THE BEATITUDES

MATTHEW 5: 3- 12 (NIV)

5 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.

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. 

Basic Traits, CHARACTER AND THE KINGDOM

While the Beatitudes of Jesus provide a way of life that promises salvation, they also provide peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations on this earth.

Beatitude is a possession of all things held to be good, from which nothing is absent that a good desire may want.  Perhaps the meaning of beatitude may become clearer to us if it is compared with its opposite.  

Now the opposite of beatitude is misery. Misery means being afflicted unwillingly with painful sufferings.

·         Clearly, the authority Christ hopes to delegate to His own is intended to be exercised by a disciple willing to accept renewal in soul and behavior as well as rebirth through forgiveness of sin.  To these, obviously the call to “kingdom” living and ministry includes the expectation that Holy Spirit –begotten fruit and gifts will develop in the believer.  The same Spirit that distributes gifts of power for kingdom service also works in us to beget kingly qualities of live, love, and a holy character (John 15:1-17, Gal. 5:22, 23).

Kingdom Dynamics

ON THE BEATITUDES

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

·         "Poor in spirit" means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. He who humbles himself is able to accept our frail nature, to repent, and to allow the grace of God to lead us to conversion.

·         It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended. If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

·         If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us. One also mourns for the suffering of others.

·         The more one ascends in meditation of Divine Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, and then realize the poverty of human nature, man can only be left in sorrow. When one contemplates that we were made in the image and likeness of God and lived in Paradise, the Garden of Eden, and compare that to our present state after the Fall, one can only mourn our present condition. But the sentence continues that they shall be comforted, by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and hopefully one day in the Kingdom of Heaven. Pray for the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

·         Mourning in this context is called a blessing, because mourning our fallen nature creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right!

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

·         The Beatitudes build one upon another. A humble person becomes meek, or becomes gentle and kind, and exhibits a docility of spirit, even in the face of adversity and hardship. A person that is meek is one that exhibits self-control. St. Augustine advises us to be meek in the face of the Lord, and not resist but be obedient to him. Obedience and submission to the will of God are certainly not in vogue these days, but they will bring one peace in this world and in the next.

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

·         Justice and righteousness in the New Covenant indicate the fulfillment of God's will in your heart and soul. It is not mere observance of the law (Matthew 5:20), but rather an expression of brotherly love (I John 3:10). A continuous desire for justice and moral perfection will lead one to a fulfillment of that desire - a transition and conversion to holiness. This is true for all the virtues - if you hunger and thirst for temperance, you will head towards the goal you have in mind. St. Augustine called the Beatitudes the ideal for every Christian life! In his discourse on the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, he noted the correspondence of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and their necessity in fulfilling the Beatitudes. For example, one must have the gift of fortitude so one may be courageous in seeking social justice.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

·         Mercy is the loving disposition towards those who suffer distress. Love, compassion, and forgiveness towards one's neighbor will bring peace in your relationships. We say in the Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. As we are merciful to others, so our Heavenly Father will be merciful with us! Jesus reminds us that whatever "you did to the least of my brethren, you did it to me (Matthew 25:31-46)." St. Paul calls for the obedience of faith in the beginning and end of his Letter to the Romans (1:5, 16:25-27). The following are ways to be merciful to your neighbor as well as to be obedient in faith to Christ our Savior.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer

FOUNDER/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org.

SIGNS AND WONDERS

         Show Wonders in the Heavens 

                    and on the Earth

Joel 2:30-32

English Standard Version (ESV)

Steps to knowing God and His Ways

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The knowledge  of God is to be passed from generation to generation by instructing our children in the nature, character, and ways of God.  Thus trained, a deeper understanding of God’s current move, whether in judgment or revival is possible.  This understanding avoids reliance on fleshly or demonic sources of guidance, and allows the alignment of our priorities with God’s purpose.

KINGDOM DYNAMICS

Believe that signs, wonders, and miracles are part of God’s unchanging nature and workings. Choose to call on the name of Jesus for salvation and deliverance. Recognize that ″calling on His name″ relates to inviting His saving and delivering action in all facets of your life, not only your initial experience of New Birth.

2:30, Wonders: are forerunners of God’s judgment.  They are patterned after the plagues God brought upon Egypt at the time of Israel’s deliverance (see Ex. 7-11). They are also the phenomena that accompany war.

2:31 Moon into blood: The moon appears red as when it is viewed through heavy smoke. The days previous to the terrible day of the Lord of the Lord come.

2:32 When the world order is falling apart, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.  These signs of God’s judgment are disastrous for those who will continue in their sin.  They are, however, signs of redemption and deliverance for those who turn to the Lord. 

        ● Mount Zion…Jerusalem are to be understood as figures for the dwelling lace or presence of God.

●   Remnant: Those who are saved; those who have called on the name of the Lord. See Zeph. 2;7

● Whom the Lord shall call:  Here we see the salvation is two-fold.  It is both the calling on The Lord by men and the calling to men through the miraculous wonders.  Men can respond by calling of God and will then be delivered.

In Closing

Dear Friends, no event in Joel’s time answers the prophetic section (vv. 29, 32).  It has its initial fulfillment on the Day of Pentecost when the outpouring of the Spirit began ″the last days.″ Joel’s prophecy will culminate with the coming again of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the subsequent end of this world.  We are now living in thee prolonged last days.  The rising crescendo of violence and war that characterizes contemporary history should be understood as the beckoning of God for men to call upon Him and be saved.  Amen

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Producer/Published Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

KORRYS BEARS STORIES LANE THE NEW CHILDRENS TV SHOW

JESUS WEPT

Significance has been attributed to this phrase for a number of reasons, including the following:

• Weeping demonstrates that the Christ was indeed true man, with real bodily functions (such as tears, sweat, blood, eating and drinking - note, for comparison, the emphasis laid on Jesus eating during the post-resurrection appearances). His emotions and reactions were real; the Christ was not an illusion or spirit. Pope Leo I referred to this passage when he discussed the two natures of Jesus: 

"In his humanity Jesus wept for Lazarus; in his divinity, he raised him from the dead." 

• The sorrow felt by Jesus presages the suffering of his own crucifixion. 

• The sorrow, sympathy, and compassion Jesus felt for all mankind. 

• Jesus's weeping demonstrates that Lazarus had genuinely died. The raising of Lazarus was therefore not a fraud or a case of misdiagnosis. 

• Most people interpret his weeping to mean that Jesus was sorrowful for the fact that Lazarus had died (which was the interpretation of the bystanders in verse 36). However, an alternate explanation considers this to be unreasonable, given his full knowledge that he was about to resurrect Lazarus. 

This view instead argues that every single person whom Jesus talked to in John chapter 11 (his disciples, Martha, Mary, and the Jews) was blinded by their misconceptions of Jesus and by their failure to recognize that, as he declared in verse 26, he himself was "the resurrection and the life". 

Thus, "he groaned in the spirit and was troubled" (New King James, verse 33). This view holds that he wept because even those who were closest to him were still blinded by their concepts to the fact that he really was "the resurrection and the life"—beyond mere doctrine (verses 25-27)—in spite of all his plain words to them. 

A striking point in this view is that the only person in the chapter who had no misconceptions was the dead man Lazarus, who promptly obeyed and received life when commanded to come forth. 

Finally, this view holds that the bystanders in verses 36-37, just like most readers today, were blinded by their own misconceptions and so did not understand that Jesus was actually weeping for them, not for Lazarus. 

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer

FOUNDER/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org.

ONE BODY

WE ARE MEMBERS OF 

ONE ANOTHER

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Ephesians 4:25-5:1


Feuds are as old as the human race and as widespread as the common cold. Like the cold, once they start they infect others. It is insidious how easily feuds begin, how long they can last, and the damage they can do. In the late 1800s, two families, one in Kentucky and another in West Virginia, fought for nearly 20 years, and 12 were killed.

Not all feuds are that blatant. They may be as subtle as a minor insult. Once they start they can gradually damage and then destroy families, churches, and lifelong relationships.
Paul knew the deadly effects that feuds could have in a congregation. So he reminded his readers in Ephesus, "We are members of one another" (Ephesians 4:25).

Is there a Christian with whom you are angry or bitter, with whom you no longer speak? Once perhaps you were friends, but have you let some offense turn your friend into an enemy? Hear what Paul said: "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32).

Determine today that you will do everything you can, with God's help, to build bridges to other people rather than walls between you. —HWR

We're members of Christ's body,
A blessed family;
So let's not fight or quarrel,
But live in harmony. —Fitzhugh

Our union with Christ is the basis for unity with one another.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer

FOUNDER/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org.

ISRAEL - FEAST OF THE WEEKS

Leviticus 23

Religious Suppers

   ¹The Lord said to Moses, ²"Say to the people of Israel, 'These are the special suppers of the Lord, which you will keep for holy meetings. These are My special suppers. ³Work may be done for six days. But the seventh day is the Day of Rest, a holy meeting when you do no work at all. It is the Day of Rest to the Lord in all your homes.

 

The Supper Of Bread Without Yeast

   ⁴'These are the special suppers of the Lord, the holy meetings you will keep at the right times. ⁵On the fourteenth day of the first month in the evening begins the Lord's religious gathering to remember how His people left Egypt. ⁶On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Lord's special supper of bread without yeast. For seven days you will eat bread made without yeast. ⁷On the first day you will have a holy meeting. You will not do any hard work. ⁸But you will give a gift by fire to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy meeting. You will not do any hard work.' ''

 

The Supper Of First Fruits

   ⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰"Say to the people of Israel, 'When you come into the land I am going to give you and gather its grain, bring some of the first fruits of your grain to the religious leader. ¹¹He will wave the grain before the Lord for you to be received. The religious leader will wave it on the day after the Day of Rest. ¹²On the day when you wave the grain, you will give a perfect, one year old male lamb as a burnt gift to the Lord. ¹³The grain gift with it will be one-fifth part of a basket of fine flour mixed with oil. It is a gift by fire to the Lord for a pleasing smell. And the drink gift with it will be a jar of wine. ¹⁴Do not eat bread or dry grain or new grain until this same day, when you have brought the gift to your God. It is to be a Law forever for all your people in all your homes.

The Feast of Weeks

   ¹⁵" 'The day you brought the grain for the wave offering was the day after the Sabbath. Count off seven full weeks from that day. ¹⁶Count off 50 days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath. On that day bring me an offering of your first grain. ¹⁷Bring two loaves of bread that are made with 16 cups of fine flour. They must be baked with yeast. Bring them to me as a wave offering from the first share of your crops. That applies no matter where you live.

    ¹⁸" 'Together with the bread, bring seven male lambs. Each lamb must be a year old. It must not have any flaws. Also bring one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to me. They will be offered together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. They are an offering that is made with fire. They give a pleasant smell to me.
    ¹⁹" 'Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. Also sacrifice two lambs for a friendship offering. Each of the lambs must be a year old. ²⁰The priest must lift the two lambs up and wave them in front of me as a wave offering. He must offer them together with the bread that is made out of the first share of your crops. They are a sacred offering to me. They will be given to the priest.
    ²¹" 'On that same day tell the people that they must come together for a special service. They must not do any regular work. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.

……. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.  Leviticus 24:44

 

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer

FOUNDER/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org.

 

DRAWING ON THE GRACE OF GOD

 

Drawing on the Grace of God—Now

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We . . . plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain
—2 Corinthians 6:1

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The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"—that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won’t count this time"? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you—it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don’t say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now—draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God’s grace through prayer.

". . . in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors . . ." ( 2 Corinthians 6:5 )—in all these things, display in your life a drawing on the grace of God, which will show evidence to yourself and to others that you are a miracle of His. Draw on His grace now, not later. The primary word in the spiritual vocabulary is now. Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself. One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on the grace of God is that you can be totally humiliated before others without displaying even the slightest trace of anything but His grace.

". . . having nothing . . . ." Never hold anything in reserve. Pour yourself out, giving the best that you have, and always be poor. Never be diplomatic and careful with the treasure God gives you. ". . . and yet possessing all things"—this is poverty triumphant ( 2 Corinthians 6:10 ).

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer

FOUNDER/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org.