my true love sent to me:
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
Eight Maids a Milking = The Eight Beatitudes
1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)
This passage begins Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, where he teaches about living as a child of God in the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MATTHEW 5:3
As the Lord leads us to recognize our spiritual poverty and receive His grace, we receive the kingdom of God.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. MATTHEW 5:4
This leads us to recognize the impact of sin upon our lives, and we mourn; however, God's grace pours through and provides comfort and assurance.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth. MATTHEW 5:5
As His grace is received and experienced, a desire for righteousness grows...and God is faithful to provide and a journey of growth lays ahead!
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. MATTHEW 5:6
As His grace is received and experienced, a desire for righteousness grows...and God is faithful to provide and a journey of growth lays ahead!
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. MATTHEW 5:7
As one acts with mercy, he is shown mercy by the Lord. Growing in the ability to show grace to others provides the ability to to recognize God's grace and mercy more fully.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. MATTHEW 5:8
This thought always brings to mind Paul's words from Romans 12:2...Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - - his good, pleasing and perfect will. As God cleanses our hearts and minds, the ability to see God and the fullness of his love becomes more and more evident.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. MATTHEW 5:9
God calls his children to bring His peace to the world. Those who know the Lord are His ambassadors to the lost and broken, who also need His love and grace. We are forever changed!
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:16-21
Some years ago I began to understand that the peace we receive from the Lord is within us. He did not promise that it would become peaceful around us.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. MATTHEW 5:10-12
Rest in the assurance that, ultimately, you are safe in the Lord!
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