Let’s look at the fourth of Jesus’ “Blessed are…” statements. He promised that the gospel message was good news for “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” and also that they “would be filled”. What did he mean by this? Those who hunger and thirst It’s not immediately obvious what he meant here. Was he …
Category Archives: faith
Blessed are the meek – now it’s personal.
What should meekness look like in the life of a Christian in 2024? And how might your life need to change in order to embrace it? Meekness takes effort Meekness isn’t a characteristic that comes naturally to human beings. Some people’s nature is to be loud and proud and self-confident, eager to put themselves out …
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Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth
Hi everyone. Let’s look at the third of Jesus’ “This is good news for…” statements in Matthew 5. Who are the meek and what does it mean that they will inherit the earth? Meekness The first point to make is that, for Jesus, meekness did not mean weakness. One commentary puts it as follows: Meekness …
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Blessed are those who mourn – now it’s personal
Times of mourning or suffering are some of the hardest moments for anyone, and this is no different when you’re a Christian. Knowing that God loves you and has promised you eternal joy and happiness doesn’t lessen the pain in those moments of loss or hardship. When you find yourself struggling in those moments, what …
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Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Hi everyone. Let’s look at the second of the eight “blessed” statements Jesus made in Matthew 5. We’ve already seen, while looking at the previous verse, that “blessed” carried a meaning something along the lines of “This is good news for…” Who was Jesus referring to in this verse? Who were “those who mourn” in …
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Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Hi everyone. Let’s begin our look at one of Jesus’ most famous teachings in Matthew 5:3. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the first of eight ‘blessed’ statements that Jesus made while speaking to his followers. Each of these statements presents a certain characteristic or quality …
2024 is upon us!
Hi everyone, it’s the beginning of a new year. 2023 was a difficult time for many of us both in terms of our own personal lives as well as the state of the world around us. The cost of living was still a serious issue for many across the Western world. Fear and uncertainty over …
What does it mean to ‘know’ God? (part 3)
In the last post we considered that knowing God means having a relationship with him and undergoing a process of transformation to become more like Jesus in the way that we think and act. God made us in his image, meaning we have the potential to be like him. We also have the potential to …
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The resurrection of Jesus – Christianity’s foundation
The Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection of Jesus. What do I mean by that? The Bible does not present the resurrection of Jesus as a fable intended to convey some profound moral truth, nor as a piece of folklore or mythology intended to explain the founding of Christianity. It presents it as …
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Coping with financial stress
We live at a time when many people are worried about their financial situation. Here in the UK the lockdown has been going on for almost a month and for most of us that has meant being unable to work. For some people it has meant no income at all. Currently there is no certainty …
Nihilist to Christian 