Beatitudes

By Deborah Bateman –

Lesson 1-Matthew 5:3-4

Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

As Women of Wisdom it is beneficial for us to study the Bible and see what God has to say to us concerning our Attitudes. This study of The Beatitudes is going to be a series of four lessons. We will cover a few of the scriptures in each article.

In this scripture we have what is called “The Beatitudes” or “The Blessings”. This was part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This scripture tells us what it means to be righteous. Jesus tells us how God expects us as Christians to live our daily lives. The first attitude Jesus talks about is blessed are the poor in spirit. What do you think that means?

The word blessed in the Greek means happy, not happy in a physical sense, but happy in a Godly spiritual sense. We are not to be proud people, but poor in spirit. Acknowledging that we are sinners and unrighteous before God.

Some words that you might use to describe what it means to be poor in spirit are: lowly, destitute of virtues, helpless, powerless, and reduced to begging. We have to realize that we in no way can earn our way to heaven and that we are in need of the Savior. Coming to this realization is not something that we do on our own, but is a result of the Holy Spirit dealing with our hearts.

Jesus gives a promise for the poor in spirit. He says, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit are not proud and realize their need for the Savior; therefore, they will inherit the kingdom of heaven. This is a great promise, it is an eternal promise.

The next attitude that Jesus talks about is blessed are they that mourn. Once we realize that we are sinners and that this sin has caused us to be separated from God we mourn. We are sorry for our sins, so sorry for all the grief and trouble we have caused ourselves, others, but most of all we mourn because of the hurt we have caused God.

What does it mean to mourn? Have you ever lost someone really close to you? How long did it take you to start to feel normal again? I know for myself when I lost my parents I mourned for a long time with both of them. My heart was broken; I missed them greatly and still do today. Time helps heal that wound, but I will always mourn their passing.

I hope that will help you think about how we should feel about our sins. Think about the way it grieves God’s heart when we sin. Sin causes us to be separated from God. He wants us to have true repentance. To be deeply sorry for our sins, sorry enough that with His help we turn away from them.

Jesus says those that mourn will be comforted. What does it mean to be comforted?

Some of the words that describe comforted are: reassured, thankful, calmed and pleased.

What comforts you when you are upset? Think about this: you know how when a baby cries and then the baby’s mama picks it up it quits crying. The baby is comforted.

We too are comforted by God. He is the only one who can comfort us concerning our sins. When we are poor in spirit, repent of our sins, realize our need for the Savior and mourn our sins, we have the promise of inheriting the kingdom and of being comforted by our Lord and Savior. Are you poor in spirit and do you mourn because of your sin?

Be on the lookout for our next article on the Beatitudes. We will discuss the next few scriptures and see what Jesus has to say concerning them.

Deborah H. Bateman is a Christian Author, Blogger and Website Designer. She is in the process of publishing my first E-Book “The Book of Ruth” Daily-Bible-Reading. It is a Daily Bible Study of The Book of Ruth. It should be published in August 2011. Look for it on Amazon and Smashwords. You can find her at her personal website and several blogs, the Links Page to see all the places you can find Deborah on the web. Website: Christian Daily Resources-At: http://www.christiandailyresources.com/.