Matthew 5

[Elder-Shawn Denise Briscoe]

What does it mean to be blessed?

Spiritually prosperous, joy and satisfaction in GOD’s favor and salvation regardless of our circumstance.

 

What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

To be humble in our hearts and to realize that without The LORD GOD we are insignificant.

 

What does it mean to mourn?

Broken-hearted, sad.

 

What does it mean to be meek?

Gentle, humble, kind, longsuffering, mild, patient.

 

How are we to become hungry and thirsty for righteousness? What is righteousness?

By becoming upright, having right standing with The LORD GOD. Righteousness is the attribute of The LORD GOD that signifies HIS holiness, sinlessness and justice.

 

How am I to become merciful?

Have and show compassion towards others.

 

How do I get a pure heart?

Get free from inferior, inappropriate or mixed elements. For example, you can’t tell a part truth because adding anything that is false is a total lie. You can neither leave out all truth because not revealing everything is also a lie.

 

Who are peacemakers?

People who desire and will do what they can to bring harmony with others. They will not participate in any type of evil which will bring about hurt, harm, danger, arguments, anger or disagreements. When disagreements do come up they are ready to agree to disagree.

 

Why would I be persecuted?

Because you are willing to proclaim the name of JESUS and all that HE is regardless of what anyone will say or do to you. You are willing to stay true to your convictions and not turn your back on JESUS. You may lose friends, family and your life but you will stand in the comfort of who JESUS is and HIS Word.

 

When JESUS proclaimed that we are the salt of the earth; HE did not mean it totally as a seasoning as we do our food. Salt is also used as a preservative and we are to preserve HIS Word; meaning to keep HIS Word alive in the hearing and lifestyle. We are not to allow the Word of GOD to go bad by saying one thing and doing another or to speak against The LORD GOD. Salt is also used as an anecdote from something and the Word of GOD is a perfect anecdote against sin. Once we believe and use our faith against the enemy; the destruction looses its power. And as we continue to read and study the word of GOD we will want to apply the Word to our lives and like rock salt on snow; sin will begin to melt away from our lives. In the beginning when we accept the salvation of JESUS we may not know or perceive the light that has infiltrated our spirit. No longer are we filled with darkness and the more we get to know of The LORD GOD and HIS SON CHRIST JESUS the more in love we become with HIM and we will want to talk about HIM. This is that light, think about it when we speak about the person we are dating or our children or our spouses we light up. It’s impossible not to speak about someone that has captured our heart and mind with love. We have a different outlook on life; we have a song to sing and a skip in our step. A jot is the smallest letter in the Hebrew letter and a tittle is the identification of certain Hebrew lettering.  In some bible translations the word kill or murder is used such as in the Ten Commandments. So let’s take a look at the definition to both words and understand that some translations of the bible are in error.

 

Kill – cause death

Murder – deliberate, pre-meditate and malice (hatred within the heart).

 

Such as in the Ten Commandments the translation is actually murder; GOD’s law is that we are not to deliberately destroy another’s life; we are not to think about causing the death of another person and we are not to hate people. When The LORD GOD gave instructions to kill certain tribes; the people that did the killing did not do this in hatred but they were obedient to what The LORD GOD had instructed them to do in the Old Testament. Now in the New Testament JESUS instructs us not to murder as well by saying that we should not be angry without cause. I believe that a cause should be that which comes against the Word of GOD only. Being angry with someone because they did not say what you wanted to hear them say or say it the way you wanted it said is wrong. Being angry with someone because of something they did to us is very little especially when we think how blessed we are by The LORD GOD. Unrighteous anger is no different than malice; which is hatred within the heart. We are not to speak in contempt against our brother and sister in the body of CHRIST. Now some bibles may show the word contempt as “raca”; we are not to speak about our family in an insulting manner. Neither are we to call each other fools; why would we want to see our family as empty headed? It’s understandable that at times we will become disappointed with our brothers and sisters but we should never allow that feeling to overtake us in such a way that we have caused them to become enemies. We must always make it right with each other. Don’t wait for the other person to come to you first; just do what is right and pleasing before The LORD GOD. And if we own any money or are responsible to meet an obligation that we have said we will fulfill; pay the money back quickly or speak with the person money is owed to. Fulfill an obligation, stop playing the hide and seek game.