The Beatitudes
Matthew 5:1-12
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Somehow reading familiar passages is comforting to me but still, I have to be on guard against just skimming over passages thinking they have nothing new to tell me. When I catch myself doing this I stop and ask God to slow me down. In my comfort state it might not seem that I need to be slowed down, but being in the comfort zone is just the place where you can let things slip by without noticing. Have you ever been driving to a destination and when you arrived didn't remember going thru a particular street or city? That's scary.
As I look at the Beatitudes this morning I noticed that these are all promises from God. He tells us that we are "Blessed" when we fulfil each of the actions He lists. What does the word "Blessed" mean? I suppose each of us have our own way of describing the word "Blessed". For me it's certainly worthy of thinking on today. As Jesus taught then and teaches today, where do I fit in? Am I blessed? Am I doing what He would have me do under each of these circumstances? In some areas I am strong and others weak. Yes, I am blessed... but only through His power.
Carley Ann learning to paint finger nails.
Mustard Seed: It doesn't matter how much you mess up, God is always loving you, guiding you, and proud of all your efforts just like we are of our children.
3 comments:
I so love the nails and the nail tech you have, you could tell she was proud of those nail's....sweet. I believe we are blessed but just dont relize it, I know I am quilty of that right now. Thank you dear Phyllis for the lovely reading this morning.
Hugs always Annette
yes, Phyllis I think we are truly blessed in many ways , but we need to turn our ear to heaven and to the bible to realize what that blessing is...to appreciate the moment, to realize where we fit in, and have an understanding within ourselves of how much we have grown or been touched through prayer....God pretty much lays it all out for us...and this is where my "listening" skills could be improved...many times I am blessed and do not realize it until much later...I suppose that is part of the human condition...very interesting to think about.
The nails are lovely. Reminds me of when Kristin use to paint mine...sweet, memorable days. Carley Ann is so adorable...I can just hear her cute little Georgian accent...sometimes on the Internet we forget about accents...being from California I don't think we have one and I think how dull that must be for those who have to listen to us.
I'm off to start another day,
may your day be filled with moments of sweet pleasure or REST if the weekend was tiring ~
good day, my friend,
Joni
i feel blessed beyond measure....for everything from God's hand..some that we are not even aware of yet..i know that in addition, we are blessed when we "are and do" those things that please Him....but life....the sacrifice of Jesus....all the miracles....His unfailing love...i do, indeed, feel blessed....and hope each day that i am thankful.
love the nails....and as annette said....she is very happy with the end result! :) have been helping relieve a momma with a sick baby this a.m.....hopefully he will be better tomorrow.
hugs,
kimberly
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