“Apart from Me.. you can do nothing!” John 15:5
How much do I believe this? How much do you believe this?
Do we know this with our heads or with our hearts?
I think far to often we know this is true in our heads, we have heard it said, we’ve said it ourselves. Yet, in our day-to-day, we somehow lose sight of it. Going about “life” in our own power and our own strength.
When in reality, apart from the Lord, we can’t love our spouse, our children and certainly not our enemy. We can’t go the extra mile, much less turn the other cheek. We can’t endure ridicule, much less take insult and not defend ourselves. We can’t even love the Lord our God, apart from Him.
It is actually pretty sobering.
Today, my husband led a Bible study for the young adults. We are studying the Sermon on the Mt. We never got passed Mathew 5:3. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
We spent a whole lot of time discussing what exactly it means to be poor in spirit. Some translations describe it as being meek, some people take it to mean humility.
Yet, I don’t think these are completely accurate.
Jesus begins the beatitudes. He begins his teaching with this one thought…. and most of the rest of the sermon on the Mt is dependant upon this one truth.
Being poor in spirit.
This doesn’t mean being poor in the Holy Spirit,but poor or bankrupt in our own spirit.
Because before we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must first be empty of our own spirit.
Before Jesus can fill us and live through us, we have to cease in our self.
Relying not upon us, but upon HIM.
How can we live out God’s commands, how can we love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us. How do we turn the other cheek. Be the salt of the earth, the light of the world?
Apart from Christ, we can not.
Filled with ourselves, we will fail.
It begins with us emptying ourselves, just as Jesus did.
Being filled with His Spirit.
Relying upon and looking to Him.
Then and only then, can Christ dwell and live through us.
“I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24″
mandylynncarpenter 