THE SECRET TO THE BLESSED LIFE

 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1, 2) NKJV

 Our Lord lived inside the City of Blessedness, and in Matthew 5:1-12 He reveals to all men the eight gates by which that City may be entered. For myself, I cannot go in by the gate of poverty of spirit, for I am not humble enough; nor by the gate of the mourners, for I am not grieved enough for my own sins or the sins of others; nor by the gate of the meek, for I often resent injury; nor by the gates of mercy, or purity, or peace. But I may claim to enter by the fourth gate, for I hunger and thirst after righteousness. And as I go in, I find myself inside the city, and in the company of all holy souls that have entered by the other gates. For in the heavenly city, to enter by any gate is equivalent to having entered by all; and one grace which is in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit will ultimately lead on to all the rest.

 What is blessedness? According to our Lord's teaching, it is a condition or state of heart. Outward circumstances are not mentioned, unless it is reproach and persecution, as though they were matters of indifference. Blessedness is altogether independent of our outward circumstances, whether prosperous or confused, rich or poor. Blessedness begins and ends with a contented recognition of the royalty of Christ's kingdom; in the power of seeing the good in everything, and so inheriting the earth; in being content, in obtaining mercy, in seeing God and being called His sons and daughters. Is it not worth while to strive to enter in at these wide-open doors? And if you can say that you really do yearn after better things, hungering and thirsting for more likeness to Christ and more fitness for His Kingdom; if that desire really represents the purpose of your life, you may account yourself as being already admitted within the gates of the blessed Life.

 We can’t assume that our Lord allocated the award of blessedness to the possessors of certain attributes with an arbitrary and royal prerogative. He simply declared what was true in the very nature of things. To be true, pure, merciful, and meek, is to have in your possession the seed-germs of the harvest of blessedness. If you turn from this wonderful inventory of Christian qualities to Galatians 5:22, 23, you will find all of them set forth in the list of the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

May He work in us and through us a well-balanced and well-rounded Christian character through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

Lord, take my lips, and speak through them; take my mind, and think through it; take my heart, and set it on fire for Yourself.  In Jesus name we ask it, AMEN.

 God’s Daily Promise

Promise #7:
I have given you eternal life because you have believed in Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 (WEB) 
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.