Welcome, dear readers, to „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! I pray for the things in your life to get in line with God’s desires.Yesterday we talked about how we would never be able to have real influence in this world if we won’t become the people God wants us to be. In order for us to be the salt for the earth and the light of the world, we must demonstrate particular qualities. That is what we are talking about today.
«Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you»(Mathew, 5:3-12).
To be poor in spirit – means to recognize one’s spiritual lack in the face of God and one’s dependence on God. A person who demonstrates this quality abides continually in fellowship with God, because he realizes that without God he won’t amount to anything.To mourn – means to be broken before God acknowledging your own sins and the sins of others. A mourning person is the one who realizes what his or her spiritual condition is and has compassion for other people seeing what happens around them. Such a person weeps before God and repents of his or her sins and the sins of the people. He or she intercedes, prays and reaches the heaven in order to change things for the glory of God.To hunger and thirst for righteousness – means to be passionate about righteousness and desire to see righteousness permeating every area of the society.The life motto of meek people is: «Not my will but Yours be done!» Meek peoples are the ones who submit their will to God’s in everything.To be merciful – means to live for others, seeing their needs and taking part in meeting them. Merciful people do not just take; they also give and enrich the life of the people around them.To be pure in heart — means to be focussed and concentrated on God and His ways.To be peacemakers means to understand how important it is to reconcile men with God. So they know how to get along with God and people, to lie in harmony and peace with God and people. Also peacemakers help others to reconcile with God and each other.We also see in Mathew (5:11-12) that people who possess these qualities are the people of influence; they shine for God, have strong relationships with God, rejoice in Him and move forward even when they are persecuted and reviled because of righteousness. Such people cannot be stopped! They cannot be stopped by evil; actually it helps them to shine in this world even brighter!Superficial relationships with God do not allow believers to know this position of faith and power. You will never be able to show yourselves as the salt and the light of God in this world, if you won’t be passionate for God and maintain your relationships with Him. God is calling us to hunger and to be on fire for Him. Fire has to be fed; otherwise it will die. We don’t have much time, so let’s be serious about God and His calling for our lives!God bless you today!Pastor Rufus Ajiboye 
