Lord God, help my actions to be in line with your will, obedient to all that you are and I know you to be. Thank you Lord for your manifold blessings, your love and life, and the joy and peace you have placed in my heart. When life hits you full on, residing in those things doesn’t always seem so easy Lord. Help me to grow in the image of your son. Pour out your peace onto me Father that I may gift others with the mercy and compassion you have shown me. That as Jesus, my Saviour and Redeemer, others will come to know you and your truth, because I have acted in love and kindness rather than judgement and condemnation. Lord thank you for the blessing of being able to pray to you, to grow in our relationships with you Father. Grant us the grace and experiences to grow into the people you intended us to be.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen

The Beatitudes, part two, Matt 5:2-12

The Beatitudes

“This is what he taught them:

“God blesses those who realise their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.
God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them.
God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice,
for they will receive it in full.
God blesses those who are merciful for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the Kingdom of Heavens is theirs.
God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too.” (Matt 5:2-12)

Reading the Beatitudes last night I got to “God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full/be filled (NIV)” (5:6) and I realised I have an amazing visual aid in one of my closest friends. It is pretty much impossible to bring up social issues without him responding with sincerity & genuine passion on the need for reformation and understanding, rather than people assuming that they know what’s best, or worse still ignoring the plights of those less fortunate. This is a glimmer of part of the nature of the person you will meet in heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is explicitly repeated in this chapter and it isn’t for effect. To enter into heaven we need to have these qualities, to be more Christ-like we need to take on seeing the world through the loving, comforting and active eyes of Christ. One of the simplest prayers that you can pray is: “Lord, share your burden with me. May the things that hurt your heart hurt ours and invoke us to action, may the love you see in all of your creation be made visible to us.” The battle for truth, righteousness and justice is of God but Jesus demonstrated it whilst He was here on earth too. Jesus wants us to comfort the homeless, love those left on society’s fringes, speak out for the truth and to not be false witnesses. And how does he encourage us to do so….He sets the precedent!

In the same vein: don’t bare grudges (5:7). The God that you belong to is willing to erase everything wrong that you ever did. And you did it to Him! Undeniably, no opportunity for miscommunication, or subjective interpretations, you sinned against God. Repeatedly. But out of His eternal love He grants you forgiveness and is merciful. Pass that on…God didn’t hold onto the fact that for a lot of your life you worshipped your girlfriend more than Him or you used to treat people with coldness and a deep sense of jealousy. If He can do that for the entire population of the world, I think you can choose to let go off some stuff, no?

The judgement you treat a person with will be exercised against you, so be “merciful” in your treatment of others so that “God’s mercy towards you will win out over His judgement against you” (James 2:13). A LOT of people struggle with forgiveness, no one with an ounce of common sense would claim forgiving an abusive parent or partner is easy and God gives us the grace to really push through such occurrences. But there are so many smaller ways that we can be merciful, not arguing back or getting wound up is preemptive of having to actively forgive someone. Immediately addressing a conflict in as civil and considerate a way as possible instead of obsessing over being the one to make the first move is merciful. Mercy and love, not judgement, is responsible for a lot of transformation in the Bible, look at Zacchaeus or even Peter!

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God” (5:8). I don’t know how often on road you see God, but I’m willing to bet that it isn’t that frequently…Nobody’s perfect but that isn’t what this means. Rather, the pure in heart are those who act without thought to what they can gain, more in line with our understanding of selflessness. Imagine coming into contact with a person, who NEVER thought of themselves and how they’d be affected in the pursuit of righteousness. The next couple verses go onto the persecution you will face in the name of Jesus, but such a person would still willingly choose this path rather than worry about what they’d stand to lose or gain. Martyrs have existed since Stephen, Paul and Peter and exist to this day. In Turkey in 2007, whilst holding a bible study for new Christians three missionaries were tortured for hours and finally killed. When their wives spoke to the media they spoke of the joy and love that would have got their husbands through it and how they would have suffered wilfully. These men didn’t deny Jesus, they didn’t try to get themselves out of the predicament by negotiating and lying, but left such an amazing example of selflessness. Aim for this, strive for this, for you will see God.

Blessed are the “peacemakers”. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, by that alone we should strive to be peaceful and harbour peace in the relationships we see around us. But there’s a real sense of agency in this verse. The Lord blesses those who attempt to cultivate peace between God and man. When you help or pray or intercede on the behalf of others, on whatever scale, you are working towards peace for God’s creation and this pleases Him to no end. I don’t know the level of antagonism you encounter daily but for some of us this is a pretty tall order, for others it occurs on more of a macro scale. But seek it out, true peace is of God so in spreading the gospel we seek to unify people to knowing this peace and reflecting it.

Matthew 5:10-12 brings in the final beatitude: “God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted, too.”

I don’t think I need to break that one down for you, but isn’t it an epic point to finish with. Have a lovely Sunday x

Leaving It Up To God, Proverbs 16:33

“We may throw the dice but The Lord determines how they fall.” (Proverbs 16:33)

When we say that we devote our lives to the Father, when we give ourselves to Him, we must do it wholly in heart. When things don’t seem to go the way we had planned we can despair or let this message really resonate with us, reminding us in all things His Will be done. And what a blessing it is to submit to and recieve the manifold blessings of relying on an all-knowing, all-powerful, just, loving and merciful Father.

Sometimes a door may feel closed to us, but that’s God’s plan, and providence will make whatever is coming so much more than what our minds could have envisioned. All we have to do is accept it! To trust wholeheartedly in God providing for us, in a God who is steadfast in His ways will transform our lives. Our relationship is not based off of what we can do for Him, because He sure doesn’t need us to achieve anything and yet He’s always there, ready and waiting to provide things beyond our wildest dreams.

Look at your friends who follow the Way, God has such a plan for you and for them, be grateful that you just get to witness and experience such a thing.

Always remember: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

God bless x