"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

Matthew 5:5

I think this verse gets misinterpreted a lot.  So many people have the wrong idea about what the word meek means.  According to Mirriam-Webster, meek means “deficient in spirit or courage: submissive; not violent or strong.”  We understand that Jesus is often called “meek and mild,” but Jesus was not weak, and He most definitely was not deficient in spirit (although, if we go back to the first beatitude, we could say that He was poor in spirit and rich in the Spirit, but I don’t think that context applies here; in the first beatitude, ‘spirit’ refers to self-sufficiency, which is contrary to being dependent on the Holy Spirit; but in the dictionary definition of meek, ‘spirit’ refers more to hope and joy).  Jesus was strong in the Spirit—and He still is—and He was bold in proclaiming the gospel of salvation and the coming of the kingdom of God, even to the point of causing violent division between Christians and their persecutors.  So if Jesus was meek, then we must find another definition for the word that fits who Jesus was (and is).

Now, this first definition of meek is actually the second definition in the dictionary.  The first is this: enduring injury with patience and without resentment: mild.”  That sounds a lot more like the Jesus we know, doesn’t it?  But I think there’s even more to it than that.  It might just be me, but when I hear “enduring injury,” I get the impression that whoever is enduring injury has the ability to decide to not endure injury.  In other words, the meek person has the power to put an end to his own suffering, but he chooses not to for some reason, whether it be to protect others from harm or to encourage them in their present suffering or simply to show his love for someone.  I believe the true, biblical definition of meek is the complete opposite of Mirriam-Webster’s second definition: a meek person is one who possesses great power, given to him by the Spirit, yet refuses to use it for his own benefit in favor of the rewards that will come with the fulfillment of a larger purpose.  A truly meek person is one who sees the big picture, God’s perfect plan, and submits to His will even when it calls for personal suffering.  And when the Lord does call him to suffer, the meek man will “endure injury with patience and without resentment.”  He will not grow angry with God for causing him to go through trials, and he will be patient with his persecutors and show Christ-like love to them.

Now look at the blessing Jesus gives the meek: “for they will inherit the earth.”  This is interesting to me: a man with great power can conquer the world and take it for himself; but a meek man, one who has great power but refuses to use it to benefit himself at others’ expense, will inherit the world and be given it by God.  And the gift of God is far more valuable than our own wages, because “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

We have been given great power by the Lord.  According to 2 Timothy 1:7, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”  In the famous words of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  We have been given the Spirit not just for our own benefit, but also so that we can benefit others.  So let’s use the power He has given us appropriately. Our job is not to arrive in heaven; it’s to make sure it’s crowded when we get there.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

Matthew 5:4

It's been a while since I've posted anything, and I've been feeling like I need to get back into writing/typing again, so here's another installment from my notes on the Beatitudes (which I should have finished a long time ago).

In this verse Jesus speaks about "those who mourn."  I want to start by defining the word "mourn."  According to Dictionary.com, to mourn is to feel or express sorrow or grief over misfortune, loss, or anything regretted; to deplore or lament; or to regret deeply or strongly.

Now, what exactly are we mourning?  A close relative's death?  Well, while the second part of this verse, "for they will be comforted," seems to imply that "those who mourn" are mourning someone's death, I believe the blessing is intended for those who mourn about something different.  Let's take the Dictionary.com definitions piece by piece.  The words "deplore" and "lament" essentially mean "express sorrow or grief," as in the first definition.  So when we mourn we express sorrow or grief.  About what?  "Misfortune, loss, or anything regretted."  Well, James tells us to "consider it pure joy" (James 1:2) whenever we are faced with misfortune, and when it comes to God's will, there really is no such thing as misfortune because everything is intended to bring glory to God.  What I really want to focus on is the part of the definition that mentions loss and regret.  What do you regret?  Why do you regret something?  We regret bad decisions because they result in bad consequences, right?  I'm sure we can all agree that sinning is a bad decision.  Why?  Because it separates us from God.  It is harmful to us and dishonoring to Him—He has designed us for far greater things than the pleasures of this world.  To submit to the desires of this world is to stoop to a lower level than we were made for, to settle for less than we, as God's children, deserve.  That's insulting to the Lord!  He doesn't make anyone who only deserves the things of this world and nothing more.  Sin causes us to be separated from God, the worst loss anyone could ever experience.  So we mourn our sin—we regret sinning—because it has removed us from the presence of the Lord.  We mourn because of our spiritual death.  But thanks to Christ, we have been raised to spiritual life!  We no longer mourn our spiritual death, but we still mourn our sins because they continue to create a barrier between us and our heavenly Father, preventing us from coming into the close relationship He desires.

But our own personal sin isn't all we mourn.  We also mourn for the lost and for their sin that continues to blind them, preventing them from acknowledging God and turning to Him.  We mourn for those who will never accept Christ.  We lament for the depravity of the people of this world, praying for a move of God that would bring a revival.

Now let's go on to the blessing.  Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  How exactly will those who mourn for sin be comforted?  How can comfort be brought to those who mourn for the lost?  The Lord comforts us with the cross of Christ!  Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, and He rose from the grave as a sign that we who were once dead in our sins are now alive in Christ for all eternity!  Jesus conquered the grave, and the power of sin and death has been extinguished.  We are no longer defined by our deadness in sin, but by the life of Christ.  Because Jesus is alive, we too are alive!  What a great comfort that is!  And when we mourn for the lost, God comforts us by sending His Spirit upon them to save them.  And in turn, He comforts them with the knowledge that they are now alive; and when they mourn for the sins of others, He comforts them by saving those they mourn for; and it becomes a never-ending cycle (until Jesus returns, of course).

So let the sobering thought of our sin lead us to mourn every act that prevents us from drawing nearer to the Lord, and let's mourn for the lost, pleading with God to save them.  Let's mourn with the hope and assurance that we will be comforted!

In Spirit and in Truth

I've always wondered what Jesus meant when He said that true worshipers would worship in spirit and in truth.

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." ~ John 4:23-24

Yes, He meant, at least in part, that we would no longer worship in any particular place, as we see in verse 21 (we still do at church, but we are not required to worship only at church); but I've always felt that there was something more to this statement.  What is it about spirit and truth that makes a person's worship authentic and meaningful?

As I was trying to fall asleep last night (at 2am, no less), God started throwing all these random revelations at me.  I didn't get to sleep until almost 5 because of all the thoughts God was giving me.  It was a little frustrating because 1) it was late, and I didn't really want to write everything down, but I didn't want to forget, so I ended up writing down all my thoughts, and 2) there were so many thoughts, and so many of them were so vague, that it would be impossible for me to describe all of them, let alone remember them.  So many of revelations God gave me—all the different things in the world that point to God's existence and the fact that He made everything to work according to His will—were just vague pictures that I couldn't think of the words to describe.  It's like when you're trying to describe a person to someone, and you can picture the person clearly in your mind, but you can't come up with the words to put that picture into the mind of the person you're talking to.  The thoughts, the images, would only make sense in my own mind.

But anyway, around 2:30 or 3 in the morning, God decided to answer the question, "What does it mean to worship in spirit and truth?"  And actually, He's still answering it for me right now.  But I'll give last night's answer first.

When we worship in spirit, we worship because we want to.  If you look back at verse 24, Jesus says, "God is spirit."  Why does that matter in this context?  Well, let's change the word spirit to love, because we all know the Bible says that God is love (1 John 4:16).  So now verse 24 reads, "God is love, and His worshipers must worship in love and in truth."  So we worship God because we love Him, and worship Him by showing our love for Him; in fact, our worship is the display of our love for Him.  But now I'm talking in circles: Worship is our display of love, and our display of love is worship.  In other words, every act that shows your love for God is an act of worship, whether it be selfless giving or being joyful in trials or comforting the broken; and when you worship God through prayer, through song, through thanksgiving, through a cheerful heart, through showing love for His creations, you are showing both God and the world that you love Him.  Worship is love, and love is worship.  (From that perspective, you can judge your own worship by saying that if you are not worshiping in love, then you are not worshiping at all.  Just something to check in your own heart.)

Now, what does it mean to worship in truth?  Well, just as worshiping in spirit means that we worship because we want to, worshiping in truth means that we worship because God deserves our worship.  God truly is worthy of all praise.  Or, to put that another way, truthfully God is worthy of all praise.  So we worship God in truth, declaring what is true about Him and praising Him for it; we worship in truth because what is true about Him makes Him worship of all praise.  And I'm talking in circles again: We praise God for what is true about Him, because what is true about Him makes Him worthy of praise...  Like I said earlier, I'm basically trying to describe the face of God with mere words that can never portray an image in the same way that I see it.  So I'm sorry if all of this is confusing.
 
If none of that made sense to you, really all you need to take away from this is that we worship God because we want to and because He deserves it.

If you've read my post about the sevenfold Spirit, then you know that my understanding is that the seven spirits are the spirits of Righteousness, Peace, Truth, Love, Wisdom, Power, and Life, which together make up the single Holy Spirit.  So let's take those spirits and apply them to worship.

We worship in (the Spirit of) Righteousness.  As we are sanctified in Christ, and as we live out our calling to be righteous as our heavenly Father is righteous, our worship comes before the throne of God as pleasing incense.

We worship in Peace.  As the Newsboys say in their song Strong Tower, "When the winds come hard against us, You are steadfast, You are true.  When the ground beneath us trembles, Your Foundation never moves!" and "When the enemy surrounds us, closing in as darkness falls, though his armies rage against us, they can never scale these walls!"  Or as King David puts it, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging" (Psalm 46:1-3).  Even when everything seems to be falling apart, even when it seems like the whole world is against us, when we remain steadfast in the peace given to us through Christ, our trust in the Lord pleases Him as acceptable worship.  And when others around us see our peace in hard times, it draw them to worship God as well, whether they realize it or not.  And with peace also comes patience, the willingness to make peace with our enemies, even when it's the most difficult thing to do.

We worship in Truth.  As I said before, we worship God because He deserves it, but also because that's what we were made to do.  We were made to worship something or someone, whether it's God or something of this world.  We have to make a daily decision, a moment-by-moment decision to worship God, because He is the only One worthy of praise.

We worship in Love.  Again, as stated before, we worship because we love God—because we want to.  This is how the thought process for the new details began: As I thought of God being spirit and God being love, the words spirit and love fell into place as the Spirit of Love, which brought to mind the rest of the qualities of the Holy Spirit.

We worship in Wisdom.  We worship God because we know that, if we delight in Him, He will delight in us.  Psalm 111:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding.  To Him belongs eternal praise."  Even here, wisdom and the worship of God are interconnected.  As we worship the Lord, we will gain wisdom, and as we grow in wisdom, we will worship God even more because of the new knowledge we have of Him.  We worship Him because there is no better thing for us, His creations and His children, to do.

We worship in Power.  Three verses come to mind: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Luke 10:19, and Matthew 5:5.  "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong"; "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you";  "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."  The last verse seems to contradictory to power, but it really isn't.  Thanks to the study on the Beatitudes that I went to several weeks ago (the notes for which I still have to finish typing...), I have come to understand meekness as the possession of power but the refusal to use it to elevate oneself, but rather to be humble and lift others up.  So while meekness may seem to be a lack of power, it's really a possession of power and the refusal to use it for one's own benefit.  So we worship in power in this way: by denying any power in and of ourselves and, instead, claiming Christ's power to brake the chains of sin, and by glorifying God by using the power given us to lift up the lowly, among other humble uses of that power.

And, of course, we worship in Life.  We worship with our everyday actions.  We worship with our joy, our livelihood, and our eager willingness to do even the most menial tasks.  As we worship in the other six gifts of the Spirit, and as our daily lives show that worship, our mere existence becomes an act of worship because we habitual bring glory to God, and also because people praise God when they see us joyfully living for Him.

So let's not worship God in the temple we call church or on the mountains we call self-righteousness and self-sufficiency—the lie that we can please God in and of ourselves—but let us worship and live for Him in spirit and in truth, by the power of the Holy Spirit alone.

What is "the sevenfold Spirit of God"?

"From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.  Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing.  These are the seven spirits [sevenfold Spirit] of God." ~ Revelation 4:5

A few weeks ago I was reading Revelation when I came across this verse.  It confused me because I always hear about the Trinity, but I never hear about the seven spirits of God.  It was weird because it sounded like something that people could easily misinterpret in order to make Christianity seem polytheistic.  But after some studying, I've come to a new understanding of this verse and of the sevenfold Spirit of God.

I started by going through the Bible and listing a few things that mentioned the number seven:

• seven days - six days of creation and the seventh holy day of rest (Genesis 1:1-2:3)
• seven seals (Revelation 6, 8)
• seven trumpets (Revelation 8-9, 11:15-19)
• seven bowls of God's wrath (Revelation 16)
• Sabbath year (Leviticus 25)
• forgive seventy-seven/seven times seventy times (Matthew 18:21)
• seven angels of the seven churches (Revelation 2-3)
• The number seven is a symbol of perfection.  The sevenfold Spirit shows that God's Holy Spirit is perfect, above all else.
• the seven heads of the beast out of the sea (Revelation 13:1)

When I got to this last verse, a thought occurred to me.

The devil's number is 666, while 777 is considered lucky or holy and is associated with God in biblical times.  Satan always comes second in his battle with God, so each digit of his number must not be higher than or equal to God's number; 666 is the highest number below 777 that does not contain 7, 8, or 9.  For this same reason, the beast out of the sea has seven heads, setting himself up as God, but one head must be eliminated because God will not allow His glory or His name to be taken by another.  But Satan will restore the seventh head so that it seems that he really is God.

After getting back on track, God started to reveal some things to me about the purpose of the sevenfold Spirit.  When I first started thinking about the question of the seven spirits, my first thought was that each spirit represented a particular characteristic of God.  So when I came across Revelation 5:6, things started falling into place with that assumption.

"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.  He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."

This led me back to Revelation 2-3 because it seems that seven angels had been assigned to the seven churches.  In other words, it appeared that the angels had been "sent out into all the earth."  But it wasn't until a friend mentioned Hebrews that the answers started becoming clear.

Bear with me.  My thought process through this whole journey was really scattered.  When I went to Hebrews, I remembered the verse that talked about the "spirit of sonship."  Somehow that made me think of 2 Timothy 1:7 ("For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline"), and from there, I started thinking of different instances where the Bible mentions a spirit of something, and then I expanded to other verses describing certain emotions or attributes that come from God.  For example, 1 Corinthians 13:13: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."

Finally, after throwing around different qualities of the Spirit of God, I narrowed the list down to these seven, which seem to match up with the seven churches in Revelation 2-3:

1. To the Church in Ephesus: The Spirit of Righteousness

The Church in Ephesus pursued righteousness to the point of intolerance of anything less.  However, in their pursuit of absolute righteousness, they lost sight of their own unrighteousness and their need for a Savior.  They lacked humility, which comes from the Spirits of Truth and Love—the Spirit of Truth reminds us of our utter depravity compared to the Lord's utter perfection and holiness, and the Spirit of Love leads us to lift others above ourselves; thus the combination of the two results in perfect humility.  It is only through Christ's righteousness that we can be truly righteous, and the Ephesians lost sight of this fact.  So God called the Ephesian Church to humility to return to perfect righteousness.

2. To the Church in Smyrna: The Spirit of Peace

While the Church in Smyrna faces persecution, the Lord comforts them and gives them peace in knowing that He still cares for them and is in control of everything.  In Revelation 2:9 Jesus says, "I know... your poverty—yet you are rich!"  Just like Job, even when they are struck with poverty, they remain the richest people in the world because they claim the blessings of God their Father.  He assures them that there is no reason to be afraid, and just like the Israelites in Exodus 4:31, the Church at Smyrna takes comfort in that the Lord acknowledges their suffering and in His promise of relief and a better day that is to come.

3. To the Church in Pergamum: The Spirit of Truth

Despite persecution, the Church in Pergamum continued to hold fast to the Truth of Jesus Christ.  When lies surrounded them, the Church valued the Truth above all else.  Unfortunately, Satan had managed to deceive them with some of his lies, convincing them that he was telling the truth.  So here Christ calls them out to reject the enemy's lies and return to His Truth, the only Truth.
Another interpretation may suggest that, even though the Church in Pergamum knew the Truth and accepted the enemy's lies as contrary to the Truth, their pursuit of the knowledge of the Truth did not necessarily lead them to act according to the Truth.  In other words, as King Solomon proved, the pursuit of wisdom does not inherently equal the pursuit of righteousness.  Just because you know the Lord's commands does not mean you will automatically obey them, and this was the downfall of the Church in Pergamum.  So Jesus called them to repentance and to add to their pursuit of Truth, the pursuit of righteousness.

4. To the Church in Thyatira: The Spirit of Love

To the Church in Thyatira was given the Spirit of Love, but in their ever increasing desire for love, they lost sight of what true Love is.  They allowed the world's definition of love to overtake God's definition, and they forgot that true Love calls for discipline and gentle correction.  Like the Church in Pergamum, the Church in Thyatire allowed the world to lead them away from the path of righteousness.  While they continued to show God's love, worldly lust had crept in as an addition to their definition of love.  And instead of hating the sin and loving the person, they loved the person and condoned the sin, even to the point of allowing the sin to take a hold on their own lives.  So the Lord called the Church to repentance and to a remembrance of true Godly Love that rebukes sin as a father disciplines a child.
It seems that we in America have fallen in the same way as the Church in Thyatira.  We have become apathetic toward the eternal consequences of sin, and we overlook each other's sins in the name of love.  Yes, we are to accept each other and love each other despite our faults, but we are not to overlook our sins and leave them unconfronted.  We are to encourage each other and lead each other in the pat of righteousness as the Spirit of God directs us.

5. To the Church in Sardis: The Spirit of Wisdom

In Sardis, poor choices were being made, even among the Church.  And even though the Church's poor choices seemed to make them prosper, they were still killing themselves.  So God gave them the Spirit of Wisdom.  Although their earthly wisdom made them prosper, earthly wisdom is nothing in comparison with Godly Wisdom.  Only a chosen few had received the Spirit of true Wisdom, and they would find their place in heaven.  So the Lord called the whole Church to return to the knowledge of true Wisdom that would save them, rather than earthly wisdom that only brings temporary prosperity.

6. To the Church in Philadelphia: The Spirit of Power

In this case power is better interpreted as persistence because even when the Church had little strength, they continued to remain steadfastly devoted to the Lord.  But the Spirit of Power does not only consist of perseverance.  The Church in Philadelphia also demonstrates boldness in standing firm in their beliefs despite the false teachings forced on them by the members of the "synagogue of Satan."  Even with their little strength, the Church was able to stand strong by the Spirit of Power.

7. To the Church in Laodicea: The Spirit of Life

The Church in Laodicea is different from all the others in that they have yet to discover and receive the Spirit of Life that has been given to them.  They are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold; they are lifeless.  The vivacity of Life is not in them, and they remain spiritually dead.  The Spirit of Life, of passion for Christ, has already been given them, but we see in Jesus' statement in Revelation 3:20 ("Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me") that, although the gift has been given, it has yet to be received.  Only those who open the door to Him, who receive the Spirit of Life, will enter in through the gates of heaven and receive eternal life.

These seven spirits together are the requirements to enter heaven, and it is by the Holy Spirit alone that we receive these gifts.  That's why they are called the sevenfold Spirit.

By looking at the seven Churches, we can see the strengths and weaknesses of today's Church.  In Ephesus we see our perceived self-righteousness and our need for a Savior, yet we also see the Church's desire to pursue righteousness in all forms.  From Smyrna we learn the peace of the martyrs and of the poor and broken, just as we learn the martyr's strength and perseverance from Philadelphia.  Pergamum shows us the willingness of modern-day Christians to twist the truth in order to fit their desires, and also their desire to chase the things of this world despite their knowledge of the Truth.  But it also shows the Church's unshakable grasp on the Truth among those within the Church who do not conform to the ways of the world.  Thyatira, as previously mentioned, shows us the typical American religion of living one's own life without judging others and allowing others to stumble and grope in the dark until they learn for themselves, but it also shows the love that God shared with us and that we are to share with our neighbors.  Sardis demonstrates the wisdom of the world and of the Spirit and shows us the difference, so that we can see that only God's wisdom is supreme and can save us.  And finally, Laodicea, sadly, seems to be America's model Church, leading so many Christians to be lukewarm and to think that they are true Christians when they really aren't.  Like Jesus said to the Church in Sardis, He now calls to us, "You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up!" (Revelation 3:1).  But we can take hope in knowing that the Spirit will draw us to fullness in Christ, and that we will receive the blessings the Lord promised to all those who overcome.

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Sorry if this was a little confusing.  I just copied my personal notes from my notebook without paying much attention to what I was typing.  If I need to do a better job explaining, let me know.

Also, by no means is this the only explanation of the sevenfold Spirit of God.  This is just what God revealed to me.  I hope this helped someone in some way.  If not... well, it was an interesting, thought-provoking journey, so I enjoyed it.  And it gave me a better understanding of who God is and what He wants for me, so that's what counts, right?

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 5:3

Well, I meant to type up these notes weeks ago, but that didn't work out too well.  So, finally, here's the first installment in my notes on the Beatitudes.

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"Blessed are the poor in spirit..."  Who are the poor in spirit?  A lot of times when I read this verse, I automatically think of people in poverty.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's just because of the word "poor."  But that's not right.  The verse says "poor in spirit," not just "poor."  The poor aren't the ones who will inherit the kingdom of heaven, although often the poor are also poor in spirit; so indirectly, poverty leads a person to inherit the kingdom of heaven.  But what does "poor in spirit" mean?

As we studied this verse in our Bible study group several weeks ago, a thought came to mind.  I had read something just a few days earlier about a certain passage that makes a clear distinction between the words spirit and Spirit.  The spirit of a person, is just that: the person's spirit, his soul, which he strives to keep pure as he goes through life.  The Spirit, on the other hand, is God's Holy Spirit, the Spirit that resides inside us and works in us to purify us, to make our spirit more like His Spirit.  It's important to notice, then, that Jesus refers to the human spirit in this verse, not the Holy Spirit.  "Blessed are the poor in spirit," not the poor in Spirit.

So with this new understanding of the word spirit, we can look deeper into this verse.  There are two main points that I've found in the phrase "poor in spirit."  The first is this: that the poor in spirit realize the brokenness of mankind, our utter depravity and our need for a Savior.  The poor in spirit realize that they have turned away from God, and that apart from Him they can do nothing; apart from Him, there is no good thing in a man.  They realize how lowly they are, so they turn to God and beg His forgiveness, seeking the sanctification and righteousness that come from His Spirit alone.  They acknowledge the truth that it is only by the blood of Jesus Christ that we can be saved; nothing we do ourselves can earn us entrance into heaven.  So the poor in spirit seek the riches of the Holy Spirit.

And the second comes from that last statement: the poor in spirit are rich in the Spirit.  While a man's will remains, there is no room for God's will to take hold in his life.  God must have the man's entire life, or else He will not have it at all.  So the poor in spirit empties himself of his own human spirit so that he can be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Like Chris Sligh's sings, the poor in spirit say, "Empty me of me so I can be filled with You."  The man dies to himself so that he can live for Christ (Galatians 2:20)—rather, so that Christ can live through him.

So who are the ones who inherit the kingdom of heaven?  Who are the poor in spirit?  Those who acknowledge their depravity and confess their sins, those who abandon themselves and their pride in favor of the Spirit of the Lord, and those who live not for themselves, but for Christ and through Christ.

“We live by faith, not by sight.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7

In marching band/drum corps, a lot of what goes on has to do with trust.  You play your part and march your part of the drill and hope that everyone else does their part well.

Today it suddenly struck me that marching band is a good example of what it means to be a Christian.  I had never really thought about it until I went to my high school’s special exhibition for the parents at the end of band camp tonight.  It rained while they were supposed to do their show, so we went into the gym instead, and the band just stood still and played through the music.  Well, just as they were getting ready to play the fight song, lightning struck.  The drum line played the roll off: Dut dah crash!  Dut dah crash!  Drrrrr dut dah crash!  And suddenly the lights were out, right as the band began playing.  Now, this is a high school marching band.  Lowerclassmen make up the majority of the band.  The expectation in this situation—attempting to play the fight song in a pitch black gymnasium—is for the whole band to freak out, minus a few calm people.  Well, to everyone’s amazement, the whole band continued playing.  The band has only had the music for the fight song since Tuesday.  Of course, some of the upperclassmen had it memorized because they played the same part last year, but a lot of people had never seen their part before Tuesday.  Yet, they had enough of it memorized, and they were confident enough that they were able to continue playing along with the drum line keeping the tempo, even though they couldn’t see the drum major.

So it hit me as I was driving home that that situation is just another one of God’s ways of showing that He has everything planned out perfectly, and that everything works according to His will.  Just as the band continued to play, doing their own part to the beat of the drums, trusting that everyone else would do the same, we also live by faith according to the beat of God’s heart, trusting that the rest of the body of Christ will do the same.  And even on the field while marching, the marching band continues to march blind, unable to see anything behind them.  They keep their eyes forward and let the people behind them take care of themselves.  In the same way, we press forward toward the goal Christ has set before us, and we leave our past behind to take care of itself.  We remember the past so that we don’t backtrack and run into it again, but we never look back, always continuing forward.

Being a band geek, I just had to share this.  It’s cool how God uses everything to prove His existence and to show His people how to follow Him.

“For with you is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” ~ Psalm 36:9

Today at church Chris, one of the worship leaders, said something about the sun and how we can’t look directly at it because it’s so bright and it would burn our eyes.  And I thought, “If the sun is bright enough to cause eye damage, then how much brighter is the Son’s light?  He is so holy and full of light that we would die if we tried to look directly at Him in all His glory.

Psalm 36:9 is saying that God’s light is what makes all light visible.  In other words, the sun’s light is darkness compared to the Lord, the Light.  If God didn’t exist—if Light didn’t exist—we wouldn’t be able to see the sun or anything we see by its light because God is what makes light visible.

If the sun gives light to the world, and God gives light to the sun and all the stars in the universe, how great must our God be!  The light of the sun is only a glimpse of the incredible glory that belongs to our Lord.