Monday SHINE....
Reading Plan for Week of 2/25-3/3:
shaking off the dead weight,
- Monday 2/25: Hebrews 7:15-28
- Tuesday 2/26: Hebrews 8
- Wednesday 2/27: Hebrews 9:1-15
- Thursday 2/28: Hebrews 9:16-28
- Friday 3/1: Hebrews 10:1-18
- Saturday 3/2: Hebrews 10:19-39
- Sunday 3/3: Hebrews 11:1-22
Happy Monday, SHINE girls!
First and foremost, a HUGE birthday wish to my precious Momma!
Without you, this little post could NOT be possible. Thank you for encouraging me to pursue writing & blogging--but mostly to pursue the Lord. You knew my strengths way before I ever did. {as mothers always do!}
I love you and I thank God for you every day. {I'm even okay with my kids loving you a lot little more than they love me. I get it. Completely.}
So, SHINE friends, for the last two months I have felt my heart pressed for us to learn the Beatitudes. Together.
{yes, you read that right}
I keep turning to them over and over in my Bible. It's no coincidence, it's His leading. Who am I to argue?
{yes, you read that right}
I keep turning to them over and over in my Bible. It's no coincidence, it's His leading. Who am I to argue?
Let's follow Him, shall we?
The Beatitudes come from The great Sermon on the Mount that Jesus spoke to His followers and disciples.
You can find the story in Matthew Chapter 5.
You may already know these gems, or you may not.
However, I feel overwhelmingly led to learn them together with you as part of our Memory Mondays.
With that said, here is our Memory Verse for this week:
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| click on picture to share, download, or print :) |
So, what exactly does it mean to be "poor in spirit'?
I'm certainly not even close {as you well know} to being a bible scholar.
However, in this case I believe it refers to the condition of our hearts.
I looked up the Message version of this verse and this is what it says:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Not sure about you, but there are many days that I feel at the end of my rope.
Isn't it so true that when we are at the end of this rope, and on our knees, we cling and clutch to the Lord like never before?
Could this be what it means to be poor in spirit? Not to just cling to Him when we are desperate, but a daily clinging to Him and letting our flesh fall to the wayside?
As I type this, I envision us hanging on tightly to a cliff. God is our cliff. As we are hanging there, our possessions start falling off of us into a deep abyss. Our shoes are falling off, our backpacks, water bottles, all that was on our body is falling down, down, down.
Do we even care that it's falling away in that moment? We are so desperate to stay clutched to that cliff {the Father} that we happily let the baggage hanging from our bodies fall. We know what we need, the rest is dead weight.
In that moment, I believe we become poor in spirit. Emptying of ourselves to get more of Him.
Jesus said this in Luke 14:33: “No one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
I looked up the Message version of this verse and this is what it says:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Not sure about you, but there are many days that I feel at the end of my rope.
Isn't it so true that when we are at the end of this rope, and on our knees, we cling and clutch to the Lord like never before?
Could this be what it means to be poor in spirit? Not to just cling to Him when we are desperate, but a daily clinging to Him and letting our flesh fall to the wayside?
As I type this, I envision us hanging on tightly to a cliff. God is our cliff. As we are hanging there, our possessions start falling off of us into a deep abyss. Our shoes are falling off, our backpacks, water bottles, all that was on our body is falling down, down, down.
Do we even care that it's falling away in that moment? We are so desperate to stay clutched to that cliff {the Father} that we happily let the baggage hanging from our bodies fall. We know what we need, the rest is dead weight.
In that moment, I believe we become poor in spirit. Emptying of ourselves to get more of Him.
Jesus said this in Luke 14:33: “No one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
I think Jesus means that our hearts must be so surrendered to Him that we would do whatever He asks in order to be with Him.
Many times we are willing to surrender things. However, we also tend to hold on tightly to things for fear of losing them. {this hits home in a BIG way with me.}
We can tend to put a value on these things and/or people over our value in Christ. At least until we are on that cliff, fully aware of the Only thing we need.
What are you hanging on to that needs to be surrendered to Him? What are you so fearful of losing that it is keeping you at arms length from the Father?
Remember the cliff? Arms length will do you no good. You need to be fully wrapped around Him in order to be truly surrendered.
Remember the cliff? Arms length will do you no good. You need to be fully wrapped around Him in order to be truly surrendered.
As I am typing this, the Lord is showing me some areas that I have not surrendered. Ouch.
shaking off the dead weight,
jill
