Reflections

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

 12″Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  Matthew 5:11-12

Christians have been called all sorts of names since the beginning.  Even today we are considered intolerant and divisive because we preach that Jesus is the only way and the only truth.  Even as Jesus set out in the beginning of His ministry He told His listeners that they would be persecuted because of Him.  This is the spirit of the devil because he is out to destroy the witness and testimony of Jesus.  We should not think it is strange when we are persecuted for our beliefs or when others speak evil against us.

Jesus told us to rejoice for our reward is in heaven.  In the Old Testament they persecuted the prophets.  Yet we are still blessed despite persecution and the lies people will tell about us.  We should never be ashamed of being a “Jesus freak” or a follower of Christ.  We are a blessed people and others know it.  So let us rejoice always.

I hope you enjoyed the Beatitudes series.  It really helps us keep our faith in focus and to know that we are really blessed to have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Our Christian walk is not easy, and the path can be rough but we are blessed and highly favored of God.  We are the light and where there is light darkness cannot exist.

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 10″Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:10

All around the world there are Christians that are being persecuted.  In many countries churches are hidden because the preaching of the gospel is against the law.  There are many who convert to Christianity that are disowned by their families and even their very lives are threatened.

Jesus said blessed are those that are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.  They belong to the Kingdom.  They are blessed because they are not of this world but the Kingdom of God is theirs.  For all of us who believe in Jesus we are part of God’s Kingdom.  We are blessed to be a blessing.

Even though many Christians are persecuted for their faith, they are taking the gospel to the nations.  It is God’s desire that all men should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus and we have been commissioned to take the gospel to every corner of the earth.

Persecution is part of the Christian life.  We may not all experience the same type of persecution but we are all blessed to be members of the Kingdom of God.  Let’s pray for those who are in dangerous areas preaching and teaching the gospel.  May God continue to bring protection and safety to those that face danger everyday.  Most importantly, may God continue to add numbers to the Kingdom of heaven.

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⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  Matthew 5:9

Jesus said that He gives us His peace and leaves His peace with us.  One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is peace.  Paul encourages us that we should live peacefully with all men.  We are to be a people of peace.  We should reflect peace in our lives and try to bring peace in all situations.

It is not our job to judge people or bring about strife in any relationship.  We will be known as children of God based on how we bring peace into situations.  Jesus was a peacemaker.  He brought the ultimate peace between God and man.  Now that we are a part of Jesus and He is a part of us we are called peacemakers – the sons of God.

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⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Matthew 5:8

Sin separates us from God.  Jesus died for our sins and we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  It is our faith in Jesus that gives us a pure heart.  Those with a pure heart shall see God.

We are under a new covenant and we have direct access to God through Jesus.  So we can now seek the face of God.  The bible says if we diligently seek after God we will find Him.

God looks at the heart of a person.  If our heart is pure we will experience God and His blessings.  Whatever may corrupt our hearts we must repent and God is faithful to forgive us.  That is why Jesus talks about a person’s heart and how they can sin in their heart even though they may have not committed the physical act of sin.  So we must examine our hearts and keep them pure.  It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that our hearts remain pure.  In that purity we will see God.

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 7″Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  Matthew 5:7

God’s mercies are new every morning.  Each day we are guaranteed to experience the mercy of God.  Here Jesus is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy.  The bible teaches us that we reap what we sow.  So if we sow mercy we will reap mercy.  We always reap more than we sow, so we will always receive more mercy than we give.  That is why Jesus said merciful people are blessed.

When we show mercy we are actually an extension of God’s mercy towards mankind.  God shows mercy to others through us.  So we receive the blessing of God when we show mercy to others.

We should never hold grudges or be bitter toward one another.  Instead, as God has shown mercy to us, we should show mercy to one another.

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⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6

Have you ever wanted something so bad you would do almost anything to get it?  Well here Jesus is saying that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled.  Many of us struggle with sin but if we go after righteousness we will be satisfied.  Imagine being completely satisfied.

So how do we hunger and thirst after righteousness?  We should seek God.  The more time we spend with God the more we want Him.  The more we are with Him the more we want to be like Him.  God is righteousness.  So in essence Jesus is saying if you hunger and thirst after God, you will be satisfied.

There is no reason to hunger for temporary things or things of this earth.  Let’s set our mind on eternal things and on God for that is where we will be filled and find the most satisfaction.

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 5″Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit.  It is a fruit a Christian bears in their life.  Here Jesus is telling us that those who are gentle will inherit the earth.  As Christians we do not have to accept the earth being given over to Satan.  The earth is the footstool for Jesus and it is our inheritance.

The earth is our responsibility.  We have been given the task to further the Kingdom of God on earth.  We are the gentle ones and we are blessed with the earth as our inheritance.

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 4″Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  Matthew 5:4

When Jesus did the Sermon on the Mount He was addressing various people with various needs.  We are blessed in many situations.  Not all of our blessings come when times are great.  There are times when we are hurting that we are still blessed.  Jesus said that those who mourn are blessed.

The bible says we should mourn with those that mourn.  Mourning is part of life and God is full of love and compassion, so when we mourn we are comforted.  This scripture also shows us that we can be a blessing to those that mourn by offering comfort.  If you are mourning God has promised to comfort you.  Our greatest comforter is found in the Holy Spirit.

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³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

The Beatitudes make me think of attitudes we should have about the Kingdom of God.  Here Jesus blesses those that are poor in spirit.  Even if you are downtrodden know that yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.  I believe that Jesus is really encouraging us to look at the Kingdom and not at our life on earth.  We should set our eyes on things that are eternal and not on temporary things of the earth.  Think about it – we are part of the Kingdom of God.  We are not of this world.  We are a new creation and we are being perfected like Jesus.

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