The Beatitudes

5 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

¹¹ Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

(1) Be happy when you are poor.

You will sure have less worries! Being poor in spirit means having the attitude of always knowing that you are dependent on God for your food, clothing and shelter. I am reminded about the rich man coming to Jesus asking Him how he can get eternal life (Matt. 19: 16-26). Like almost in every time, this was also one of the important things people talked about in Jesus’ days. Click here to see how Jesus responds:

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven | Bread on the water

Jesus goes further than all the prophets before Him by telling us exactly on what basis we all will be judged one day. Summarized in one sentence, it is simply whether we did or did not have compassion for our fellow man in need. We must always be ready and eager to share our wealth! See here:

Judgement day | Bread on the water 

(2) Expect to be comforted when you mourn

Be happy, being sad? It does not sound right, right? Even so, various scriptures indicate that Godly sorrow about your lost husband, wife or child, or a dearly lost loved one, or a broken relationship, or missed opportunities due to sin, or whatever else it is that you are mourning about, is a good thing. Jesus (God) said: after I go, I will send you the Comforter. It is the Holy Spirit (God) that brought those tears when you mourned. After that, it does not take long for you to realize that God Himself has won the fight against sin and death. There is nothing you can do about it now or have to do (Rev. 21:4). All you have to do, is say: “Thank you” in your praise and worship to the Father (God). And then, when you realize that one day you will be re-united with your lost love, the Comforter brings tears of joy and a language to your tongue that only He will understand.

(3) Be Happy: Be Humble

I was a a bit disappointed when the winner of the US Open (women tennis), Elena Rybakina, did not show any humbleness after the championship: not thanking her Maker, nor her parents, even not paying much attention to the huge support for her from her country of birth.  Must say, her opponent in the final was not particularly humble, either. All signs she gave was that of being a sore loser, not showing any kindness. I think humbleness and kindness dresses your personality in the way cloths cover your body. Let us take a listen to the sermon given by Louis Kotze on 1/11/2026 as he explains what it means to be meek.

(TO BE CONTINUED SOON)