Beatitudes: Blessed are the Meek.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

Another word for meek is humble.

Most of the  leaders of the world could not be called meek. In the business world a humble man may be looked down on.

Moses, although he stood up to the king of Egypt and led the Israelites through the desert, was called meek. He spoke to God face to face. His strength was in God and he humbly realized this. "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than any man on the face of the earth." Num. 12:3

Psalm 37:11 says "The humble shall inherit the land."

The meek in this world may never own a plot of land. Moses never did. God and Jesus were talking about our life after death when we would inherit not only eternal life but land of our own. In the old testament God speaks of how we will build houses and inhabit them. (Isaiah 65:21) Jesus said he is preparing homes for us in heaven. (John 14:2) When there is a "new earth" it will be ours. (Rev. 21:1 & Isaiah 65:1)

I found this definition of meekness from Biblos.com here: http://bible.cc/matthew/5-5.htm
This is an amazing site that has comments on every verse in the Bible. And if you can't find a verse you are looking for you just have to type in part of it and they will find it.

I know this is long, but I feel meekness is misunderstood for cowardice. Jesus was definitely not a coward. He had a very strong, forceful personality.


The meek - Meekness is patience in the reception of injuries. It is neither meanness nor a surrender of our rights, nor cowardice; but it is the opposite of sudden anger, of malice, of long-harbored vengeance. Christ insisted on his right when he said, "If I have done evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?" John 18:23. Paul asserted his right when he said, "They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves, and fetch us out," Acts 16:37. And yet Christ was the very model of meekness. It was one of his characteristics, "I am meek," Matthew 11:29. So of Paul. No man endured more wrong, or endured it more patiently than he. Yet the Saviour and the apostle were not passionate. They bore all patiently. They did not press their rights through thick and thin, or trample down the rights of others to secure their own.

Meekness is the reception of injuries with a belief that God will vindicate us. "Vengeance is his; he will repay," Romans 12:19. It little becomes us to take his place, and to do what he has promised to do.

Meekness produces peace. It is proof of true greatness of soul. It comes from a heart too great to be moved by little insults. It looks upon those who offer them with pity. He that is constantly ruffled; that suffers every little insult or injury to throw him off his guard and to raise a storm of passion within, is at the mercy of every mortal that chooses to disturb him. He is like "the troubled sea that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt."

The Beatitudes: Those Who Mourn.

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

The word blessed actually means fortunate in the context of the Beatitudes. How can one be fortunate who is mourning?

Reading the whole chapter, it seems to me Jesus is speaking about people who believe in God. In that way those who mourn are indeed fortunate because they have God to comfort them. Those who don't believe in God must have a much harder time when someone they love dies or some terrible thing happens in their life.

I have found, through the death of my dear grandson, that God is a comfort, a help, and a deep blessing while I am mourning. He gives me hope and strength to carry on when the worst thing that could happen has happened. His grace is sufficient. I am fortunate to have him in my life. My whole family is leaning on God and his comfort abounds to us all.

Jeremiah 16:5 "I will turn their mourning into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow."

"Blessed are they who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, for their deeds follow them and they rest from their labors." Rev. 14:13

The Beatitudes.

I've been reading a book about the Beatitudes and was reading them in the Bible this morning. I thought I'd post about them for the next few weeks. The Beatitudes certainly show a deep difference between the way God thinks and humans think. I want to think like God.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."

"Lucky are the Unlucky," is what Philip Yancey says about the Beatitudes in his book called, "The Jesus I Never Knew." He says:

 "In the Beatitudes, Jesus honored people who may not enjoy many privileges in this life. To the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted, the poor in heart, he offered assurance that their service would not go unrecognized. They would receive ample reward."

"The poor in spirit." Are you feeling sad, overwhelmed and unequal to your world. You are fortunate. It means you might reach out to God for help. The proud and overly self-confident don't feel a need for God. They believe they are up to any task. They think others are weak and people use God as a crutch.

I need God to be my crutch for I cannot live a beautiful life full of love without him. I cannot face the sadness of life without him. I've tried it and it doesn't work. I'm glad and fortunate to be poor in spirit.

Who Can Compare with God?

The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord
Your faithfulness too,
In the assembly of the holy ones.

For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly reverenced.
He is more awesome than all who surround him.
Oh Lord God Almighty, who is like you?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
Love and faithfulness go before you.

Psalm 89

Puzzle Pieces.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I read the list of the "Fruits of the Spirit": Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Especially self-control. But I heard Joyce Meyer say the other day that all the things we need to be are like pieces of a puzzle. The one thing that can put these pieces together is our time with God.

Study the Bible and pray. This is our work. The work of God is to make us like himself, to give us these fruits of the Spirit.

We cannot make ourselves good in any way. God alone can give us a good heart and as Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing." When I remember that only God can make us good I can relax and let go of guilt and fear. I can rely on him to do it in his way and on his time schedule. But I must do my part, which is to spend quality time with God alone each day.

Our Shepherd.

Some men came to Jesus and said, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ  tell us plainly."

Jesus said, "I did tell you, but you did not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you did not believe because you are not my sheep."

"My sheep listen to my voice, I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. The Father and I are one."

In the Middle East sheep follow their shepherds; they are not driven by sheepdogs or men like in the western world. Jesus does not drive people ahead of him; he calls and we either listen to his voice or ignore him and walk away. He calls and then leaves the decision with us.

I love the image of no one being able to snatch us out of the hand of Jesus. Wolves can snatch sheep away from the flock. Jesus is telling us not to worry; nothing will separate us from him and he will give us eternal life.

Contentment.

"Godliness with contentment is a great gain. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Contentment.

Am I content with what I have? Am I content to have food and clothing and that's it.

I admit I get restless. I want to go on a vacation. I want to go to the casino and waste money for entertainment. I want enough money, not just to exist, but to have fun. Am I content when I don't have enough money? Not always.

"Make sure your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For He Himself has said; "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Sometimes I am content. Those are the times I think of all God's blessings in my life. When I keep my eyes on Jesus and what he has done for all of us. When I think of Jesus' character. Those are the times I feel content and the contentment lasts for a long time.

But sometimes I become discontented. When I look at myself, my life and my surroundings I am discontented. When I look at the negatives instead of the positives I am discontented. When I regret the past or worry about the future I am discontented.

I want to be content with the life God has given me. I pray for contentment and peace. Even if food and clothing were taken away from me, I want to be content just in knowing God. In the concentration camps of WW11 everything was taken away from people and then they took away their lives. I want to be content in God even if that happened to me.