Let’s read Matthew 5:43-48You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends …
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Let’s read Matthew 5:14–16You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before …
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What does it mean to be a peacemaker in your everyday life as a Christian? What characteristics might you need to develop as an individual? What actions should you take or avoid? Here’s how God made peace between himself and us, as described by Paul:For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in …
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Now we come to the seventh of Jesus’ statements of good news. As always we begin with the two most obvious questions: who are the “peacemakers” and what does it mean that they will be called “children of God”? Peace in the New Testament Throughout the New Testament it’s clear that peace is something which …
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Last week we considered what Jesus meant by the word “merciful”: both a willingness to forgive wrongs done to us and to show kindness to those in need. We also concluded that Jesus was not referring to people who forgive or show kindness on a handful of one-off occasions, but rather to people whose attitude …
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Let’s move on to the fifth pronouncement of good news which Jesus made to his early followers. We see a shift in focus from the first four of Jesus’ statements in this passage. Leon Morris in the Pillar NT Commentary explains it thus: The first four beatitudes express in one way or another our dependence …
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Nihilist to Christian