Matthew 5
The Beatitudes
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.The Fulfillment of the Law
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.Murder
21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,[c]' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[d]
Adultery
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[e] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.Divorce
31"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'[f] 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.Oaths
33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.An Eye for an Eye
38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'[g] 3940And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.Love for Enemies
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. | |||
| Jesus in the temple |
I have said, many times, that it doesn't matter how we are treated here on earth. It will all pay off when we reach the kingdom of heaven! This is my validation to my thoughts on this subject! It's so funny how you don't realise what to listen for when you are reading these verses.Then one day you read a verse you have read a million times before and you realise you felt this way before you read it and it is just a bright explosion of the Lord's love for you along side your openness as well as willingness to hear what you need to hear. What the Lord knows you need to hear.
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| Fallow Me |
Let us all remember that when we do share our love of the Lord, it might just touch somebody in a way that they needed in order to give there love and praise to the Lord. When we hide our faith it delights the devil, that is not what we want. Even if you are talking to a non believer, NEVER hide your faith. Even if you are afraid of what they do. Trust me what the Lord will say to that will be much worse.
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| I pray you all trust in our savior! |
I love how this chapter makes it a point to let you know that cheating is not in touching alone, but also in your thoughts. Keep that in mind.
Let your yes be yes and your no be no. How wonderfully simple! I pray that we all keep this floating around in our heads as we go through our daily lives. Please remind yourself on a daily basis that your yes should be yes and your no be no.. I truly believe we all will be doing ourselves a great favor if we do not heed this lightly.
As always I do pray that you all opened your hearts and minds to listen to these verses in the way the Lord wants you to perceive them. Please remind yourself that you have control over what you do and say. We all have the ability to change and learn and grow. It is never to late to regain your salvation. I beg you all to work on your relationship with the Lord.
Stephie
P.S. I am grateful for all of you that take the time to read this blog. Please try to continue as I pray you share the words of the Lord with all who will listen. Even if it doesn't seem as though people are listening, they just might be so keep your words flowing as we know God keeps his love flowing.
Since i started reading this blog, it's brought a lot of realization as to how i can just look to god and find peace when i get frustrated. Earlier when i was merging on 1-25, some jerk went flying by, cut me off and almost hit me! instead of the usual honk of the horn, followed by the finger, i asked god to help me stay humble. immediately the situation was over. i didn't feel angry, there was no longer any bad feelings.. i just felt better. i was able to go to work with a smile and now instead of feeling upset when people are driving like jerks, i just maintain my happiness and pray for them to get home safely. I have realized that god gives me the ability to choose happiness. i wake up now, and instead of waiting to see what kind of day it will be, i decide it will be a good day. and when the devil tries to throw something at me to upset me, i just have to look to god and realize i have the power to be happy. There was a time in my life when i loved god, as always, but i wasn't practicing my faith! I felt as though i should just keep it all to myself, i would pray in my head and never really have any conversation about jesus or god. lately i have been praying louder than ever, and thanking god for every moment of happiness i have. I read this post with my mom, she loved it by the way, and we talked about god for an hour! I'm no longer only going to pray with all my heart when my life is going wrong, i'm going to pray with all my heart in every prayer i pray! i've come to realize i pray several times a day now, and it's been wonderful. God is there for us in any situation, no matter what. I still have some things to work on, i'm no more perfect than anyone else, but now i've found the strength and inspiration i need to fix the imperfections in my life. Thank you god for giving me a good head on my shoulders, and for all the love i feel by just having faith.
ReplyDeleteWow Bob,
ReplyDeleteMy heart is warmed by what you have said. I am so happy that you have found inspiration and new respect for you faith. I thank you Jesus for helping Bob focus on what is important.
Stephie
P.S. Keep praying and focusing on what the Lord wants you to! And I am so happy your mom enjoyed the post as well. Take care of yourself Bob.
Steph,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting chapter and I also see it a little better each time I read it. The beatitudes are encouraging and I take them seriously. We do these things to glorify God on his enemy’s territory - earth. No where in the Bible does it say there will be a great reward on earth, but Jesus says he will remember.
Dog the Bounty Hunter on one show said, “When mercy is given, mercy will be shown”. I looked it up and this is where it came from. He cuts the person a little slack if they have been kind to someone.
Jesus wants us (and Jews at the time) to understand the Old Testament Law, but first he had to correct the Pharisees’ teachings. They had reduced the OT to a recipe list of do this – don’t do that, and sometimes for their own benefit. Jesus’ anger for false teaching is an example of justifiable anger in v.13. Then he says do not be angry with your brother? Yes, we are to understand the difference between perverting God’s word and being upset with a neighbor over a trivial matter. Get angry about the first and let go of the second.
It helps me to realize Jesus’ method of teaching. In front of live crowds, no camera, no news papers or TV, no follow up book to go with the movie. So he customized his lessons for his audiences, using parables and hyperbole. You will remember not to steal if you recall him saying something about cutting a hand off.
Incidentally, when Islam tried to hijack our Bible, they did not understand hyperbole and took these penalties literally. That is why their book and laws even today require the hand be cut off for stealing.
I like the pictures, especially the smiles in Follow Me.