Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | September 23, 2012
Implied within each Beatitude is the unnamed benefactor of blessing – God. Such an obvious point must be made to us believers; it is so easy to forget what is obvious, and to take for granted what we know is true. That God is our blessed benefactor can be seen in the beatitudes themselves, in […]
PHall | September 11, 2012
Each day I mourn all my deathly sins. Today I mourn deaths caused from false religion. Today I mourn Bin Laden had to be assassinated for his crimes. For eternity God mourns Bin Laden has to be damned for sins. Today I mourn my sins are equal to Bin Laden’s. Blessed are those who mourn, […]
PHall | August 29, 2012
Finally, and as a wrap-around to our first point, each of the eight blessed pronouncements is spiritual in nature. Our society, much like every society that is not the kingdom of God, values the opposites. Materialism is a danger to every person, even Christians. That is why even though beginning His sermon with “blessed are […]
PHall | August 28, 2012
Studying the Beatitudes and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount leads to seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (6:33). In our spiritual infancy, we begin studying the text, asking what the text reveals about righteousness. We ask, “What does the text say?” – Technical Studying. Then maturing, we become uncomfortably self-aware of righteous […]
PHall | August 27, 2012
From Revelation back to Genesis one recurring theme is that the “all-everything,” perfect God enters into partnerships with His imperfect creation. These partnerships are called covenants from a legal perspective, or more personally, fellowship. These partnerships have at least one commonality, that God does what human beings cannot, but demands that we do all we […]
PHall | August 25, 2012
God created us to be social creatures. So this next point, just like the second one, will sound strange. Fifth, we discover even when we are happy because of the actions of others; it is not the action itself which makes us happy. In fact, we can be happy despite others and their actions. After […]
PHall | August 24, 2012
What do the Sermon on the Mount and Ecclesiastes have in common? Both are about the answer to true happiness. Ecclesiastes closes with the secret revealed, and the Sermon on the Mount opens with the answer. While there are different ways to translate and interpret Ecclesiastes 12:13, I prefer the one which is the most […]
PHall | August 24, 2012
God never intended citizens of His kingdom to just sit around “being and believing.” The Beatitudes are not yoga positions, nor breathing techniques. If you allow me a little linguistic leeway, Jesus begins His Sermon on the Mount with both BE-attitudes and DO-attitudes. Notice the BE-DO rhythm: BE – Poor in spirit; DO – Mourn; […]
PHall | August 22, 2012
From Jesus’ Beatitudes, we glean from that happiness is determined by what we are. Blessed are: the poor in spirit; the gentle; the merciful; the pure in heart. Have you ever heard someone say, “You can never run away from your troubles because wherever you are, you always take you with you.” Well, the reverse […]
PHall | August 21, 2012
Happiness depends upon me. That just seems scripturally wrong, even flagrantly arrogant. But just as everything Jesus said within the Sermon on the Mount must be taken with His context, this must too. This point is only true if the first point is true, that happiness comes from God. Listen carefully to the contextual answer. […]