We put the pause button on Beatitudes this week; as Sunday we began Holy Week. The church around the world is remembering the final weeks of Christ. Some congregations will put a greater emphasis on this week than others. For some they have been journeying to the cross since Ash Wednesday others started the journey this past Sunday. Palm Sunday.

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7. NLT). After this week we will be taking a pause from the Beatitudes, as Holy Week starts this coming Sunday; Palm Sunday.  For now let me start this week’s post with a story. I have never been a big man, but I also have never been one to walk away from a fight.  In my B.C. days, yep before Christ; before I committed my life to Him, I got into a number of fist fights.

Have you ever been hungry? I mean really hungry; to the point all you could think about was food? There are times Alisha will ask me if I am ready for lunch, dinner etc. There are times when she ask this, I am not really hungry, so I reply “I could eat”. This is actually something which I could do throughout the day. In this post I am not talking about “You could eat”, I am talking about being HUNGRY.

“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5, NIV). “God blesses o those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” (Matthew 5:5 NLT). This is the third beatitude. In some ways this is probably the hardest for us in the U.S. to swallow. We live in a society which is all about advancements, having the latest and greatest.

What is God trying to say to you? What is it he is preparing you for? Before we look deeper at those questions. Let me say I prepare my sermon list, a year in advance. Two and a half years ago, I preached a message entitled “Giving Thanks in the Valley of Darkness”. Little did I know, a few days later my brother would die in a car accident. On Sunday February 11th of this year, I continued my series on the Beatitudes. My sermon was on those who mourn.