First Christian Church

04/26/2026

04/23/2026

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for breakfast this Saturday, April 25th. All you can eat for $10. Egg bake, pancakes, bacon, home fries, homemade biscuits and gravy, coffee and juice!

04/18/2026

I apologize for the late post. I mistakenly scheduled it for April 20th instead of April 13th.😔 Nancy

I am sorry to tell you that I am not going to be doing Daily Meditations for a while. Right now there are things going on that I need to turn my attention to. I want to thank all of you who have followed these daily meditations and then liked them. Right now I just have other things I need to take care of. God bless all of you and your families.
Pastor Bob Garwood

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04/11/2026

M
"𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙."atthew 5:3
I focused a lot this week on what it means to be poor in spirit and tried to show what it means to be poor in spirit. I believe that this is where our faith in Jesus begins. But that is not where it ends!! The reason Jesus says HAPPY are the poor in spirit is because this is the key, if you will, that unlocks the gates of heaven. People who think they are rich in spirit or are righteous in God's eyes because of the good works they do, will not be part of the kingdom of heaven. People who believe that they are going to heaven because they are basically good people will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus makes that clear in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
But look at what happens to those who go to God and declare they are poor in spirit. Through our faith in Jesus, God pours out spiritual blessings into our life. The Bible tells us, 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙉 𝘾𝙃𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙏. (𝙀𝙨𝙥. 1:3) Through our faith in Christ we go from poor in spirit to receiving the riches of Christ. 𝙄𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙢 (𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨) 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙪𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜. (𝙀𝙨𝙥. 1:7-8) Paul tells the Ephesians, "𝘼𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 (𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩), 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙚: 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩. (𝙀𝙨𝙥. 3-8) Paul tells the Corinthians, "𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝, 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙃𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝." (2 𝘾𝙤𝙧. 8-9) To the Colosians Paul writes, "𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚.
When you humble yourself before Jesus and ask Him for His mercy, He will transform your life from being poor in spirit to possessing His righteousness, which God freely gives. That is what Jesus said at the end of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. He said, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles Himself will be exalted." How do you humble yourself to Jesus? By submitting (humbling) your life to the Bible which is God's Word. That is how we allow Jesus to live through us. That is how we receive the riches that God so graciously gives.
You are rich because you have received eternal life. You are rich because you have been adopted into God's family and are now co-heirs with Christ. You have an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you that will never perish, spoil, or fade. It is true you will suffer for Christ's sake. It is true that you will be tempted and may fall into temptation, none of us will be perfect in this life. But if you have gone to Jesus and accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, you do possess the perfect righteousness of Jesus inside you. So we confess our sin and repent. And the blood of Christ purifies us from all unrighteousness and the Spirit empowers us to do what the author of Hebrews tells us, "𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨. 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙭 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙢 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨, 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙. (𝙃𝙚𝙗. 12:1-2)
I hope you better understand what it is to be poor in spirit. I hope that you can also understand why Jesus is teaching that true happiness comes through being poor in spirit. True happiness comes through humbling yourself before Jesus and allowing Him to transform your life. True happiness comes from knowing that you are now part of the kingdom of heaven, you are a child of God, you have peace with God, and now have an inheritance kept in heaven for you. This is why Jesus says "𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣." God bless.

Pastor Bob

04/10/2026

Matthew 5:3
𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣.
This morning I want to use a parable that Jesus gives us that illustrates what being poor in spirit looks like. It is the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
𝙏𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚, 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: "𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖 𝙋𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛: '𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙣--𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧𝙨--𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧. 𝙄 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙜𝙚𝙩.'"
"𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, '𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚, 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧.'"
"𝙄 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣, 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙙."
In this parable Jesus shows us what it means to be poor in spirit. The Pharisee is obviously not poor in spirit but is confident in his own righteousness. He believes that in God's eyes, he is much better than most people. He does not believe he is a sinner, he believes that the good works that he does makes him acceptable to God and that God is very pleased with him. You can know that you are not poor in spirit if you believe that in God's eyes you are a better person than a thief, or someone who cheats on their spouse, or dare I say a child molester. We can see this when a person says that they are not perfect, but still they are basically a good person. Scripture teaches that we all fall short of God's glory or His moral standards. It is true that on a human level, we may be better than a thief, or child molester. But Jesus's point is that we all fall short of God's moral standard which is perfection and are in need of God's mercy and grace.
It is the tax collector who goes to God and declares his spiritual bankruptcy. He does not dare look up to heaven because he knows that he deserves God's judgement. He beats his chest out of despair. There is nothing he can do that will restore his relationship with God. There is only one thing he can do, he prays;"𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚, 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧." He doesn't try to bargain with God or that there is something in him acceptable to God. All he can do is ask for mercy. He declares that he is poor in spirit.
Jesus shows us that when we declare to God that we are poor in spirit, we receive God's mercy, which means God gives us the righteousness of His Son Jesus and that is how God justifies the sinner. Christianity is surrendering to God, His Word the Bible, and allowing God to do what you can never do. Jesus died on the cross and redeemed you from the slavery of sin. Jesus overcame this world of sin and death and through faith in Him, you overcome sin and death as well. I hope you understand better what Jesus means by being poor in spirit and why Jesus is saying, "𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣". Have you declared you are poor in spirit to God? God bless

Pastor Bob

04/10/2026

Matthew 5:3
𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣.
I realize that what I have been saying about receiving a new heart and spirit from God and receiving the Holy Spirit from God to enable us to follow Jesus's commands might be a bit confusing. I don't want to give the impression that when you accept Jesus into your heart that everything is smooth sailing and that the Christian will never sin again because of the work God has done inside you. The truth is that all Christians still sin even after accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, even after the work God has done inside them. The apostle John writing to Christians says this, 𝙄𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙣, 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨. (1 𝙅𝙣 1:8) Read Paul's letters to the Corinthian church and it becomes clear that the Christians at Corinth were struggling to live the Christian life, yet Paul addresses them as, those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy. The apostle Paul, who God used to spread Christianity across the Roman Empire and who wrote half the New Testament, made this statement to the Christians at Philippi, "𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨, 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚."
Being "poor in spirit" means that you struggle with sin. Before God created a new heart and spirit in you, you were a slave to sin. But don't take my word for it, Jesus said, "𝙄 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙣."(𝙅𝙉 8:34) I take that to mean that if you are a slave to sin, sin is your master and you can not follow Jesus's teachings and commands because you do not want to. The sin that you were born with is in complete control of your life. Which is what Romans 8:7-8 seems to be saying to me, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙙. 𝙄𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙢𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙬, 𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤. 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙.
So if you accept these teachings then something has to change first before you can follow Jesus's commands. God has to do something inside you, create new life in you, before you can love and follow Jesus. Romans 8:29 says this about Christians, 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙃𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙎𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you are a new creation and the person you were before has been crucified with Christ. You are a new person on the inside, and the Holy Spirit is working to remove all the sin from your life, but you still live in the same body that will not be redeemed until Jesus comes again. You still live in the same fallen world that lives in error. And your unredeemed flesh and this world tempt you and try to get you to follow their ways instead of Christ's.
I believe that a Christian's struggle with sin does not begin until you have been born again, because before you were born again you followed the ways of this world instead of following Jesus. The struggle with sin and accepting what the Bible teaches begins when you are born again, when God has made you spiritually alive to Him. Romans 7:22-23 highlight what goes on inside Christians: 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙬; 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙬𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙞𝙣. Jesus promises that through faith in His atoning sacrifice and resurrection, God will make you righteous in His eyes. God promises to make you like Jesus meaning you will be sinless just as Jesus is sinless. God promises to make you into the person that He created you to be in the first place. And it is your faith in the promises of God, that God credits as righteousness, not the good works you do.
But you will not be made complete until God glorifies you, then you will be made complete. Till then the Holy Spirit leads us into repentance by showing us the sin in our life through the reading of our Bibles and enabling us to repent. Living the Christian life is not a chore or a terrible struggle. I don't want to give the impression that Christians are powerless against sin, it is just the opposite. Living the Christian life is a blessing that God leads you into everyday of your life. God lives inside you and guides you in the ways of Jesus. But Christians need to understand that we are always going to be poor in spirit until we are glorified. There will not be a day that goes by that we will not need God's grace. But God justifies us because even though we are poor in spirit, God gives us the righteousness of Christ on the inside.
How do we live the Christian life? Galatians 2:20: 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚. Living the Christian life means that we surrender our will to Jesus because we know we are poor in spirit and allow Him to live through us. We must spend time with God everyday reading our Bible and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of God's Word to us and then surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to live by the truth of God's Word. I know I spent a lot of time this morning going over all this but I needed to go over all of it together. Following Jesus leads us to a satisfying life where we can be happy even when we face the storms of this life because of what God has done for us. Surrender and allow Jesus to live through you and you will have that happiness with you at all times. God bless

Pastor Bob

04/08/2026

Matthew 5:3
"𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣."
What does it mean to be "𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩?" What does Jesus mean when He says that happiness comes from being poor in spirit? To be poor in spirit means that you are spiritually bankrupt. That you have no righteousness that is acceptable to God. It means that you realize that you are not in a right relationship with God. It means that you realize that in God's eyes, you are no better than a murderer or a child molester. I know that there is always someone that we can look at and think we are a better person than they are. But to be poor in spirit means you understand that you do not meet God's standard of righteousness. It means that you do not consider yourself better than ANYONE else. But if that is true, how can Jesus say, "𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩?" Well this is where the unmerited grace of God comes into play. When a person goes to the courthouse and declares bankruptcy, they hope to walk away from all the debt they have. You may get to walk away from all your debt, but nothing else has changed. You're still the same person you were before you declared bankruptcy. In other words if you do not change, you will end up back in debt again. If there is no change you will continue to do the things that got you into trouble in the first place.
But declaring spiritual bankruptcy before God is just the opposite of what happens at the courthouse. When you go to God and tell Him that you have no righteousness that is acceptable to Him, that you are a sinner and ask for His mercy, He gives you mercy. All your sins are forgiven through the death Jesus died on the cross and God imputes the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ to you. The reason Jesus says that a person is fortunate when they go to God and declare that they are poor in spirit is that God forgives their sins and then credits Jesus's perfect righteousness to you. Now the sinner can be justified (made righteous) in God's eyes because of the righteousness of Christ. God tells us what He will do for everyone who goes to Him and declares they are "poor in spirit" through the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel 36:25-27:
"𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙨. 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪; 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙈𝙮 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 (𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙮 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩) 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙈𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙈𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨",
This is why Jesus says, "𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 (𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮) 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩." Because when you go to God and declare spiritual bankruptcy, God cleanses you of all your impurities and idols. He removes your heart of stone that wants these things. He gives a new heart, a pure heart, and a new spirit inside you. You are now a new person,CREATED by God to follow His decrees and keep His laws. And He puts His Holy Spirit in you to empower or enable you to do these things.
I realize that many people in this world are skeptical of what I am saying. Many people may think that Christianity is Jesus showing us the things we need to do in order to be a good person and go to heaven. But if that is true, then why did Jesus die on the cross? Why would Jesus suffer terribly and die on a cross if you are able to follow His teachings? The answer is that you can not follow Jesus's teaching and commands without God's grace. Jesus suffered and died on the cross so the Father was able to punish our sins on Jesus, so He could then remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh and a new spirit, the righteousness of Christ. 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙢 (𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨) 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙢 (𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨) 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩. (2 𝘾𝙤𝙧. 5:21)
God graciously covers our sins with the blood of Christ and so we receive forgiveness of our sins. But that is only half of the mercy God provides for the sinner. If God stopped there He would be doing the same thing bankruptcy courts do today, forgive the debt, but there is no change in the person being forgiven. If there is no change, the person ends up doing the same things they did that got them into trouble in the first place. Salvation FROM sin is much more than just forgiveness. Forgiveness is very important and comes first, but forgiveness does not make you complete. God creates a new person, the old person you were is crucified with Christ and like Jesus you are resurrected or made a new person. 𝙋𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. (𝙀𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 4:24)
This is why Jesus says, "𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩." This is where all Christians begin, realizing that they are poor in spirit and asking for God's mercy. Asking Jesus to come into their heart and purify them from all unrighteousness and lead them in the ways of righteousness. I hope you are able to see better how Jesus can say, "Happy are the poor in spirit." Have you asked God for His mercy? Have you gone to God and declared to Him that you are spiritually bankrupt? If you have not, I pray that you do so now. Repent and allow the Creator to create in you the person you are meant to be. God bless

Pastor Bob

04/07/2026

Matthew 5:3
"𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣."
We come now to the first Beatitude, being "poor in spirit." I would remind you that what Jesus is really saying here is "Happy or fortunate are the poor in spirit." Right away we see that if we are going to follow Jesus that we need to think and act differently than the world we live in. Who thinks that being poor in spirit brings happiness? Jesus! I want to first go to the companion verse found in Luke's gospel, Luke 6:20: "𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙." When we read the 6th chapter of Luke we can see that while it is very similar to Matthew chapter 5, it is presented differently. Jesus is teaching the same truths, but it is presented in a different manner and I don't know why. I only present it to show that in Matthew's account we are given the full context of this teaching. Why? Because being poor in material possessions is not what Jesus is talking about. Because if being poor in material possessions is a blessing, then we should not be helping the poor in their poverty. If they are being blessed because they are poor, helping the poor is just the opposite of what we should be doing. And we know that Jesus helps the poor and needy, so there must be more to this Beatitude than just being poor in material possessions.
The other thing I would caution here is in thinking that somehow being poor is virtuous. It is true that later on in this sermon Jesus teaches that "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮." (Mt. 6:24) Also in the story of The Rich Ruler found in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus says, "𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣." All of that is true, but we can not think that being poor is somehow a ticket into heaven. The point Jesus is making about rich people is that they tend to put material possessions before God. Rich people tend to trust what their money can buy and the lifestyle money can provide instead of trusting God and His Word. But while it may be harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, we need to remember that there are a lot of poor people who have not and will not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Salvation comes from God's unmerited grace, through faith in the atoning sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and in His resurrection. No one will ever be saved because of the good works they may do with all their money. We must trust in Jesus to make us righteous and acceptable to the Father by obeying Jesus's teachings and commands. Let me use Ephesian 2:8-10 to make this point. Ephesians 2:8-9 says:
𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝--𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩. I think it is pretty clear from these verses that salvation and the faith we have to believe in Jesus comes from God and God alone. Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins so that through faith in His atoning sacrifice we can now receive the Holy Spirit who leads us in the truth of God's Word and enables us to live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But you say, "Wait a minute, does that mean Christian's do not do good works?" Christians absolutely do good works, look at verse 10: 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥, 𝘾𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤. Christian's absolutely do good works, we have been created by God to do them. This goes back to the grace we have received through being born again. God creates in us a new heart and a new spirit so that we can now serve Him by following the Holy Spirit as He reveals the truth of Scripture to us. Christians are not saved by good works, we are saved by the good work God has done inside us. Yet because we are saved we do the good works that God has created us to do.
I just thought it was important to make this distinction between rich and poor so that we do not get confused about what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 5:3. Tomorrow we will explore just what it means to be"𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩." I would just say that if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then look for ways that you can do the good works God has created you to do. If you have not accepted Jesus into your heart yet I would encourage you to ask Jesus into your heart today and allow Him to transform your life. God Bless

Pastor Bob

04/07/2026

For this week, I am going to go back and review the daily meditations for Matthew 5:3. This is Holy Week and I have some extra things I have to do. Sorry I did not have time for doing a new set of meditations, but we will get back to it next week. In the meantime I hope you will find this review of Matthew 5;3 to be beneficial. This is where the Christian life begins, when we go to God and declare to Him that we are "poor in spirit." God bless you all!

Matthew 5 1-12
𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙙𝙨, 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙃𝙞𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜: "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 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 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 𝙖𝙣𝙙 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."
I hope you will follow along with me as we explore the greatest sermon ever given, the Sermon on the Mount, given by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that as we break down the different sections of this sermon that it will help you come to know Jesus better and in the process of knowing Jesus better, come to know yourself better as well. I would ask that you share this and if you send me an email address, I will see to it that you get these every morning. My email address is [email protected]. Just let me know you want to receive these daily meditations.
Just a couple things to go over this morning. The word blessed is translated from the Greek word makarios. It means happy or fortunate, so for example, Jesus is saying, "𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙠." I think you get the idea. Right away we see that Jesus's teachings go against what the world we live in believes. We do not think of being happy if we are poor in spirit, or being persecuted for righteousness sake. But that is exactly what Jesus is teaching. So it is really important to understand just what Jesus is teaching because when we understand what Jesus is saying, we will be able to see that what Jesus is saying is the truth and what the world teaches is in error. I would remind you what Jesus said when He was on trial before Pilate. Jesus told Pilate, "𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝." (Jn 18:37) This is something we all need to remember as we explore what Jesus is teaching, because what Jesus teaches is the truth, and it goes against what the culture we live in believes.
The other thing I want to mention here is that all these Beatitudes have to do with righteousness. I hope when we get done with all eight Beatitudes that you will see that they go in order and that in one regard are like a ladder of righteousness. We begin with being "poor in spirit" and end with being persecuted for righteousness sake. I suppose we could say that in the Beatitudes, Jesus shows us the progression of a person who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, going from being "poor in spirit" to being willing to be persecuted for righteousness sake. Each one of these Beatitudes are not very long in verse yet their meaning goes very deep. So I will take each one, one at a time, and look at each one and the compatible verses in the Bible that help us understand what Jesus is teaching.
Jesus is the exact representation of God and so as we study the life of Jesus we are able to see who Jesus is and we come to know God better. Through Jesus's teachings we can see that God is all knowing, that He is holy and righteous and that He is gracious and merciful. I hope as we move through this sermon that your relationship with God is enhanced and becomes more intimate. I pray that you open your heart to Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into the truth of God's Word. God Bless

Pastor Bob