Blessings and Promises

By Linda Wiley

The subject of this book was, basically, chosen for me by God. Have you ever felt called to do something about which you believe you know nothing? That is the way I felt when God called me told me to write a book. So I thought I would compromise and write a short "Devotional Style" book, printing a few copies myself for family members.

Tell me, have you ever tried to argue with God? Trust me, you will never, no never win. Consequently, when I started writing, the words continued to flow and it became a book, albeit a very short book. My hope is that you may draw something from it that will be of help to you in your Christian walk with Jesus by your side.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781684097654

Book preview

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Blessings

and

Promises

Linda F. Wiley

Copyright © 2017 Linda F. Wiley

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2017

ISBN 978-1-68409-764-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68409-765-4 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

When God told me to write this little book

I was terrified and said to Him, Now look, Why me Lord? I haven’t written anything since 1994.

But He continued to knock at my door.

So I dedicate this book to my Lord

My wish is for you to get on board.

Jesus desires that everyone goes to heaven

So when you repent, your sins are forgiven.

For every new Christian there’s angels rejoices

I am surprised we can’t hear their voices!

So thank you for reading this little book

And just keep in mind what you can do

Even when you’re almost seventy-two!

~Linda F. Wiley~

Chapter 1

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

—Matthew 5:3

What type of person do

you think of when you see the words poor in spirit? What makes them so special they will enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Does this cause you pause? Do you, like me, wonder what Jesus meant when He made this promise? Who are these poor in spirit, and why are they given this promise? Makes one think, does it not, why the poor in spirit are promised the Kingdom of Heaven? I have often wondered why. One would think the opposite would be true. Nevertheless, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and neither are His teachings. They are not always easy for us to understand. One would think the poor in spirit would be lacking something, right? Perhaps they (we) are, and that is why Jesus, with His gentle, forgiving, sinless nature of love, is promising us this ultimate gift.

Remember, Jesus said that His ways are not our ways. It is not for us to understand how God thinks and how He plans. Sometimes it seems as though Jesus speaks in riddles, doesn’t it? I believe it’s because His IQ, if you will, is so far above anyone’s here on earth that it’s unfathomable. Generally, all we have to go by are the people whom we have heard of who are in our school’s history books. We all know they are not going to mention the smartest man who has ever lived was Jesus, are they? Yet we know that most of the time Jesus was and is willing to explain to us what He means. This is what a real teacher or rabbi would and still will do. When I started this, I wondered how to explain just who the poor in spirit are, and if we are poor in spirit, how will we see God? Yes. See? You have wondered the same thing, haven’t you?

For a person to be poor in spirit, I believed them to be downtrodden, lonely, lacking in common sense, unable to make good decisions, that sort of thing. In the book of Luke, chapter 6, verse 20, Luke reports that Jesus said, Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God (NKJV). Now this puts a different spin on the idea, does it not? So are we to be blessed when we may be poor or because we may be poor in spirit? Does it mean the same thing, or were there two different sermons? Commentators