Blessed Are Those Who Hunger


Meditation

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
(Matthew 5:6)


As a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, I yearn for righteousness. However, these days, I’ve discovered it’s harder and harder for me to accomplish. Not because God turns his back on or fails me, but because I turn my back on and fail God. This world is full of attractive temptations that distract my attention away from Christ. Instead of reading my Bible, I might watch stupid, even sinful, programming on television. If not that, I’ll spend too much time on social media or the internet in general. That is a terrible habit I’ve gotten myself into. I should be using that time in reading God’s Word. When my focus is not on Jesus, I tend to stray from a more righteous behavior. I start to behave a lot like everyone around me and not like a follower of Christ.
I hate unrighteousness, but I especially hate it in myself. I’m always filled with anguish when I come to my senses and realize how much my behavior has hurt God. I long for those times when my attention is not being diverted by worldly things. As a normal human being, I’m drawn to what I can see and touch. It’s sometimes hard for me to stay focused on Jesus because he’s not physically standing before me. The day will come when my thoughts will always be squarely centered upon him. I will either be with him in heaven or here on earth when he comes to sit on his throne to rule the nations. Even though I try my hardest to live in righteousness, I know I fail every day. Because I am covered by the saving grace of Jesus Christ, I can reclaim his righteousness with my pleas for his merciful forgiveness.
Today everything that’s good is being called evil, and everything that’s evil is being called good. As believers in Jesus Christ, while we’re here on earth, we must stand in the gap, showing the unbelievers around us what righteousness is, and who it comes from. If we speak the truth of salvation, pointing out the only way to the Father, we are going to be called haters by those who wish to wallow in their sins. We can only pray that our witness will be enough to soften their hearts. We can only rely on the cleansing blood of Jesus and the Word of God to light the path to our own righteousness. We will be rewarded with blessed satisfaction when our Lord calls us into his presence!





Prayer Time


Our Father in heaven, who is greater than you? Who can boast about anything they’ve done more than you? Who is more righteous than you? Of course, the answer to all of those is, no one! In today’s world, evil is everywhere we turn. When we speak out against things that are clearly wrong in your eyes, we’re called bigots and haters. We will gladly bear that taunt, since we know we will be persecuted for your name’s sake. However, that doesn’t make it any easier to watch what’s happening in this country and around the world. Satan must be really mad, knowing his time is short and getting shorter, because he sure is stirring all kinds of hatred around the world. The people of this world have become so polarized, it’s hard to see how it can be fixed without your intervention. If it’s your will, dear Lord, we pray you will heal our nation and the other nations of the world. Father please give us the strength to stand for what is right, even though we will be vilified for doing so. Don’t let us lose sight of the prize at the finish line, where Jesus stands with his arms wide open, welcoming us home. We pray this in his precious name. Amen!
Location: Kendall, NY 14476, USA

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