Jesus warned His followers that as they faced a hostile world they would also face persecutions, imprisonments, and be brought before rulers for His Names sake, (see Luke 21:12). He had already told them in Matthew 5:11-12 that under such circumstances they should “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.” In Acts 16 Paul and Silas find […]
In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus taught His disciples – and He teaches us – not to worry about life’s needs. To be certain He is not teaching a Christian welfare state where His followers do not work and just expect everything to be handed to them; indeed the Bible teaches the exact opposite, “…if anyone will […]
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels…” that is we have the treasure of Jesus Christ with the light, knowledge, and power He brings within these earthen vessels of clay, which like all vessels made of clay are weak and very fragile. In Romans 7:18 the Apostle said […]
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah” Psalm 68:19. By dropping the two words “with benefits” which are not in the original manuscripts, but were added by translators in an effort to clarify, we can see a whole different picture here. Now don’t get me wrong, […]
As we continue our fast paced journey through the beatitudes we hear Jesus saying, “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons (children KJV) of God” Matthew 5:9. Being a peacemaker is imitating our Father, Ephesians 2:14. I believe this takes on two different aspects; one is peace between ourselves, peace among men […]
Today we will look briefly at three more of the keys Jesus gave us in Matthew 5:1-12 to unlock and give us access into the blissful state of blessings that await those who enter through these gates. The fourth key is to hunger and thirst for righteousness, the righteousness of God. What happens when you […]
The next three meditations based on Matthew 5:1-12 highlight the nine “blesseds” we know as the Beatitudes. The Greek word translated blessed is “Makarios” and means “supremely blest” The Amplified Bible endeavoring to give us better understanding uses numerous words to describe it which include, happy, blithesome, joyous, enviably fortunate, and others. In these verses […]
“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies…Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her…a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” Proverbs 31:10, 28, 30. The power and influence of a woman’s earnest prayer, virtuous example, and sound instruction holds […]