Daily Bible Verses for 10/26/2016

Bible Verse
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Reading Notes
Just imagine the world we would have if everyone took this to heart and carried out what Jesus is requesting of us? Just as God loves those who rebel against Him, wishing that all would come to the knowledge and faith of Christ, we too are called to love and pray for those who hate us. We should always remember that God bestows His blessings on both the saved and the unsaved. This means God loves dearly both the good and the bad, and as children of God, we are not to retaliate, nor to wish harm to those who hate us. Rather, we are to pray for them. In addition, any actions we take toward them should be in their best interest and for their welfare. Dear child of God this is so hard for us to do, given our fallen nature. When someone hates us and wishes us harm, our first reaction is one of defense, retaliation and attack. However, we are called by Christ to love them. Jesus asks us to love those who hate us, to pray for those who would attack us, knowing that we are unable to do so by our own will power.

Rather, we are to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us. Which means we are to be in prayer and submission to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to do as Jesus requests of us. Because it is only through the power of God in our lives that we can become devoted followers of Christ Jesus our Lord and peacemakers to those who hate us. The word used for “peacemakers” only appears here in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew and nowhere else. It carries the meaning of someone who reconciles those who are at odds with one another. The encouragement for us as believers is that we should do everything within our power to maintain a good relationship with people we know. We do this knowing that our faith in Jesus makes us children of God and joint heirs with Him in the kingdom of God. Because of our relationship with Jesus, we can say to God, “Abba, Father.” And it’s our loving Father in Heaven who equips us for His service, including that as a peacemaker to those who hate us. In addition, the promise here of being called, “sons of God” finds its complete fulfillment on that future day when we meet Jesus face to face, as we enter the kingdom of Heaven.