#blessed be those who thirst and hunger for righteousness

[cowgremlin11]

Blessed be those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness.

[ineffably-poetic]

hey guess who finally finsihed rdr2 (including the epilogue) a couple days ago. me !!

and guess who started a new save file today because i'm obsessed?? also me :D

[ninjapancake314]

Moodboard for Heron

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

@the-tiny-dragons-tea-room I’m not much of a moodboard creator but here is a quick one based on what I know about your sad, terrifying vampire man.

(All pictures are free stock photos sourced from Pixabay)

[psalmonesermons]

Lessons from the Beatitudes Part 2

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

To get a better understanding of what this means we will look at the original Greek words used in Matthew 5:6

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Hunger

Original Word: πεινάω

Part of Speech: Verb

Transliteration: peinaó

Phonetic Spelling: (pi-nah'-o)

Short Definition: I am hungry, needy

Definition: I am hungry, needy, desire earnestly.

It means we ought to be starving for God in our souls, Continual hunger day by day. This brings us close to God and leads us into eventual spiritual victory. The earnest desire for God should be at the very heart of our being.

Only the bread of life which came down from heaven can satisfy our souls.

Thirst

Original Word: διψάω

Part of Speech: Verb

Transliteration: dipsaó

Phonetic Spelling: (dip-sah'-o)

Short Definition: I thirst for, desire earnestly

Definition: I thirst for, desire earnestly.

Psalm 42:1 as the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, my God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?

Like a plant in the desert craves water. It cannot continue to live without some water. Only the water can sustain life. Only the water of the Holy Spirit can slake your spiritual thirst.

Take a deep drink now from the wells of living water. Amen

Righteousness

Original Word: δικαιοσύνη, ης, ἡ

Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine

Transliteration: dikaiosuné

Phonetic Spelling: (dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay)

Short Definition: justice, justness, righteousness

Definition: (usually if not always in a Jewish atmosphere), justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.

There are at least two types of righteousness found in the New Testament. 1. Legal righteousness such as we obtain from Jesus when we are born again, we receive the righteousness of Christ, and this is in a sense a one off situation. This passage however seems to be talking about moral righteousness which is something we achieve on an ongoing basis. It is from our sense of the divine justice that our good deeds flow to the poor and the hurting.

Filled

Original Word: χορτάζω

Part of Speech: Verb

Transliteration: chortazó

Phonetic Spelling: (khor-tad'-zo)

Short Definition: I feed, satisfy

Definition: I feed, satisfy, fatten.

If we hunger and thirst for God, He will fill us like we have just had a sumptuous meal. When we hunger, we will be fed, we will be satisfied and our souls will be fattened.

God is in the filling business;

He will fill us with;

1. The Holy Spirit

2. His love

3. His moral righteousness

4. A satisfaction that can continue to grow

One bible scholar put it like this, the more of God you want the more get and again the more you want.

How can we become hungry and thirsty for God?

Jesus awakens the desires of his believers hearts. Consider these words of Jesus: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you" Luke 11:9. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, it is an open secret. You need to want it and it is appropriate for us to ask for it! Amen

It's whom you ask, where you seek and what door you knock on that makes all the difference. What could be more exciting than a journey into God himself for that is what he desires for you and me?

Conclusion

God does not ask us to deny our burning desire for intimacy, beauty and adventure. Religion does that. Jesus invites us to intimate communion with himself and his Father that will truly satisfy the deepest longings of our souls. Where are you looking to satisfy your deepest desires and longings? Only God will satisfy your deepest desires if you look to him for fulfilment. God is calling his mature ones here today to hunger and thirst for him and to begin seek his face.

Amen

Personal Prayer

[blcsscdson]

Small Tag Dump

[rabidrekijo]

Legit struggling with the whole Arthur Morgan thing

[blcsscdson]

@redemn

i gave you all i had

[monochromegee]

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness.

[heavenlymorals]

Biblical References in Both RDR games.

I love biblical references so much. When it comes to literature, it's probably my favorite type of symbolism. Like I genuinely get so happy when I connect things to the Bible which is what I'm going to do right now 😊😊 I also like the way that religion is incorporated into RDR as a whole, including the main characters' reaction to it.

So yup, here are just a few references or connections that I was able to make in no particular order.

Also, some of these are complete reaches and I'm aware of that, but fuck it, it's my blog and I do what I want 💪🏼

- The character and tragedy of Issac. In the Bible, Issac is the child of Abraham who is asked to be sacrificed by God by his father as a test of faith. God eventually intervenes to save Issac because he only wanted to test Abraham's faith. Dutch is shown as a God-like figure to the gang, as their devotion is to him. Arthur, indirectly, sacrifices Issac by not being there and by following what Dutch wanted. Arthur, Issac, and Dutch are parallels to Abraham, Issac, and God.

- Leviticus is the book that comes after the book of Exodus. After the gang's escape or exodus from Blackwater after the Blackwater massacre, they are met by Leviticus Cornwall, who becomes the next obstacle for the gang. After the gang's exodus, they get in trouble with Leviticus.

- The image of the deer and a mountain. Psalm 18:32-34 in the Bible says, "It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like deers' feet, and sets me upon my high places." In Arthur's condemnation of Dutch, Micah, and their evil, he becomes steady in his identity and beliefs, like a deer's feet on a mountain, which is where he dies in the end. W symbolism.

- The mission "Sodom? Back to Gomorrah." In the Bible, Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities that were so morally depraved and evil that God decided to destroy the both of them, saying that if there was even one good person in those cities, he'd spare them, but there weren't. In those missions, you also do two evil acts, going from one and then BACK to the other. You rob the bank and then go BACK to collect the debt from Edith Downes. So you finish one evil deed and to straight to the next. This can also show how morally bankrupt Arthur's apathy made him at this point in the game.

- Micah's guns say "Vengeance is hereby mine." This could be a reference to Roman's 12:19 "vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord." Micah's violent nature makes him take his anger out on the world.

- "Your father is seduced by him with the forked tongue. It's no use hoping." The blind prophet to Arthur. Pretty straight forward symbolism, it's a nod to the snake that seduced Eve, just like how Micah manipulates Dutch.

- Dutch walking away from Arthur when he dies and though he realizes his wrong doing and feels shame, his pride forbids him from apologizing or saying he was wrong. This can be a parallel to how Adam and Eve run away from God when they feel shame over believing in the snake, but their pride won't allow them to apologize to God, hence damning them like how Micah damned Dutch.

- There were twelve ACTIVE gang members before the Blackwater massacre. When I mean active, I mean gang members who are canonically consistent (so not uncle, Swanson, Strauss, or the girls) on going on jobs for the gang. Micah, Bill, Javier, John, Hosea, Arthur, Charles, Sean, Lenny, Josiah, Mac and Davey Callender. Christ had 12 disciples and Dutch is portrayed as a savior to the gang, or a Christ like figure. And would you look at that, there is a traitor in both groups of twelve (Micah and Judas).

- Both John and Arthur's graves have scripture from Jesus's sermon on the mountain (Matthew 5:1-12). John's is blessed are the peacemakers and Arthur's is blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

- The go back for the money ending. If you go back for the money and have low honor, you'll see that the camp is engulfed in flames as you try to get the money. The fight with Micah is brutal and you die faced down in the dark. This death is an allegory for going to either hell and purgatory as you choose a final evil act of leaving your brother to possibly die just so you can get money as an act of revenge. If you have high honor, you are still surrounded by flames, but you still have a chance at heaven given that you die facing up seeing the light one final time.

- The help John ending has similar connotations. If you have low honor, you die by gunshot and are shrouded in darkness, which can symbolize the absence of God's light and how Arthur's final act couldn't absolve the lack of guilt he feels for the rest of the actions that he KNOWS are evil (click here for a my interpretation of Arthur's morality). In high honor, though, you get to crawl to the mountain side and see the rising sun, symbolizing heaven, warmth, and a new purity.

- In low honor, the coyote goes down to a dark cave, representing damnation and the rejection of holy light. In high honor, the deer steps into a heavenly field of light. Love that so much to be honest.

- Just the very Catholic vibe of Arthur's redemption. Doing good deeds, feeling guilt, all that.

- John's new life is basically this: "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." -Ephesians 4:28. John gives up his old life to be an honest laborer, a rancher, and a proper man.

- The Strange Man in RDR rides on a donkey, which is pretty interesting because Jesus Christ also made his grand entry on a donkey.

- Just the Strange Man in general to be honest. Some say he's God, others say he's the Devil, and others say he's Cain from the Bible, which is my personal favorite theory but whatever.

- Dutch's horse could be a reference to Revelations 6:8- "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him." Dutch's rash actions caused the death of the gang and RDR's incarnate of Hades or Hell was Micah, following him. Dutch is the only one, canonically, to have a pale horse.

- "Am I prepared for eternal damnation? Am I passed any kind of saving? Or is that just fairy tales?" Arthur in his journal. I love this line so much because of its very agnostic nature whilst still showing the Christian mindset of 1899 America. This line also shows that Arthur is canonically agnostic which is a yippee from me because it's like the only thing me and this man have in common lmao 😭

- "Bad news awaits you, sir. Sadly, sooner than you think. But beyond the news, paradise awaits. Paradise.." Blind Man Cassidy to Arthur. Sorry but I just love that. High honor Arthur lived such an awful life but he still has a chance at paradise and heaven? Love that so much.

- God (pun intended), I love biblical symbolism. Couldn't you tell?

[moons-honies]

“Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness.”

[blcsscdson]

@redemn

replaying rdr2 (mainly to just stay in ch2 shhh) and my Arthur infection has flared up again 🥺 there may b long haired Artar fanart in the future cause that look is growin on me 

[unmaskthewriter]

The Night We Met {Arthur Morgan x F!Reader}

Summary: After Arthur’s passing, you visit his grave to find closure but instead, you find quite the opposite. Inspired by The Night We Met by Lord Huron.

I do not give permission for any of my work to be copied, published and/or translated on any platform including Tumblr.

A/N: Apologies for the absence, dearest readers! I’ve had a bit of a mental block, so I’ve put out this small piece of writing to perhaps get back on track! Mainly Arthur x Reader but small Charles x Reader if you squint really hard.

Warnings: Mentions of Canon Character Death

Word Count: 660ish

A cool, spring breeze traveled through the mountains of Ambarino. Patches of bright, dewy grass covered the ground on either side of the dirt path. Luckily, it was not nearly as cold as last year.

“Almost there, girl.” You gently patted your horse, Gypsy, soothing her as she made the climb upward towards a clearing. Carefully dismounting your horse, you hitched her to a nearby tree and slowly made your way closer to the other side of the clearing towards the edge of the cliff. Your eyes came upon what you were searching for: a wooden grave adorned with a variety of fresh flowers.

It almost felt as if your feet were being weighed down, dragging along slowly. You tried to ignore that weak in the knees feeling as you approached. Removing your leather riding gloves, you knelt alongside the freshly dug dirt.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness’

“… for they shall be filled,” You speak softly to yourself, trying not to give into the sadness, “you’re supposed to be here with me.” Defeated, you give into the onslaught of hot tears that escape the corners of your eyes, trailing down your cheeks and dripping off your chin. You feel your heart ache for what was, and what could have been. A moment of silence passes.

“When we met, I had beat you at a game of poker.” You sniffled and pulled something from the pocket of your goat jacket, carefully placing it amongst the flowers.

A single poker chip.

“Some say it’s luck, some say it’s skill. Whatever it was, it led me to you. I’ll never regret the years we had together, even if we spent them as outlaws.” You hiccuped, quickly wiping your tears away as you felt anger take over. Clutching the newly grown grass beneath you, you look to his grave. Feeling suffocated from the sadness, you knew you had to leave.

“I won’t let Dutch and Micah get away with this… I promise. I love you, Arthur. I always will.” You swiftly speak, standing quickly and turning back to return to Gypsy.

As you did so, you spotted a wild buck standing in the clearing. The animal makes eye contact with you, as if connecting with you, before slowly sauntering off.

I had all and then most of you

some and now none of you

take me back to the night we met

Returning to camp at Moonstone Pond in a daze, you see someone sitting near the fire. Approaching slowly from behind with a hand hovering over your holstered revolver, you try to get a closer look.

It is Arthur, holding the daughter you share together in his arms, singing softly to her. Such a tiny thing in his arms with dark hair and bright eyes to resemble his.

“I ain’t got no father… I ain’t got no father… I ain’t got no father… to buy the clothes I wear.”

“A-Arthur?” Your voice breaks as you take in the sight. He looked just as he did before he was sick. His soft blue eyes gazed at his daughter adoringly while his thin, chapped lips formed into a rare smile. His stubble was just barely coming in on his cheeks, and his hair was long, but tidy. You wanted to hug him, kiss him, tell him how hard things have been without him but as quickly as he appeared, he is gone, and you are alone again. Charles, who despite his own problems and has been your rock since the gang had fallen apart, is at your side with your daughter in his arms as you fall to your knees, sobbing. You tried to find peace in knowing Arthur had done better than most in his final days and moments, but that was of no consolation to you as your grief had come undone.

“Shhh… it’s alright. I’m here.” He sits alongside you, holding you close with one arm while rocking your daughter to sleep with the other.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do

haunted by the ghost of you

Oh, take me back to the night we met

[arthursfuckinghat]

"One day I'll understand you, Arthur."

And 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness' Charles fittingly carved on Arthur's grave.

Though he never got to say it, I'd like to think Charles hopes Arthur will rest knowing that, eventually, he did understand him.

[etherealsadchick]

Listen, I'm not a christian, but the biblical refrences in rdr2 ??? THEY GO HARD, "the aftermath of genesis" ???? "blessed are the peacemakers" ????? "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" ???? Fucking love it, I just looooove religious refrences in media so much they just hit okay 🙏🏻

[psalmonesermons]

Lessons from the beatitudes Part 1

Blessed are those who Hunger and Thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled

Hungering and Thirsting for God

How is your appetite today?

How much of an appetite do you have for God?

What do you hunger for today? Is it happiness, money, or a relationship, where will you find it? Be honest with yourself.

How much of a thirst do you have for God? If it is success you long for, where will you find it?

Or do you thirst for revenge, fame or fortune?

What are you thirsting for today?

When I was boy sometimes we would go to the cinema and find that we had come into theatre half way through the movie. This was no problem since you stayed on for the second performance and left once you had caught up all that you had missed.

Today's message from the Lord resembles this situation a bit since we are coming in half way through the Beatitudes but nevertheless I believe that is God’s will for our message today.

To set things in context you should know that the Beatitudes are part of that wonderful sermon given by Jesus to his disciples which is known as the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5 The beatitudes

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The word ‘Beatitudes’ means simply the ‘blessednesses’ and each verse begins with the English word ‘blessed’ which means happy, fortunate, to be envied, enjoying the favour and approval of God and also enjoying God’s smile (my favourite).

The Greek word for blessed is Makarios, and some of us more senior people may recall Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus many years ago.

How would you like to have blessed as your surname? The best bible scholars have worked out that the beatitudes are a step wise progression so in a sense we can’t start in the middle. We all have start by being ‘poor in spirit ‘and begin to progress through the other beatitudes.

When we realise our spiritual poverty we can begin to mourn over our sins and receive the comfort and direction of God. The next stage is we begin to develop meekness which is best described as strength under control like a trained stallion. Once we have developed strength under control we can begin to hunger and thirst for God himself. The Lord knows where each one of us is at spiritually and if he is ministering this message to us today that is what he wants us to receive.

Motive

Why should we want to hunger and thirst for God and his righteousness?

Firstly Jesus tells us that we will experience the smile and approval of the Living God and it is his great delight to fill us when we hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Psalm 16:11 says, You will show me the path of life: in your presence [is] fullness of joy; at your right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.

To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to hunger for God himself.

Matthew 5:6. The late Martin Lloyd Jones says this verse divides those who are believers from those who don’t know God. It only makes sense to one of those groups of people. Which group are you in?

Hungering and Thirsting

If we are what we eat then if we eat and drink righteousness then we will become righteousness!

So this means following hard after God in our lives. It is a relentless pursuit of God and all that is good in Him particularly pursuing his will in every area of our lives.

We will further explore what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness in Part 2 of this study.

Amen

Personal Prayer

[riverwithoutbanks-art]

Second collaboration for the @spnbangbang with the amazing @lazarus-rose! We had so much fun discussing this fic. I've had this art in mind for over a year and I'm so glad I'm finally able to share it. Thank you so much for writing down this story, it's all I ever wanted!

Please go read Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness for They Will Be Filled.

Second post with static art incoming. In the meantime, enjoy this gif!