“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, Matthew5:10-12. To be persecuted is to be afflicted so as to cause you injury, distress, and annoyance. Now if being reviled and persecuted come because you have done something stupid, or you have acted outside of wisdom, and without […]
“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God” Matthew 5:8. Pure is one of the words that explain the Greek word Katharos that is used here; other words of definition for it are Clean, Undefiled, and Without blemish. It is essential that we understand this purity is of the heart. When the […]
“Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” Matthew 5:7. The Greek word that is used here is ELEEMON which means “compassionate”. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:4 that God “is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us”. And in Titus 3:5 “according to His mercy He […]
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” Matthew 5:6. Using our natural desire for daily food and water, Jesus portrays a person that manifests a strong desire, yes even craving, for righteousness (“uprightness and right standing with God)” Amplified Bible. We were created with this instinct within us, however, we like ancient civilizations […]
“Blessed are those who mourn…” Matthew 5:3; the Greek here means to grieve or lament. Jesus is not necessarily or primarily speaking here of sharing the grief of someone that has experienced bereavement, although such sharing is taught in Scripture and definitely has its rewards. The mourning we see here is that of those who […]
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, this is the first of nine blessed’s in Matthew 5:3-12. The Greek here means to be supremely blessed, and through extension to be fortunate or well off, the Amplified Bible using happy as an alternate or explanatory word. To be poor in […]
In Matthew 14:22-33 we are given the account of the time Jesus sent His disciples to the other side of the sea of Galilee by boat while He went up on the mountain to pray. As evening came on a wind-storm arose on the sea, and the disciples toiled against it into the night; but […]
In Genesis 2 is the story of two trees, the one was life giving and life sustaining, and the other would bring death and all the side effects that came with it. God clearly laid out the choice before Adam warning that he should not partake of the second tree if he would choose life. […]
“The word became flesh and dwelt among us…”John 1:14. Just as God manifested Himself to the Hebrew people through the Tabernacle in the wilderness, so Jesus came to manifest Him to us by “Tabernacling” (or dwelling) among us so we can behold and experience His glory. He is God’s living and life changing word in […]
A neighbor can be viewed as someone that lives close to you, but also as a fellowman, as the Greek word used by a lawyer in Luke 10:29 “And who is my neighbor?” as well as Webster bears out. As Jesus tells the parable of “The good Samaritan” in verses 25-39 of this chapter, a […]