Blessed, Blessing, Bless

He shows His love for us by blessing us…. 
 Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has 
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ  
 
We should show our love for God by blessing Him…. 
 Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His 
holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who 
pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life 
from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies 
your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. 
 
And we, in turn, should bless others as we have been blessed by the Lord…. 
 Psalm 129:8 The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of 
the LORD. 
 1 Peter 3:8-10 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, 
kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for 
insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose 
that you might inherit a blessing. 
 Proverbs 11:11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted… 
 Luke 6:27-29 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those 
who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you….. 
 
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD  (Psalm 33:1) 
 
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!  (Psalm 34:8) 

is this a picture of our life today?

Is this a picture of our life today? 

Overloaded with all that is going on, sucking up the power (exerting all of our energy) in an attempt to meet everything that pulls on us while trying not to burn out (flip the breaker)...

The key questions we need to contemplate as we look at our lives:

1. what is our power source - the world and our own perceived competency OR the Lord

2. what are we really spending our time (energy) on - gold and silver (valuable) OR wood, hay and stubble (not valuable)

3. are we plugged into the things that are temporal OR eternal

4. do we live abundant lives OR lives that are overly abundant with the world's stuff

Disciples' math:

     Seed (Truth)               we are to plant the seed of Truth all around us

+   Water (Grace)            we are to water with the abundant and life giving Grace of God

 =  The Harvest                and the Lord will reap His harvest...

mid-week ponderment

Only in our brokenness

It is only in our brokenness that the Lord is able to minister to us. Without 
brokenness our pride gets in the way of His ministration. Pride creates in us a 
belief that we have control, that we have the ability to take care of everything 
that happens to us in this life and it is pride that keeps us from a life of 
deep faith, true worship and Spirit-lead ministry. It is in brokenness that our 
pride is overwhelmed as we become aware of our own fleshly weaknesses. When our 
boastful pride has been vanquished and we allow the Spirit to over-fill us, then 
and only then, can we become over comers for His glory in this world that is 
lost in darkness. 

Where do we walk

Are you walking in the Light or are you dwelling in the darkness. Since, in our day, we seem to live our lives ever aware of the darkness as we are continually bombarded with the news of evil that is around us, might we target our focus by seeking after the things of the Light. For where the Light shines there is life - abundant life. Let us seek after and search for His testimonies of Light - where the Lord has touched (is touching) people's hearts and minds - and we shall be encouraged in our faith. Might we even be one of His testimonies that is shared with this lost world!

He has not left us without a testimony and He is actively and powerfully working in the lives of His people!

May we walk in His glorious Light while we stand firm against the darkness.

quote for ponderment...

Christians desire to live virtuously with beliefs grounded in love, truth and justice. However, for many churches, justice has been perverted from its biblical meaning - conformity to God's statutes - into a quest for egalitarianism. Truth - consistency to the character and will of God - has lost its clarity. Love has been reduced into a mere emotion. Many mainline denominations afford more certainty to atheists in academia and media than Scripture.  

Many Christians abandoned Scripture, embarrassed by its teachings anywhere they differ from what passes for progressive, nuanced or sophisticated thought. Paul warned against being deceived by the world's philosophies (Colossians 2:8), but many mainline churches were overrun by the same leftist ideologies that overran every other facet of America's intellectual current. Babel rises anew.  

--Bill Flax (Banker, former Marine, and Sunday School teacher at his Baptist Church)  

Col 2:8  See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.