Have you experienced the joy of being blessed by another? Probably you did not refer to that way, but if you received a word of thanks or praises or affirmation, you were ‘blessed.’ The word simply means to be ‘favored.’ When I receive a card of appreciation or a note that lets me know that something I have done has helped another person, my day brightens with joy.
Parents who learn to ‘bless’ their children with true words of encouragement, hope, and recognition give a gift of amazing value in the formation of that child’s life. I am ‘blessed’ by watching each of my adult children pass along the ‘blessings’ to their children.
Leaders of groups, large and small, will find their work much more effective when they recognize the work of those with whom they share a mission. Let’s not confuse flattery with blessing. Insincere praise is corrosive because it is not based in truth but that is a topic for another day.
Christian friend, we have a Father in Heaven who loves to bless us. "How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven." (Ephesians 1:3-7, NLT)
Oh that every Christian would memorize and meditate on the truth declared there. We are no longer orphaned in this world, we are adopted into God’s own family. He is delighted to love us, not duty-bound. He has a destiny planned for us, to make us whole and holy. When we mess up (and we do!) He is not vindictive, He is kind and forgiving.
His greatest blessings are not the money in our bank account, the clothes we wear, or the meals we eat. They are His grace and love which make it possible for us to be more than His servants, we are His children – sons and daughters with full rights of inheritance of eternal life.
Yes, my friend, you are blessed!
Now, be a “blesser.”
If we take in His blessings but fail to learn to pour them back out onto others, we will become like the Dead Sea. That body of water in Israel’s desert contains no life because it has no overflow. Water flows in but only leaves by evaporation which over the time has so concentrated minerals in the water that it is incompatible with life. Water, the very essence of life, has been turned into death by an over-concentration of minerals that are critical to health in the right proportions. What a powerful metaphor for us. We need to pour out God’s blessings so we can be refreshed. In so doing, we are enriched even as we enrich others.
John says it like this - "We love because He
first loved us." (1 John 4:19, NIV) "My dear,
dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other.
No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within
us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! " (1 John
4:11-12, The Message) See the pattern? God loves us and we, in
turn, love others. The result is that His love grows stronger in us until it is
mature and whole.
What a difference we can make in the world in which we live IF we receive God’s gifts and share them. God can retrain your thoughts and speech. He can fill your mouth with words of blessings, give you a genuine love even for those who are unlovely. The paradox is that the more we love, the greater the love we enjoy. There is no limit to the supply. So, how about it? Thank your Father for His blessings. Learn to give thanks and praise to Him, then go be a refreshing source of life-giving water in a parched, thirsty world.
Here is His blessing to us which I want to pray for you
today. " For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole
family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious
riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the
saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and
to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the
measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19, NIV)
(Video of this blog at this link)
____________________
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make his face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn his
Face toward you
And give you peace
Amen
Amen
Amen
May his favor
Be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family
And your children
And their children
And their children
May his presence
Go before you
And behind you
And beside you
All around you
And within you
He is with you
He is with you
In the morning
In the evening
In your coming
And your going
In your weeping
And rejoicing
He is for you
He is for you
He is for you
He is for you
Chris Brown | Cody Carnes | Kari Jobe | Steven Furtick
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