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Number 6 Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Out of the hearts of men come all kinds of evil things. Everything from evil thoughts and greed, to slander and arrogance. All these evil things come from the inside of man, from his heart, and this evil from the heart is what makes man unclean. Two very good examples of verses that show the evil of the heart are below.Mark 7:20-23 "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within the man, and they defile the man."Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked". Therefore, one of the most important questions that we can ask is how can we be truly pure in our hearts and clean of filth and sin? How can we be pure in our imaginations, in our thoughts, in our words, in our decision making, and in our desires? How can we think what God thinks, will what God wills, desire what God desires, hate what God hates, and love what God loves? In other words how can our hearts be pure hearts, free from sins like pride and envy, free from evil thoughts and evil deeds? The truth is we can't do any of these things on our own. We can't reform ourselves. We can't self clean ourselves. Many people have tried to clean themselves. Some have tried to do this through asceticism or leading a life of complete self denial, or by other methods such as by going away from the world and living in solitude, or permanent silence, or by beating their bodies with whips and clubs, even by inflicting upon themselves all forms of degrading and unpleasant acts, even going so far as castrating themselves. They have tried to cleanse themselves through celibacy, fasting, and prayers. But such asceticism is not biblical and it will not result in purity of heart. So the first point we must be aware of is this.The path to a pure heart begins with the realization that we have impure hearts. The entire Bible revolves around the central theme that the Lord looks at the heart of the person and not at their external appearance, their behavior, or their achievements. The Lord does not acclaim education, intellect, business success, or social position, as the world does. And the second point we must be aware of is this.God must clean us. God alone is able to make rotten people pure in their imaginations, thoughts, words, deeds, and desires. The pure in heart are those who are free from evil desires and evil purposes. So if God is the only one who can cleanse us, then how does he do it? Well the Bible tells us that God has a plan to deal with the problem of sin infected hearts. God has a plan to save us and make us holy in thought, word and deed. And the plan is found in many places such as in Romans 8:29. Here God tells us that he wants "to conform us to the image and likeness of His Son". Thus God's plan is to make us like his own Son, like Jesus Christ. His purpose is nothing less than that we be pure in heart just like Jesus Christ is. How does God clean and purify us? First of all, when we become born again and we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ and put our entire faith and trust in him, God will supernaturally regenerate us and give us a brand new nature, a new self. We become a brand new creation. He tells us what he is going to do to us at Ezekiel 36:26-27. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you".And this all happens the very moment when you are saved, because when you are born again you indeed become a brand new person. A brand new person who is walking arm and arm with Jesus Christ on a road to spiritual purity, spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, and spiritual strength. The Bible tells us that once we are saved and become born again then we are no longer living our lives by ourselves. Galatians 2:20 tells us, "It is no longer I that live, but it is Christ that is living in union with me". Now both you and Jesus are living your life together, and it is at this point that a number of very marvelous things occur. First of all you have a brand new spotless heart, one that is no longer saturated with sin. You also have Jesus Christ dwelling within you and you are united with Jesus Christ. You now believe fully and completely in our Lord Jesus Christ. You have also pledged your love, trust, and obedience to the Lord. And something else extremely important has occured and that is the Holy Spirit has decided to move in and take up residence within you. The Holy Spirit is the one who's going to guide you and teach you and show you exactly what to do and how to do it, in order for you to become pure in heart. All the believer needs to do is constantly and continuously keep their focus on Jesus Christ.The pure in heart are happy; for they shall see God. Here holiness and happiness are fully described and put together. The heart must be purified by faith, and kept for God. Create in me such a clean heart, O God. None but the pure are capable of seeing God, nor would heaven be happiness to the impure. As God cannot endure to look upon their iniquity they cannot look upon his purity.To be pure of heart means to be free of all selfish intentions and self-seeking desires. What a beautiful goal! How many times have any of us performed an act perfectly free of any personal gain? Such an act is pure love. An act of pure and selfless giving brings happiness to all.

Number 7Matthew5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. The peace-makers are happy. They love, and desire, and delight in peace; and study to be quiet. They keep the peace that it be not broken, and recover it when it is broken. If the peace-makers are blessed, woe to the peace-breakers! Peacemakers not only live peaceful lives but also try to bring peace and friendship to others, and to preserve peace between God and man. A peacemaker a man who brings peace to another; but one cannot give another what one does not possess oneself. Hence the Lord wants you first to be yourself filled with the blessings of peace and then to communicate it to those who have need of it. By imitating God's love of man, the peacemakers become children of God.Romans 14:19 tells us, "So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another". One would imagine a person of this amiable temper and behavior and who strives for peace would be the darling of mankind. But our Lord well knew it would not be so, as long as satan was the prince of this world. We must realize that not only is satan a troublemaker, but all those who follow him are troublemakers. They all are enemies of God, opposing God in their thoughts, their wills, and their actions. The devil and his followers can be considered the true enemies of peace.However peacemaking does not mean seeking peace at any cost, for the peacemaker realizes that peace at any price will usually end up in complete and total destruction. So a peacemaker is not an appeaser. He's not one who smiles a lot and doesn't take a position on anything. He is not one who has an easygoing personality and who is nice and flabby and can easily be shoved around. He's not a doormat. A peacemaker is one who through strength and Godly knowledge endeavors to establish a right relationship between estranged parties based on truth and righteousness. The peacemakers realize that there is only one way that this world can have peace, and that is by trusting in Jesus Christ. What Jesus did on the cross was bring peace between not only God and man, but also between man and man. Christ's death tore the barrier of the veil at the entrance of the Holy of Holies from top to bottom and opened a way for us to have access to God, so that we can now come into the very presence of God and have peace with our Father. And when we are at peace with God, we will be at peace with all men. By his death Jesus also destroyed another barrier, that dividing wall of hostility between man and his fellow man. Ephesians 2:14 "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall". The reason we can love other people and have peace with them, including our enemies, is because Christ destroyed the hostility between man and man when he died on the cross. Colossians1:20 "And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross".

A true misnomer Lookin4wardChristians are supposed to get angry when we see injustice, killing of Babies, cruelty to those less fortunate ext. Its the way we deal with that anger how we address the problem that makes us a good Christian.

(Christina;60766)
(Lookin'4wardtoHeaven;60765)
I often hear people say Christians aren't suppose to get angry.....sounds like this what they are thinking?
A true misnomer Lookin4wardChristians are supposed to get angry when we see injustice, killing of Babies, cruelty to those less fortunate ext. Its the way we deal with that anger how we address the problem that makes us a good Christian.This wonderful verse brings me into mind. Ephesians 4:26 - Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Glad to see that I can help. Your welcome.

Number 8Matthew 5:10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said many times that those who follow Him will be persecuted. "If they persecute me, they will persecute you" (John 15:20-21). Stephen, Peter and Paul, nearly all of the Apostles, and many Christians in the Roman era suffered martyrdom. But the Lord promised those that suffer for his sake will be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven! In this beatitude Christ pronounces a blessing on those who are being persecuted. But the persecution that they are suffering is not for misdeeds or evil acts, their persecution is for doing righteousness. No, not for any crimes they have done, and not for being unrighteous and committing the acts of those who practice evil such as murderers, thieves, and all other acts of wickedness, but on account of their righteous and Godly conversation and Godly actions which in turn brings upon them the hatred and enmity of the men of the world. For by living righteously the believers separate themselves from the world and profess themselves not to belong to the world. The Godly life of true believers places a brand upon them that distinguishes them from the rest of the world. There is much evidence that proves that more Christians around the world have been martyred for their faith in this century alone, than in the combined previous nineteen centuries of the church's history. In many countries today it is a crime to be a Christian. If you live in the United States, you may think that the idea of persecution of Christians is not very relevant today. We are not experiencing any real persecution here in this country. But as you look around in this country, you can't help but see many great evil inroads that have been made into destroying anything having to do with Jesus Christ, the Bible, or the laws of God. The greatest assault against Christianity have been the many laws that have been passed recently, all with the idea of suppressing Christianity in all areas of society. Persecution in the United States at this time, frequently comes verbally, via the tongue, usually in the form of cruel mockings and reproachful language, or by deeds such as confiscation of goods, banishment from a group, or even in the workplace where one may be fired, demoted, or spoken against because of one's Christian faith. In today's society to tell others that you are a born again Christian who has put his entire faith and trust in Jesus Christ, is to bring on smirks and laughs, rude and disgusting comments, and alienation and retaliation. If you doubt this then tell any group or a group of your friends what the Word of God says about the homosexual lifestyle, and that God says that it is horribly wrong, and then tell them what the Bible says is going to happen to those who engage in it. Or tell a few of your fellow workers what the Bible says about murdering unborn children and that God considers it nothing less than an abomination. Then observe the response from these friends and fellow workers. I think you will see most of the time the seeds of verbal persecution beginning to form. But why is their such persecution in the world, and why is God so offensive to so many? Because the Word of God is a stumbling block to ungodly people. The unbelievers that don't know Jesus enjoy sinning, in fact they revel in it. They enjoy partaking in as many sins as possible. Sinning is what gives them pleasure. To sin is to enjoy life. The reason why ungodly men persecute Godly men, is because of the spirit that the creator has placed within each one of us. When the unbeliever sins, the Holy Spirit is convicting the spirit of that sinner and this causes the sinner to know that he is doing wrong and that his actions are against the laws of God. Of course this is all foolishness to the non-believing unrepentant sinner, but still the unbelieving sinner feels guilty and doesn't like that feeling, so it is rather easy for him to lash out at the believers of God, blaming them for making him feel bad. That is why the things of God and the beliefs of God are constantly being ridiculed and made fun of. The unbelievers are constantly attempting to destroy anything that has to do with God in a desperate attempt to do away with the source of their feeling bad. Throughout human history blaming someone else for their troubles has always been a very easy way out for a great many groups. So the sinner is an enemy of God and he is trying to fight back against God. And since the sinner can't get at God, he does the next best thing - he goes after those that follow God. Jesus told us in John 3:20 that, "Everyone who does evil hates the light," and in John 7:7 he declared, "The world hates me because I testify that what it does is evil." This can all be summed up by another verse in the Book of John. John 15:20 "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." The world hates Jesus because he is light, righteousness, and truth. They hate him because he reveals the wickedness of the people of the world, and they hate him because he exposes their evil. Jesus also told his disciples that they were his servants, and he told them just as he is telling us, that if the master is hated, then the servants of the master will also be hated. It's like someone who hates someone of a different race. Usually that person will also hate all others in that entire race. Or if a man hates his neighbor, he will usually also hate the man's wife and children. The truth is, everyone who lives a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted in some manner it maybe.. At work,at home,at school, on line, ect. In Luke 6:26 Jesus said, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets."So do not worry about the persecusion you are just living a Christian life being as a shining lights in the world12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. .............................................................RECAPMatthew 51And 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.