Matthew 5:7-9 Lessons from the Mountain, Part 2
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: January 25, 2019, Matthew 5:7-9
Note 1: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Note 2: After I wrote this devotion, I studied the Beatitudes in more detail at a later date. If you want to listen to what I learned, go to the “Spiritual Commentary on Life” section and click on “The Sermon on the Mount–The Beatitudes.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(Understanding the Text) Jesus started with poor in spirit and then progressed through mourning to meekness to hungering and thirsting after righteousness. The rewards were the kingdom of heaven, comfort, the earth, and satisfaction. I always confuse the kingdom of heaven which is living in harmony with God and the earth which is the physical earth. Then Jesus adds more blessings.
The merciful shall receive mercy. This is related to the Lord’s prayer in Matthew. “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). It is also similar to what Jesus says in Luke. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:37-38). In giving mercy/forgiveness routinely, we are blessed. The reward for forgiving others is to know that you yourself have also been forgiven. In the progression of the Beatitudes, we realize our poverty of spirit which makes us mourn and makes us humble which opens in us a hunger/thirst for righteousness. In wanting to be righteous, we realize that we must be merciful to others as Jesus is to us.
The pure in heart see God. Does this mean that we cannot truly clearly see God until our hearts are purified? We have a deep desire for righteousness that results in our becoming merciful which purifies our hearts, and in that state we can finally see God?
The peacemakers are called the sons of God. I always think of this as peacemaking between men and men, but is it more peacemaking between men and God? Is this about witnessing? As we become purer in heart and see God more clearly, we feel the call to make peace between other people and God? We stop the clamoring and strive to bring peace around us, or do we simply radiate the peace to those around us? When people see the peace in us do they call us sons of God, or is it God who is calling us His children? Jesus associated peace with a lack of fear. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Our peace comes from being the sons of God. Jesus’ adoption of us allows us to receive His peace.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) In the progression of the Beatitudes we are merciful which results in purity where we see God which results in us radiating peace and being called God’s sons. Is it that as we see God more clearly, we will know that He is truly our loving Father? Is it that as we see God more clearly His peace radiates out from us to other humans? Is it that peacemakers and sons of God are equivalent? With all the striving and fighting in the world, do we become islands of peace spreading out to others?
Guzik says that these three character traits-merciful, pure in heart, and peacemakers- are the result of the previous conditions-pure in spirit, mourning, meekness, and hungering/thirsting for righteousness. He implies that the first four character traits are the inward manifestation of desiring God while the next three are the outward manifestations of God’s presence in us towards other humans. All of these traits are manifestations of the Spirit working in us and transforming us.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I think I am on the path to increasing these character traits, but I am woefully incapable of consistently living them. I am more merciful, pure in heart, and giving peace to others than I used to be, but I am still not anywhere near where I would claim any of these traits. Jesus, I pray that You will transform me to be in Your image rather than in the image of this world.