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Blessed Are: A Practical Look at the Beautitudes
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Thus begins the famous words of Jesus known as the Beatitudes. There are eight such sayings, each beginning with the words, “Blessed are.” Each one of these beatitudes taught everyone in the first century (and still teaches everyone in the twenty-first century) how to be blessed. They might be mistaken for a shopping list for the soul, just a list of eight virtues to pick up before we leave the store. But they’re not. They’re inseparably interwoven. In fact, they’re like rungs on an eight-foot ladder. Each one leads to the next. And the journey to the top starts for each of us on the bottom rung with “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
In this book LJ Harry brings practical wisdom to an ancient text. His engaging style, uncompromising devotion, and hard-earned wisdom shines through these pages as he teaches us from his experiences and observations how we, too, can be blessed as we follow the principles exemplified in the Beatitudes.
In this book LJ Harry brings practical wisdom to an ancient text. His engaging style, uncompromising devotion, and hard-earned wisdom shines through these pages as he teaches us from his experiences and observations how we, too, can be blessed as we follow the principles exemplified in the Beatitudes.
137 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2023
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12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 19, 2026
LJ Harry is a great author who tied both stories as biblical text and teaching together to explain the beatitudes. He explains the beatitudes as if each one is a different rung of the ladder reaching up to the next one. I love how he ends the book by explaining how we are called to be both salt and light to this world. Your relationship with Jesus and his light shining through you will cause others to thirst for Him. Live out your faith everyday no matter where you are. The world is counting on you to shine your light.
April 24, 2024
In his recent book, Blessed Are: A Practical Look at the Beatitudes, author L. J. Harry goes through the Beatitudes, starting with “blessed are the poor in spirit.” I appreciated that each of the eight Beatitudes had their own chapter, and the author expounded on what Jesus was saying when he was talking about the Beatitudes on the mountain.
The author has a way of sharing personal stories that connect to the Beatitudes he’s talking about. There were funny stories, and there were moments in the book so great I had to highlight several quotes.
Here are three of the quotes that I highlighted:
“Our lives should make others around us thirsty to be filled with the same One who fills us.”
“There’s no reason for you to load on your back what Jesus already carried on His.”
“The poor in spirit don’t demand anything of God. He doesn’t owe us anything; we owe Him everything. The poor in spirit understand we won’t always understand.”
Blessed Are: A Practical Look at the Beatitudes chapter 11 “Blessed Are the Persecuted” impacted me in such a deep way as the author explained that ten out of the twelve disciples were persecuted because of their faith. While I was reading this chapter, I thought “Could I be like the disciples and die for my faith?” The persecutor would say to the people they were persecuting, “If you just reproach Christ, you can live.” I hope that if I face persecution, I will stay strong in my faith and be like Peter and Andrew. This chapter will make you stop and think, Am I truly a follower of Jesus?
I learned that being poor in spirit is more of how you look at things in life and how you respond to things. When you don’t get the job you’ve been wanting or the miracle you’ve been waiting for, will you show up on Sunday and worship God with everything you have? At the end of the day, people who are poor in spirit know that they wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for God.
I’ve learned so much about the Beatitudes. I can tell that the author did his research and studied a lot before he wrote this book. This needs to be on your bookshelf. I can’t wait to see what author L. J. Harry writes next!
The author has a way of sharing personal stories that connect to the Beatitudes he’s talking about. There were funny stories, and there were moments in the book so great I had to highlight several quotes.
Here are three of the quotes that I highlighted:
“Our lives should make others around us thirsty to be filled with the same One who fills us.”
“There’s no reason for you to load on your back what Jesus already carried on His.”
“The poor in spirit don’t demand anything of God. He doesn’t owe us anything; we owe Him everything. The poor in spirit understand we won’t always understand.”
Blessed Are: A Practical Look at the Beatitudes chapter 11 “Blessed Are the Persecuted” impacted me in such a deep way as the author explained that ten out of the twelve disciples were persecuted because of their faith. While I was reading this chapter, I thought “Could I be like the disciples and die for my faith?” The persecutor would say to the people they were persecuting, “If you just reproach Christ, you can live.” I hope that if I face persecution, I will stay strong in my faith and be like Peter and Andrew. This chapter will make you stop and think, Am I truly a follower of Jesus?
I learned that being poor in spirit is more of how you look at things in life and how you respond to things. When you don’t get the job you’ve been wanting or the miracle you’ve been waiting for, will you show up on Sunday and worship God with everything you have? At the end of the day, people who are poor in spirit know that they wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for God.
I’ve learned so much about the Beatitudes. I can tell that the author did his research and studied a lot before he wrote this book. This needs to be on your bookshelf. I can’t wait to see what author L. J. Harry writes next!
July 9, 2024
When I tell you this boom made me sob. This book was so good. So enlightening and comforting and beautifully written. This really does give such a great description of what each beatitude means to help us fully understand. I will never not recommend this book.
April 19, 2024
LJ Harry is a great storyteller. The beatitudes as rungs on a ladder is a great comparison and the stories he uses to illustrate each one make them more accessible than ever.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews