“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted<\/em>” (Matthew 5:3-4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Jesus’s first words of teaching, as recorded for us in Matthew, show us that how we come to God truly matters.<\/p>\n A common mindset is that we are largely good people who have made a few mistakes. We need a little polishing, some correction, and a little topping off of good things. We’ve done some things wrong, but we are good-hearted, and our good outweighs the wrong we have done. We have some things in our ledger against us, but they aren’t truly evil, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up about them.<\/p>\n If I come believing I am whole, how can I be made whole? If I come believing that I am mostly whole, how can God truly fill me?<\/p>\n Come to God empty and broken. Come dead to be made alive. Come hopeless to be reborn. Come ruined to be renewed. Come a fool to be made wise.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Chadwick Brewer “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3-4). Jesus’s first words of teaching, as recorded for us in Matthew, show us that how we come to God truly matters. A common mindset is that we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1642,463],"class_list":["post-98006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-humble","tag-humility"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8428,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-a-broken-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":98006,"position":0},"title":"What are the advantages and disadvantages of a broken marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the advantages of broken marriages? What are the disadvantages of broken marriages? Answer: \"And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45396,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-christs-body-broken\/","url_meta":{"origin":98006,"position":1},"title":"Was Christ’s body broken?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I Corinthians 11:24 says, \"And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, \"Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.\" Was his (Christ's) body broken? Or is this referring to the bread? When leading the prayer for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54642,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-the-bread-be-broken-by-the-one-presiding-at-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":98006,"position":2},"title":"Must the bread be broken by the one presiding at the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I looked at your Q&A about the Lord's supper, but could not find an answer to my question.\u00a0 Is there any Bible teaching that the man who is \"presiding\" at the serving of the Lord's Supper needs to break the bread in two before serving it to the congregation?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22929,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-regards-to-acts-238-satan-certainly-has-you-fooled\/","url_meta":{"origin":98006,"position":3},"title":"In regards to Acts 2:38, Satan certainly has you fooled!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Just read\u00a0your article on Acts 2:38. Satan certainly has you fooled! Answer: I assume you are referring to \"Is Acts 2:38 Heresy?\" Given that you offer only an empty opinion, not answering according to scripture as God commands (I Peter 4:11), the evidence in regards to foolishness doesn't point\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29010,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-died-first-jesus-or-the-thief\/","url_meta":{"origin":98006,"position":4},"title":"Who died first, Jesus or the thief?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who died first, Jesus or the thief? Answer: \"Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43604,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/church-should-just-be-simple-bible-teachings-without-the-unnecessary-frosting-that-just-adds-empty-calories-to-peoples-spiritual-lives\/","url_meta":{"origin":98006,"position":5},"title":"Church should just be simple Bible teachings without the unnecessary “frosting” that just adds empty calories to people’s spiritual lives","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: May God bless you all. I came across your great page and just thanked the Lord for that. Reading through it was just a great piece of God letting me know He has been listening to my questions and thoughts about the church. 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But Jesus shows us how to approach God: empty and broken. Without God, His forgiveness, His guidance, and His restoration, I am spiritually empty and bankrupt. I am to come to Him broken over the separation from God caused by my sins. We are to come broken so He can make us whole. We are to come empty so that He can fill us with His fullness.<\/p>\n