On Saturday 6th June 2020 I had the idea of reading and
discussing each Beatitude that Jesus taught in Matthew 5 on a daily basis with
a couple of my close friends.
The Beatitudes
3“Blessed
are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed
are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed
are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed
are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed
are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed
are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10Blessed
are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Day 1
vs 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
My friend said God blesses those people who depend only
on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven!
My friend said: I like this version in contemporary English
version -
Those who depend only on God is their translation for those
who are poor in spirit
And the message says those at the end of their rope! Knowing
we can't do this life thing on our own!!
My thoughts were:
I feel it is a recognition of our absolute poverty before
God. Having nothing to offer him. And, however God wants to deal with us with,
is both right and just. But how he deals with us is mercifully. Matt 15:21-28
the faith of the Canaanite woman.
Day 2
Matt 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will
be comforted.
My friend came up with
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
This was the start of the church Isaiah 40 reading today👍🏻
God doesn't give us the answers to why we mourn various
things. In this season there is a lot of mourning things that have been lost
like the end of Lucy's football season and Hannah's climbing competitions
and all the nice things Hannah would have been able to do at the end of
primary school like trips to theme parks etc and there are so many people who
have gone or suffered sickness etc... But we know for sure he is with us
and he knows all about suffering by experience even
https://youtu.be/GAGqvq4N_zQ
My thoughts were:
Mourning is associated with death. Seeing that you are dead
in your sins. But Christ comes and gives you new resurrection life in Him.
Ephesians 2:1-7
Mourning your previous life and being comforted by Christ
resurrection in you. Also as you grow in Holiness you see more and more the sin
in your life that God needs to deal with. So you mourn that.
Also comforted that death is not the end.
1 Cor 15:54-57 54 When the perishable has been
clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying
that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55“Where,
O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The
sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be
to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
My wife said:
For me it speaks of a friend who is regretting what
decisions she has in her past, but tonight I was able to comfort her by first
of all listening, then hopefully sharing God's perspective.
And the verses you shared earlier from Isaiah 40
Day 3
Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit
the earth.
My friend said:
I always have to look up what meek means!
This is the message version!
You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you
are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of
everything that can’t be bought.
To do with being humble too. Not thinking too much of
ourselves. Also not thinking too little of ourselves.
It's the opposite of what the world values - being gentle
and humble and self controlled doesn't seemingly get you very far in the world
and yet it's what father God values and he says it gets us 'the earth'!!
My thoughts were:
I know for me it's allowing God to do what wants in my life.
He is the one who defends me. As Psalm 46:1 says "a very present
help in trouble." Trusting Him He knows best, And allowing him to step in
and knowing that He will. I hadn't always been good at that but I realise I am
getting better. 👨
I want to get my head around what it means to inherit the
earth.
My wife suggested:
For me it's assessing myself correctly, as God sees me, not
being hard on myself or dismissing myself. Holding my head up
(sometimes literally) in who I am.
What I said:
Regarding inheriting the earth, a clue might be in Psalm 37:11. Gaining all that
God has for you and coming into His promises.
2 Cor 5:20 For no matter how many promises God has made,
they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is
spoken by us to the glory of God.
Day 4
Matt 5 :6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled.
I suggested:
Hunger and thirst is a core desire. When hungry or thirsty
it can feel urgent. Being hungry and thirsty for Jesus should be part of the
believers life, but remembering that He promised you will not to be thirsty
again as in John 4 ( the woman at the well) or hungry as we consume the real
food of Christ's body as in John 6.
Hunger and thirst come when you do not eat or drink for a
period. So, the lesson could be, keeping close to Jesus and knowing your
constant need of His sustenance as an on-going life choice.
My friend suggested:
And I was thinking about how we mustn't settle for any less
than righteousness in all different areas of life!
Day 5
Matt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be
shown mercy.
I had these thoughts:
This phrase comes with the backdrop of how the pharisees or
teachers of the law tended to be so enthusiastic for what the law says, be it
sabbath or whatever. That there was no room for mercy.
Knowing that our Father is merciful, we can imitate Him in
how we deal with others in our life. This in turn means we tap into Kingdom
principles by others being merciful to us for any of our slip ups- 1 Peter
4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of
sins. (quoting Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers
over all wrongs) therefore, we too, in our hunger and thirst for
righteousness is not so blinkered to not allow for mercy.
