Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Do you usually associate persecution with blessing? Jesus did. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness." I don't know how this strikes you, but it seems misplaced at first glance.

A man I have admired for decades, the man who taught me Hebrew in seminary many years ago, is Dr. Bruce Waltke. He is not only a Semitic scholar par-excellence, he is a gracious servant of our Lord.

"Blessed are the peacemakers," . . . Interestingly, this is the only time in all the New Testament that the Greek term translated "peacemakers" appears. Maybe it will help us understand the meaning by pointing out first what it does not mean.

Let me urge you today to become, as Jesus said, "pure in heart" (Matthew 5:8). Think about what it would mean, what changes you would have to make, what habits you'd have to break.

When Jesus spoke of being "pure in heart" (Matthew 5:8), He emphasized the inner person . . . the motive . . . the "heart." The phrase does not refer simply to doing the right things but doing the right things for the right reason.

Shocking stories make headlines today with remarkable regularity. A young woman was brutally attacked as she returned to her apartment late one night. She screamed and shrieked as she fought for her life.

You don't run through an art gallery; you walk very slowly. You often stop, study the treasured works of art, and take time to appreciate what has been painted. You examine the texture, the technique, . . .

For the past few days, we have observed the promises Jesus made in "The Beatitudes." We are only halfway through the list, but it's a good place to stop and summarize what we have seen in this inspired portrait thus far.

The true servant of God possesses an insatiable appetite for what is right, a passionate drive for justice. Spiritually speaking, the servant is engaged in a pursuit of God . . . a hot, restless, eager longing to walk with Him.

What comes to mind as you read Jesus's words, "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5)? Truth be told, we may get a false first impression. We may think, Blessed are the weak for they shall become doormats.

I remember an incident many years ago when a man in our church fell while taking a shower. As he slipped on the slick floor, he fell against a sheet of glass with all his weight.

At first glance, Jesus's reference to "the poor in spirit" seems to refer to those who have little or no money—people of poverty with zero financial security. Wrong. You'll note He speaks of being "poor in spirit."

The introduction to Jesus's Sermon on the Mount is no doubt the most familiar section of His message (Matthew 5:1–12). Commonly called "The Beatitudes," this section is the most descriptive word-portrait of a servant ever recorded.

When Jesus walked the earth, He attracted a number of people to Himself. On one occasion, He sat down among them and taught them some bottom-line truths about how He wanted them to grow up.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" That's a favorite question we enjoy asking children. And the answers we get usually are "a police officer" or "a nurse" or maybe "a fire fighter." Some kids are visionary.

Wouldn't you love to live courageously in spite of the odds? Doesn't it sound exciting to be divinely powerful in day-to-day living? Aren't you eager to become independently authentic in a day of copycat styles?

As we allow God's truth to pierce the tough, hardened barriers we have erected in our minds, we receive surprising benefits. We saw yesterday that God gives us His divine power (2 Corinthians 10:4).

As the truth of God's Word penetrates our hearts, it displaces those secular mental barriers we have erected over the years. In fact, we receive several very exciting benefits. Paul names two of them.

Some of us have formed the habit of getting even rather than overlooking wrongs done against us. So when we come across scriptural instruction that requires an alternate plan, our inner reaction is "No way!"

As the Spirit of God attempts to communicate His truth to us, He runs up against the "wall" of our overall mental attitude, our natural mind-set. Along with the wall-like fortresses, we have natural, humanistic reasonings.