{"id":14573,"date":"2016-07-25T09:42:40","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T13:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=14573"},"modified":"2016-07-26T11:20:15","modified_gmt":"2016-07-26T15:20:15","slug":"am-i-blessed-like-this-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=14573","title":{"rendered":"Am I Blessed Like This?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Blessed are\u2026 \u2014<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?version=31&amp;search=Matthew+5%3A3-11\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 5:3-11<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wRJZQFRyZ6s\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"mobile-sharing-button\">\u00a0When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the \u201cdynamite\u201d of the Holy Spirit. And they \u201cexplode\u201d when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, \u201cWhat a startling statement that is!\u201d Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child\u2019s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord\u2019s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations\u2014 it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.<\/p>\n<p>_______________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p>July 25, 2016<\/p>\n<p>Journal Entry-JDV<\/p>\n<p>Good morning Lord. It has been a while since I wrote my last journal entry. Two ambulance rides, one spinal cord surgery, and now rehab and more tests today. It seems like a long, long time ago. But the words of Chambers jumped out at me just like before: <em>The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. <strong>The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations\u2014 it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us. <\/strong><\/em>Based on the teaching we have been receiving over the last several months (and years) it seems that once again the solution to all our issues here on earth, including our ability to live out the Beatitudes, is to surrender our own thinking, surrender our own understanding, to suspend our \u201ccommon sense\u201d, and allow the Holy Spirit to move through us. Is this right?<\/p>\n<p>And God says\u2026\u201d<em>When you stop trusting your own senses, and let go of the big four: to look good, feel good, be right and to be in control, the Holy Spirit is free to work His power in and around you. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will meet all your daily needs. The impossibilities of the Beatitudes become possible when you surrender and are connected to the Holy Spirit. Then the Holy Spirit can lift you up and live out the Beatitudes through you.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blessed are\u2026 \u2014Matthew 5:3-11 \u00a0When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14573"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14573"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14577,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14573\/revisions\/14577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}