The Beatitudes

Hey yall. I know I've been MIA for a while. My health has not been good, but God has brought me a long way from where I was! I'm so grateful for that. I'm praying to be well enough to make more youtube videos soon. Go ahead and watch some you haven't seen yet from earlier this year: youtube.com/rachelmarieministrie . I have kept up with my instagram the most Go follow me over there: RachelMarieMinistries). I plan to start blogging more again starting with this series and I will also share some updates on my health when I am able. Typing is often a challenge because of the RSD pain in my hands. If you wanna know more about my recent health struggles, look under #RachelMariesStory on IG.

So I feel like the Lord is leading me to share The Beatitudes with yall from Jesus' sermon on the mount. With each post, I will share one verse of it along with a few thoughts to expand on the meaning. So the first one in this series is this:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

- Matthew 5:3 NIV

So what does "poor in spirit" really mean anyway? According to my study, "poor" speaks of a financial state as well as an humble attitude. After my study, I think the New Living Translation most accuratelty portrays the meaning of this verse: “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs."  Lack of money is definitely something that makes one look to God. However, I believe it goes even deeper than that. To be "poor in spirit" is a condition of the heart. It is a heart surrendered to the ways of God, full of humility, recognizing that without Him we are nothing and can do nothing. On the flip side, we know that with Christ, we are co-heirs and that we can do all things through Him. May we be truly surrendered to these truths today and every day.

Rachel Marie

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

- Psalm 139:14 NIV

You are NOT a mistake! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). He knit you together intricately in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13). He knows everything about you: the good, the bad, the ugly YET He still loved you so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for your sins and sicknesses (John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5). He put on human flesh to redeem you, to rescue you from the dominion of sin. 

Your body is God's handiwork. Therefore, it is flawless. Don't let the number on the scale, the color/style of your hair, the color of your skin, the size of your jeans, the brand of your clothes, or anything else about your appearance define you. Find your identity in Christ alone. Allow Him to fill your every void. Ask Him to help you see yourself the way HE sees you. It will blow your mind. Jesus is crazy about you. He wants a personal relationship with you. Spend time with Him daily in the Bible and prayer. Allow Him to transform your self image. 

Read Psalm 139 for more amazing truths about how God created you. 

Autumn Leaves

Don't you just love the color of the leaves changing in the fall?

As I sat outside one morning, praying, enjoying the cool breeze, admiring the paints God had chosen for the leaves, He brought my mind back to a quote I read the night before. It read, "It's funny how beautiful autumn is when everything is dying".

Allow the green leaves represent the unsaved and the autumn leaves represent the saved. 

As Christians, we are to die to ourselves and live for Him. Just as the leaves are most beautiful as they are dying, we are the most beautiful to God when we die to ourselves.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

- Galatians 2:20 NIV

What's one way you can die to yourself today?

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To read more Bible Verses on dying to self, living for Him, hover over the below Scripture references:

Ephesians 4:22-24

Luke 9:23

John 3:10

Photo credit: Memogram, instawrite

God is Calling You to Himself

Faithful is He who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].
- 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (AMP)

Wow. Just let that sink in for a moment. God is calling YOU to Himself.

Maybe you've turned your back on God. Maybe you have never come to Him at all. Maybe you think you have messed up too bad, done too much wrong. Maybe you've been rejected and abandoned by so many people, you can't imagine why a holy, flawless God would want you.

But He does. God did not create one single person He did not want a personal relationship with. Let me reiterate: Faithful is He Who is calling you to Himself. Yes, you!

Maybe you're thinking.. "What if I'm addicted to drugs? Porn? Gambling?.... What if I've committed adultery? Been divorced? Had sex outside of marriage? Practiced homosexuality? Prostitution?"

Allow me to let you in on a little secret: No matter what you've done, if you come to God, He will make you whiter than snow. Yes, all of the above are sins. The wages of sin is death (hell- see Romans 6:23). BUT GOD.. sent His son Jesus.. to condemn sin in the flesh... to pay the price once and for all for your sins so that YOU might be saved. You can come to Him, repent, and turn from your sin today and start a new life. You don't have to clean your life up BEFORE you come to Jesus. Come to Jesus as you are and He will help you clean your life up. Without sin, we wouldn't be in need of a Savior. Fact is, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Without Jesus, every single one of us would be headed straight to hell, myself included. Jesus has the power to set you free from any and all of the sins listed above, and any of the ones I failed to mention.

"Come now, let's settle this," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool."
-- Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)

Jesus was questioned by the "religious people" of His day for hanging out with the drunks, the tax collectors, the "especially wicked sinners (AMP)". His reply was that, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Matt. 9:12). Jesus came for people exactly like this to bring salvation.

Guess who anointed Jesus with her alabaster box? A sinful woman. Because of her repentance, her many sins were forgiven. She had such a beautiful, unbridled worship of our Lord Jesus, as she washed His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. I imagine that out of gratefulness, she lived a life filled with dedication to Jesus, after this encounter. Jesus said, "Whoever is forgiven little loves little (Luke 7:37b)". We know that this woman was forgiven much and loved much.

Jesus deliberately went through Samaria In John 4 to meet the woman at the well. Her background? Previously, she had 5 husbands and at the time of her encounter with Jesus, she was shacking up. He sought out this woman to save her and set her free. Through her testimony, many others came to hear Him and were saved.

Paul killed Christians prior to His encounter with Jesus. He ended up leading many to Christ, as well as writing 13 books of the Bible. Clayton Jennings puts it like this: "I serve the same God who turned a killer into an Apostle". This same God is calling on you today.

Jesus already paid the price for your salvation. The only question is: Are you willing to accept it?

10) And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and [especially wicked] sinners came and sat (reclined) with Him and His disciples. 

11) And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and those [preeminently] sinful? 

12) But when Jesus heard it, He replied, Those who are strong and well (healthy) have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick. 

13) Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy [that is, readiness to help those in trouble] and not sacrifice and sacrificial victims. For I came not to call and invite [to repentance] the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God), but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin).

- Matthew 9:10-13 (AMP)

Father, I thank You that You have heard Me

41) “So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42) I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43) When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44) The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.””

- John 11:41-44 (NIV)

While Lazarus was STILL dead, Jesus thanked God for hearing Him. After praying for something we know is Scripturally promised to us, like salvation, healing, deliverance, etc., we can say in faith BEFORE we see the answer, "Father, I thank You that You have heard me", as Jesus did. So we can certainly thank God for hearing us before we feel delivered, before we feel healed, before we see the answer, for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

FLEE THE EVIL DESIRES OF YOUTH: DARE TO RUN TO JESUS

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

- 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

Photo credit: Scripture made via Expressgram

In today's world, the battle for purity is more intense than ever. With technology's advances, we must constantly be on our guard. We must put on the full armor of God to help us stand against the devil's evil schemes (Eph. 6:10-18).

In Genesis 39, we see Joseph put in charge of the home of an Egyptian officer, Potiphar, after being sold into slavery by his brothers. Even as a slave, God grants Joseph success in everything he does. Then comes the temptation.

Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph. He remains faithful to God by refusing her. Instead, he asks, "How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God (v. 9, NLT)." Nonetheless, Potiphar's wife was relentless. She pressured him day after day. Still, Joseph stood his ground and denied her.

Like Joseph, we are faced with temptations to compromise daily, not just physically but with our minds and our hearts. Purity is about more than simply saving yourself for marriage (which is very important and if you have made mistakes, you can repent & recommit to waiting today. God will cleanse you & make you whiter than snow. See Isaiah  1:18, Psalm 51:7). It's also about keeping our minds pure and guarding our hearts. We need to avoid polluting our minds and hearts with music, television, and books that send out the message that drinking, drugs, premartial sex, and homosexuality are ok when we know this is contrary to God's Word. 

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

- 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

A major key to keeping our thoughts pure is not putting garbage in our minds with the things we read, watch, and listen to. Keep your mind on God's Word. When your thoughts go in the wrong direction, submit them to Christ (See 2 Cor. 10:5). Feed yourself spiritually daily by making time with God a priority.

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

- 2 Timothy 2:22 (NIV)

Flee sexual temptation. Flee from porn. Flee from impure thoughts. Flee from things that tell you to compromise. Flee the evil desires of youth. Dare to run to Jesus.

Scripture Reading: 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

- Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 

- Genesis 39:1-10 (NIV)

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.

- Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV)

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

- Psalm 51:7 (NASB)

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

- Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

In the Love of Christ,

Rachel Marie

Do Not Be Unequally Yoked: Wait on God

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

- 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV)

Singles, wait on GOD & HIS TIMING to bring you the right person. As the saying goes, "Wait on the one who pushes you closer to God, NOT closer to sin. I challenge you to defy the urge to take matters into your own hands out of fear of being alone and obey Song of Solomon 3:5, "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.". God's Timing is perfect. 

The person He has for your will help you guard your purity. Chase hard after God, and when it's the right time, He will bring "the one" into your life.

I love what Heather Lindsey said of her single days, "As I grew closer to God while I was single, I grew further away from wanting to marry someone who did not have a relationship with Him." She also said she wanted one of God's sons, not one of satan sons. Don't allow satan a foothold to interfere with who and what God wants you to be and do by marrying or even being in a relationship with someone who is not a Christian. (If you're in a relationship with them, you can fall in love and end up marrying them- being unequally yoked which is exactly what God does NOT want you to do). Marrying a non-Christian will not only hinder you, but any future children you may have.

Trust God. Wait on His Timing. He is faithful.

Are you putting God in a box?

They spoke against God; 
they said, "Can God really spread a table in the wilderness? 
True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, 
streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?"
- Psalm 78:19-20 (NIV)

They even spoke against God himself, saying,
"God can't give us food in the wilderness.
Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out,
but he can't give his people bread and meat."
- Psalm 78:19 (NLT)

It's easy to read this Scripture and think WHAT?? The Israelites have seen God do many signs and wonders to deliver them from Egypt, part the Red Sea, guide them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire by night, split open rocks in the wilderness to give them water as abundant as the seas, and fed them with the bread of angels (see Psalm 78). Even after seeing all this, they still limit God? They still doubt His ability? They still doubt that He cares for them? Seriously?? The Israelites trust in God was limited. As many do today, they put God in a box saying, "This is what God can do; this is what He cannot do".

How often do we do this? Not necessarily with our words but with our attitudes and actions. When we take a step back, it's easy to see that we are not so different from the Israelites today. In Philippians 4:19, God promises to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. Not only is it a promise in His Word (which should be reason enough to believe it!), but you have seen Him supply your needs 1,000 times (okay, if you're honest, more times than you could count), yet you still worry that somehow this time will be different-- that somehow God will fail you, that He won't come through this time. You believe God has saved you but you don't believe He will heal you. You believe God has redeemed you from eternal damnation, but you don't believe He desires for you to have a more abundantly life, that His plans are to prosper you and not to harm you. God has healed your body, but you struggle to believe He will heal your broken heart. You believe God created you, but you don't believe you're beautiful. God has brought you through things time and time again, but you just don't believe He will do it one more time. You believe God is bigger than your problems but you insist on carrying the burden yourself-- burdens you were never meant to carry. 

Why do we limit God? Why do we tend to have this "God can do this, not that" mindset? We have to cast down imaginations and every lofty thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and take captive EVERY THOUGHT and make it obedient to Christ (See 2 Cor. 5:10).

We learn from Mark 11:24 that we have to believe BEFORE we receive. 1) Ask. 2) Believe. 3) Receive. We have to believe not just that He can, but that He will. We have to build our faith by hearing the Word (See Romans 10:17). Stay in His Word daily. Listen to Bible-based preaching often! Build yourself up in the Word to keep the faith!

So as you face your current "impossible" situation, take time to reflect on what He's already done for you. Won't He do it again? His mercies? New every morning.

Trust God. Stop limiting what God wants to do in your life with your lack of belief.. Let God out of the box in your mind and see the power He will unleash in your life.


Scripture Reading:

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

- Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)

...for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me? 

- Hebrews 13:5-6 (AMP)

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

- 1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)

Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. 

- Isaiah 53:4-5 (AMP)

This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.” 

- Matthew 8:17 (NLT)

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

- John 10:10 (KJV)

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

- Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

- Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

- Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

- Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation! Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

- Psalm 68:19 (AMP)

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

- Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV)

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).

- Psalm 55:22 (AMP)

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

- John 14:27 (AMP)

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We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

- 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

- 2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)

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Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

- Mark 11:24 (NIV)

God is Faithful,

Rachel Marie

Safe Haven

For you are God, my only safe haven...

- Psalm 43:2 (NLT)

When problems overwhelm you today, just look to Jesus: the author and finisher of our faith.  In light of Him, our light and momentary troubles quickly dissipate. Remember, in these uncertain times, God is our only safe haven. There is no need to fear, because if you are a child of God, the creator of the universe is on your side. If you walk according to His Word, "When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you" (See Proverbs 6:20-22). Though we walk through the valley of the shadow, we will fear no evil for He is with us (Psalm 23:4). Proverbs 18:10 says, "The name of The Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.

Make sure you build your house (life) on the rock (Word of God), because only then will your house stand. Building your life on anyone or anything else is like building your house on sand- it won't last. 

Don't forget to put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground (Eph. 6:13). No doubt, we all need to put on the full armor of God more than ever. 

Relentlessly pursue Jesus and not the things of this world.

Scripture Reading: 

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

- Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

- Romans 8:18 (NIV)

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

- Romans 8:31 (NIV)

When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

- Proverbs 6:22 (NIV)

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

- Psalms 23:4 (NKJV)

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. 

- Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 

- Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

- Ephesians 6:13 (NIV)

BE RENEWED BY THE LIVING WATER

Even a tree has more hope!
If it is cut down, it will sprout again
and grow new branches.
Though its roots have grown old in the earth
and its stump decays,
at the scent of water it will bud
and sprout again like a new seedling.
- Job 14: 7-9 (NLT)

If you've been walking with God very long, you know that sometimes dry seasons come. Times when you are doing everything you are supposed to (i.e.: Spending time with God daily, living according to His Word, etc.), yet He still feels so far away. This can also happen if we have sinned (be sure to confess your sin to God & repent & turn from it) or if we have let some sort of idol take up residence in our lives (An idol can be anything that takes your focus off of Christ. Yes, idols can be the so called "gods" of false religions, but it doesn't have to be. It can be a relationship, an addiction, or something as simple as spending too much time on facebook or watching tv. God is jealous for our time and attention. He doesn't want us to put anything before HIM). Regardless of the reason, if you are in a dry season, this is for you:

So maybe spiritually you feel like the tree described in Job 14:7-9-- cut down and decaying. DO NOT GIVE UP. Keep on seeking Him. We will seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with ALL of our hearts (Jer. 29:13). Chase after Jesus as hard and as fast as you can. At the mere SCENT OF WATER, the tree will bud and sprout again like a new seedling. Use this dry season to show God just how desperate you are for Him by continuing to relentlessly pursue Him. If a cut down, decaying tree will bud and sprout again like a new seeding at the scent of water, how much more will we blossom by drinking in the LIVING WATER (John 4:10, 13-14)? 

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
- Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

Father, I pray for everyone reading this. I pray for those in a dry season spiritually. I pray that they would be encouraged. May they draw near to You, and feel You drawing near to them in return. I pray they will walk by faith, not by sight until they get their spiritual breakthrough. May they blossom daily, as they seek You, The Living Water. Bring a tsunami of Your Presence into every part of their being. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In His Compassion,
Rachel Marie