The sermon on the Mount found in the Gospel of Matthew. These words offer us a glimpse into a way of life that pleases God. As contrasted with the Ten Commandments that tell us what not to do, the eight Beatitudes offers us an approach to peaceful living in a chaotic world. During this month, my blog will dig deeper into these beautiful words of Christ.
The Beatitudes offers us an approach to peaceful living in a chaotic world. Click To Tweet
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Early in my faith walk, I used to think that this beatitude required me to reject all worldly possessions to follow Christ. As I grew in my faith, I learned that “poor in spirit” refers to the condition of our hearts and not our wallets. Christ calls us to be humble servants for Him. When we are humble, we think of others before ourselves. We seek peace with our brothers and sisters instead of trying to get our way. Humility allows our hearts to be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit. God calls us to serve others, pray for our neighbors and love our enemies.
“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
The closer we come to Christ, the more we see the true nature of man since original sin. We must learn to mourn for the sins in our life as well as for the sins of the world. When we acknowledge our fallen nature, God will comfort us with His presence and forgiveness. Mourning is called blessed because our eyes are open to what God has to offer us. He offers us a better future with Him. Sharing the Good News of Christ with our neighbors provides them with God’s comfort.
We must learn to mourn for the sins in our life as well as for the sins of the world. Click To Tweet
These first two beatitudes teach us about our feelings towards others around us. Christ calls us to think of others first and to grieve our sins. In so doing, we are drawing closer to God and preparing our hearts for our eternal homes. Praying for the Fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22 can help us develop our hearts to live the type of life outlines in beatitudes. Those fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Blessings,
Yvonne – #blogger, #speaker, and #author
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
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Praying for everyone who feels poor in spirit today. We are His children and He loves us.Thank you for sharing about the Beatitudes.
Thank you and yes we need to pray for those who are poor in Spirit. God bless
I prayed this over all those l know who may be feeling low today. Thank you for your great insights.
That is wonderful Ava. We all need to do so. God bless
I have been reflecting on the Beatitudes as well lately, as I struggle with depression. I like the way you contrasted the ten commandments “thou shalt not” with the positively phrased beatitudes. As a preschool teacher, we are taught to always phrase things positively: “walking feet” instead of “don’t run;” “gentle touches,” not “don’t hit.” Excellent post!
Thanks Candice. I like the idea of phrasing things positively because some people respond better. God bless
It’s so interesting how you contrasted the Ten Commandments to the Beatitudes. This is something I definitely want to dwell on more. Thank you!
Thanks Stephanie. We can learn so many interesting things as we study the Bible. God e
I love this, Yvonne, especially, “Mourning is called blessed because our eyes are open to what God has to offer us.” I agree.
Thanks Jessica. Through mourning, I became closer to God. God bless
What an important topic in today’s loud and angry world. I love the light you shed on these first two beatitudes and can’t wait to follow along!
Thanks Emily
I love your observations about the humility of “poor in spirit” and the idea that the Beatitudes bring peace in a chaotic world. I would say that if we follow the Ten Commandments, they are meant to do the same.
Amen Beth.
“The closer we come to Christ, the more we see the true nature of man since original sin. We must learn to mourn for the sins in our life as well as for the sins of the world.”
The sins of the world affect us more than we realize. Mourning is apt.
It really is so important for us to mourn mankind’s sinfulness. Thanks Nancy.
I love this: “Christ calls us to think of others first and to grieve our sins. In so doing, we are drawing closer to God and preparing our hearts for our eternal homes.” This is something I’ve been digging into deeply since the new year. It’s an essential component of our growth, and something about my chronic pain and my age is drawing me closer to the Lord for refining. I love when you do series like this, Yvonne. Can’t wait to read the rest of the Beatitudes as you write about them.
Thanks Melinda. We must think of others first and it is not easy to do. God bless
That’s really true the older I get and the worse I feel. Who knew! 🤷🏻♀️
Getting old is not for the faint of heart that is for sure especially with chronic issues.
Truth!
Love this, “Mourning is called blessed because our eyes are open to what God has to offer us. He offers us a better future with Him.” If more people understood this…there would be less addiction, less hopelessness etc.
Thank you for the inspiration today!
You are welcome Julie. If we only understood many things fully, life would be so different
Thank you for clarifying the meaning behind ‘poor in spirit.’ I can remember thinking the same as you, that it pertained to my possessions or financial status. As you said, it’s really an attitude of the heart. Are we thinking of others above ourselves? The kingdom of heaven belongs to people with this poor spirit. Heaven cannot hold people with a heart of selfishness and pride.
So very true Marcie. We must empty ourselves to the world in order to obtain Christ. God bless
“As contrasted with the Ten Commandments that tell us what not to do, the eight Beatitudes offers us an approach to peaceful living in a chaotic world.” Love this, Yvonne. Not sure why many people think neither the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes from Jesus sermon apply to us and Christian living. But oh, how that’s wrong thinking. Thanks for a beautiful post, looking forward to the others.
Thanks Karen. We are here to set the example so we must follow Christ whole heartedly. God bless
What a wonderful series to share! I love Jesus’ teachings through the beatitudes. They are counter to everything we naturally feel and think. But we must remember and stay connected to God’s Word in order to keep realigning ourselves with His truth over ours. Thank you and God bless!
Thanks Melissa. The world wants to pull us away from these kind of teachings so I thought it was important to revisit