Following the Call
Kingdom Character
Blessedness
Pages 22-27
TOGETHER read the devotional and the scripture.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Psalm 1 (NIV) Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
James 1:12 (NIV) Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
James 5:11 (NIV) As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
1 Peter 3:14 (NIV) But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”
1 Peter 4:14 (NIV) If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your devotional notes and pray.
What is the difference between being “blessed” and being “happy”? Have you ever experienced the blessing of any of these Beatitudes?
Why is it a mistake to see the Beatitudes as commands?
In what ways can we practice what Kathy Escobar calls “downward mobility”?
Wherein lies the blessing in the Beatitudes? Does it lie in some reward or in something else, or in both?
EXTRA READING:
“The great and firm foundation of the spiritual life is the offering of ourselves to God and being subject to His will in all things. We must completely forget ourselves so that we regard ourselves as an object which has been sold over which we no longer have any rights. We find all our joy in fulfilling God’s pleasure - His happiness, His glory, and the fact that He is our great and only delight. Once we have this foundation, all we need to do is spend our lives rejoicing that God is God and being so wholly abandoned to His will that we are quite indifferent as to what we do and equally indifferent as to what use He makes of our activities.”
- Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675 - 1751)