one, twice, three times

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who here has ever denied Jesus? Just like Peter,  Oh no I would never do that. That's what Peter thought. We might be surprised how we would react if people where hunting us down to slowly torture us to death. What if you just saw your best friend be crucified, or your friends getting thrown into the lions den. Would you still say yes, I follow the teaching of Jesus? Peter denied Christ 3 times. After the resurrection, Jesus told Peter he loved him 3 times. Peter went on to start the Christian Church. It seems that some Catholics believe that Peter was the Pope.

Oral tradition says Peter was crucified upside down under Nero's leadership.

So what is my point?

• Jesus who is omnipotent - could see the big piture and knew that Peter loved him. 
• Peter was persecuted because of his belief later on in life
• Peter now resides in the kingdom of heaven

Pure in heart

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

Accroding the the blue letter bible "pure" is talking  ethically, with the significance free from corrupt desire, from guilt, (pure- word katharos)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

Vines says it calls it "loving peacemakers." so that made me think what is a non loving peacemaker.? I suppose that if there is a war, and one group kills another group and then their is peace. That would not qualify for peacemaker. I think peace makers must of a little mercy in them to get themselves in trouble. Peacemakers and people with mercy must be a little co-dependent. Peacemakers and people with mercy make sure you have good boundaries.

S O A P

If you are wondering, I am leading a journal class. We are writing how we feel about parts of sermon on the Mt. SO I do my journaling on this blog. If you want, you can journal what these scriptures with me. Here is our method.


S cripture - write down the scripture


O bservation - what is the scripture saying to you?

Application - How can I apply what I read to my life?

P rayer - pray about it.


Here is the next one  

^{Matthew 5:7}

Blessed (happy) are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 

I really love this one. I think I have mercy. It has gotten me into trouble many times over the years. Getting involved with drunks, drug addicts, and the list goes on. I do have compassion for people and animals. I had to admit to at my bible study last night that I am a tree hugger. It is really not that popular of a thing in some Christian circles. The pastor said that our church recycles just for me. He was teasing me. But I am really happy our church is vigilant in recycling. Our church is showing a little mercy on the earth. Anyways the gift of mercy has help as well as hindered me over the years. I don't really have time to get into that now. But because I have shown mercy to people, I believe the Lord has shown mercy to me.

I don't understand when people these days brag about having no mercy. Why is that a good thing? In my ever so humble opinion Jesus was/is all about mercy. Helping the sick, widows and poor.


Thank you God for giving me this gift of mercy, and thank you for having mercy on me!

Righteous

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

 So the first question I have is what is righteousness?  purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting

I know some pretty righteous people I am not one of them. I try to have "rightness" do you remember the big battle I had at walmart over the extra 20 dollars?  I did the right thing. 

As for the other two, it looks like I have my work cut out for me.

I used to have a boyfriend who would call me his "righteous" chick. He was very sweet, a drunk but very sweet.

Weak

Blessed( happy) are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

"Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice." Blue Letter Bible

In the Greek meek does not mean weak. It means mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit. It  may surprise some of you but I have a very strong personality. A little mildness of disposition would not hurt. It does not say meek = doormat. 

Meek is hard for me. I have dyslexia. Do I except how my brain works. No. Do I get mad at God because I can't spell or do math. Yes. Do I want God to heal me and get rid of this thorn in my side called Dyslexia, yes. Do I dispute and resist my dyslexia every time I try to spell a word, do a math problem, think about getting a new job so on. Yes.  If I believe the bible to be true, God made me this way on purpose.

Some people may say I am wallowing in self pity. Those people have never walked a mile in my shoes. People tell me all the time, I have dyslexia, I can't spell. I am hear to tell most of you, you do not have dyslexia. Not only that if I was wallowing in self pity I would never had gotten this far, getting 2 AA's and a certificate of completion :p

I always think if I could read well, spell and do math my life would be so much easier. Maybe not, I don't know.

Has God put many people in my life to help me cope with Dyslexia? Yes. Thank you to those who love, accept and help me along the way. Thank you God for bringing these people in my life.

As far as gentleness of spirit I think of three people, My sweet friend, Malinda and MaMa Jane. They are not in anyway, shape or form rough around the edges. I am sure gentleness of spirit comes with its own set of problems.

Maybe if I except my dyslexia and convince myself it is great having your brain malfunction it will go away!

Good Mourning

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

(RQ translation - happy are those who mourn their spirituality, for they will be comforted. )

Questions to my self what does mournful look like? Am I being mournful about my relationship with God if it is not right? 

Well maybe a little.  If I am not where I am suppose to be spiritually speaking, I need to be mournful. Here is the worst part. Most of the time, I just go through the day, not even being mindful of where I am at spiritually speaking. The word lukewarm keeps coming to my mind. Being lukewarm spiritually is like a death.

Some Shi'ite men beat themselves with a zanjir (a whip with chains) on a day of mourning. That seems so extreme to us westerners. I have to say they don't forget to mourn. It is part of their culture. It's in your face.

Should I mourn my lack of spirituality I have? yes. How should I do that? With a zanjir, no. Maybe by prayer or crying out for help. 

Could I be mournful because I can see someone I know dieing spiritually or a complete spiritual death?Yes.

I am questioning my self. It is always a good thing to be self reflective.  

This scripture tells me that if I am mindful and mourn my lack of spirituality I will be comforted. The key is I need to be aware of my absence of who I am in Christ. When I become aware and be mournful about my lack of spirituality, God will give me comfort. 

The other kind of mourning, when someone dies physically will I be comforted? Knowing that I will see them again gives me great comfort. 
 

Even Budda says: However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them? That is so true. I need to act on my faith, not just read it or write about it. I need to be proactive. 

I am not sure if I am making any sense to you. At least I know what I am talking about. ;)

Poor in Spirit

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying: Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

I can understand why Jesus would want to get away from the crowds.  It seems like my life is so busy. I am not complaining, I like it that way. Sometimes I have to stop, and get away, and it is even better if I can do that with some close friends. 

I love going to the mountains. I love looking out at night and seeing all the lights from the cities below flickering like candles. I love it when you wake up in the morning and your above the fog. The fog looks like a big white fluffy blanket.  I love the chill in the air.  

God never said this life was going to be easy or pain free. Where did people get the idea that Christians are perfect, they never cuss, drive to fast , yell at their kids or have a bad day at work. We have the same struggles as everyone else. This scripture is a promise to me that no matter how bad things now, better things are to come.