Matthew 11:29-30

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

Matt.5:5A

A fairly accurate description of the human race might be furnished one unacquainted with it by taking the Beatitudes, turning them wrong side out and saying, `Here is your human race.' For the exact opposite of the virtues in the Beatitudes are the very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct.

In the world of men we find nothing approaching the virtues of which Jesus spoke in the opening words...

I believe there is a positive warning in the gospels that a person's faith may stand in the revealed Bible text-and still be as dead as the proverbial door nail! Consider the prayer of our Lord in Matthew 11: "All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." There is more than a body of truth - and if we do not...

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 11:28-30

Today we ask ourselves: What is there about this famous saying of Jesus which engenders good mental health? Mental health, after all, is more than a medical term. It is a concept that goes beyond the walls of a hospital or a doctor's clinic and applies also to the home, the church and the world of everyday living....

For Reading and Meditation:     James 3:1-18

We continue meditating on the meaning of the word "meek" as used by Jesus in His third Beatitude. "Meekness," said one commentator, "is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others." If that is so, then meekness involves two things: (1) our attitudes towards...

For Reading and Meditation:     Romans 13:7-14

We continue considering on the fact that the Beatitudes are the finest prescription for mental and spiritual health that has ever been given. It is helpful to keep in mind at this stage in our meditations that the Beatitudes are be-attitudes, not do-attitudes; the doing comes out of the being. Some ministers and...

In telling us this of himself, our Lord does not profess to tell us anything new, but simply to refer to a well-known fact. Everything in his life declared that he was meek and lowly of heart. Power, wisdom, generosity, love ― these things were not more largely revealed in his life, than were his meekness and lowliness of heart. For instance, in the choice of a position. He entered one of the lowest grades of society. He had intercourse indeed with men of all ranks; but he was always a man...

Luke 6:20-26 Luke 16:19-31

The Beatitudes are glimpses of heaven ; that is, the conditions they describe - are qualities which belong to the heavenly life. Those who live there are lowly, are meek, are pure in heart, hungering after righteousness, and are merciful. We cannot think of any people in heaven who are proud, resentful, or...

Matthew 11:20-30

"Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent." Matthew 11:20

It seems strange to hear Jesus upbraiding. His words usually were most gracious and loving. Here, however, we hear Him speaking in tones of sharpness and severity. Yet the phase of His character which is now...

Matthew 11:20-30

"Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent." Matthew 11:20

It seems strange to hear Jesus upbraiding. His words usually were most gracious and loving. Here, however, we hear Him speaking in tones of sharpness and severity. Yet the phase of His character which is now...