1) It takes both deeply-felt humility and great courage to let God rule & run your life. (“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”) God is like a window but because of our pridefulness, we often look right through Him and don’t notice His presence.

2) The willingness to come out of the closet of denial & to become intently aware of your brokenness & sin, opens you up to God’s comfort & forgiveness. (“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”) Personally experiencing God is a lot different than hearing a Sunday sermon about Him.

3) If you let God melt, mold, & move you according to His will, He’ll lead you on earth like you’re in Heaven. (“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.) 

4) Don’t dump and bury your desire to do right. Obey it and find fulfillment. (“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”) Asserting your rights without living right is the road to much misery.

5) Those who show kindness to the guilty will be shown kindness when they don’t deserve it. (“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”) Guilt needs to be forgiven; not ignored, denied, drugged, or justified. Those who are not guilty don’t need mercy, grace, or forgiveness. I do.

6) Impure words & images will make your heart impure and make God seem far away. (“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”) A pure heart is delightful, not dreary. Try it and see!

7) When you make peace with God & surrender to His will, peace flows out of your life. (“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.) When people blow unkind words your way; don’t be uprooted. Just bend with the wind.

8) When you are mistreated for doing the right thing, it shows that you are obeying God and that you are aligned with His kingdom. (“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”)

9) When folks insult & lie about you because you love Jesus, you’re like an Old Testament prophet. (“Blessed are you when people insult you, 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.”) Have fun in the Son! Delight yourself in the Lord.

I believe that one reason Christians are called to regularly meet together is so that they can practice the Beatitudes with one another by learning to stream the Holy Spirit. No religious program can compare with a group live streaming the Holy Spirit. Like a symphony conductor, Jesus can conduct church services, if we’ll just let everybody present in the meeting, hear & do as He says.

When passionate Christ-followers meet unrestrained by religion, the Spirit flows and the Beatitudes manifest in their midst. When hearts hot for God come together unhindered, spiritual fire breaks out. The early Christians gathered to share their love for God with one another. Let’s do likewise and do this when we gather in Jesus’ name: “Those who feared the Lord talked with each other.” Malachi 3:16

The early Christians “went out and preached everywhere.” We meet to hear one man. The Holy Spirit is a great meeting facilitator, but we seldom give Him the chance. A gathering where all are free to speak words inspired by the Spirit will amaze you. Let’s play “hot potato” with words aflame with God and toss them around the room.

Excitedly sharing love for Jesus is contagious. We need an epidemic of it. Christianity’s about us surrendering to God’s will. It’s not about us imposing our will on others.

If you’re not full to overflowing with the Holy Spirit, what are you full of? Let’s create an environment where God is unrestrained & free to do whatever He wants.

At The Salvation Army Berry Street in Nashville, we meet to encounter God working in & through ordinary people as they demonstrate the Beatitudes. Our goal is to let Christ-followers gather & enter into the God dimension with one another. Come see on Sundays @ 10:45 am., 225 Berry St., Nashville 37207. Read more about it @ this link.