Matthew 5 King James Version (KJV)

Matthew 5

¹And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

³Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

⁷Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

¹³Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

¹⁴Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

¹⁵Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

¹⁷Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

¹⁹Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²¹Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

²²But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

²³Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

²⁴Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

²⁵Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

²⁶Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

²⁷Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

²⁸But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

²⁹And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

³⁰And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

³¹It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

³²But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

³³Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

³⁴But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

³⁵Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

³⁷But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

³⁸Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

³⁹But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

⁴⁰And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

⁴¹And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

⁴²Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

⁴³Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

⁴⁴But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

⁴⁵That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

⁴⁶For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

⁴⁷And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

⁴⁸Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Transforming+the+Task+List

Transforming+the+Task+List.

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The Wrath of God by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 79:1-13

Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—
on
kingdoms that do not call upon your name.

Psalm 79:6

Most Christians I know don’t like to think about the wrath of God. We rarely
hear this language in worship services or small group conversations. It isn’t
part of our daily devotions. The idea of God’s wrath seems foreign to the God
whose love is revealed in Christ. And surely we don’t want to think of God’s
wrath applied to us personally. Moreover, when Psalm 79:6 calls upon the Lord to
pour out wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge him, this seems
politically incorrect in the extreme. It sounds like the kind of rhetoric that
enflames our world and leads to all sorts of terrors.

So when we read verses like Psalm 79:6, we are understandably uncomfortable.
How are we to understand God’s wrath? How could we use this psalm in our
devotions? Should we pray for God’s wrath to be poured out on pagan nations?

As you might expect, I can’t answer these questions adequately in this
reflection. But I do want to make a few relevant observations. First, the wrath
of God refers to God’s righteous judgment, not primarily to his feelings of
anger, though the word “wrath” has this connotation. To call for God’s wrath is
to ask him to execute justice on those who deserve it.

Second, God’s wrath, in this sense, rightly falls upon all human beings. As
we read in Romans 1:18, “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful,
wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Later in
Romans we learn that we ourselves are worthy of God’s wrath: “For everyone has
sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Rom. 3:23). This is bad
news, to be sure.

Third, the bad news leads to good news. Jesus Christ took God’s wrath upon
himself, dying in the place of sinful humanity. Thus Romans 5:9 proclaims,
“[N]ow
that we have been justified by his blood, we will be saved through him from the
wrath of God” (NRSV). Because Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath,
we are able to drink the cup of salvation.

Therefore, in our prayers and in our actions, we continue to seek God’s
justice. But, recognizing that the nations who reject God are also those for
whom Christ died, we pray for their redemption. In particular, we ask that God’s
grace in Christ will be poured out on all people, including those who reject
him.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How do you understand the
wrath of God? What feelings does this language evoke in you? Do you pray for
those who don’t acknowledge the Lord? Are there people like this for whom you
want to pray today?

PRAYER: Lord, you know how difficult it is for many of us to
read passages like this one. Our tendency is to ignore them, to hurry on to
something more palatable. Forgive us for failing to take seriously the full
breadth of your revelation. Help us to know you more truly and completely.

Dear Lord, we do ask you today to execute justice on this earth. We think of
nations where people are trapped in oppression and poverty, of tyrants who wield
their power for their own personal advantage. We think of companies that ignore
the needs of people in the greedy quest of profits. We remember fellow believers
in countries where they can be imprisoned or killed because of their faith. In
these situations, and so many more like them, we ask for your justice.

But, indeed, as we point the finger at others, we acknowledge our own sin and
guilt. We have sinned, Lord, and are worthy of your judgment. Thus we rejoice in
the good news of your grace through Christ. Thank you for giving us, not what we
deserve, but that which flows from your boundless love.

As those who have received your grace, we pray for others who have rejected
you. May they experience your justice in the cross of Christ. May they be
overwhelmed by your grace, turning from their sin and embracing your
righteousness.

All praise be to you, God of justice and mercy, God of judgment and love.
Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/wrath-god-0

For Ours · Max Lucado

For Ours · Max Lucado.

No Reverse

No Reverse.