Living A Blessed Life

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain:

and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

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

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:

for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:1-12

For the next couple of days I want to focus on this passage of scripture. Many people are optimistic at the start of the year. We decree and declare that this year will be better, greater, and more significant than all the ones that came before. Yet, somehow, we tend to lose our zeal. Midway through the year we start looking ahead and writing off the year that we thought was going to be so great.

In this passage, Jesus is beginning to share what it means to live a blessed, Kingdom centered life with the great crowds who came to Him. Here, we find out how to get into the Kingdom, how to inherit the earth, how to find fulfillment, how to see God... and a host of other things.

What I find so intriguing, is that so many of the keys to obtaining God's promises for us are so simply obtained. All we need is a meek, humble, loving heart that strives to get closer to the Lord. Plain and simple.

Today, search your heart. Ask the Lord to reveal any places that are full of false pride, hatred, unforgiveness, and fear. Ask Him to remove the hardness and replace it with God's pliable love.

As we embark on our new year with excitement, we can only keep our zeal by reaping the blessings that come from living purely before the Lord. We can make this year one of the best years yet! We can do bigger, better, and more amazing things! We can reach our goals! All we have to do is remember who we are and how we are supposed to live as children of the King.