Integrity- People of God

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled. NKJ

To be blessed is not some soft creampuff state of being, as the world has tried to define it, so to confuse people that they would fail to understand the true meaning of God’s word. To be blessed according to the Biblical reference is to be fortunate,divinely favored of God, to be given access to the kingdom of heaven on earth and to be highly exalted of God. It is a great thing to be blessed of God and also a great privilege for us to be able to bless and exalt God as being the true and living God.

Psalms 103:1-5 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst, that is those whose souls are in a painful state of drought for the lack of seeing God’s righteousness. This righteousness is shown in the quality and honesty of right living, which is to do justly and justice to all mankind, and to live decently, morally and humbly in a fallen and corrupt world.

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? NKJ

Not many people in most modern affluent countries have experienced true hunger or thirst where they have gone without food or water for days. To hunger is when the body is in a painful or weaken state, caused by the need for food and this causes a strong desire or craving to be satisfied. To thirst is a physical condition caused by the lack of water or fluids, which causes dryness of the mouth and throat, again causing a strong craving and desire for fluids or water.

To hunger and to thirst is hard, strenuous and tough on the body. Some people’s bodies will be in such pain that they become irritable and bad-tempered and some will use that as an excuse to be mean or cross with people. Those who are longing for God to make things right and have a strong craving or desire to see righteousness in their live, homes and communities, Jesus calls them blessed and they will one day be filled. God has promised to satisfy the yearning of those who have that strong passion for righteousness and one day they will live free from a world of sin, disgrace and degradation.

Revelation 7:16-17 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Matthew 5: 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

To be merciful is to act in the character of God. It is God’s mercy that saved us. It was God’s compassion that saw our need and not just our failures. It was His mercy and love that provided salvation for all humanity, though they were loss because of their rebellion and sin against their God and Creator.Blessed are the merciful, those who show forgiveness when forgiveness is not merited or earned. Blessed are those who are kind, thoughtful and generous to those who are meanspirited. Blessed are those who give compassion, kindness and concern to those who have wronged them, and blessed are they who freely give to those who are in need though they do not merit it. God has promised they will obtain and receive this mercythemselves.

Psalms 136:1, 23-26 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever Who remembered us in our lowly state, For His mercy endures forever; And rescued us from our enemies, For His mercy endures forever; Who gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever. Oh give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.

God is a merciful God and He expects His children to look like Him and to reflect His character, countenance and glory in a dark and perverse world through the life they live.

Matthew 5: 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

When the Bible speaks of the heart it is speaking of the true essence of the person’s soul, their very being, as to who they are internally and not just the façade, disguise or smokescreen they present to others. To be pure in heart is to be free from this fallen world’s ways that are filthy, poisonous and contaminating, the things that will pollute the heart and soulwhen they are practiced.

The Bible tells us what defiles, ruins and corrupts a person, it is when there are evil thoughts, judgements and feelings toward others. It is when a person lies or gives false information regarding someone; or they plan to steal or have thoughts of betrayal, treachery or lewdness toward others and also to speak profanities, curses or wickedly to others. All these acts can produce uncleanness in the heart of mankind.

Matthew 15: 18-20 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

The pure in heart is a person whose heart is free from these contaminating things, whose heart is focused on God and thinks on the things that are pure. This can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who are without the love of Christ in their hearts are prone to the dangers of having their hearts poisoned, contaminated and ruined by the darkness of this fallen world. It takes the love of God and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us to give us the ability to die to self and the wrongs that have been done to us. He gives us the ability to let hate goso we can forgive others and thereby, we are able to think on the things that are pure, lovely and praiseworthy.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.