The Key to Inheritance

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Christianity, grace, Humility, Inheritance, Joy, Kingdom, love, maturity, Meekness, Teachable

Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are the meek…for they shall inherit the earth.”

The desire to inherit something is a God given desire, because inheritance is like grace, it is something given that is more than what we earned. An inheritance only goes to those of whom there is a relationship established. People do not leave an inheritance to strangers they have never met, rather they leave it for people of whom they have a relationship. Some people leave an inheritance to their children, so their children can go farther than they went, do more than they did and see more than they saw. An inheritance is meant to be built upon, added to, and given away over and over again. However, there is a key to unlocking inheritance, you must be in a relationship with the one giving the inheritance, not out of getting the inheritance, out of genuine love for that person.

Many of us have read the passage in Matthew 5, where Jesus unlocks all the blessings for those who are in a relationship with him. The best part about it is, the Lord reveals what He is looking for in a relationship with us and what we will receive from having that character quality in our relationship with Him. Each blessing has its own unique aspect of the relationship. Just as in families, based on our relationship we receive certain aspects of an inheritance, it is not something we can demand, but rather is given based on relationship. So, the master key to all inheritance is relationship, but each individual inheritance has its own key as well. Today, we are going to look at the key to unlocking the inheriting of the earth.

The Bible is clear that to unlock the inheriting of the earth, you must possess the key of meekness. For many years, I was unclear as to what meekness really was, but I heard a definition that struck a chord in me, because I could be this definition. Meekness means to be teachable. This encompassed the word for me in a way that revolutionized my desire to inherit the earth. Being teachable is directly related to be humble and I understood that word, so this correlation made sense to me. Then as I began to dig into this idea of being teachable the Lord began to reveal some truths that are transformative in nature.

As people we have thoughts that are solidified in our minds and for many of us, apart from an earthquake from heaven we have no intention of changing the way we think, whether those thoughts are right or wrong. Growing up, our culture, our families, our experiences all cement thoughts and ideas about life into our minds. Some of our thoughts have been there for so many years, the idea of thinking differently is not even an option, for some people. And to think our thoughts might be counter kingdom and that the Lord would want to change them, does not cross many people’s minds. I know, because I have been there. Yet, the Bible is riddled with invitations to change the way we think, from the ever so popular Romans 12:1-2 to the not so familiar Psalm 7:9, which says, “For You, Who try the hearts and emotions and thinking powers are a righteous God” (AMP). From Genesis to Revelation, the Lord has been in hot pursuit of revolutionizing the way we think.

In my meditation and prayer around this subject, the Lord said, “If you weren’t so stiff-necked about some of your views on different subjects, you wouldn’t get so bent out of shape when people see it differently than you do.” (Ouch, Selah, Truth) The key to inheriting the earth is meekness, to be meek means to be teachable, to be teachable, you have to be open to other viewpoints on most subjects. I have come to believe that the only subject in my life that is not open to change, is the character of God, everything else, needs to be flexible, bendable, moldable, changeable if I am to inherit the earth. I also believe that if we heed the call to meekness, humility, teach ability, we would see arguments end, splits stop, division diverted and unity prevail. The head of the church is Christ, the body and the head are not to be doing different things, they are to be unified and even though we may express a different aspect of who God is, His unchangeable character, we can be unified if we are willing to be meek. Then we will see the church be the true reflection of the kingdom of God on earth. It starts with me committing to be meek.

Make God’s Presence Your Everyday Getaway

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church, joyce meyer, The kingdom of God, the presence of God, vacations, weekend getaway

Growing up in Minnesota produced memories that will stay with me for a lifetime. I remember we had a lake cabin about two hours from where we lived and twice a month we would pack up the car and head to our lake place. The whole family loved going to this lake place, because we were able to leave the city and all the details of everyday life; we got to enjoy each other as a family; and we would barbeque, water-ski and have bonfires (which included making smore`s). We had some chores at the lake place, like mowing the lawn, making meals, washing the boat, just to name a few, but we did not see them as chores because we were at the cabin.

While I was praying the other day, the Lord began to minister me about how many people are making the presence of God a weekend getaway. We go to church once, twice, or some even three or more times a week, so we can get away into the presence of God. He then went on to say that He wanted His presence to be an everyday experience for His people, not just a weekend getaway. This thought rocked me to the core, because I enjoy the presence of God everyday throughout the day, but I realize that many people do not know how to make the presence of God their present reality.

Marriages are struggling, children are rebelling, families are dysfunctional and finances are tight for many Christians, because we have not learned how to experience the presence of God in our everyday lives. We go to church, enjoy the music, learn from the message and smile at those we see there, but deep down inside, we have not changed, so we get home and everyone goes back to their same behaviors and attitudes. Joyce Meyer has named her ministry Enjoying Everyday Life, because she realizes, that until we start enjoying everyday life, we are not going to see changes in our lives, our families, our finances.

 When we make the presence of God a weekend getaway, rather than something we pursue, desire, and make time for everyday, we will never truly understand how to enjoy everyday life. But, the Lord’s desire is that we would learn how to abide in Him (John 15), so that we can have our prayers answered, our children healthy and happy, our marriages a model of Christ and the church and our finances overflowing. Going to the lake place is not somewhere I want to go just on the weekends; I want to live on a lake, with a boat next to the dock. The same is true for the presence of God, I do not want to wait for church to enter into His presence, I want to be able to access it daily, moment by moment, and I believe this is what God wants for us as well. So, it is time we turn the weekend getaway into every day.

Has God Given Up on Me?

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church, forgotten, glory days, prayer, significant, Wedding, Wine, youth

John 2                                                                                    March 6, 2014
In the world in which we live today, there is a glorification of youth and what may seem like a disregarding of those who are no longer youth by the world’s standards. Youth are seen as stronger, faster, smarter, and we ourselves remember our youth and it can feel like those were the glory days. Our memories of what was, who we used to be, and what we used to do can feel like our best days are behind us. But Jesus…

In the story of the Wedding at Cana, Jesus tells a story about a wedding he went to and while at the wedding they ran out of wine. Picking up the story in verse 6 it says, “now there were six water pots of stone standing there”. This is significant, because like those stone water pots, we are at church, we are in prayer, we are in the word, but many people feel like they are just stone pots that are sitting off to the side, without being of any use today. You see those stone water pots were used for ceremonial cleansing, but today, they were just six empty stone pots. They looked as if they were of no use at this wedding. But Jesus…
Jesus saw those six stone water pots and said to the servants, in verse 7, “fill the water pots with water”. Jesus then goes on to say, verse 8, “draw some out and take it to the manager of the feast”.  Jesus is filling stone water pots, that have been sitting off to the side waiting for God to need them again. Like these stone water pots, you may feel like your time of being used is over, that God no longer needs you, but the Lord is filling those pots again, to the brim with water (His word) and then He is going to bring you to the leader. Once the leader tastes what is inside of you, he is going to say, verse 10, “Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now!” Everyone else does it one way, but Jesus…

The good wine is coming out of people who have been in moves of God in the past and feel like their time is over, that the younger people are the ones who will be the new stars. Jesus saved us for such a time as this. The good wine is being released out of our lives. People are not going to know where it came from, they are not going to see the desert we walked through, the pain we have endured, the challenges we have faced, the voices we have heard. They will not know where it came from, but they will know that Jesus saved the good wine until now. God is filling the stone pots with water and he is about to call for a drink of it to be brought to the leader and God will get all the glory.