“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
–Jesus, Matthew 5:8, NIV, accessed from BibleGateway.com
Blessed are those who see the world through the eyes of love. When our hearts are pure we see a world filled with life, love and oneness. We see God.
Dig Deeper: How do we better express that lifestyle?
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
–Matthew Jesus, Matthew 5:7, NIV, accessed from BibleGateway.com
If we show mercy to others
God will show mercy to us.
Scary isn’t it?
Digging Deeper
Where do you fall short in showing mercy to others?
How can you do better?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
— Jesus, The Bible, Matthew 5:6, NIV, Accessed by Bible Gateway.com
Some precious souls can do many good deeds; they feed the hungry, help heal the sick and wounded, comfort the abused, visit the imprisoned and do many other good and honorable things. Yet these same people are often, themselves, rejected, misunderstood, seen as prey either socially, financially or politically and often do they cry out in their anguish for fair treatment.
Dig Deeper:
How can we be an instrument of God to help the person seeking fair treatment find peace in God?
Do you hunger for God?
What are you doing to find peace in your Creator?
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
– – Jesus, Matthew 5:5 The Bible, NIV, Accessed via BibleGateway.org
Meekness in our world is often seen as weakness. But if we look at meekness as power under control we see a different picture. While power, position and prestige may be what is valued in the world today, and at the time this teaching was given, Jesus was living and teaching a way of life that would show the world God.
Digging Deeper
What does living a live of meekness or power under control look like in today’s world?
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
— Jesus, Matthew 5:4 NIV, accessed through BibleGateway.com
People who suffer from various forms of discrimination and unjustness at the hands of nonbelievers do mourn for the indignation of such treatment and for those who perform it because while not knowing it, such people, in reality, do not know God. They mourn for not only the injustice they feel by the perpetuation of the injustice dealt toward them but also for the loss of peace for planet earth by the expression of such hatred from nonbelievers and those who do not know how to express their faith.
Dig Deeper:
How do modern world citizens mourn for the lost possibilities
of a manifestation of Heaven on Earth?
How does the Holy Spirof God comfort us through this?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Jesus, Matthew 5:3, NIV (New International Version), accessed from BibleGateway.com
So who are the poor in spirit? The version of this in Luke 6:20 says simply blessed are the poor.
Those poor in the material things of this world have a special place in God’s heart? Why? Because they must recognize their dependence on God for their sustenance.
The poor in spirit are hungry for the things of God. We are blessed when we seek after God for not only our physical sustenance but our spiritual sustenance as well.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5
https://www.catholic.com/qa/who-are-the-poor-in-spirit
https://blog/biblesforamerica.org/blessed-are-the-poor-in-spirit
Dig a Little Deeper:
Do you hunger for God?
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.” — The Bible Matthew Chapter 5:1-2, New International Version, accessed via Bible Gateway.com.
Beginning today we will be considering that great teaching session of Jesus usually referred to as the “Sermon on the Mount.” This sermon takes up three chapters of the book of Matthew (5, 6 and 7) and includes lots of good stuff. This is where Jesus talks about being salt and light in the world, murder, oaths, “an eye for an eye,” giving to the needy, prayer, laying up treasures in heaven, judging others, ask, seek, knock, true and false prophets and disciples and much, much, more.
But this lengthy teaching begins with what we call The Beatitudes, that series of statements beginning with the words “blessed are.” We will be going through these verse by verse, one per day.
Dig a Little Deeper: As we read about these think about the people Jesus calls blessed — is it shocking? How does it go against conventional wisdom or popular culture?
Dig a Little Deeper:
How would the Rebel Jesus respond
to our world culture and situations?
(Please respond to these questions with your reactions in the comments area of these posts. Everyone wants to know your thoughts about these challenges.
The world can be changed only if we follow our spiritual leaders, talk about it, and act upon it.
— Bob R.)
“Want to keep Christ in Christmas?
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted,
care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
― Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience
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Dig a Little Deeper
How do you keep Christ in Christmas?
You strive to live Christ-life for the rest of the year as well.
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[b]”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’[c]”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[d]”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[e]”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. –
We all find ourselves in a spiritual wilderness at times when we are forced to answer the hard questions. Do we trust God to provide for us? Do we worship the gods of this world, money and power or do we worship God? Do we sometimes test God because we do not trust his provision?
I must confess that I do not always pass these tests when presented to me in my life. I worry about lack, not having enough to survive. I sometimes find myself starting to get sucked into the worldly quest for money and power.
That is why it is so important for us to read the Gospels. To once again hear the words of Jesus because we all know that as in this story, and in our lives today, temptation doesn’t go away because we resist it once. It will wait “until an opportune time” and try again.
So as we look at the life and words of Jesus who came to be the great example not the great exception we are each called to turn within and ask ourselves those hard questions. Who or what do I trust? Who or what do I serve? God? Or the wealth, power or political, social and religious leaders of this world?
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Question to Ponder
In what ways are you tempted by wealth and power?