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

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 background 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 righteousness, 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

 Resurrection

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Jesus, beautiful Redeemer,

You who bore the agony of Calvary,

Pierced by the thorns,

Scourged,

Wounded,

Forsaken,

Reviled.

Your passion paid sin’s price.

Your death opened the veil.

Your tomb is the key to freedom

From death and the grave.

Your resurrection sealed our covenant

with the Father.

Your return is the culmination of creation,

The restoration of Eden,

The doorway to eternity.

You are the way, the truth and the life.

 Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread 

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

    Passover is also called The Feast of  Unleavened Bread and commemorates the finished work of the cross. 

In the Bible, leavening (yeast) symbolizes sin. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven day memorial of not only the Israelites being taken from the bondage of Egyptian slavery, but also, the journey of Christians as we have been set free from the bondage of sin and grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. 

This is a time to meditate on some promises of God that will empower us to walk away from doubt, unbelief and fear and into a restful relationship with our Lord.  

Consider the following scriptures.

 Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)  “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

John 14:1-3 (NKJV) "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV) "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)  "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV) "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

James 1:5-6 (NKJV) "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Our prayer:  Oh, Lord, may the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight  (Psalm 19:14).

Bless the Lord, oh my soul.  And let all that is within in me bless His holy name (Psalm 103:1).

“Baruch HaShem Hamashiach Yeshua.  Barach HaShem Adonai.”

“Blessing in the name of Jesus the Messiah.  Blessing in the name of the Lord.”