Sunday, July 10, 2011

Kingdom Attitudes #7 & #8

The reading for this morning was from Matthew 5:1-12

Kingdom Attitude #7 - Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.

What is a peacemaker? A peacemaker is not someone who wants peace at any cost. People who bottle things up and brush problems under the carpet are peacefakers.

Peace means reconciliation. A peacemaker is someone who is willing to chase peace at any cost. Jesus paid the ultimate price to reconcile us with God. True peace can be hard and painful. We need to resolve conflicts not run from them.

People can see our relationship to our parents and grandparents by looking at us. Can they see our relationship with God?

Kingdom Attitude #8 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Persecution happens when two belief systems clash. Do you get ready to fight or flee when confronted by other beliefs? Jesus tells us to rejoice in these situations because "great is your reward in heaven' (v12).

We live in a world where people live for themselves, look to accumulate riches and simply have a "good time". They don't believe that they will have to answer for their actions, they don't believe that they will have to pay for their short term pleasures for the rest of eternity.

Life is short, don't waste it of frivolous pleasure, spend it wisely.

Richard.

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