DAY 9 – Attitude Check! | Lesson by Min. Bertha Fields | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount
Attitude Check!
Matthew 5:8 (NLT) God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
The pure in heart will be blessed to see God. How wonderful for believers and followers of the Lord God Almighty! The prophet reminds us in Isaiah 33:17 (NKJV),“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.” This is our hope and a powerful reason to check ourselves about being pure in heart.
Another equally important reason is to “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT) The words we speak and the actions we take come from the desires and attitudes of our heart. The changes that the Holy Spirit begins in the heart of a person when Jesus is accepted as Lord and Savior must continue to develop us into strong believers.
As I reflect on my lifetime from a child to a mature adult, I recall some of the people and the significant emotional events that the Lord used to challenge and change my heart. As a child, I benefitted greatly from the real life examples and encouragement of family members, Sunday School and elementary school teachers, and other people in the community to continue to check my attitude in many different circumstances of the segregated south of the United States.
Leaving home to attend College, live and work in other states, and especially during the years of my professional working career, I experienced many challenges and had to make important decisions. The Lord has taught me from the Holy Bible and from my times in prayer with Him to surrender my heart to His will and his ways. Each time that I surrender my way to His will, I experience understanding and insight, a revealing of Him like I have never seen before.
It is my desire to serve the Lord with all my heart, to be used by Him to change the lives of people, and to live in His presence forever.
• THIS LINK is a downloadable PDF of Barclay's Commentary
The pure in heart will be blessed to see God. How wonderful for believers and followers of the Lord God Almighty! The prophet reminds us in Isaiah 33:17 (NKJV),“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.” This is our hope and a powerful reason to check ourselves about being pure in heart.
Another equally important reason is to “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT) The words we speak and the actions we take come from the desires and attitudes of our heart. The changes that the Holy Spirit begins in the heart of a person when Jesus is accepted as Lord and Savior must continue to develop us into strong believers.
As I reflect on my lifetime from a child to a mature adult, I recall some of the people and the significant emotional events that the Lord used to challenge and change my heart. As a child, I benefitted greatly from the real life examples and encouragement of family members, Sunday School and elementary school teachers, and other people in the community to continue to check my attitude in many different circumstances of the segregated south of the United States.
Leaving home to attend College, live and work in other states, and especially during the years of my professional working career, I experienced many challenges and had to make important decisions. The Lord has taught me from the Holy Bible and from my times in prayer with Him to surrender my heart to His will and his ways. Each time that I surrender my way to His will, I experience understanding and insight, a revealing of Him like I have never seen before.
It is my desire to serve the Lord with all my heart, to be used by Him to change the lives of people, and to live in His presence forever.
REFLECTION QUESTION:
What heart issues do I need to allow the Lord to help me with right now?
ACTION ITEMS BASED ON TODAY'S LESSON:
What heart issues do I need to allow the Lord to help me with right now?
ACTION ITEMS BASED ON TODAY'S LESSON:
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RESOURCES:
• Message by Dr. Tony Evans, "Blessed Are the Spiritual Beggars" (Matthew 5:3)
https://go.tonyevans.org/tony-evans-sermons/blessed-are-the-spiritual-beggars
• Follow this link to a resource from Zondervan Academic on the Beatitutes:
https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/beatitudes
• Message by Dr. Tony Evans, "Blessed Are the Spiritual Beggars" (Matthew 5:3)
https://go.tonyevans.org/tony-evans-sermons/blessed-are-the-spiritual-beggars
• Follow this link to a resource from Zondervan Academic on the Beatitutes:
https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/beatitudes
• Follow this link to a resource on the Beatitudes from BibleGateway:https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2022/08/what-are-the-beatitudes-why-are-the-beatitudes-important/
• Follow THIS LINK (or copy/paste) to the web version of Barclay's Commentary on the New Testament: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb.html
• THIS LINK is a downloadable PDF of Barclay's Commentary
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Listen to the Teaching
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