I recently bought a candle for a friend for her birthday that simply said, “Blessed”. There were other candles that had single words on them, but I liked this one. One word can hold multiple meanings. Our culture defines being blessed when our lives look a certain way, things are going well and nothing difficult… Continue reading Blessed — grateful, yet grieving
Tag: Beatitudes
The word “Beatitude” comes from a Latin word meaning “happy” or “blessed.” Various forms of the word “bless” are used many times in both the Old and New Testaments, but this passage alone is known as the Beatitudes. The Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew 5-7 ) sets forth the spiritual principles of the kingdom of God. They define the character of a child of the King. The Beatitudes are not to be seen as separate blessings for different believers. All the Beatitudes are to be applied and developed in all disciples both now and in the future. Each Beatitude carries with it a strong promise of ultimate good for those who develop the blessed life.
Matthew 5:10-12 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Sufferer For Christ
Matthew 5:10-12 NIV 10 Blessed 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. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets… Continue reading Matthew 5:10-12 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Sufferer For Christ
Matthew 5:9 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of Bringing Men Together
Matthew 5:9 NIVBlessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. We must begin our study of this beatitude by investigating certain matters of meaning in it. (i) First, there is the word peace. In Greek, the word is eirene ( Greek #1515 ), and in Hebrew it is shalom ( Hebrew #7965 ). In Hebrew… Continue reading Matthew 5:9 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of Bringing Men Together
Matthew 5:8 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Clean Heart
Matthew 5:8 NIVBlessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Here is the beatitude which demands that every man who reads it should stop, and think, and examine himself. The Greek word for pure is katharos ( Greek #2513 ), and it has a variety of usages, all of which have something to add… Continue reading Matthew 5:8 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Clean Heart
Matthew 5:7 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of Perfect Sympathy
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. – Matthew 5:7 NIV Even as it stands this is surely a great saying; and it is the statement of a principle which runs all through the New Testament. The New Testament is insistent that to be forgiven we must be forgiving. As James had… Continue reading Matthew 5:7 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of Perfect Sympathy
Matthew 5:6 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Starving Spirit
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. – Matthew 5:6 NIV Words do not exist in isolation; they exist against a background of experience and of thought; and the meaning of any word is conditioned by the background of the person who speaks it. That is particularly true… Continue reading Matthew 5:6 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Starving Spirit
Matthew 5:5 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The God-controlled Life
Matthew 5:5 NIVBlessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. In our modern English idiom the word meek is hardly one of the honourable words of life. Nowadays it carries with it an idea of spinelessness, and subservience, and mean-spiritedness. It paints the picture of a submissive and ineffective creature. But it so… Continue reading Matthew 5:5 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The God-controlled Life
Matthew 5:4 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Broken Heart
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. – Matthew 5:4 NIV It is first of all to be noted about this beatitude that the Greek word for to mourn, used here, is the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language. It is the word which is used for mourning for the… Continue reading Matthew 5:4 Bible Study Guide: The Bliss Of The Broken Heart
Matthew 5:3 Bible Study Guide: Blessed Are The Poor in Spirit
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3 NIV It seems a surprising way to begin talking about happiness by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” There are two ways in which we can come at the meaning of this word poor. As we have them… Continue reading Matthew 5:3 Bible Study Guide: Blessed Are The Poor in Spirit