The Beatitudes – Poor In Spirit
A Five Minute Devotional
The video shown below is the devotional from November 12th, 2020. The full text of the devotional follows the video.
WELCOME
Hello! My name is Ruth and I would like to share with you today The Good News… Ladies Edition!
INTRODUCTION
Let’s read Matthew, chapter 5 verse 3 together.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
This reminds me of a funny story about heaven.
A woman dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets her at the pearly gates. St. Peter says, “Here’s how this works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each one, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.”
“Okay,” the woman says, “I was married to the same man for 50 years and never cheated on him.”
“That wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s worth 3 points!”
“Three points?” she says. “Well I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service.”
“Terrific!” says St. Peter, “ that’s certainly worth a point.”
“One point? Golly. How about this. I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for battered women.”
Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.
“Two points!” the woman cries, “At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!”
“Come on in!”
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT
What truth there is in that humorous story?
The main focus of this verse in Matthew is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
Let’s get into a little background of this verse. This is a fantastic portion of Scripture called the Sermon on the Mount.
The first thing we notice about the Sermon on the Mount is that it is not for everyone.
In Matthew 5, Jesus gets aways from the crowds and teaches His disciples. And even though this message was preached 2000 years ago, it is for our ears and hearts today, Ladies.
Matthew 5:1-12 is known as the Beatitudes or pronounced blessings. The word literally means, “O, how happy!”
Our verse today says that the poor in spirit are blessed. How can that be?
We don’t usually think of the poor in spirit as being happy people.
Jesus is not talking about financially poor. He is talking about being spiritually bankrupt.
It is the opposite of being proud. And it is the glorious consequence of our coming into a real personal recognition of who God is. And immediately when we compare ourselves to the Holy Perfect Savior of our souls, we must admit our true position. We say with the Apostle Paul, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?”
TREASURE IN HEAVEN
And because we have had a true encounter with God, and have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the kingdom of heaven belongs to us.
We no longer live in just this physical material world. We are transported into the kingdom as a child of God and a citizen of the eternal kingdom.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the following story about someone who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else. Two women went to the temple to pray. One was a famous Bible teacher, a world wide celebrity, and the other one was a mere mother and housewife. The famous teacher stood by herself and prayed this prayer, “I thank You, God, that I am not like other people – cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like this meager housewife. I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my sizable income.”
But the housewife stood at a distance and dared not even lift her eyes to heaven as she prayed. Instead, she lowered her head in sorrow, saying, “O God, be merciful to me for I am such a sinner.”
Jesus tells us that this sinner, not the famous teacher would return home justified before God.
Because those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Those who humble themselves and realize that only God can fill them and bring lasting fulfillment are truly blessed.
Ladies, which one of these 2 women are you?
We see our ultimate reward in trusting and obeying God in humbleness of mind and actions in 1 Corinthians 2:9.
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor has entered into the heart of woman the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
And that, Ladies, is today’s Good News.
