Kentucky.
• 1800, United Brethren Church, Philip Otterbein & Martin Boehm, Maryland
• 1739, Methodist Episcopal Church, John & Charles Wesley, England
• 1600, Congregational Church, Robert Brown, England
• 1600, Baptist Church, John Smyth, England
• 1560, Presbyterian Church, John Knox, Scotland
• 1534, Anglican/Episcopal, Henry VIII, England
• 1524, Lutheran Church, Martin Luther, Germany
• A.D. 33, Catholic Church, Jesus Christ, Jerusalem

Which man started your “tradition”?

 Who do you trust?

Think about it.

More Evangelicals Join Lent Observance

Interesting article here.

In Deed And In Truth

But whoever has this worlds goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him for if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.             I John 3:17-21 

How does the love of God abide in anyone who refuses to help his brother who is in need? The answer is simple…..it doesn’t!

God, who being love Himself, imparts this grace to love as He loves, to His children. For He created all people and we were all created in His image and His likeness. Scripture itself testifies of Him, it is,”…His will that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Pet. 3:9)

Why do we have such a hard time understanding this? Or do we understand it, but not act upon our understanding? We can know truth in our minds and deny it, but, if we know the truth in our hearts, isn’t it harder to deny?

This is what St. Paul described in I Cor. 5:14, as “the love of God that impels us”. God’s love is not a dormant love. It is a call to action. Love impels us to do something!

Years ago, when I fell in love with my wife, I was impelled to do something for her, with the love I felt toward her. To marry her, to commit my life to her and to make her happy. Now, I haven’t always done this perfectly, but nonetheless, it was and continues to be, what love impels me to do for her.

God’s love impels Him to do things as well. His love for us, impelled Him to send His Son to die for our redemption. Love is not just a noun, it’s also a verb!

So this is the point, to love as God loves, I must act upon the needs of the people around me. If I close my heart to those around me, what shall become of me?

Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.    Matt. 25:45-46