Blessed are those who hunger + thirst for righteousness (5.6)

++Striving to have a profound hunger and thirst for the things of God.

+How do we live?

+The beatitudes present a radically different agenda than what the nation of Israel expected from the Messiah. It does not present the political or material blessings of the Messiah’s reign. Instead, it expresses the spiritual implications of Jesus’ rule in our lives. This great message tells us how we will live when Jesus is our Lord.

+Read IYF article (It is printed out for you because it is not yet in publication and has been graciously lent to us.)

+ Righteousness are those things that are upright, virtuous, noble, morally right, and ethical. You could say that righteousness is a lifestyle that is in complete conformity to the will of God.

+Jesus Christ is the one leading the righteous person through life. It is Jesus who is making the decisions that the righteous person will follow. For the righteous believer, all his daily actions, everything that he thinks about, every decision that he makes, everything that he reads and looks at, will be done the same way that Our Lord would have done them.

+ Hunger and thirst are appetites that return frequently and they require that they be met often during the day. Similarly the true believer calls for constant meals of righteousness to do his daily Godly work, just as the living body calls for its daily food.

+This profound hunger cannot be satisfied by a snack. It is a longing that endures and is never completely satisfied on this side of eternity.

B1+We see Christians hungering for many things: power, authority, success, comfort, happiness? Are they wrong? What would Jesus instruct them to do?

B2+What can you do to seek after righteousness?

AA1+Take a look at the video below. How does it help you understanding of thirsting and hungering for righteousness?

 

 Podcast Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

AA2+”We are half hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like a child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” –CS Lewis

Respond.

I AM BLESSED IN MY YEARNING TO LIVE AS JESUS DID. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO ME AS I PONDER JESUS’ RIGHTEOUS WAYS AND PRAY FOR THE SPIRIT TO GUIDE HOW I LIVE AND WHO I AM.