What Jesus Did : Matthew 5:6 - More Than Anything Else
by Phil Ware
More Than Anything Else - Matthew 5:6
"What great blessings there are for the people that want to do right more than anything else! God will fully satisfy them." (ERV) Full TextKey Thought
Other translations use the wording of hungering and thirsting after righteousness where this translation refers to those who want to do right. Except for a voluntary fast, most of us who spend our time on the net don't know what it's like to be hungry. But nearly all of us, at one time or another, have been very, very thirsty! To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to want what pleases, honors, and reflects God more than anything else. To be righteous becomes our consuming passion. This spiritual commitment takes on a primal drive, much like hunger and thirst drive us physically. Like so many of these beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-11, finding our lives in God, his nature and his character is our only path to fulfillment.
Today's Prayer
Holy and Righteous Father, while I know I can never even approximate the edges of your righteous character, please use the Holy Spirit to make me into the person who reflects your holiness to those around me. Where I am inconsistent, please help me become faithful. Where I am tempestuous and undisciplined, please bless me with self-control. Where I am insensitive and unfeeling, please help me see life from the point of view of others. O Father, I so much want to please and honor you in what I say and do. Thank you for your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
Jesus saw the many people that were there. So Jesus went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came to him. Jesus taught the people. He said: "What great blessings there are for the people that {know they} have spiritual needs! The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. What great blessings there are for the people that are sad now! God will comfort them. What great blessings there are for the people that are humble! They will have the land {God promised}. What great blessings there are for the people that want to do right more than anything else ! God will fully satisfy them. What great blessings there are for the people that give mercy to other people! Mercy will be given to them. What great blessings there are for the people that are pure in their thinking! They will be with God. What great blessings there are for the people that work to bring peace! God will call them his sons and daughters. What great blessings there are for the people that are treated badly for doing good! The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. "People will say bad things against you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things against you because you follow me. But when people do those things to you, know that God will bless you. Be happy and glad. You have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did those same bad things to the prophets that lived before you. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, then it cannot be made salty again. Salt is good for nothing, if it loses its salty taste. It must be thrown out and people walk on it. "You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. And people don't hide a light under a bowl. No. People put the light on a lamp table. Then the light shines for all the people in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that people will see the good things you do. Live so that people will praise your Father in heaven.-- Matthew 5:1-16 (ERV)
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