Matthew

Many people think that Jesus wanted to preach to everybody and heal as many people as possible before He died. Not so!

Jesus Christ came into the world to bless us, by turning us from our sins and self-centred rebellion (Acts 3:26).

Death is not a blessing, but mourning is a gift of God to bring goodness into the midst of badness.

"Winning the earth" has been the military ambition of many would-be world rulers. Their method has been conquest by force; gaining ground by shedding blood.

Hunger and thirst are terrible experiences, but without those inbuilt body responses no baby would ever survive.

The cut and thrust of business life is all about getting the advantage: mercy is seen as a weakness to be despised, unless it is a way of manipulating people.

Purity is an absolute measure: something is either pure or impure; it cannot be 99% pure … because it is then impure. To be 'pure in heart’ is to be 100% free from sin, and totally pleasing to God.

'Peace', in the Bible, is not primarily a warm emotional feeling or sense of relaxation, but the absence of hostility.

This may seem very strange. How can anyone be happy, contented, joyful and blessed when they are being persecuted and insulted?

It has become embedded into the English language: 'salt of the earth' means a good person who is reliable, hardworking, kind and generous. But that was not really what Jesus meant.