Matthew 5:6
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice (righteousness).”
Matthew 5:6 NLT
Our country, our world is in crisis. The World Wide Pandemic of the Covid 19 virus is highly contagious and spreading like the wild fires we had a few years ago. Just one little spark could ignite an entire forest. And so with this disease. During times of adversity, the goodness in people is seen. Many rise to the occasion, jump in, to do the right things to help others. Then you see other people taking advantage of the situation for their own selfish interests.
Can we see evidence of people doing right and wrong actions? Is there such a thing as good and evil? Justice and injustice? Many think there isn’t... we should just do what seems right to us. And who are you to judge right and wrong, good and evil? Though over the centuries, millenniums of human history there were good things done, and there was also evil perpetrated on others. Justice? Injustices committed? Can we all agree that Hitler perpetrated evil and committed genocide when he murdered Jews, Christians and others?
Can we see evidence of people doing right and wrong actions? Is there such a thing as good and evil? Justice and injustice? Many think there isn’t... we should just do what seems right to us. And who are you to judge right and wrong, good and evil? Though over the centuries, millenniums of human history there were good things done, and there was also evil perpetrated on others. Justice? Injustices committed? Can we all agree that Hitler perpetrated evil and committed genocide when he murdered Jews, Christians and others?
Today is March 27, 2020, the 12th day of the Federal guidelines to slow down the spread of this disease, which began March 16, 2020. We are still mostly staying home, and if we need to go out for a necessity it is brief. We avoid crowds and practice “Social Distancing” as best as possible. I stocked up on food and other necessities a while back. Both the Federal Government and the State of Oregon has asked people to stay home and many businesses deemed unnecessary are ordered to be closed. And schools are closed as well. So many parents find themselves home with their kids, getting restless and needing to get out. But now all the parks are closed, so where do you take the kids to run and play?
The disease has continued to spread, however, the good news last night on FOX, is that the increase is no where near the devastation of the predicted models for our country. Thankfully, our President, Donald Trump began travel bans from various countries at the end of January; beginning first with China, the epicenter and source of the virus. Many thought him to be racist toward the Chinese and other countries left their borders open. So the Chinese tourists went to Italy. Sadly Italy’s people, especially the elderly were especially susceptible to this novel virus and many are very ill, and a lot of people have died. This is the model predicted for the US. By implementing the travel ban from China may have prevented a massive spread in our country. The president also put travel bans on people coming from Italy, then UK and other countries, as the virus spread. Since then other countries have implemented travel bans as well. The hope is if we can just stay at home and deprive the virus of new hosts; it will die out, or slack off in the summertime, giving scientists and doctors time to discover or create treatments and vaccines for this novel, (new) virus.
The disease has continued to spread, however, the good news last night on FOX, is that the increase is no where near the devastation of the predicted models for our country. Thankfully, our President, Donald Trump began travel bans from various countries at the end of January; beginning first with China, the epicenter and source of the virus. Many thought him to be racist toward the Chinese and other countries left their borders open. So the Chinese tourists went to Italy. Sadly Italy’s people, especially the elderly were especially susceptible to this novel virus and many are very ill, and a lot of people have died. This is the model predicted for the US. By implementing the travel ban from China may have prevented a massive spread in our country. The president also put travel bans on people coming from Italy, then UK and other countries, as the virus spread. Since then other countries have implemented travel bans as well. The hope is if we can just stay at home and deprive the virus of new hosts; it will die out, or slack off in the summertime, giving scientists and doctors time to discover or create treatments and vaccines for this novel, (new) virus.
Now we are all living a totally new and different life. The children are out of school, parents home from work, businesses and restaurants closed and now socially polite greetings like shaking hands and the affection of hugs is a thing of the past. With so many businesses closed and people out of work, our economy is plunging faster than any other stock market crash in history. Our President, White House staff and legislative branch’s are doing the right thing by quickly passing legislation to assist people out of work. (A record 3.3 million people have filed for unemployment just last week and much more to come.)
Yet in the midst of this emergency and tragedy, the legislation was delayed by politicians inserting irrelevant pet projects into the much needed funding to help hurting people. They held the bill hostage until the other legislators, the statesmen had to cave in to the irrelevant political demands, so the people who need the funds will get them quickly. To me this was not right.
Another wrong that is taking place are investors who massively short sell the market. They leverage down positions causing the stock market to plunge even farther down. They make billions of dollars in effect steeling it from really good companies and from ordinary people... steeling from our IRA and retirement accounts. This has happened to us three times now, in the last 20 years. So my husband has been in crisis mode yet again for the last 4 weeks now, trying to rescue our retirement and four other family accounts. This is hurting all of us regular people. It is a redistribution of wealth from people who worked really hard for their retirement funds and going to billionaires who are shorting the markets, making the plunge even deeper than warranted by the crisis we are in. I hope some day it will become illegal, so the rest of us have a chance to growing our savings for retirement with out exaggerated market swings.
However, even though there are many wrongs happening, I have heard so many stories of kindness, generosity, and servants hearts. So many people going out of their way to help others. People shopping for the elderly, businesses stepping up to the plate to manufacture ventilators and effective masks and gear to protect our healthcare workers who are on the front lines of this battle.
Why am I writing all of this on the Journey with Jesus blog? Because when Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount, He began teaching them the Beatitudes... “Blessed are...” The one we are focusing on right now is the blessing of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
In this time and always, many of us long for righteousness and justice. We want our world to be a good place where people choose to be good and do right things. However, in the age we live in and days gone by there is sin, unrighteous actions. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God in the Garden of Eden; every person is born with a sin nature. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Hopefully our parents tried to train us to not act on it. But as much as we all try, that sin nature is always there and creates a barrier between us and God. And because the sin nature permeates the earth, we will always be hurt by it in one way or another. Is there a solution? We can look to God and look to His promises.
“God has shown us a way to be made right with Him, by placing our faith in Jesus Christ... He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins... People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood.” Romans 3:21-25 NLT
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...” Romans 5:1
By being right with God, justified by faith we can experience the peace of God in even the most difficult circumstances we experience in this age, through trusting Him. Even though there will always be sin on this earth; there is hope in the promise of another age to come. Then there will be a whole new heaven and a new earth. This is what John the Apostle saw in a vision:
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... Then I, John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle (dwelling place) of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Revelation 21:1-5 NKJ
Amazing! This is a world where there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, nor pain; because God will “make all things new.” So in the meantime, we can come to Him and receive a new life with Him.
Being IN Christ is the key to a whole new life on this earth, that is still enveloped in unrighteousness. When we believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood for us, we are made right with him and with God, the Father. Then through the Holy Spirit dwelling, living in us, we can be IN Christ and live a whole new life IN him. We will still be living in a sinful world and still have a sin nature.
The apostle John gives us this message;
Living in honesty before God, receiving forgiveness for our sins is a peaceful way to live before God. When we hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we will be filled with His righteousness.
We also look forward to the day when the redeemed of God will inhabit a whole new world, where there will be no more sickness, death, crying nor pain, because this earth we now struggle on will be gone and whole new earth will take it’s place. I long for that whole new world, where God says, “Behold, I will make all things new.”
Why am I writing all of this on the Journey with Jesus blog? Because when Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount, He began teaching them the Beatitudes... “Blessed are...” The one we are focusing on right now is the blessing of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6 NKJ
In this time and always, many of us long for righteousness and justice. We want our world to be a good place where people choose to be good and do right things. However, in the age we live in and days gone by there is sin, unrighteous actions. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God in the Garden of Eden; every person is born with a sin nature. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Hopefully our parents tried to train us to not act on it. But as much as we all try, that sin nature is always there and creates a barrier between us and God. And because the sin nature permeates the earth, we will always be hurt by it in one way or another. Is there a solution? We can look to God and look to His promises.
“God has shown us a way to be made right with Him, by placing our faith in Jesus Christ... He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins... People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood.” Romans 3:21-25 NLT
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...” Romans 5:1
By being right with God, justified by faith we can experience the peace of God in even the most difficult circumstances we experience in this age, through trusting Him. Even though there will always be sin on this earth; there is hope in the promise of another age to come. Then there will be a whole new heaven and a new earth. This is what John the Apostle saw in a vision:
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... Then I, John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle (dwelling place) of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Revelation 21:1-5 NKJ
Amazing! This is a world where there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, nor pain; because God will “make all things new.” So in the meantime, we can come to Him and receive a new life with Him.
“Therefore, if anyone is IN Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
Being IN Christ is the key to a whole new life on this earth, that is still enveloped in unrighteousness. When we believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood for us, we are made right with him and with God, the Father. Then through the Holy Spirit dwelling, living in us, we can be IN Christ and live a whole new life IN him. We will still be living in a sinful world and still have a sin nature.
The apostle John gives us this message;
“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...”
I John 1:5-9 NKJ
Living in honesty before God, receiving forgiveness for our sins is a peaceful way to live before God. When we hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we will be filled with His righteousness.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6 NKJ
We also look forward to the day when the redeemed of God will inhabit a whole new world, where there will be no more sickness, death, crying nor pain, because this earth we now struggle on will be gone and whole new earth will take it’s place. I long for that whole new world, where God says, “Behold, I will make all things new.”
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