2019-11-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As commanded by the Holy Spirit, I continue to supply supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians. Today’s topic is about MT 5: 3-12 from the Beatitudes, reverence, and responsibilities of family members. Doing this will provide support for COL 2: 6-7, “Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with Him. Keep your roots deep in Him, build your lives upon on Him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving.” This lifestyle includes not being deceived by worthless human wisdom, living a life of fullness in Christ, and accepting that a life in Christ is freed from the power of sin (one can sin but doesn’t want to and knows what is sinful and what is not). Living “in Christ” means the breakdown of human-crafted barriers such as Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free, etc. In addition, earthly desires, such as sexual immorality, greed, insults, obscenity, lying, intolerance, refusal to forgive, and refusal to give Christ the acknowledgement and praise He deserves [COL 3: 5-6, 11, 13-17]. So, let’s look at the Beatitudes.
IS 8: 13 [God speaking] serves as a foundation: “Remember that I, the Lord Almighty, am holy; I am the One for Whom you must have reverence.” MT 5: 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” The description “poor in spirit” means they know and accept their utter need for the Holy Spirit. (4) “Blessed are those that mourn; God will comfort them.” This is a sharing of God’s sorrow over the world’s sinfulness. These believers are comforted that one-day God will “wipe away every tear from their eyes” [REV 21: 4]. MT 5: 5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Meekness accepts one’s lowly position. They are gentle in their own cause and a lion in Christ’s cause. (6) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” These people long to see honesty, integrity, practical holiness in the church and justice. They will find satisfaction in the Kingdom. Corruption will give way to the highest moral standards. (7) “Blessed are those who are merciful to others, for God will have mercy on them.” Mercy is having active compassion. This means helping others who cannot help themselves. (8) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Having a pure heart means being filled with holy motives, those shared with Christ. They “see God” means at present, these people fellowship with God through His word and the Holy Spirit. They sometimes visions, shall see Christ at the second coming, and shall see God in eternity. (9) “Blessed are the peacemakers, for God shall see them as His children.” These people actively intervene to make peace. Their desire for peace amid chaos causes God to see them as manifesting themselves as His children. One day, God will acknowledge them as His children. For now, they must face abuse and invective. (10) “Blessed are the persecuted, not for their wrongdoings, but for righteousness sake; the Kingdom belongs to them.” These are believers who suffer for doing what is right. The Kingdom of heaven is promised to them. (11) “Blessed are those who are persecuted for Christ’s sake.” Christ knew His disciples would be persecuted due to their close association with and loyalty to Him. From the outset of history, the world has persecuted, jailed, and killed followers of Jesus. (12) “Blessed are those persecuted for Christ’s sake, for they are privileged as a great reward awaits them as companions of the prophets in tribulation. This is cause for joy, for all who are loyal and show courage, who will share present exhilaration and future exaltation.” RO 14: 17 tells us “the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
The responsibilities of a Christian home life depend on one’s position in the family and are covered in COL 3: 18-25, as well as EPH 5: 21-6: 1-9. Not all members of the family mature spiritually at the same rate. Often, a spouse doesn’t become cognizant of the faith his or her parents or prior experiences builds in them until they are married to a faithful person. The reality is that we are all individuals and must be allowed to gain faith in whatever way that is open to them at their rate. The father in a nuclear family is meant to be the head of the household, but we all know that in some groups the father may have abandoned the household entirely or that he may not have gained conscious faith at the same rate as his wife. So, for a while the wife is the spiritual leader in that household until her husband catches up. Certainly, she is when a husband has died or there has been a divorce. There are children to raise on her own. There are times when a man is widowed and must step up to the plate for the sake of his children. Death, divorce, and abandonment are sadly alive in our society. However, we will look at a standard family in which both parents are alive, raising their children. And we won’t forget single people, who have responsibility for themselves in next week’s message.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have outlined Your will for our behavior as individuals and as parts of a family and to our society. Conforming with the standard You set in the Beatitudes [MT 5: 3-12], places responsibility on us to make righteous choices. We pray that You will help us when we need it to meet these standards, as we want to please You. You are the Center of our lives and homes. If we have children, we want to raise them knowing the love You have for us, which is unparalleled by any human. And yet, You have commanded that we are our brother’s keepers by virtue of our need to lead godly lives. We are not to meddle in people’s lives, but we are to act responsibly toward them with the love Christ has shown us. We thank and praise You for all Your wisdom shared with us as adults, and we listen now for Your direction through the Holy Spirit. In the holy/mighty name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As mentioned above, we will take up the issues of family and interaction within families and the responsibilities of being single next week. Regardless of our position in society, we are all commanded to live a life that pleases God. This is one in which He occupies a well-deserved highest position and close relationship with us. Because we can’t see Him during our earthly lives, it would be easy to assume He isn’t a priority, but we must remember HE 4: 13, “There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to Him that we must all give account of ourselves.” Should we be afraid of this? Only people who knowingly and serially reject Him and His teaching need be afraid. The rest of us can be greatly comforted by His presence in our lives. Should we be self-satisfied and smug? Absolutely not! We must remember that we are human and thus, sinners who are imperfect. Our job is to mind the business of expunging sin in our lives and taking thankful joy for the clarity of His will that God gives us. We are covenanters with Him, and thus, have made a commitment to cooperating with God in our sanctification. This certainly includes learning His teaching and carrying it out to the best of our abilities in our own lives. That’s enough of a job that we really shouldn’t have time for making judgments of others or gossip. Our Lord loves us unconditionally and deserves our loyalty, praise, and thanks! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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