Blessed Are the Meek

Blessed Are the Meek

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Matthew 5:1,5 (NKJV)
¹  And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
⁵  Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

“Meek” in the above verse is transliterated from the Greek word “praus” which means mild, or humble.  To be meek or humble is not to be weak, passive or timid.  When we know who we are in Jesus Christ, we are more willing to be obedient to Him and less likely to be fearful of the world around us.  We will also be less likely to react in anger, offense, or violence. It is often uncertainty that triggers rage.

Just who are we in Jesus Christ?  We must remember Paul’s admonition, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 (NKJV) If we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, grammatically speaking, we are to think of ourselves highly, just not more highly than God has ordained. 

What does God think of me?  First of all, I am a new creation in Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17).  God says that I am His child. (John 1:12)  I am also His friend.  (John 15:15) I am a joint heir with Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:17) My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19) I am already a citizen of heaven. (Philippians 3:20) I am the Bride of Christ and He calls me His beloved. 

If I am self-deprecating and continue to wallow in the self I was before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I have entered into idolatry and self-worship because I am putting my unregenerated thoughts above the Word of the God Who sent His Son to die on the cross for me.  I am saying that the finished work of the cross was not enough to set me free from the past.  I was once a sinner saved by grace, but now, because of that grace, I am a beloved child of God.

When I know who I am in the heart of God, I have the assurance, authority and privilege to react to the circumstances around me with the heart of Jesus. 

Because I know Who God is and who I am in Him, I know that He is good and His desires for me are good.  I know that He came that I might have life and have it more abundantly. (John10:10b).  Therefore, I know that obedience to Him will bring peace, joy and hope into my life.

God loves the meek and has given them the inheritance of the earth which He has created and established as the realm of those know their Creator, know who they are in Him and surrender willing to His goodness.

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Matthew 5:1-2,4 (NKJV)
¹  And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
²  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

⁴  Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

            To mourn is to be sad or disappointed because someone or something has passed away or has changed significantly. We must be aware of at least two issues in the mourning process.  The first issue is that in order to receive comfort, we must be willing to mourn.  To be stoical in the face of loss is to drive the pain more deeply into our being and actually prevent the healing that can come from the grieving process. When we refuse to grieve, we deny the comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit.  We shut the door to the desire of God to be our Comforter.  One of my favorite songs is “For Those Tears I Died” by Marsha Stevens.  In the song the Lord speaks, “I felt every teardrop when in darkness you cried, and I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.”

            In John 14, just before the crucifixion, Jesus had much to say about the Holy Spirit as our Comforter.   In verse18, He promised, “I will not leave you comfortless.”  Be willing to mourn and, therefore, willing to be comforted.

            The second issue is to remember that mourning is for a season. Solomon wrote:  "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 (NKJV)

David wrote, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”  Psalm 30:5 (NKJVB)

            To be overly mournful is to be lugubrious is to wallow in exaggerated, ludicrous or overly dramatic grief.  To be lugubrious is also to shut the door to the desire of God to be our Comforter and the joy-giver of our lives.

God can use even our grief to enhance His kingdom.  ^“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV) Praise the Lord!  When we accept His comfort. we are then able to comfort others.

            “O, Lord God, I receive Your comfort so that I may be both comforted and a comforter. Amen.”

The Poor in Spirit

The Poor in Spirit

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Matthew 5:1-3 (NKJV)
^“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.”  Paul wrote in Romans 14: 17-1: " for the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men."

The Greek word translated as “Blessed” is “makarios” which means “happy” or “happier”.  We are happier when we follow the word of the Lord.  In John 10:10, Jesus said that He came that we might have life more abundantly.  An understanding of that scripture is foundational to an understanding of the commandments and precepts of the Word of God.  God’s commandments are a handbook to the “good life”, or as the Italians say, “La dolce vita.”  God desires for us to have His best in spite of a world system that desires the opposite.  

God has said that we are happier if we are “poor in spirit.”  What does that mean?  The Message Bible interprets vs. 3 as "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 5:3 MSG). We are poor in spirit when we swallow our pride and realize that our way is never the best way and that God’s way is always the best way.

Adam and Eve chose to do things their way, and all of creation fell.  Abraham and Sarah chose to produce an heir through Hagar rather than waiting on the Lord to bring to them the promised son, the son of the covenant.  As a result, conflict arose between the children of Abraham, and today, the animosity between the descendents of Hagar (the Arabs) and the descendents of Sarah (the Jews) has not abated.

However, when Mary declared herself the handmaiden of the Lord, Jesus Christ was born and redemption manifested.  When Paul, blinded, accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he received his sight and became a champion of the One he had once denounced.  He evinced his depth of joy when he wrote from prison, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.”  (Philippians 4:4.)

One of the saddest television events in my lifetime was the reporting of the death of Elvis Presley.  One network ran a tribute to Elvis featuring a montage of his life.  In the back ground was Elvis’ rendition of “I Did It My Way.”  He did it his way and died at the age of 42.  

Are you doing things the way you have always done them and are still disappointed in the outcome? Have you reached the end of your rope and there is no knot to hold on to? Have you come to the end of yourself?   Are you willing to be poor in spirit so that God can bring the blessings of His Kingdom into your life?  Allow the following to be your prayer:  “Lord, I am so weary of my way.  In humility and with a submissive heart, I desire to live my life Your way.”

When we choose to be poor in spirit, when we choose submission to our Lord, ours is the kingdom of  heaven.  Ours is the righteous, joy and peace of the Holy Spirit.

“Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.”         
---Thomas A. Dorsey

Blessed Are They Who. . .

Blessed Are They Who. . .

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Matthew 5:1-2 (NKJV)
¹  And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
²  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “

In the next few weeks, we will be considering “The Beatitudes”, the heart attitudes that allow the blessings of God to flow through our lives.  To begin, we must first understand how to position ourselves for receiving the Word of the Lord.

Multitudes came to the valley to witness and to receive miracles of deliverance and healing.  Only those who sought the deeper truths of the Lord were willing to climb the mountain, sit at His feet and learn. Hear the words of our Lord, Matthew 11:29 (NKJV)
^“29  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”   The only place where we can learn truth is at the feet of Jesus.

Disciples are learners; learners in Jesus become gentle, humble and restful, no longer struggling with the forces of evil and the deceitfulness of the world system.

Changes in our lives are manifestations of what we have learned.  We can faithfully attend church, memorize scripture and sing in the choir, but if we are not changed, we have not learned.  Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) “¹  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ²  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  Learning brings transformation so that we exhibit the will of God in our lives.

What is God’s perfect will for our lives?  To be conformed to the image of Jesus.  Romans 8:29 (NKJV)  ^“29  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”  Before the foundation of the world, God determined that His people will be like, have the qualities of, the Godhead.

The Beatitudes declare the blessings of being conformed into image of Jesus Christ.  That transformation begins with our minds.  While we can mask all sorts of evil mindsets with outwardly socially acceptable behavior, a renewed mind will be manifested in our conduct.  Remember that God searches the heart.  Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV) “⁹  "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? ¹⁰  I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.” 

Let’s join together the prayer James Orr so beautifully penned in the old hymn, “Search My Heart.”

Search My Heart

By James Orr

1. Search me, O God, and know my heart today,
   Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;
   See if there be some wicked way in me;
   Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.
2. I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
   Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;
   Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;
   Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.
3. Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;
   Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;
   Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;
   I now surrender, Lord, in me abide.
4. O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;
   Send a revival, start the work in me;
   Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;
   For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.