Merciful!

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus told a parable about this:

““Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.”Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭23‬-‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The king was merciful but the servant was not. God is the king and we are the servants. He forgave our huge debt of sin, we must therefore forgive those who have debts towards us. If we don’t the same date awaits us.

What debt is accrued to us? Can we be merciful and release that debt?

Justice

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.”Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Is what ai long for true justice or ny version of justice? Is it all about me or others? Is it kingdom justice I seek?

When I consider justice according to the Bible, I am mindful about of the lack of justice that my saviour received at the hands of religious leaders. They, of all people, should have unheld godly justice, however, their justice was full of selfish ambition and jealousy. This is the measure I must use.

Is what I am wanting for the poor, godly justice or emotive justice? If I onky see the surface plight then I am not seeing the full picture. What is most important is what my God sees. What would He have me do?

My sense of justice cannot be tainted by selfish ambition of myself or those I represent. I am currently watching Christian refugees fight for the right to leave Nepal. Nepal insists that they pay for all the time they overstay a visa, yet they give them no outlet to pay and are intractible. What is God wanting for His people? This is what I must defend. Amen!

Humble inherit

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The message Bible puts this verse as:

““You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬ ‭MSG‬‬

 The Jewish Bible states:

“Ashrey are the ANAVIM (humble), for YIRESHU ARETZ (they will inherit the land).”

‭‭Mattityahu‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬ ‭TOJB2011‬‬

What do I inherit as I humble myself? Something that would otherwise be blocked to me. The Lord has treasures untold but many people do not experience because of their proud hearts. Pride and humility do not co-exist. Most of these treasures are found in Him. He holds all things together.

My goal then should be to humble myself in His sight and at the right time He will exalt me. Amen!

Mourning

“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Mourning is tied to grief. When we lose someone close our emotions need to express our sorrow. 

I still remember the Greek mommas giving birth back in the seventies. They would cry and scream. I imagine that in sorrow they would do similar. Westerners do not do it so well. They internalise their grief and it causes themselves great pain.

I don’t know how it came to pass but now that I am living in Nepal I make a lot of noise when I am hurt physically. The first time I fell cracking a bone I screamed, but what I screamed was: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, healing, healing, healing!” The local Nepali mummas came running. What beautiful people! They tended to me and cared for me whilst I had preparations made to go to hospital. Twice more after this has a similar thing happened and twice more I have screamed the same. However, now I get up in faith and say, “You are God Lord and I trust you to make me well.” And He does!

When my mother died it was the beginning of COVID in Australia. I was confined to my flat where I was now living alone. I had to process my grief alone with my dog and the Lord.

I cut off all my hair and even shaved my head. In Nepal the men shave their heads if a male member of their paternal father dies. Why did I do it? I can’t give a full explanation other than it was a new beginning for me and I was living in isolation, and it was autum leading to winter. I figured it would grow in time for summer and I was no longer going to dye my hair. It took longer than I expected to regrow.

We mourn the loss of things and animals. I mourned the loss of my dogs the same as I would people. They were close little buddies to me. My last dog, Oscar, I mourned giving him up to go to Nepal for 18 months. It is only recently that the grief has lifted.

It is good to allow yourself to mourn! Involve the Lord in the process. He cares and will be with you. Amen!

Needy

““God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I know I cannot help myself out of a mess, and know I need God, I am blessed. When it is no longer about be, I am blessed. When I am laughed at and put down, I am blessed. When I am ignored, I am blessed. When people say all manner of things about me, I am blessed.

I know I need the goodness of God. That goodness I sit in, much like in a tent. God’s goodness is perfect, sweet and complete. I cannot reach into my arsenal as it is full of self. Self-interest, self-pity and selfishness stink.

I treasure His goodness! It is full of Him! Amen!

Humbling

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How do I humble myself? By refusing to take the high road with another person; by refusing to judge another person; by taking the lowest position and not insisting on rights to higher positions; by seeking God as a lord and not insisting I am Lord myself.

Moses was reputed to being the most humble man who ever lived. Why was this? He had been raised in the house of Pharoah, but also knew he was a Hebrew and identified with his Hebrew  brethren. When God called him to be the deliverer of Israel he begged off knowing he was nothing.

Yet, God uses the nothings to confuse the wise. Jesus was humble and lowly but God used Him to be the deliverer from sin. He confronted those who thought they were wise with God’s wisdom.

The Lord can use the humble! Amen!

Recall

“But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.”Psalms‬ ‭77‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Remembering good is harder in bad times, all the previous bad hop on board to amplify the experience. However, just like King David did, I must recall the good times. I must encourage my faith.

Last week I was told by my doctor that I had haemochromocytosis (high iron in my blood). Left untreated it can cause damage to internal organs. My father had this disease and he died from cancer. Whilst cancel is not a given organ damage is. Fortunately the treatment is easy: low iron diet and giving blood several times a year. This came as a surprise. It was not expected. It came on top of bad financial news and was followed by bad family relationship news. I find myself smashed and needing, like David, to encourage myself in the Lord.

The result of David seeking God after all was lost was God encouraging him to chase after his family who had been taken by an enemy. Upon his return he discovered an invitation to be crowned king of Judah.

Smashing can be good and now I look for the good. God has a plan and will make it great! Amen!