Blessed Are The Poor in Spirit...

Ok not proud to start this post out this way but I feel I need to share it. We ended our home Bible study before Thanksgiving and we decided to start back up in January. I promised myself I would get a book and continue my study time until we started back up. I could list every excuse on my list, sickness, business, kids being home, holidays and blah blah blah....bottom line I got out of the habit - the discipline - the getting up early to seek God, to dig into His Word, and this is what I feel like....this picture describes it. Empty, dying inside, and an eerie silence.
I was thinking about it the other night and realized how much like an Israelite I was....I have seen God's glory, had that close communion with Him, and because of stupidity on my part I just kind of chose other things over my quiet time. How quickly it happens. James 1:23-25 (New International Version)
23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. ok that was confession time - I didn't give up totally.... I still prayed, taught my class, read books, studied some - but it all seemed like I was on the surface. When I was used to setting a time aside just for God - for Him to work on my heart, my mind and it was deep. That is what I had not been doing. I know it's crazy - Ok here is the exciting part. One of the books I am reading is Max Lucado's - Applause of Heaven and the chapter I was on was "poor in spirit". Oh my I am just going to copy some of the sections that amazed me. He is mainly talking about the rich young ruler you can read of in Matthew 19:16-28. The rich young ruler wants to know what must "I" do to get eternal life? Jesus gets to the point. "If you want to be perfect, then go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." The rich young man was sad and went away - Jesus' answer shell-shocks the listeners, "With man this is impossible...." All our life we are rewarded according to our performance. That's why the rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away. Jesus says, "No way." What you want costs far more than what you can pay. You don't need a system, you need a Savior. For what is impossible with men is possible with God." Don't miss the thrust of this verse: You cannot save yourself. Not through right rituals. Not through right doctrine. Not through the right devotion. Not through the right goose bumps. Jesus' point is crystal clear. It is impossible for human beings to save themselves. You see, it wasn't the money that hindered the rich man; it was the self-sufficiency. Mark it down. God does not save us because of what we've done. Only a puny god could be bought with tithes. Only a great God does for his children what they can't do for themselves. And that is the message of the first beatitude. "Blessed are the poor in spirit" The jewel of joy is given to the impoverished spirits, not the affluent. God's delight is received upon surrender, not awarded upon conquest. The first step to joy is a plea for help, an acknowledgment of moral destitution, and admission of inward paucity. Those who taste God's presence have declared spiritual bankruptcy and are aware of their spiritual crisis. Their cupboards are bare. Their pockets are empty. Their options are gone. They have long since stopped demanding justice; they are pleading for mercy. They don't brag, they beg. They ask God to do for them what they can't do without him. they have seen how holy God is and how sinful they are and have agreed with Jesus' statement, "Salvation is impossible." Oh, the irony of God's delight - born in the parched soil of destitution rather than the fertile ground of achievement. It's a different path, a path we're not accustomed to taking. We don't often declare our impotence. Admission of failure is not usually admission into joy. Complete confession is not commonly followed by total pardon. But then again, God has never been governed by what is common.
The above is from the book "Applause from Heaven" it amazed me how God wanted me to see that "I" can't do anything without Him.... I had to confess, lay it out that I was like a bare cupboard. I loved this picture to imagine I am the plant, God's Word is the soil, and God has me in His hands. Thank you God for forgiveness, meeting me when I cry out, total mercy...Blessing me with a joy, filling my heart, and holding me in your hands!

I pray that you all have a blessed 2010.