Please join me in an in-depth look of the beatitudes. First, the word beatitude comes from the Latin noun beātitūdō that means happiness. Starting with that word and definition we can see that the beatitudes are directions for us to be happy. It seems that too often we think that these verses are a state of being; I would suggest that they are action verses. With that as our base, let’s look at the actions of Matt 5:3.
Let’s look closely at the “poor in spirit”. The word “poor” is the Greek word ptōchos which literally means a beggar. In other words, someone that...
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Matthew 5:3 (NKJV)
"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:4 (NKJV)
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
We have all mourned for something; the loss a loved one, a job, a friendship, or a pet. I believe we need to view this verse as a temporary condition, not a permanent state. We need to look at the word ‘mourn’. I am not trying to make light of our losses but they are not a permanent feeling or way of feeling. The thought that came to me was mourning over our condition of spiritual bankruptcy, if you will.
When we realize that we are helpless in a situation, we go through a type of mourning. There are those who...
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Matthew 5:5 (NKJV)
"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
Meek, what an interesting word, one that is not used much in modern times. I remember my grandfather using meek when talking about horse training. He said that he did not break horses, he 'meeked' them. This intrigued me and led me on a search regarding the meaning of meek. Too often we think of the word meek as being weak.
We get an image in our mind of a little guy kind of trembling in the corner when the big guys come in the room. This is actually a completely wrong interpretation of the word meek. According to Webster's 1828...
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Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."
This verse is perhaps one of the easiest to understand as it is pretty self-explanatory. Have you ever been really thirsty? We were branding one spring while it was a very sunny and warm day. For those that have been involved with branding calves you understand how dusty and dry it can get.
About half way through I was not sure I could feel my tongue anymore. I wanted water in the worst way, almost to a point of not being able to continue without it. I think that is what Jesus means when He says hunger and thirst for righteousness."...
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Matthew 5:7 (KJV)
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
This verse may be the easiest to grasp of this list of scripture. Even so, lets dig deeper. Mercy is a big subject throughout the Bible. For me, the word mercy is somewhat of a mystery. What does it mean to be merciful? Is it simply not condemning someone? The Greek word is eleeō, it could also be translated as compassion or compassionate.
So, it seems to me that compassion is a form of mercy. Unfortunately, that is a tough one as I am not a very compassionate person by nature. My wife on the other hand is very compassionate. With the...
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Matthew 5:8 (NKJV)
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
This one is a little harder to cover without going on for days. Pure in heart; who is pure in heart? Can anyone be truly pure in heart? Jeremiah 17:9 states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” So, if the heart is deceitful, how can anyone be pure in heart?
As I dug deeper I discovered Jesus talked a lot about the heart and actions. Matthew15:18, says “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” The point is not that I have a pure heart in the sense that I never have a bad thought,...
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Matthew 5:9 (NKJV)
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
When we run across this verse, one of the first things that come to mind is our law enforcement. Especially in today's world where they are being attacked from all sides. Please pray for all our law enforcement as they are in need of our support.
As for all of us, this verse is not just for those whose job is to keep peace. God's word is pretty clear on those who stir up trouble.
Proverbs 17:14 says The beginning of strife is like releasing water; therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts." There are many many other verses that speak about...
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Matthew 5:10 (NKJV)
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Persecution is one of those words that we don't use much in our everyday language. It can be difficult to understand. Many times we think of biblical persecution such as with the apostles and what they endured. That is not the only type of persecution, however. Persecution can be when the majority, or close to, are against you for your belief, color, ethnicity, or the likes.
So, in this verse Jesus talks about being persecuted for righteousness' sake. In other words, people coming against you for trying to live a Godly life and do what is right in Gods eyes.
I look...
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Matthew 5:11 (NKJV)
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake."
This verse seems fairly self-explanatory. When we look at it closely, we can see that we are warned; we will be reviled and persecuted because of Christ. We have already discussed persecution but let's look at the word revile. According to the 1828 version of Webster's dictionary, the word revile is a contemptuous language; in other words, when people speak against you.
The MLT translates it to say when people speak evil against you. I would submit that it is even less than speaking evil. When people call you a religious nut, or something along those lines, that fits in the...
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Matthew 5:12 (NKJV)
"Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
I left this for last; the Beatitudes are not a message for non-believers. His message was for followers of Christ. This message is an outline of Godly living. A message of hope in times of trouble. If you look back at each of these you will notice that each verse starts with a problem, so to speak, followed by an encouragement. Many times we read through this and look at it as 'nice words' or maybe 'a cool thought'. Really this is a detail of a believer's hope in Christ during times of trouble.
To wrap up our study of the...
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Psalm 37:4 (NKJV)
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."
This is one of my favorite verses, Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Once again, here’s an expectation for us as Christians. We are told to ‘delight’ ourselves in the Lord. Our relationship with the Lord ought to bring us more joy, satisfaction, and pleasure than any other relationship, activity, or material possession that we have in our life. It’s a simple question, “What brings us delight?”
It ought to be Jesus and if not, we have some adjustments to make.
If this is not the case, then we must take corrective...
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Stay Focused: Living for Christ Amid Life's Distractions
"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."
I backed into the heeling box and as my partner was setting his head horse I did something I have never done before – I looked at my watch. It was 10:34 at night and I still have 90 miles to drive home from this rodeo with a full day of irrigating and checking yearlings starting in just a few hours. This is when I knew I was beginning to lose my edge.
All of my years competing in the arena and now I am worried about the time? I am the type of competitor that completely shuts everything out except...
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Luke 22:39-44 NKJV
"Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him."
Sometimes it is so easy for us to get caught up in the world and all it has going on. Especially at the beginning of a new year. Going through Christmas and all of the worldly things that come with it can lead us in a direction away from God. Usually this happens slowly and subtly. It’s not that we are bad people or false believers. Jesus warned us of these things and showed us, through Peter, that we can be drawn away.
Being in a new year and having gone through the Christmas season, one part of scripture has been...
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