Beautifully BE-ATITUDINAL

A friend invited me join her in reading the whole Bible in a year so of course, I said yes!! I've always wanted to read the whole Bible and I've tried multiple times but never seemed to follow through :/ So I figure this is a great opportunity since I have someone holding me accountable. Our reading started yesterday and so far we have read Matthew chapters 1-6. It's crazy how you can read something so many times and still notice things you never realized before...that's how God works ;)

Anyway, I love chapter 5, aka the Beatitudes and part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. You might be wondering what the heck are "Beatitudes"? Beatitudes are defined as supreme blessedness or the blessings that Jesus listed in his Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is so clear & to the point...I love it! If you've never read the Beatitudes before here they are...and if you have, read em again, who knows something different may stand out to you this time!

Matthew 5:1-12

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

Let me ask you this, do the underlined phrases explain you and the way you act? Since these phrases are known as blessings, do you think the world would define them as blessings? Probably not...the world tells us, "Don't be meek, merciful, hungry for righteousness, poor in spirit, peacemakers...that's not cool!" As believers, we aren't supposed to go with world's flow, but to go against it so we can show Jesus' love for others.

 

So let's try to be beautifully beatitudinal!

If you would like to read the Bible in a year with me, feel free to tag along! You will be blessed, I'm sure!

To catch up with me, read chapters 1-6 in the book of Matthew.

Also, if you would like the reading plan for the year, I can email it to you. Just let me know by commenting on this post!