BLESS…

WWII: Europe: France; “Into the Jaws of Death – U.S. Troops wading through water and Nazi gunfire”, ca. 06/06/1944.
National Archives and Records Administration
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR), 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY, 12538-1999.

Good morning, beloved,

June 6….A day to give me pause. I remember. I remember bravery. When I opened Commons this morning, this was the picture that greeted me…courage in the face of inexplicable horror.  Our military willing to go into the line of fire for our freedom…have you prayed for our military today?  I found this prayer on here:

• wonderful way to pray for a soldier is “five blessings”: Think of the word BLESS, and it will help you cover his or her life with prayer.
  • The B stands for BODY. For example, you might pray for physical protection, safety and health.
  • The L stands for LABOR, pray for them to do their job well, with skill and wisdom.
  • The E stands for EMOTIONAL—pray for their emotional health.
  • The S stands for SOCIAL—pray for their marriage, the parent-child relationship (deployments are hard on marriages & with parents away for months; the children can feel distant or abandoned and have trouble understanding why dad or mom isn’t there.) Pray for God to fill the gaps of the love needed with His love while the parent is away.
  • And the last S stands for SPIRITUAL—pray for them to know God, put their trust in God, and experience His unfailing love for them even in the great difficulties they face in a war zone, for spiritual renewal for our troops, for peace in Iraq and Afghanistan—and for all of the soldiers to come home safely to their families.

Think what could happen if every family, every church in America prayed for our soldiers, for victory and peace in Iraq and for them to return safely to their families and jobs.

Well, as we dive into week two of our study on Sermon on the Mount we open with Psalm 119:¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to Your promise, that I may live; and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Lord, guide us, direct us and may we bless as we learn about blessing today.

So, having Matthew 5:1-12 in front of us…

5 Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him.

² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

³ Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!

⁴ Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!

⁵ Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth!

⁶ Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!

⁷ Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!

⁸ Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous—possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!

⁹ Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers andmaintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God!

¹⁰ Blessed and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous (in the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions) are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (for being and doing right), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!

¹¹ Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account.

¹² Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense), for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let’s look at the word Blessed first and the Amplified version does a rock solid job of defining it 11 times for us. LOL. So if you didn’t get it one time….;)

(happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) In the blb.org… In the beatitudes the Lord indicates not only the characters that are “blessed,” but the nature of that which is the highest good.

So, let’s look at when and how the blessing is received..

1. Is for the poor in spirit, the humble, those who rate themselves insignificant…theirs is the KOH
2. Check out this one…blessed AND enviably happy(with a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace)!..are those who mourn..they WILL be comforted
3. Is for the  meek, mild, patient, long-suffering…they WILL inherit the earth
4. Check out this on..blessed and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous(in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) I love Jesus…are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…they will be COMPLETELY satisfied.  (I love all the ands…)
5. Is for merciful…they will obtain mercy.
6. Is for the pure in heart…they will SEE God!
7. Is for the makers and maintainers of peace…they will be called the sons of God
8. Check this out…Blessed and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous …persecuted for righteousness’ sake…theirs is the KOH
9. Is for YOU (well, they all are…)…when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account..
10. Also…be glad and supremely joyful… persecution..just like the prophets.

We are going to look at this in more detail tomorrow…pray on. Pray on…Be encouraged.

Related articles

• The Beatitudes: Living a Blessed Life (dailybibleplan.com)
• Unconditional Blessings (cofchristdailybread.wordpress.com)
• Blessings and Blessed (anointedplace.wordpress.com)
• Thank you to our Military for all your sacrifices (lifefullofmemories.wordpress.com)