Tag Archives: stephanie pavlantos

Stephanie Pavlantos: The Pure in Heart Sees God Everywhere

VineWords Devotions and More

How blessed are the pure in heart! For they will see God. MATTHEW 5:8 CJB I read a great quote on the Beatitudes by Skip Moen, Ph.D. He says, “[A Beatitude] is not a “blessing” that implies one party granting a favor to another party. A Beatitude is really a macarism, an announcement of an existing state, a status of happiness. https://skipmoen.com/2018/02/character-1/ Today, we will explore the sixth Beatitude of Matthew 5. As said above, these are not blessings over you … Continue reading →

Stephanie Pavlantos: Mercy!

VineWords Devotions and More

How blessed are those who show mercy! For they will be shown mercy. MATTHEW 5:7 CJB One of my mom’s favorite expressions of surprise is “Mercy!” (Imagine a Southern accent with that)  My youngest son, Michael loved to imitate her by repeating it when she visited. My mom always got a kick out of it. Even though my mom is no longer able to drive up to see us–and for now is living in South Texas–Michael will occasionally go around … Continue reading →

Stephanie Pavlantos: Do You Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness?

VineWords Devotions and More

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6 We are continuing our series in the Beatitudes. Today, we will examine the fourth Beatitude found in Matthew 5:6. You can go back and read the last three posts if you haven’t already. We didn’t have much growing up. My father had a stroke that paralyzed him on his right side. With a fairly young family, he could now, no longer work. My mom … Continue reading →

Stephanie Pavlantos: O the Blessedness of the Meek

VineWords Devotions and More

O the blessedness of the meek! For they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 CJB Let me start off by saying, Wow! I found some cool meanings of these words in my research of ancient Hebrew, and I am really excited to show and tell you what God led me to. I just bought a really cool book called Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible by Jeff A. Benner (Yes, I am a total geek). It doesn’t just explain the Hebrew of the Bible … Continue reading →

Stephanie Pavlantos: Joy Comes in the Mourning

VineWords Devotions and More

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.          Matthew 5:4 ESV When was the last time you mourned over someone or something? There are days my heart is heavy over the things I see in this world–in politics, in the church, or in our country. I have mourned over the death of family members and pets, and the loss of relationships. Sometimes as I mourned, I felt Jesus mourning with me, and other times … Continue reading →

Stephanie Pavlantos: The Passover Lamb

VineWords Devotions and More

Growing up, I loved Easter Sunday. We dressed up in our new dresses, ate the candy from our Easter basket, went to church, and spent the day with family eating a lot of food. I grew up hearing the same story every year of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. I’m not sure how much it really meant to me until I was out of college. I remember hearing a song called Watch the Lamb by Ray Boltz in the late 1990s. It … Continue reading →

Stephanie Pavlantos: The Betrothal

VineWords Devotions and More

After four months of dating, my boyfriend got some of our friends together and planned a three-day cruise. There were eight of us total, four guys and four girls — two rooms (one for the guys and one for the girls). Then, off we went to the Bahamas. On the last night of our cruise, there was a formal dinner with great food, friends, and fun. At the end of the night, Mike took me to the top deck overlooking … Continue reading →