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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, June 1, 2025
Today's Passage : Today'sPassage:Poor in Spirit BibleVerse: Matthew 5:3 ((ESV) "“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”" Message:
The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-10) is often called “The Beatitudes,” because “beatus” is the Latin word for “blessed,” the word that begins each of these eight short teachings. In them, Christ turns the notion of salvation on its ear; he says exactly the opposite of what most people then believed to be true, and what, deep in our hearts, each of us wonders about. The Jews were expecting a Messiah who would be akin to an earthly king, filled with earthly power and force, mighty and magnificent, and one who would lead them to victory in battle and great earthly rewards. Instead, they got a carpenter who told them a more important truth than earthly magnificence.
The first beatitude starts “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” which is hard to understand. The word “poor” is clear enough, because it means exactly what we think it means: broke, destitute, lacking something almost entirely. The English word “spirit”, however, means a number of different things and doesn’t translate the meaning very well. “Rich in spirit” is something that sounds like a good thing to most Christians, and in some senses, it is.
begging hands small
But in the sense intended here, a person “rich in spirit” does not refer to someone who is extremely spiritual, or places great emphasis on his spiritual life, or who is filled by the Holy Spirit. It refers to a person whose life is filled with his own spirit, a person who is self-satisfied, who thinks he knows everything.
When Christ says that the poor in spirit are blessed, he is talking about someone who is hungry and desperate to be filled with spiritual food. He is talking about someone who is not proud, someone who has true humility in his heart. These two senses of the expression “poor in spirit” are obviously related, since they both refer to someone who is eager to listen and be taught, someone who wants to receive spiritual truth.
It is possible to be rich in some earthly manner and still be poor in spirit. It is not money that corrupts; it is love of money. (It may be difficult to have a lot of money and not love it at least a little, but “all things are possible through God.”) It is impossible, however, to be “rich in spirit” and gain the kingdom of heaven. The first teaching of Christianity, therefore, is this: You must want to listen; you must want to learn; you must have a place that is empty into which the Holy Spirit can find room to live.
Meditation : Prayer : Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. |
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