Sunday Recap: Blessed Are The Meek

Last week, Pete began discussing the Beatitudes in Matthew, Chapter 5.  If you missed it, you can read about it here.

This week, he went on and talked about Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  What do you think of when you hear the word meek?  What kind of person?  Doormat… geek… weak?

Pete defines meek for us as strength under control.  Someone who is meek will always be angry at the right time and never be angry at the wrong time.  They know who they are.  The meek don’t always have to win or have their way.  They are inconceivable strong!

Okay, now that we understand what Jesus meant by meek, let’s talk about what he means by ‘inherit the earth’.  Basically, that just means who will ‘win in life’.  Who will have all the stuff?  All the nice clothes, the big house, the awesome job… You see, they were worried about that back then, just as we are now.  Sad, isn’t it? 

Another place where the meek were spoken about was in Psalm 37:1-11:
¹Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; ²for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. ³Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. ⁴Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this; ⁶He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. ⁷Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. ⁸Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil. ⁹For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. ¹⁰A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. ¹¹But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

There are a couple of things you can take away from these verses.

1. Do not fret – He says it 3 times.  I have to assume he says it 3 times because he really wants it to sink in.  He does not want us to worry about anything!  Don’t worry about the people that are doing wrong things and still coming out ahead.  Because…
2. The meek will inherit the earth.  All the people that are able to keep their anger in check and not concern themselves with the people who are doing wrong.  They will enjoy peace and prosperity!
3. Also, just as a side note, the people Jesus was speaking to here had just had their land taken from them by the Babylonians, so this was just what they needed to hear at the time.

Again, in Matthew 5:38-42, having control over your emotions, or meek, is talked about:
³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’   ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.  ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."

Why should I give them my coat?  Why should I walk 2 miles instead of one?  Because you would be exhibiting strength under control.  You know that you don’t always have to win.

Some might say, “But wait, what if they do win?”  That’s okay, because Jesus says, ‘Blesses are the meek.’ 

We try to overcompensate when we don’t think we are getting what we deserve in life, because we think the disciplined, organized, put together people will inherit the earth.  The ones with the nice cars, nice house and nice job.  The most important thing to remember is that God orders the world differently than people order the world.  The people we think will win in life aren’t necessarily the one that will win.

The one major thing I got out of this service was to always try to keep my anger in check and not worry about what others are ‘getting’ in life.

Go here if you would like to hear the entire message.

If you have a Sunday Recap post, leave on Mister Linky below!

10 ways I want to be like my mommy

A list of characteristics I admire in my own mother, that I hope to emulate.

1. Dedication- When she sets out to do something, she really does it.  She stays dedicated to the end.
2. Selflessness- On a weekly, if not daily basis, she is doing things for others.
3. Empathy- My mom really puts herself in other’s shoes, so to speak.  
4. Giving- She really has down the whole ‘you need to give to receive’ mantra… except she doesn’t expect to receive.
5. Persistence- No matter what it is, she will persist until she gets the result she desires… whether it be getting the right price for something at a store or getting us to come visit her.
6. Loyalty- She is a friend to the end.
7. Prayerful- She knows to turn to God to thank him for wonderful things and ask for help with difficult things.
8. Faith- She also has the faith that once it’s prayed for she can let go of it, because it is in God’s hands.
9. Young- No matter her age (I’m not telling), she still can out-walk anyone at Disneyworld, then be ready to get dessert on the way home!
10. Friend- Okay, so this isn’t really a ‘characteristic’, per say, but I didn’t know how else to put it.  She is a great friend.  To me and all her other friends.  I wish I knew her secret so that I will be as good a friend to my kids, too.  I actually want to talk to her on the phone every day.  I hope my kids will want to do the same.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommas out there!

Here's my lovely family.  See my pretty momma? :)

Where are all the 3D glasses going??

I thought they were cleaned or recycled, like talked about in this post.  But now, I realize I am incorrect.

Yesterday, my husband went to see Thor in 3D.  After the movie, he asked one of the theater employees where he should put the 3D glasses he used and the response was, “Just toss ‘em”.  Seriously?  No separate container to put them in to later be cleaned or recycled??

Even if there is a separate container… What about all the ones that end up in the trash from people who don’t put it in the right bin?  What about the theaters that don’t even have a separate bin?

Now, I know that 3D glasses are small and probably don’t even compare to the amount of plastic drinking containers that are thrown away on a daily basis.  But, with the amount of 3D movies that are being made lately, the piles of 3D glasses being thrown away is most likely getting pretty high!

What can be done about this?  The most obvious solution for me is to not make as many 3D movies or stop altogether!  I mean, what is up with all the 3D movies?  Can we not just watch a regular movie?  I saw Avatar (not in 3D) and it was a great movie!  (Can you tell I’m not a fan of the 3D movies?)

Okay, so for all of you that don’t like my no 3D movie option, how about we ask all theaters to have a separate container for the glasses?  Or…  and this is my favorite solution, but I’m sure the movie companies and theaters won’t like it… have some sort of incentive for people to save their glasses.  For instance, if you bring your own 3D glasses to a movie you don’t have to pay the whole $3 extra or however much the theater charges.

That’s my 2 cents anyway.  Not that anyone asked.  I just had to vent a bit about that.  Thanks for sitting through it (if you made it this far in the post).

I need to know, though.  What do you all think?  What is your solution?  Do you even like 3D movies?  (Please tell me I’m not alone in the anti 3D stance!)

Blogger or Wordpress??

Warning to my readers: This post is pretty much just for my fellow bloggers.  I promise I won’t do this kind of post often, so please don’t be mad at me.

                                                          
                                                                      
So… there is a discussion among some of my blog friends about which is better, blogger or wordpress. 

Some say you get a better google pr, faster, with wordpress.  If you are on my site reading this, you know that I have a blogspot blog.  Do I need to switch?

If I want a higher pr is wordpress the way to go?  Does wordpress have some sort of system that gets you in the search engines better?  How many visits per month does it take to change your google pr?

All of a sudden I feel really uneducated when it comes to all this.

Anyone have any opinions about it?  Do you use wordpress?  Blogger?  Something else"? 

Sell me on the one you love!

My Sweet Tea Addiction

When I stopped nursing my youngest, I gave myself permission to drink sweet tea whenever the heck I wanted.  Well, it seems that whenever the heck I want, equates to all day every day.  Not good.

I have never drank sweet tea in the quantities that I do now.  I guess after being pregnant with 3 kids and nursing each one a little over 2 years I was/am feeling a little bit like indulging!  I didn’t let myself have so many things when I was pregnant and nursing (don’t get me wrong, I “cheated” with a glass of sweet tea here and there).

Well, now I’m not pregnant.  I’m not providing milk for anyone.  I can put anything in my body I want, right!?  Technically, yes.  Is it the best idea?  Probably not.  Am I ready to quit?  Not yet.

If there are any other sweet tea addicts out there Rooibus is a great substitute for the sweet tea you would get at a restaurant.   It is an herbal tea you can find in most grocery stores (in the ‘healthy’ area).  It does taste really good!  And it’s really good for you too!  You have to actually make it though, and for some reason, lately, I’ve been far too lazy for that.  Sad.

Any other sweet tea addicts out there?

Milo's Sweet Tea is my poison of choice.  It is the only sweet tea you can buy in stores that just has tea, water and sugar AND tastes like real southern sweet tea!  Mmmmmm!

Sunday Recap : The Modern Beatitudes

This week started a new series at Crosspoint called 'Anything But Ordinary' where Pete Wilson started discussing the Beatitudes in Matthew, Chapter 5.

For those that don’t know, the Beatitudes are:

• 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 the children of God.
• Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This week, Pete concentrated on the first Beatitude; Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

First of all, what does it mean to be ‘blessed’?  It means God is on your side.  He is divinely with you.  If you know even a little bit about the Bible, you know that people definitely thought that only certain people were blessed.  God was only on the side of certain people.

Well, what does it mean to be ‘poor in spirit’?  According to Pete, that terminology back then, meant that you were pathetic.  A loser.  Morally empty.  And, of course, by the standards back then, someone who is a pathetic, morally empty, loser, surely would not have God’s graces!

When Jesus stood up and announced to the crowd of people that those who are poor in spirit are blessed… well, I would imagine they were all fairly shocked!  Those type of people should not be blessed!  They don’t deserve God’s love!  Well, Jesus says that they DO deserve and in fact, receive God’s love!

How can we apply the 1st Beatitude in our own life?  Here are Pete’s suggestions:

1. If you ‘have it all together’… be careful.  You may convince yourself this first Beatitude isn’t for you and become complacent.
2. If you don’t feel you ‘have it all together’… remember… blessed are the poor in spirit.  God IS with you.  You ARE blessed.  You deserve love.

Pete also shared with us what Joe Abbey-Colborne wrote about how we live by a different set of values in this modern world:

• Blessed are the well off and those with ready answers for every spiritual question; they have it all.
• Blessed are the comfortable; they shall avoid grief.
• Blessed are the self-sufficient; they wait for nothing, they have everything they want, and they have it now.
• Blessed are those who are not troubled by the injustice experienced by others; they are content with realistic expectations.
• Blessed are the ones who gain the upper hand; they take full advantage of their advantages.
• Blessed are those with a solid public image and a well hidden agenda; they are never exposed and see people in a way that suits their purposes.
• Blessed are those who can point to someone else who is a worse person than they are, they will always look good by comparison.
  Blessed are you when people praise you, give you preferential treatment, and flatter you because they think you’re so great. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because it doesn’t get any better than this.

Isn’t this how we really see the world?  Let us strive to live our life based on the original Beatitudes and not these new ones.

If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, click here and see the link for ABO: Spiritually Bankrupt.  It is week one in the Anything But Ordinary Series.

See you next week when we will continue the discussion on the Beatitudes.

Join in on the Sunday Recap linky below and read others.

Sunday Recap

The Sunday Recap is a place for us to share what we learned on Sunday in all our churches/places of worship.  Please join me by linking up your Sunday Recap post.
How?  It’s easy!  Here is what you do:

1. Write a recap post about what you learned Sunday at your place of worship (if your place of worship is your living room, by yourself, that’s okay too!)
2. Link it up on the current week’s Sunday Recap linky.
3. At the top of your post, put the Sunday Recap button and link it back to that week’s post on Some Call It Natural so that your readers can see everyone’s Sunday Recap post.
4. Have fun reading everyone's post!

That’s it!  If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment on this post or send me an email.