Jesus said blessed and happy are those who are poor in spirit, those who recognize that they are spiritually destitute and know they need God in their lives. How then is the kingdom of heaven theirs? Does that mean that the arrogant and self-satisfied are not in the kingdom of heaven? How does being poor in spirit work in our daily lives? Can someone be poor in spirit and claim to be spirit-filled? Does a sense of being rich in spirit play out in denominational rivalries?
Is someone who is poor in spirit much more enjoyable to be around than someone who thinks they have it all together? Are those who are poor in spirit therefore a better example of real Christianity than self-righteous and judgmental people? Are those who are genuinely poor in spirit more likely to change their hearts about their sins than those who are pleased with themselves and believe they are rich and increased with goods?
You Might be a Christian if...
1. You consider yourself to be spiritually destitute and in need of a Savior.
2. You grieve deeply over your own sins, the sins of the world and the church.
3. You don't think of yourself as anything special, just soil with breath.
4. You really hunger to do what's right and not the evil things of this world.
5. You show leniency to the undeserving.
6. You love to fill your heart with purity rather than filth.
7. You are the one willing to take a loss for the sake of making peace.
8. You have ever been harassed or criticized for doing what's right.
Reference: Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes
2. You grieve deeply over your own sins, the sins of the world and the church.
3. You don't think of yourself as anything special, just soil with breath.
4. You really hunger to do what's right and not the evil things of this world.
5. You show leniency to the undeserving.
6. You love to fill your heart with purity rather than filth.
7. You are the one willing to take a loss for the sake of making peace.
8. You have ever been harassed or criticized for doing what's right.
Reference: Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes
Irrelevant Christianity
A former theology professor of mine from Carolina Evangelical Divinity School, recently challenged people with the idea that Christianity must remain irrelevant to the world around us if it is to be genuine. Now before you go getting your knickers in a twist, let me explain what he meant. Briefly, he lectured that we Christians ought to always be relevant to God, but that a church's desire to be relevant to the world around us has always caused God's people to ignore his teachings and invent their own doctrines. There are too many examples of that to list.
Every denomination contains many worldly man-made teachings, which seem very relevant to human thinking, but are not what God teaches in the Bible. We must preach Christ and not human ideas. If we do not teach or practice what he taught, then we are worldly; our churches are not relevant to God. Let's remain irrelevant to the world and relevant to Christ.
Every denomination contains many worldly man-made teachings, which seem very relevant to human thinking, but are not what God teaches in the Bible. We must preach Christ and not human ideas. If we do not teach or practice what he taught, then we are worldly; our churches are not relevant to God. Let's remain irrelevant to the world and relevant to Christ.
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