October 1st - James 4:13-14

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Jesus told many stories that make us sit up. One of the most powerful was the story of the king who was owed millions of pounds by one of his servants (Matthew 18:21-35). The man couldn’t possibly pay his debt, so he fell on his knees and begged the king to be patient. The king took pity on him and cancelled the debt. If you have ever been deeply in debt, you will know what an amazing experience that was for the servant. The relief must have been incredible. The servant then went out and met a friend who owed him a trivial amount, but the servant demanded that he be paid back in full. He threw his friend into prison until he recovered all his money. When the king heard this, he was incensed and ordered that the servant, who had been let off the most enormous debt, be thrown into prison and tortured until he paid back every last penny. Ouch! Jesus concluded by saying that this was exactly how His heavenly Father would treat anyone who failed to show forgiveness to others. God wants to show us His mercy and forgiveness, but we are then under an obligation to pass it on. It isn’t a choice and it isn’t easy. We need to keep our eyes fixed on the incredible gift of forgiveness that we have received – a gift we could never have deserved. And then in God’s strength we must pass that forgiveness on to others. Question What have You learned from the times when you have forgiven other people? Prayer Lord God, thank You for Your gift of forgiveness. Help me to be ready to pass on that gift to others. Amen

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. I wonder when you last felt painfully hungry or thirsty. I suspect for most of us that if it has ever happened, it is a distant memory. However, it is likely that Jesus’ hearers would have been very familiar with both. Harvests could be good or bad, and it was impossible to achieve a reliable flow of food. Additionally, in a hot country, people would often have felt desperately thirsty, and finding a good supply of clean water would never have been easy. Jesus wanted His followers to have just this kind of desperate longing for God’s will to be done in the world. Christianity suffers desperately from those who give it merely polite agreement. They live respectable and considerate lives and consider that Christian faith is generally a very good thing. Jesus is looking for something completely different. He wants us to have the same passion for His kingdom as a hungry and thirsty person has for food and drink. He wants our lives to be dominated by the longing to see His will done and for society to be ordered in a way that honours Him. The wonderful promise is that God will answer the prayers of those who have this passionate longing for His kingdom. For as long as we live on this earth, we will be battling with the reality of sin and injustice. They are sadly an inevitable part of a fallen world, but we can be sure that if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, God will satisfy us completely. Question How hungry and thirsty are you for God’s kingdom? Prayer Dear Lord, forgive me for my half-heartedness. Give me a passionate desire to do Your will. Amen

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Meekness and humility lie at the heart of the kingdom of God. As previously mentioned, Jesus once told His disciples that the only way to enter the kingdom was to become as humble as a child (Matthew 18:4). They were still looking for power and influence, but Jesus wanted to turn their thinking upside down. We only serve God effectively by giving up all thoughts of our own advancement and seeking to strengthen and bless others. Mother Teresa provided an amazing example of humility in her work in India. She has helpfully left us a humility list, and this offers us an excellent way of checking whether we are really growing in humility. Here are five of them: speak as little as possible about yourself; accept small irritations with good humour; do not dwell on the faults of others; accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded; do not seek to be admired and loved. I love these simple, practical challenges, and they illustrate the fact that humility is no easy option. Humility is the path for those who long to see the kingdom of God become a reality here and now and who are happy to accept a huge challenge. When writing to the Colossian church, the apostle Paul encouraged his readers to clothe themselves in humility (Colossians 3:12). Living humbly needs to be so natural to us that wherever we go and whatever we do it is always an integral part of our daily life. Question Which of Mother Teresa’s five challenges do you find most relevant to you? Prayer Lord Jesus, thank You for the humility that You showed in your earthly life. Help me day by day to learn more about the joy of living humbly. Amen

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The word used for ‘mourn’ here is also used in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, to describe Jacob’s grief when he was led to believe that Joseph, his treasured son, was dead (Genesis 37:34). He was grief-stricken. God’s promise is that those who are overwhelmed with sorrow now will find His comfort and strength. This leaves us with a question: who are the people that are mourning so profoundly today? Jesus probably had in mind, among others, those who knew the agony of losing a loved one. We all know the pain of friends and family members dying, and many of us have had the awful experience of people dying suddenly or even violently. None of us would want to make light of these terrible experiences, but Jesus reminds us that death doesn’t have the last word. Even in the midst of our loss, God is there with us, offering His peace, strength and love. Jesus was almost certainly speaking about others who mourn as well, for example people who are overwhelmed by the brokenness and suffering in the world. And then there are those who feel crushed by their failures and sinfulness. Jesus comes to all those who are overwhelmed with sadness and grief and announces His good news. Miraculously, He is able to bring comfort to anyone who is willing to bring their heavy burden to Him and leave it in His hands. Question When have you had the experience of mourning, and how did God comfort you? Prayer Dear Lord, thank You that You meet us in our times of distress and give us the strength to carry on. Amen

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Today’s verse is the first of the so-called beatitudes. Before we launch into it, we need to be clear what Jesus meant by the kingdom of heaven, because it’s an expression He often used. To put it simply, the kingdom of heaven comes where God is allowed to be in control and, amazingly, that can happen in our lives today. That’s why Jesus encouraged us, in the Lord’s Prayer, to pray for His kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom of heaven gives us a preview of what heaven itself will be like, and it is, by definition, life at its very best. Jesus declares that the people who possess this wonderful kingdom of heaven are those who are spiritually poor. The word used here for ‘poor’ in the original Greek language speaks of absolute poverty or destitution. Jesus is saying that the way into the kingdom of heaven is to understand that, spiritually, you’ve got nothing to offer apart from empty hands. We need to come to Jesus in absolute weakness knowing that we are totally dependent upon Him. It reminds us of the time when Jesus said that the only way to enter His kingdom is by becoming like a little child (Matthew 18:2-4). The moment arrogance and self-confidence creep in, we spoil everything. From first to last we are dependent on our loving and gracious heavenly Father. He can be depended upon to give us only the best. Question Where have you seen the kingdom of heaven come on earth? Prayer Lord God, help me depend totally upon You so that in my life Your kingdom will come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen