Beatitudes-check your attitude

Matthew 5:3-12

v. 3   "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  I had to humble myself on bended knee in order to have my sins forgiven and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Isaiah 57:15 says, "...I dwell in the high and holy place, with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  A humble spirit is one that is not consumed with pride, but is one that is meek and mild when dealing with other people.  God requires me to have a humble spirit in order to accept Him as my Savior.
v. 4  "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."  When Christ ascended into heaven, He sent the Comforter to us.  The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity and He lives in us.  (John 14:17)  He teaches us. (John 14:16)  In I Corinthians 5:11, Paul describes His personality.  He is God, equal to the Father and to the Son.  He is defined in Hebrew as well as in Greek as a "wind, a breath".  Jesus taught that the job of the Holy Spirit is to dwell in me as my Comforter and as my Counselor.  At Pentecost, God revealed Himself in a new way-as a mighty rushing wind that filled the room and each of the disciples.  The Pictorial Bible Dictionary tells us that the Holy Spirit is sadly the neglected One in the Trinity, yet the New Testament is full of references to the Holy Spirit.  Another study for another day.
v. 5   "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."  To be meek, I must be humble but not weak.  I so want to be meek, to have self control, personal integrity and to consider the needs of others before my own.  David tells us that God takes care of the meek in Psalm 22, 25, 27 and in chapter 37:11, David writes, " The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
v. 6  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." This tells me that I will always hunger for the words in the Bible so I call myself Christian.  i want to study my Bible, memorize it and apply it to my life.  I want to understand the words God has given to me in His Holy Word.  I understand now why my dad used so many of his old reference books when he studied his Bible to prepare himself to teach an adult Sunday School class. He was hungry for the Word and wanted to embrace it with understanding.
v. 7   "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."  To be merciful is to be kind and forgiving.  James calls mercy the most powerful virtue a Christian can have.  God showed mercy when He sent His Son to give His life on the cross so my sins could be forgiven.  Jesus showed mercy to the thief who hung on the cross next to Him.  All we have to do to gain His mercy is to accept Him into our hearts.
v. 8  "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."  Purity of heart in the New Testament is considered an inward requirement for entering the kingdom of God.  God cannot look on sin so in order for me to enter His kingdom, I must have a pure heart. Anyone who has not been cleansed of sin cannot enter His kingdom.
v. 9  "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."  Jesus tells me to make peace with those against whom I hold a grudge.  I must forgive them if I am to obey the Lord.  When a wrong is committed against me, I need to consider that perhaps something disturbing is going on in their lives.  I have found that praying for a particular person's salvation helps me to take the focus off the wrong and on the person's soul.  That's right where it should be, offering words of peace and tranquility instead of harsh words.
v. 10  "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  My pastor has described the church as a hospital for sinners.  God heals them there or wherever they are willing to humble themselves before Him.  Remember though, God will not allow sin into heaven.  As soon as I was saved at age 14, Satan attacked.  I was old enough to understand what it meant and how to prepare for it.  I was blessed to have 2 parents who loved the Lord, had a strong support group at church and a best friend who was also saved.  Satan still throws roadblocks in my path during my walk with Jesus.  Most of them, I can kick out of the way.  Some I have to lay at the foot of the cross and let Jesus handle them.
v. 11  "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake."  Haters are just haters, and Christians should love them.  We want to introduce them to Jesus and not be afraid to do so.  If we are persecuted, we can praise God because it sets us apart from the world and gives us the name Christian.  Great rewards await us in heaven and when we are persecuted, God draws us closer to Him and Jesus is glorified.
      If I am being favored by God in a special way, I feel His blessing deep in my heart.  His presence fills the room with joy.  Jesus encourages me to inspect how each individual beatitude impacts my life.  If the beatitudes are a part of my life, then Jesus Christ get the glory because I am His.

Matthew 5:1-16

     The Kingdom of God broke into history in this chapter.  Here we read the "Sermon on the Mount", the best of all the teachings of Jesus.  It is understood the least and disobeyed the most, yet it tells us what He wants us to be and how He wants us to behave.  Praise God for a new age had come upon the land.
     The message of the Sermon on the Mount was quite simple.   REPENT!  The Greek definition of repent is a complete change of mind.  If we read the Sermon on the Mount in this context, it tells us what the world would be like if we obeyed God and studied His Word.  It is a world I would like to live in.
     Jesus observed a great horde of people coming toward Him, believing by faith that He could heal even the worst of their physical afflictions.  He went to the top of the mountain and taught them from there.  That area either had to have had fantastic acoustics, or the mountain magnified His voice, so all could hear.  I just can't picture Jesus with a booming voice that make the babies cry and the men and women shrink away in fear.  I'm going with the heavenly sound system and a crowd of people with hearts yearning to hear the words of the Lord.
     Verses 3-11 are what we call the Beatitudes.  I have written in the margin of my Bible "Beatitudes-check your attitude".  When you read these 8 verses, you can maybe understand that this is what Jesus meant.  Check your attitudes!  How do you treat people? Read each one and check your attitude toward the people described here.
     Jesus says in verse 12 that if your attitude is right toward those in need, your reward in heaven will be awesome.  Not only that, you can feel the love here on earth because you obeyed the Lord and you can rejoice in that.
     You are called the salt of the earth as long as you don't lose your ability to do good things for people, your ability to love them.  Jesus also calls you "the light of the world" for if you are on top of that mountain and your are rejoicing in His greatness, giving Him glory, your light cannot be hidden.
     Remember the childrens' Sunday School song, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine." (author could not be found)  Jesus wants us to let our light, our inner joy, shine for Him and glorifying our Father in heaven.