“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 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?
“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
———-
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.
“Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken.”―
———-
Dig a Little Deeper:
As followers of Jesus, how can we love like Jesus loved?
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” —Henri J.M. Nouwen
“To make this world joyful, let your heart overflow with joy.” — Debasish Mridha