BLESSED ARE (PART 6)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Matthew 5:8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There is little doubt that the Lord desires for His people to seek purity in the way they live. For example, look at this exhortation from Paul’s first letter to Timothy:

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

In the way we live, we should seek to set an example when it comes to living in purity just as Paul encouraged Timothy to do.

Paul had more to say to Timothy on this matter in his second epistle:

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2:22

Note here that if purity of heart is possible, a person must eradicate wickedness from their life by fleeing from evil desires. Iniquity is to be exchanged for righteousness which leads a person to the kind of purity the Lord desires.

Finally, David had this to say about purity in the 24th Psalm:

“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place?”

“The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.” Psalm 24:3-5

What does one gain from having “clean hands and a pure heart”?

David makes it clear that they will “receive blessing from the Lord” and as we look at our sixth Beatitude in today’s devotion, we find Jesus agrees with David’s promise. Look again at these words from our Savior:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”  Matthew 5:8

Our devotional series has been based on this matter of being blessed in certain situations with the word “blessed” actually meaning the word “happy” and that makes total sense in this instance, right?

Those who live in a way that shows their hearts are pure SHOULD be happy because they are living in a way that the Lord favors, a way that is pleasing in His sight. They get to that juncture only by being obedient to the scriptures and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide their thoughts, words, and actions. Come to think about it, that’s what Jesus did, wasn’t it? He was always about His Father’s business, always seeking to please His Father with everything that He did, always obedient to His Father’s word, will, and way. And when we truly live as Christians, then we will live as Christ Jesus did, with a pure heart, as we model the way He lived all the way to eternity because of salvation He promised to bring to all who placed their belief in Him.

In other words, when we are pure in heart, living as Jesus did and gaining eternal life through placing our hope in Him, then there is nothing that is going to keep us from seeing God one day, the day when He opens up the doors of eternity to abide with us forever.

Truly, blessed (happy) are the pure in heart and I pray you are counted in that number today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

BLESSED ARE (PART 5)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Blessed are. It’s the name I’ve given to this none devotion series because these two words are the ones Jesus uses as He reveals what is known as the Beatitudes, the opening words of His Sermon on the Mount.

So who has Jesus acknowledged as being blessed to date?

They include the poor in spirit, those who are mourning, the meek, and all who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Today, we add the merciful. Look at the seventh verse of Matthew 5 again here:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

So what does it mean to be merciful?

Let’s look at the dictionary definition:

Someone showing or exercising mercy.

They will exhibit these qualities:

forgiving, compassionate, pitying, humane, mild, kind, softhearted, tenderhearted, gracious, sympathetic, humanitarian, and tolerant

Does this define who you are?

It certainly did Jesus and if we are going to have any hope of being counted in the number of the merciful then we need to use Him as our model. For no one else has been perfectly forgiving, perfectly compassionate, and as perfectly sympathetic than Him. We only need think about our sin affliction and the position it had mankind in before Jesus to realize this.

There was no way we could access God, none, before Jesus was born. Because of our sin, we were destined to be separated from our Father in Heaven, from our Maker and Master. But God, because of His deep love and mercy for us, did not wish to be apart from us but He needed some way to eliminate the sin barrier. A sacrifice would be needed for atonement, a sacrifice that would be flawless and unblemished. Jesus, proclaimed by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29), would be that sacrifice.

And so Jesus was born and grew up into adulthood, knowing He would be the One to pay the price for the sins of the world, understanding that He would severely suffer and then die, willingly substituting Himself for everyone else.  

Now that’s mercy, a mercy that absolves and atones, a mercy that brings salvation to anyone who places their faith and trust in Him, that person justified by the blood of Jesus who washes away their transgressions and leaves them white as snow.

None of us will ever be able to give someone salvation, only Jesus can do that, but we can forgive and pardon others when they have done us wrong. We can be humane and compassionate to those who are in need of it. We can be sympathetic and empathetic to those who are struggling in the midst of difficulty and hardship.

We can be merciful and as a result we can be blessed or happy as a result. Indeed, we don’t just bless those in need of mercy but we become blessed through being merciful. It’s a win-win proposition.

But just in case we need a little more incentive, this in the negative reinforcement category, go back and look at the tail end of today’s Beatitude again.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Note here that if you want to be counted among those who are shown mercy, you had better show mercy yourself. In other words, mercy begets mercy, your mercy results in mercy from the Lord.

Doesn’t that add a little urgency to the matter of us being merciful?

It certainly keeps us from thinking we’re going to receive mercy no matter how we behave, like the Father’s mercy is automatic.

Let’s all agree to not make this hard. Jesus was perfectly merciful. As Christians, we’re to be like Him in every way. And so if we do as we should do and model our lives after Jesus (the “Christ” part of being a Christian) then we should have no problem being merciful, in return receive mercy ourselves, and in the end, be blessed.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

BLESSED ARE (PART 4)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.”

Luke 6:21a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever found yourself desperately hungry or thirsty?

I know I have.

At least for me, my body sends me all kinds of signals when I deprive it of things necessary for it to function right.

When I fail to eat, I start to feel light headed and listless, sometimes even getting a headache, my energy levels failing for lack of fuel.

When I fail to drink enough fluids, I find that I can’t perspire as I should and cool my body temperature properly. My muscles also can begin to cramp up on me, a crippling and painful place to be.

Maybe you have similar reactions or ones that are specific to your body and/or any health conditions you suffer from. I know diabetics especially have to be mindful of their diet, of how and when they eat.

Since we are thinking in this direction, let’s take the hunger and thirst idea and apply it to our spiritual lives, especially as it applies to our relationship with the Lord. Because unfortunately, people today either have no relationship with the Lord at all or, if they do, they fail to maintain that relationship as they should, sometimes only turning to the Lord when they need Him and remaining distance at other times.

When we do this, when we fail to engage the Lord in relationship and receive the righteousness that comes from His word and Spirit, then we run the risk of suffering spiritual starvation and/or dehydration which are equally damaging to their physical counterparts. Let me use an example to explain what I mean.   

I want you to imagine what would happen to you or someone else if you ate and drank on Sunday morning for a few hours and then failed to eat and drink again until the same time a week later. That wouldn’t be advisable, right? I think any normal person would see it as downright crazy and, frankly, I don’t think anyone would be able to do it without ending up in the hospital. We have to eat and drink regularly or suffer dire consequences for not doing so.

Now, transfer this same scenario to your spiritual life. You go to church and possibly even church school on Sunday morning, hearing the word of God preached and taught as you read from the Bible. You sing hymns and songs of praise, lifting your voice, heart, and mind up to the Lord. You bow your head in communal and personal prayer. And then you go home, never reading from your Bible, never hearing another sermon or Christian song, and never praying until you return to church the next Sunday. You may not suffer the physical damage that comes with failing to feed yourself physically but you are doing similar damage to yourself spiritually.

Why all this discussion?

Because as we see in our fourth devotion in this nine part series, there is no need for anyone to be spiritually famished or thirsty when they could be filled and blessed by the Lord instead. Look again at these verses from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.” Luke 6:21a

Note here that when we are hungry and thirsty for the Lord and the righteousness that only comes from Him, we will always be filled, satisfied in our fullness, and as a result blessed and happy.

It’s true, right?

Has there ever been a time when you went to the word of God, hungering and thirsting to be fed spiritually, and came away hungry and unfulfilled?

I can honestly say that it’s never happened to me. Rather, I have seen these words from Jesus bear true time after time after time. It’s the best “meal” I eat every day, the most delicious “drink” I consume. Nothing else even comes close and as I become filled by the Lord each and every day, I am reminded of this scripture from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, a scripture Jesus quotes from as He wards off the temptation of Satan in Matthew, chapter 4:

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Deuteronomy 8:3

The scriptures are clear. Physical food and drink is not enough to sustain anyone on its own. There has to be a balance between that and every word that comes from the mouth of God. One must eat and drink for their bodies but also for their spirit and souls.

Question: Before you read this today, were you spiritually filled or starved?

My prayer is that if you were empty, you now have been filled and satisfied. If you were already full, then I pray this has served as a nice spiritual snack for your day.

Either way, I know you have been blessed because Jesus promised this for anyone who comes hungry and thirsty for righteousness.

Tomorrow, we will look at how the merciful are blessed.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

BLESSED ARE (PART 3)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Matthew 5:5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you counted among the meek?

For most, the mention of the word as it relates to a person or group of people almost immediately carries with it a negative connotation, one labeling the subject or subjects as weak. The dictionary definition offers up the following meanings:

- Quiet

- Gentle

- Easily imposed on (in other words, a push over)

- Submissive

- Tame

- Timid

- Unresisting

Not exactly words that conjure up great strength or a posture the world would consider a position of strength.

But as we know, the Lord sees things much different from the world and expects His people to dare to be different as opposed to the masses who only seek to draw from what the world offers them, chasing after their own desires. And as we find in today’s continued look at the Beatitudes, the opening of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we find where He favors and endorses the meek, so much so that He offers them a great reward. Look again at these ten simple words:

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

As we have covered in parts one and two of this series, to be blessed is to have happiness bestowed upon you and in this instance, it is the meek who are the recipients of the Lord’s joy. Apply this to all the dictionary meanings above and you can see that it isn’t the powerful or mighty that will inherit the earth but the polar opposite, the quiet, tame, and submissive. We learn even more about this category of people who are blessed by looking at other translations of this verse. Look at the following:

“God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them!” Contemporary English Version

“Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!” Good News Translation

“The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.” Holman Christian Standard Bible

“They are blessed who are humble, for the whole earth will be theirs.” New Century Version

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” New Living Translation

Can we see where humility is something that God favors?

The humble will be blessed and be happy for the whole earth will be theirs, a rich inheritance in the here and now before an even greater bequest is received when this temporary life ends and salvation begins.

So how can we get to this place where we can find ourselves blessed for our humility?

It really comes down to following the lead of Jesus, our Savior who is teaching us through His words. In Him, we find humbleness personified, perfect submission that led Him to lay His own life down willingly in order to save all mankind from their sins. It was His Father’s will for Jesus and so God’s Son complied with His wishes, even though it meant pain and suffering, humiliation and rejection, crucifixion and death. Paul summed it up this way:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:”

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Philippians 2:3-11

Jesus was one with His Father (John 10:30). They were equals in every way and yet Jesus did not use that to His advantage and take a pass on dying by crucifixion. Rather, He humbled Himself and in response to that, what did God do? He rewarded His Son and exalted Himself to the highest place, giving Him a name above all names.

In other words, God blessed Jesus for displaying meekness in the way He lived and the good news is that He will do the same for us when we mimic the life Jesus lived.

Jesus said it would be so…and His words are always truth.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com