Blessed Are Those...

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Matthew 5:3-10

I have begun a Bible Study called Living Your Life As A Beautiful Offering by Angela Thomas. It is based on the Sermon on the Mount in the Bible more commonly known as The Beatitudes. The Latin word beautido comes from the same root that means beautiful. Honestly, I have always felt like this was an impossible list to live up to. The author hit the nail on the head for me when she called these the when you do’s opposed to the gotta be’s. The freedom of knowing that this is more a cause and effect instead of a list measuring my successes and failures has liberated my heart.

For me the past year has been a year of brokenness, mourning, exhaustion and feeling unfulfilled on so many levels. I am anticipating wonderful spiritual breakthroughs in studying these beautiful promises of what will occur as a result of when we choose a certain way of living. Over the next little while, I will be taking each when we do and celebrate the what we will get!

Please pray for these next weeks of devotionals to work in our hearts and liberate our spiritual barriers. 2011 is going to be spiritually great…blessed are those who study His word!