The Lord wants to bless us more than we can ever imagine because He loves us even to dying on the cross. He wants to bless us by showing us kindness. However, if we are proud, we will misappropriate this type of blessing. Therefore, the Lord blesses the proud by giving them sternness rather than kindness (1 Pt 5:5). To be blessed with kindness, we must humble ourselves (Mt 23:12).
To be blessed right now with the glory of God's kingdom, we must humble ourselves by choosing poverty and/or persecution for righteousness' sake (Mt 5:3, 10). To be blessed with consolation, we should humble ourselves by sorrowing for our sins (Mt 5:4; see 2 Cor 7:10). To be blessed with land, we are to choose the humility of lowliness (Mt 5:5). To be blessed with fulfillment, we must humble ourselves by seeking holiness rather than the satisfaction of our selfish desires (Mt 5:6). To be blessed by receiving God's mercy, we must humble ourselves by giving mercy to those who have hurt us (Mt 5:7). To be blessed with seeing God, we are to humble ourselves by rooting out of our hearts anything not of God (Mt 5:8). To receive the blessings reserved for God's children, we must humble ourselves by making peace rather than war against our enemies (Mt 5:9). The blessings of the Beatitudes are based on one attitude — humility.
| PRAYER: | Father, may I joyfully humble myself for love of You. |
| PROMISE: | "Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream." –1 Kgs 17:6 |
| PRAISE: | Dr. Norm asked Jesus to heal his patient's migraine headache. The pain left her. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College