30 Days On The Mount

Matthew uses ‘the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language…used for mournin g for the dead, passionate lament for one who was loved.’ xiv Jesus, the ‘man of sorrows and acquainted with dee pest grief’ wept at Lazarus’ tomb and over the unrepentant city of Jerusalem yet he was the happiest person to have ever lived. Our mourning is not only for our own brokenness, but for the sins and failures of those we love and for the world we live in. ‘T he Christian life is spent in this way, mourning and joy, sorrow and happiness, and the one should lead to the other immediately.’ xiv God specializes in comforting those who are experiencing sorrow in any form; “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort others.” (2 Cor 1:2,3 NLT) People often make the most significant changes in their lives during their time of mourning when we show them the comfort of God. I led my mother to faith in Christ the day following the death of my father. She spent the rest of her life pursuing God’s will and blessing for her. His Kingdom is to be a place of healing through the spiritual and emotional comfort expressed by his followers. The happiness increases with each succeeding Beatitude and cannot be experienced without embracing those that are before it. Meekness is a direct result of becoming poor in spirit and godly mourning. This Beatitude is taken directly from Psalm 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Psalm 37 is David’ s version of the Sermon on the Mount where he instructs us to develop our inner life of trust and humility before God. xiv 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

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