“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
Matthew 5:9 (KJV) Hi friends, How are you today? Today, we continue with The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations. As we look at the seventh beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount, let us remember that worldly views are not God’s views. We could see the word peacemakers and jump to the wrong sort of conclusions. In the first part of the verse, it says, “Blessed are the peacemakers…”. What comes to mind when you hear the word peacemaker? This may seem like a strange question, but what do you think a peacemaker does? However, the answer may be different than you think. When we think of “peacemakers” we often think about people who try to placate others and keep the peace at all times. They often compromise to “not rock the boat” or to try to get others to do the same. We may think that peacemakers are those who will do anything to keep peace, not rock the boat, and to stop an argument or war. We may think that this type of peacemaker is good. Who wants an argument or a war? We might even think that these types of people are being good and selfless. They are giving up their own wants to please others, to help others, and to keep the peace. Yet, that is a worldly peacemaker, not a heavenly peacemaker. It may be okay to compromise on what color shirt you want to wear or which vegetable you cook with supper. However, God doesn’t call us to compromise our beliefs to bring others peace. If God wanted peace like that, worldly peace not matter what. Jesus wouldn’t have said in Matthew 10:34 (KJV), “Think not that I come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Also, if God wanted peacemakers to have peace on earth as we think of it, He wouldn’t have told the Israelites to kill the inhabitants when He gave them the promise land. So, if God is not calling us to have the type of peace that gives in to others or stops wars and arguments at all cost, what sort of peace is He calling us to make? Actually, I believe that if we research the Holy Bible and pray about it, we will find that God isn’t asking us to encourage a peace between each other, but that he is calling us as Christians and believers to show others how to have peace between them and God. In other words, God is calling us to encourage others to be believers and follow God’s ways, so that they are “for” God and not “against” God. God doesn’t want us to placate others to not rock the boat. He gives us verse like Proverbs 27:17 (KJV) which says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” He wants us to stand up for God’s ways and show them to others. He wants us to correct others if they are doing things against God’s will. He calls us to sharpen each other’s understanding of His will for us. God doesn’t want us to give in to others or plaster them with feel good vanity and half-truths. Does that mean the God wants us to fight fights, start wars, and have arguments? I think that is a question better left to God. I think that we are to still remember to “turn the other cheek” as Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:39. I think we should still leave the vengeance to God as Paul reminds us in Romans 12:19. However, I can’t say whether God is calling us to fight or not. In some cases, like when the Israelites fought for the promise land, they were called by God to fight. Now that we have explored the first part of the verse, let’s look at the second part of the verse where it says, “… for they shall be called children of God.” What are your thoughts on the meaning of being called the children of God? I think there are a few ways to think about the “children of God.” First of all, some translations say the “sons of God.” If we think about Jesus as being the “Son of David” than we know that it was customary back then to think of “son of” as sometimes being a generic or general term for lineage and a member or follower of a certain family or person. (I am not a scholar or a translator, so hopefully I said that correctly.) So, saying that those people who are helping others become followers of God are “children of God” would make sense in the Old Testament sense, because that would put us followers of God and in God’s family. I believe that is the same sort of sentiment that Jesus meant when in Matthew 12:50, he said, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” If by doing God’s will we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, then that means we are children of God. Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving us your holy Word. Help us to understand the difference between heavenly peace and worldly peace. Help us to know what we are to do to become peacemakers as in Matthew 5:9. Help us to act in a way that would make us your children. I ask this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective questions for Matthew 5:9 (KJV): *What does Matthew 5:9 mean to me? *What does it mean to me to be a peacemaker? *What are the differences between worldly and heavenly peacemakers? *What do peacemakers do? *Am I a peacemaker? *What does it mean to be a child of God? *Am I a child of God? *What can I do to better live the words of Matthew 5:9? Note: If you haven't read the other parts in The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations already, you may want to do so now. *The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations - Part 1 *The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations - Part 2 *The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations - Part 3 *The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations - Part 4 *The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations - Part 5 *The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations - Part 6 Now, it is your turn. Thank you for being here. I am very interested in hearing your thoughts on peacemakers and God's children, or whatever you feel inspired to say. Please, leave me a comment below or feel free to contact me. If you are finding value in the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with friends and family. Also, if you haven't done so already, you may want to sign up below to get the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content sent right to your inbox. Have a blessed week!
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“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
Matthew 5:7 (KJV) Hi friends, How are you today? I have always enjoyed the Beatitudes and pray that you are enjoying reading and pondering The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations. In many of the verses of the Bible, we are told if we do this, this will happen. The Beatitudes are no different. As we can see, in this beatitude, if we are merciful to others, we will get mercy. This verse reminds me of Matthew 6:12, where in the Lord’s prayer, we are told that God forgives us as we forgive others. So, what do we need to do to be merciful? What does merciful mean? I do believe that forgiving others is a way to be merciful. Yet, I don’t believe it is the only way to be merciful. I think being merciful encompasses many things. What do you think? I think to be merciful means to be kind to others, to help out when you can, to lighten their load. I also think it means to be sympathetic and empathetic to their feelings and experiences. Being merciful is showing the type of kindness, caring, love, and understanding that we would want others to show, especially if we were struggling and in need. 
When we think about mercy, we can imagine a person struggling to carry a heavy load. The person may be tired, weak, depressed, down, frustrated, sad, overwhelmed, afraid, or any number of things. The load could be a physical load, such as large bags of groceries or difficult manual labor. The load could be children or others who are not cooperating. The load could be an illness or sorrow, a loss of a loved one or an estrangement of some kind. The load could be disbelief and a spiritual void. The load could be anger or division of some sort. The load could be sin. The load could be homelessness or financial worry. It doesn’t matter the load.
The question is… do we help and try to lighten the load in some way? Do we help, give, encourage, heal, forgive, or show any act of kindness, love, or understanding? Or, do we walk away or add to the stress and burden in some way? This situation can be likened, in a way, to the saying, “What goes around comes around.” Yet, in a way, it is different. Although, we can say that if we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us, unlike the saying, God gives us soooooo much more than we could ever give another. So, in this situation we can say the saying is, “What goes around comes around infinitely better and more than we could ever imagine.” In other words, if we are merciful to others, God will be more merciful to us than we can even imagine. That brings us back to the fact that we are talking about the beatitudes. That is to say, that we will be blessed (happy beyond belief) if we are merciful to others, because if we are merciful, God will be infinitely more merciful and better merciful than we could ever imagine. Heavenly Father, Thank you for your infinite love, kindness, and understanding. Thank you for your holy Word and for the instruction you give to lead us to true happiness with you. Help us to be merciful to others, Oh Lord. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective questions for Matthew 5:7 (KJV): *What does Matthew 5:7 mean to me? *What does merciful mean to me? *Am I merciful? *How am I merciful? *What can I do to better live according to the words in Matthew 5:7? Note: If you haven't already, you may want to read the other posts in the series: *The Beatitudes Series - Part 1 *The Beatitudes Series - Part 2 *The Beatitudes Series - Part 3 *The Beatitudes Series - Part 4 Now, it is your turn. I am so thankful that you are here. I hope you are enjoying The Beatitudes Series by DUO Inspirations. I would be interested in your thoughts and feedback. What are your thoughts? Please, feel free to comment below or contact me. Also, if you haven't already, please consider signing up below to get the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content in your inbox. If you are finding value in the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with friends and family. Thank you. 
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3 (KJV) Hi friends, How are you? I enjoy reading the Beatitudes, which was part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. (You can read more about the definition of Beatitudes on Wikipedia here.) They are encouraging and inspirational words that gives us the map to true happiness. So, I thought that I would do a series on the Beatitudes. I pray you are blessed by it. Speaking of blessed, what does it mean to be blessed? Some people use it every day, but do we really know what it means? I have heard the word blessed be defined as another name for happy. I have read somewhere else, that it is more than happy. I guess, I think of it as being more than happy, more like a spiritual happiness instead of a mere emotional happiness. The first beatitude is found in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” So, what does that mean? What does poor in spirit mean? I have researched it, thought about it, and prayed about it. I am still not sure if I know what it means for sure. What makes the most sense to me is that people who put believe that without God, they would be nothing. In other words, people who are poor in spirit don’t put their trust and belief in themselves, but in God alone. Recently, I wrote a post about being self-made or God-made, which also reminds me of this concept. Many people like to say that they are self-made, that they learned things and did things because of their hard work and determination. Worldly people in society believe this is a good thing. Yet, it is when we know that we are reliant on God and can’t do or be without Him, that we gain more than we know. Many of us have heard the saying, “you are full of yourself.” Again, that would be like the self-made person. That person thinks he or she is great and can do this or that so wonderfully, etc. To me, the poor in spirit would be just the opposite. The poor in spirit would be more like an infant crying for a parent’s help or a child asking questions and asking for help. However, instead of asking each other for help, we rely on God to give us all that we need. To me, the second half of this statement is a bit more difficult to understand, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I have read where that could mean God’s kingdom on earth. The words “theirs is” get me the most though. That usually means it belongs to you, as in ownership. Yet, it is easier to understand if it is that you are a part of it, not owner of it. I think we all have our own thoughts and ideas on the kingdom of God. We take what we read and come to our own conclusions. I guess for me, I can understand Matthew 5:3 if I look at it like, if people think they rely on themselves, they won’t get closer to God. They will rely only on themselves and won’t get closer to God or His kingdom. Yet, if people know they are nothing with out God and reach out to God, trust Him to be their provider and Father, know that He is their creator, then people will be closer and among those in the kingdom of God. Then, if we think about being part of the kingdom of God, we will be blessed beyond measure. We will feel and be happier than we can even imagine. We will enjoy the peace Jesus can give us, the joy of being with our Heavenly Father, and so much more. Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to us to give us the message of the Beatitudes. You are so loving and merciful; that you want to give us every chance and guidance you can to show us the path to you. I thank you and praise you for that. Help us to be poor in spirit, so that we may gain your kingdom. I ask you that through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective Questions for Matthew 5:3 (KJV): *What does Matthew 5:3 mean to me? *What is my definition of blessed? *What do I think “poor of spirit” means? *Am I poor of spirit? *What do I think “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” means? *What can I do to better live according to the words in Matthew 5:3? Now, it is your turn. I am thankful that you are here and would like to know your thoughts as well. Please, comment below or feel free to contact me. Also, if you have an idea or request for a topic, I would really enjoy knowing that as well. If you find value in the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with friends and family. And, if you haven't already, please consider signing up to receive the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content by email. |
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This is Jodi. I am so glad you are here! I am a Christian and life-long learner. I enjoy sharing and encouraging others. I pray you are blessed by this blog. Thank you for being here. Archives
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