Sunday, September 29, 2019

Blessed Are The "Hot Messes" - The Forgotten Beatitude

Hey Friend,

"Blessed are the "hot messes," for they shall be rescued and made clean and new by the Lord."  (The Forgotten Beatitude)

You there, in your yoga pants and spit-up-spattered, over-sized t-shirt, the one with the perpetual pony tail who is writing her grocery list in her Bible margins while cramming in "quiet time" in the carpool line. You there, running late again for work with two shoes that don't match, making a mess of your mascara as you dial in on the conference call. You there, crunching carrots and celery and hyper-hydrating before you jump on the torture-trainer (aka the elliptical machine) so that you don't embarrass yourself at your high school reunion. You there, who thinks anyone could do your life better than you do it...I've got a message for you!

God loves you and He has a HUGE heart for hot messes!

How do I know??  Because I am one!  And this isn't me...I'm not that skinny, but I liked the t-shirt!



I love The Beatitudes because they cheer on and encourage the underdog.  The beatitudes are dogma for the down and out.  They lift up the "less than's".

The beatitudes are part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus provides a discourse on the law of Moses and it was meant to show all people that it was impossible to fulfill all of the law and as such, we could only come to God and ask for mercy and grace that became available through the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

Who, more than a "hot mess," needs mercy and grace?

Though there are eight beautiful beatitudes, I'll focus on two of my favorites.

#2: Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
Jesus is talking about mourning the loss of a loved one, but He also expands the definition to mean mourning the loss of any relationship - marriage, family member, friendship.  In the world today, we might even mourn the fact that so many people are not in right relationship with God, or mourn the depravity of our society.

Jesus said that He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit would comfort us and provide a balm for our hurting hearts.




#3:  Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
This beatitude is often misinterpreted.  It doesn't refer to meekness as a lack of strength or substance.  The Bible clearly talks about how God resists the proud, but gives strength to the humble.

I remember being called "meek" once and it wasn't a compliment.  It was a put-down because I wasn't a very outspoken person.  The word "meekness" means strength under control. The meek understand and willingly submit to God's authority.

Jesus said that if we wanted to be great in His kingdom, then we would have to be servant leaders.  Servant leadership is the definition of meekness. 

The blessing for the "hot mess"??

God will surely come to the rescue of those of us who think we continually make a mess of our lives.  Truth is, we DO make messes.

For our mess, Jesus offers cleansing that can only come through accepting the gift of grace that makes us PERFECT under the veil of Christ's blood, through which God views us. 

Only Jesus can take us from complete mess to profound perfection.  What an awesome God we have who makes provision for all our weakness.  We can't keep the law, but through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, we can be comforted, find strength, and be made perfect in God's sight.  He will give us strength to obey.




You there...in the yoga pants...have I told you you're amazing?? God says so over and over again in His Word.  In Christ, you are a new creation.  If you're a "hot mess" this is God's message for you today!

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you that you cheer on the underdog.  You meet us whether it's in mourning, meekness, or any state in which we yearn for You.  Thank you that your values are not what the world values.  Help me to realize that you value humility, right standing, purity, peace-making, and those that would lay down their lives for you.  Help me to be counted among those who are blessed because they rely and depend solely upon you.  Bless me and make my "mess" clean.
In Jesus name I pray,  Amen.

What about you?  Do you feel like a hot mess at times?  What answer do you think God is laying before you?  What steps do you want or need to take?  How do the beatitudes encourage you?  Will you share?

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Be blessed...