God Speaking

“I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” – Ezekiel 34:26

This verse was a wonderful promise from God to the people of Israel. God was promising to bring them home to showers of blessing. When we are willing to allow the Lord to be our shepherd and guide us, we too will be showered with blessings. What does it mean to be God’s blessed people?

Jesus begins to explain this to his listeners in the Sermon on the Mount. He outlines eight attitudes that bring about blessings from God. These eight attitudes have come to be known as the Beatitudes. As we read and reread these beautiful words we begin to see a natural progression. A progression that can make us worthy citizens of the kingdom of heaven as we walk between these blessings, allowing them to change us.

Matthew 5:3 says

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

When we can acknowledge our own poverty of spirit our hearts are open to receive what the Lord would pour into our lives.

Matthew 5:4 says,

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”

Acknowledging our poverty of spirit makes us weep over how far short we have fallen and we mourn over the sin in our lives and that of the society we live in. We ache to have the pain, which sin brings, removed. We long to be comforted.

Matthew 5:5 says,

“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth”

After we have mourned we are willing to let go of pride and selfishness. We are humbled and ready to be pliable to the Lord’s will.

Matthew 5:6 says,

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled”

Once we have become pliant to the Lord’s will, we are filled with a hunger and a thirst not for our physical bodies, but for our souls.

Matthew 5:7 says,

“Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy”

When we realize that the Lord “delights to show mercy” (Micah 7:18) we in turn are able to be merciful to those around us.

Matthew 5:8 says

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God”

The dictionary has several definitions for pure. Consider these synonyms of pure:

• Unsullied
• Untainted
• Uncorrupted

If we want to be in the Lord’s presence we have to rid ourselves of anything that would taint our relationship with him.

Matthew 5:9 says,

“Blessed are the peace makers for they will be called sons of God”

When we think of the word, “peace” we tend to think of no conflict or war and peacekeeper is a word often used in today’s media, but here Jesus is using “peacemaker”. This word embodies action. We are called upon to be reconcilers, to actively pursue wholeness for people, in families, in the work place, in the schools, and in our communities

Matthew 5:10 says

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

Jesus our Prince of Peace was persecuted and he is warning us who yearn to be kingdom people that many outside his sacred boundaries will try to undermine us. In his letter Peter really explains why Christians are attacked.

“They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation and they heap abuse on you.” – 1 Peter 4:4

Heeding Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes can empower us beyond what we can imagine and being bathed in those showers of blessings means we are new everyday and nothing in our past has power over us.

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning great is your faithfulness” – Lamentations 3:22

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