MATTHEW 5:4

MATTHEW 5:4

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   In The Beatitudes, we read:  "Blessed are they that mourn:  for they shall be comforted."  Matthew 5:4  King James Version (KJV) Public Domain

   If you will allow me to rant for a moment:  My sister died.  I had fasted, prayed, anointed her head with oil, prayed, fasted some more, and prayed earnestly; but she died.  My grief has been beyond unbearable.  It was severe and debilitating.   I needed help in the worst way, so I turned to The Only One Who I knew could help me, my God.   Help me, Lord.

   Well, I was highly disappointed.  This verse is not to direct us to the comfort for our selfish sorrow, grief, etc.  That is not to say that He will not comfort us, it is that this particular verse is often quoted when a loved one graduates to heaven and leaves us to complete our own mission here.  It is a misuse of this verse.

   So, what, then, does this verse mean?  It IS talking about the condition of the heart, but not sorrow due to the loss of things/people of this world.  It is talking about the recognition of our sin and our sorrowful heart due to our sins, our defying the will of God.  When we come to the throne of God and confess our sin with a contrite heart, He is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9) and give us joy, knowing we have been washed clean of ALL of our sin.  We nail our sin to the cross as we kneel at the foot of the cross and receive cleansing from the blood of Jesus for all of our iniquity.  We walk away without even a blemish.  God removes our sin as far as the east is from the west.  (Psalm 103: 12)

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    I love how God set things up from the beginning.  We can travel north until we reach a certain point, then we travel south.  But we can travel east circling the entire Earth and never travel west.  East never meets West and vice versa.  So our sin is forever away from us!

   So, we have sorrow for our sin and confess it and repent, and we receive joy.  We MUST forgive ourselves when God forgives us.  In the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, "Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose."  Or, we can use the famous quote from Timon and Pumbaa (The Lion King):  "Put your behind in the past." (He meant to say, "Put your past behind you.")  You are not greater than God, so, when He forgives (and He does), leave it alone.  Yes, I am talking to YOU!) We all need to work on forgiveness, especially forgiving ourselves.  The past is gone and there is no going back and fixing it.  Build on lessons learned from it.

   Give our guilt, shame, doubt, fear, regret, all we can do nothing about; give it all to Jesus and watch Him renew our souls and give us a bright tomorrow.

   Now, about my grief, let me say that Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood, praying to His Father to devise another way for us to be reconciled us to Him.  God said, "No."  God does not need me as His consultant, either.  If He denied Jesus, who am I to impose my will?  I will follow Job in saying, "The Lord gives, and The Lord takes away; Blessed be the name of The Lord." (Job 1:21)  I had my sister for much of my life.   She was a fantastic sister to me.  I didn't say she was perfect, but she was mine.  I praise His Name that He gave her to me for the time I had with her and for our relationship.  No regrets.

How about you?  God has worked out a way for you to become His child. He has prepared a place for you to be with Him for eternity.  Have you accepted His gift?  Click here to learn more about salvation:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

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1 CORINTHIANS 13: 6,7

1 CORINTHIANS 13; 6,7

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(Love)
6) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

COMMENTARY

   Rejoice not in iniquity, unrighteousness, sin.  How do we rejoice in iniquity?  Buying pornography is one that comes to mind.  The evening news is another, as we sit in our own homes, shielded from those who commit crimes.  That feeling of self-righteousness is sinful.  What about gossip?  Gossip hurts the one we are gossiping about, even if the story is true.  Again, we tout our self-righteousness.  ....But for the grace of God, anyone of these people involved in any of these sins could have been us.

   Now, we switch gears and speak about what love promotes:  love rejoices in the Truth.  This is not saying we rejoice when the facts are known; we rejoice in the Truth of God, which never changes.  We rejoice when others understand the Truth, and act accordingly.  When we were lost, we knew not the Truth.  But once our eyes were open and we received the Truth, we acted accordingly and those who led us to The Light rejoiced with us!  It also does not rejoice in false teaching and does not compromise God's Truth.  It rejoices in those who teach the Truth and live the Truth while not focusing on the shortcomings.

   Love bears all things in God's will and righteousness.  Humans have a tendency to stumble.  Love protects that one and nurtures him back into God's will rather than gossiping about how he was seen doing this or going there.  We are instructed to come up along side each other and support each other.  The wise one will hear and accept instruction.....it may take a while, though.  Be patient and persistent, never compromising God's Truth.

   Love also bears the pain of the sin of those we love and helps carry the burden of the pain.  Whether we stumble and don't get caught, or whether we get caught and land in jail.  When we love someone, we feel the pain of their shortcomings and edify them, educate them, while never turning away from them.  If God's love for us is evident by His longsuffering, how can our love for each other be less?

   Love believes all things:  Love believes the best in people, looks for the best.  When he stumbles, and we all do, love covers the sin, supports the sinner, and works to restore him rather than condemning him forever.  Love wants the best for the offender.  Think about Job's friends accusing Job unjustly of sinning against God.  Love believes he is innocent until proven guilty, then works to restore him.

   Love endures all things.  The word here is a military term used of an army's holding a vital position at all cost.  We love and NEVER give up on the offender.  It stands firm against all of the naysayers.  It does not abandon the person who has committed even a most grievous sin.  Love endures until death.

   Jesus loves you.  How is your relationship with Him?   He loves the kind of love described here in 1 Corinthians.  Here is how to accept His love:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.


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