An article I wrote a while back but still resonates with me today.
May we all be fruitful trees, channels of God’s grace to everyone we touch.
Tag: blessing
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Choose life!
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.
Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful (literally, “cling”) to him.
For he is your life… (Deuteronomy 30:19–20)
I’ve been thinking about our relationship with God lately, and I got the image of a cut flower and a potted flower.
Both are beautiful.
But one is already dead because it’s cut off from its source of life. It’s cursed, so to speak, because it’s cut off from its roots.
It’s the same with us and God.
Cut off from him, we are cursed and already dead.
But if we are connected to him, drawing life from him daily, we flourish.
How then do we remain connected to him?
When Paul quotes this passage in Romans 10, he points us to Jesus, admonishing us to trust in him and make him our Lord. (Romans 10:6-13).
So let’s choose life.
Choose Jesus, loving him, obeying him as our Lord, and clinging to him each day.
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To be a blessing
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:3)
I was thinking about those words this morning. God ultimately fulfilled his promise to Abraham through Jesus, Abraham’s descendant.
Through Jesus, we all have been blessed. (Galatians 3:7-14)
But the thing that struck me today is that we, God’s people, are part of that fulfillment too.
That is, as spiritual descendants of Abraham through Jesus, we are meant to be God’s blessing to this whole earth.
God wants to bless this world through us. And as we touch those around us, God is continuing to fulfill his promise to Abraham through us.
That’s an awesome thing to ponder.
Father, continue to fulfill your promise to Abraham through me. As I interact with the people around me today, let me be your blessing to them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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A prayer for our children
As I read Jacob’s blessing on Joseph’s sons, I prayed for my own daughter this morning.
Lord, you were the God before whom my father walked.
Not only that, you have my shepherd all my life to this day.
Throughout my life, you have redeemed my life from harm.
You saved me from my sin, and from the Enemy who would have destroyed me.
Now Lord, bless my daughter.
As you have been my shepherd, be hers.
As you have redeemed me, redeem her.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand in the Lord’s house at night!Lift up your hands in the holy place
and bless the Lord! (Psalm 134:1-2)
As the people completed their pilgrimage into Jerusalem, they would sing the above words to those serving in the temple.
In turn, the people working in the temple would call back a blessing on those coming into Jerusalem. (3)
It might seem strange to encourage people who worked in the temple to lift up their hands and bless the Lord. After all, wasn’t that their job?
And yet the danger for anyone serving the Lord is that they get so involved in the work of the ministry that they forget to have hearts turned to the Lord in worship.
So if you’re a leader in the church, remember to not just spend time working for the Lord. Remember to spend time worshiping him.
And if you are someone who continually receives blessing from those working for the Lord (3), remember to pass on words of encouragement to them. Thank them for the ways they have blessed you.
But more importantly, remind them to spend time worshiping the Lord themselves, keeping their eyes on him.
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Blessed
Abram is blessed by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and blessed be God Most High
who has handed over your enemies to you. (19-20)
A couple of days ago, I talked about how we as Christians are the spiritual descendants of Abraham and inheritors of God’s blessing. (Galatians 3:8-9).
And as I saw this verse, I couldn’t help but reflect on that truth some more.
As inheritors of God’s blessing, try reading the blessing of Melchizedek with your own name in there.
“<Your name> is blessed by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.”
We are blessed in so many ways. We have received so many spiritual blessings from God. (Ephesians 1:3-14)
More, through Jesus, we have the ultimate victory over our final enemy: death. (I Corinthians 15:26, 50-57)
The amazing thing about it, though, is that the God of all creation would care enough about us to bless us in this way.
Stop and think about that for a moment. Mediate on that truth.
And as we do, let us sing with David:
When I observe your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you set in place,
what is a human being that you remember him,
a son of man that you look after him?
You made him little less than God,
and crowned him with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:3-5)
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Inheritors of God’s blessing
I will bless you…and you will be a blessing…all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:2-3)
It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner.
And in this passage, we see one of the first “Christmas promises.”
God told Abraham that in him all the peoples on earth would be blessed. That was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, who was a descendant of Abraham.
And we are inheritors of that blessing. (Galatians 3:8-9; Ephesians 1:3-14)
But like Abraham, we are not called simply to receive God’s blessing. We are to be a blessing to others. We are to shine the light of Jesus into their lives so that they too might receive the blessing we ourselves have received.
So as Christ’s church, let us go out into this world and be that blessing to the world.
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As we face a new season
As we face new seasons in our lives, it is natural, I think, to pray for God’s blessing. And that’s what David prays for here, using the prayer of blessing found in Numbers 6:24-27.
I myself am facing a new season as I will start teaching in junior high schools for the first time in 7 years. So I pray for God’s blessing on me as I do that.
But let us remember that our prayers for blessing are not to be purely self-centered. Rather, we pray for God’s blessing,
that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
Our desire is that all people will see God’s hand on us, and that they will desire that for themselves.
We pray for the day when they too will fear and praise God and know his salvation and blessing in their lives.
So as you face a new season in your life, don’t just pray for God’s blessing in your own life. Pray that through you, people may know God’s way and find his salvation in their lives.
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Called to bless
There are many good things in this passage, but verse 9, struck me today.
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9, ESV)
“Bless, for to this you were called.”
We were not called to curse others. We were not called to make lives miserable for others. Even when they make life miserable for us.
We are called to bless them. Why?
Because when we were enemies of God, he blessed us with his grace.
As Paul wrote in Romans 5:8,
“…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (ESV)
And as we follow his example, blessing those around us though they don’t deserve it, we ourselves are blessed by God.
Am I a blessing to others? To my wife? To my daughter? To my coworkers? To my pastor? To the people at church? I don’t know. I hope so. I can see many ways I still need to learn what that means.
May we all live up to that calling God has given us, and be a blessing to those around us.
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That we may know God’s blessing
Happy Easter from Japan! And welcome to the book of Revelation!
I think for a lot of people that try to read this book, they think, “Why Revelation? Why do we need it? It’s so obscure and difficult to understand. Is it really that important?”
In a word, yes.
If there’s one thing in this chapter that strikes me, it’s that despite the fact that many churches (even, admittedly, the one I go to) tend to avoid it like the plague, it was meant to be read to the church. And to be understood.
We see this in the first two verses.
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.
He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John who testifies to everything he saw — that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:1-2)
We see something of a chain here. God the Father gives this revelation to Jesus Christ, who passes it along to his angel, who passes it on to John.
And now John passes it on to the church. Why? To show us what must soon take place.
I think one reason people tend to skip Revelation is because they think it has no relevance for the here and now. That it has to do with future events that are far beyond us.
But as we shall see, even for John’s readers and all their succeeding generations, Revelation had much relevance to their lives.
When it says, “what soon must take place,” it means what it says. These events John talks about would soon take place.
This is not to say that everything that is written in Revelation would soon take place. There is much that is yet to happen.
But I believe the events John wrote about started within his readers’ lifetimes. We can see them through the lens of history even to the present day.
And like I said, these things are meant to be read and understood. You still don’t believe me? Read John’s words in verse 3.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (3)
These are not the words of someone who thinks these words are obscure and impossible to understand. These are the words of someone who expects us to read these words and be blessed.
And he expects this because the time for these events he writes about are near. They were near in John’s day, and in part were fulfilled. And in our lifetime, they are still being fulfilled. Perhaps, they will even be consummated.
In short, Revelation is meant to be fiercely practical. And as we will see, it is meant to admonish us and to encourage us as we live each day in this world.
So as Jesus said, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
And if we do, we will find blessing.
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Finish what you started
This passage is so rich with spiritual truth that I think we’ll be here for a few more blogs.
Paul starts and ends this passage by basically saying this: “Finish what you started.”
The Corinthians, when they had first heard about the needs of the poor Jews in Jerusalem, were quick to say, “We want to help.”
That spurred others, most notably the Macedonians, to give as well.
And so Paul told the Corinthians, “It’s great that you offered to help. But finish what you have started. Don’t leave your good intentions to fall to the ground to be trampled on by the shoes of neglect. Fulfill your promises.
Start collecting the money you decided to give so that it will be ready when we come.
And if you do so with a heart that’s right, it won’t matter how much you end up collecting. Because all that really matters to God is that he has your heart.”
How about you? Do you finish what you start?
Do you follow through with your good intentions to bless others? Or do you let your good intentions fall to the ground as your passion fades?
Let us not be that way. Let us fulfill our promises and complete the good that God has put in our hearts to do.
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Before we can receive blessing
Lots of people desire to receive blessing from God. And God is a Father that gives his children good gifts. We can expect blessings from him as his children.
But before we can receive blessing, there is something we must do first. Peter told the Jews,
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you–even Jesus…
For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.
Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.’…
When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. (Acts 3:19-20, 22-23, 26)
Now Peter, as I mentioned, was talking specifically to the Jews.
And he told them, “Moses himself told you that someone like him would come and that you must listen to him. If you don’t, you will be cut off from God’s people. That prophet has now come in Jesus.
“So listen to him and repent. God sent him to bless you, but first you must repent from your wicked ways. And if you do, he will wipe out your sins and times of refreshing and blessing will come.”
What Peter said to the Jews is true for us in many ways as well.
God sent Jesus to the Jews first, but now he has come to us non-Jews. And just as he came to bless the Jews, he has come to bless us.
But before that blessing can happen, we must repent from our wicked ways. We can’t keep living our own way. We must listen to Jesus and follow him.
If we don’t, we’ll never receive God’s blessing in our lives. Worse, we’ll be cut off from his kingdom forever.
Too many people want God’s blessing in their lives, but continue to live their own way. They expect God’s blessing on their terms. But if you want God’s blessing in your lives, you must come to him on his terms, not your own.
That starts with salvation. You can’t earn the blessing of salvation on your own terms. You can’t earn it by doing a lot of good things.
Rather, you must put your faith in Jesus and his work on the cross. Only through faith in Him can you ever be made righteous in God’s eyes.
But this truth continues after we have received his salvation as well. We can’t consistently expect God’s blessing in our lives if we continue to live our own way. We need to live his.
Am I saying that we have to earn God’s blessings in our lives? No. None of us could ever do that.
But the thing that God is looking for from us is our faith. Do we trust him enough to do what he says? And if we do, he will bless us.
Noah found that out when he built the ark. Abraham found that out when he left for Canaan. Daniel found that out when he refused to eat the king’s food. And so have many others down through history.
Are you seeking God’s blessing? Then the question you need to ask is “How much do I trust him? Do I trust him enough to stop living my way, and start living his?”
Seeing is believing. At least sometimes it is.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law saw all the miracles Jesus performed and they still didn’t believe.
They saw Lazarus alive after he had died and they plotted to kill him because people were believing in Jesus because of it.
The main problem: They didn’t want to believe. And as long as you don’t want to believe, you can explain away anything.
Thomas, on the other hand, wanted to believe. But his head would not allow what his heart wanted to be true, and so he told the other disciples,
Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. (John 20:25)
So when Jesus showed up for a second time in the midst of a locked room, I imagine he smiled at Thomas’ astonished face as he said,
Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. (John 20:27)
Thomas’ reaction?
My Lord and my God! (John 20:28)
Jesus replied,
Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (John 20:29)
In other words, you only believe because you see. But true blessing comes when you believe having not seen.
It was the blessing that Abraham received, who trusted God and left everything behind, not even knowing where he was going, but believing that God would do what he had promised.
It was the blessing that Noah received by building a huge boat because God told him a flood was coming.
It was the blessing that David received, trusting that God would make him king, and never trying to seize the throne with his own hands.
It was the blessing Mary received by believing the angel who said she would become pregnant with God’s Son. It is the blessing that people all throughout history have received all the way down to us.
But it is not a blind belief. We see Christ in the prophets who predicted numerous things about him hundreds of years before he was born.
We see Christ through the experiences of those who actually met him face to face and recorded all that happened. John wrote,
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)
We see Christ in the experiences of those throughout church history who have encountered him in their lives, people like Augustine, Luther, and Calvin.
We see Christ in the lives of those around us today, whom God has changed and transformed through the gospel.
And we see him as we ourselves encounter Christ, and see his work in our lives.
But it all starts with one choice. To say, “Lord Jesus, though I have never seen you with my own eyes, yet I believe.”
And as we follow him, walking in trust and obedience to him, he will reveal himself to us more and more. And we will find blessing.
Peter puts it this way,
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8–9)
In this passage, we see the second time in which Jesus speaks plainly to his disciples about what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem. He couldn’t have been more clear.
He said, “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you.” (Luke 9:44).
And he told them specifically that he would be betrayed, killed, and raised to life on the third day.
The way Luke records the disciples’ response strikes me.
But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. (Luke 9:45)
Looking back as Christians, it’s very difficult for us to understand why the disciples would have trouble grasping this. It wasn’t like he was speaking in parables. He told them in a very straightforward manner, “This is what is going to happen.”
Why couldn’t they understand something that Jesus said so plainly? Luke says the reason was that it was hidden from them.
Why was it hidden from them? I think the main reason is they weren’t ready to hear the truth. They were still totally focused on the idea that he would be setting up his kingdom in Israel soon, setting the Jews free from Roman rule.
We’ll see this in a couple of blogs from now.
But because their minds were so focused on their way of thinking, they couldn’t understand the plain words of Jesus. What’s more, they were afraid to ask what Jesus meant.
Why were they afraid? I don’t think they were afraid of Jesus’ rebuke. I think they were afraid that he was speaking plainly.
And they were so focused on the negative parts, that he would be betrayed and die, that they couldn’t see the positive, that he would rise again.
What does this mean for us?
I think that sometimes, we get so set in our way of thinking, that we can’t see what Jesus is saying to us, even when he is speaking plainly.
What he says goes so contrary to the way we’re thinking or feeling, that we think, “He can’t really mean what I think he’s saying, can he?”
Yet we’re afraid to ask because if he tells us that he means what he says, it means we need to change. We need to change our way of thinking, our behavior, or both. And that can be scary.
For example, God says “Don’t be yoked with unbelievers.” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
In other words, we shouldn’t be in relationships where we are tied to people in such a way that they pull us away from God and his ways.
But when many Christians who date non-Christians, or are even engaged to non-Christians see this passage, it scares them.
“It doesn’t really mean what I think it’s saying, is it?”
And they are afraid to ask God, because it might mean they have to break up with that person, when they don’t want to.
Or when God says, “Flee sexual immorality.” (1 Corinthians 6:18), some people think, “Does this mean sleeping with a person before marriage is wrong?”
And they’re afraid to ask because they are sleeping with their partner.
Let’s be frank. Truth can be painful. And change can be excruciating. But sometimes we get so focused on the negative, that we forget the positive.
The same passage that says that we should not be unequally yoked, says that God will be a Father to us, and we his sons and daughters.
The same passage that says that we should flee sexual immorality says that Christ has given us his Holy Spirit to dwell in us. That we are his temples.
These are the things we should focus on.
So let us not be afraid to ask what a scripture means. Let’s embrace it. Let’s live it. And while there may be pain in the short run, in the long run, we will find blessing.
I had to do a double-take here as I read through these two stories because they are so similar to two others.
One was another case in which Jesus cast out a demon that caused a man to be mute. (Matthew 12:22-37)
The other was the case with Bartimaeus (which we haven’t gotten to yet) and his companion who was also blind. (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52)
At any rate, as I look at these two stories, it strikes me what Jesus can do and what he can’t.
Jesus has the power to heal the blind and to give speech to the mute.
But what he can’t do, or at least, what he won’t do, is make someone believe.
One thing that he asked the two blind men was “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28)
When they answered yes, he told them, “According to your faith will it be done to you,” the clear implication being that they wouldn’t be healed if they didn’t truly believe. (Matthew 9:29)
This is not to say that Jesus can’t heal apart from our faith. There were times when the person didn’t even know who Jesus was, much less put his trust in him, and yet Jesus healed him anyway. (See John 5:1-15)
But most times Jesus did require faith on the part of the people he healed.
As it was, these two men believed and received their sight.
But as you look at the second story, while many of the people looked in wonder at what Jesus had done for the mute man, it did nothing to shake the unbelief of the Pharisees.
They saw the miracle, but merely said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.” (Matthew 9:34)
It didn’t matter what Jesus did, what miracles or signs he showed. The Pharisees refused to believe.
And much as he wanted them to believe, he would not make them believe in him, no more than he tried to make the blind men believe. They either did or they didn’t.
The same is true with us. Jesus has given us his word. He can point to all the things he’s done in your life and how he’s blessed you when you trusted and followed him.
But every day, the question you need to ask yourself is, “Do I trust him? Do I trust him enough to follow him and do things his way?”
If you do, you’ll find healing and blessing in your life.
But if you don’t, you’ll end up like the Pharisees, apart from the healing and blessing in God in your life.
What choice will you make?
Everyone wants to find blessing in their lives from God. But how do we find blessing?
As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, a woman called out,
Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. (Luke 11:27)
But Jesus answered her,
Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. (Luke 11:28)
Obedience is not a popular word, even among Christians sometimes. We like to focus on the grace of God.
And certainly, apart from the grace of God, none of us would ever find his blessing because none of us ever deserve it.
Nevertheless, the key that unlocks that blessing in our lives is the obedience that comes from faith.
We can say, “I believe in God. I believe in his Word,” all day long, but if it doesn’t result in obedience, our words are meaningless. If we truly trust him, if we truly believe in him, we’ll do what he says.
The question is, do you trust him? Do you trust that if you obey him, that you will find blessing?
Do you trust, for example, that if you put off sex until marriage, that your sex life and your marriage will be better for it?
Do you trust that if you learn the “grace of giving,” (2 Corinthians 8:7) that your finances will not suffer for it, but instead be blessed by God?
Do you trust that if you submit to your husband as to the Lord, and that you love your wife as Christ loves the church, sacrificing yourself for her, that your marriage will flourish?
Or do you think this is all fluffy words with no real substance to it?
If you want to find blessing, you need to learn to trust God. That he knows what is best. That his way works.
And then you need to obey.
Is it easy? No. But the same grace that God extends to help us believe, is the same grace that gives us the power to obey. All you have to do is ask. As Jesus said,
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)
How about you? Will you trust God, and obey?
Nobody likes to be persecuted. Nobody likes to be disliked. In an ideal world, everyone would like you.
But this isn’t an ideal world. It’s a world that has been corrupted by sin. And because of that, people’s minds have been corrupted by sin to the point that they can’t distinguish good from evil. Even when they can, they often prefer evil.
John put it this way,
Light has come into the world (through Jesus), but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)
Because of this, Jesus warned his disciples,
If they persecuted me (and they did), they will persecute you also. (John 15:20)
Think about this. Jesus was perfect. He never did anything wrong. He was love incarnate. And yet people hated him and put him on a cross.
If Jesus was perfect and he was treated this way, what makes us think we’ll be treated any differently?
But Jesus tells us that if we are persecuted for doing what is right, if we are persecuted for following him, we are blessed.
That seems a strange thing to say. Being persecuted is a blessing? I don’t want to be persecuted.
But the blessing is not in the persecution itself. It’s in knowing that we are following in our Master’s footsteps. That we are being like him even to the point of being persecuted as he was.
And the blessing is in knowing that the persecution is not in vain. That God will ultimately reward us for our faithfulness under fire.
So let us not get discouraged when persecution comes our way. When we are rejected by our family or friends or others around us for Jesus’ sake.
As the old saying goes, you can’t please all the people all the time.
Jesus couldn’t. Neither can you.
So let us focus on pleasing just one person: God. And in doing so, we will find true blessing.
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Blessing your husband
I don’t write many things addressing wives very often. Most admonitions I write concerning married couples, at least up until this point, have been directed primarily at men.
One key reason for this is that God seems to put more responsibility for the health of the marriage upon the man than the woman. You see this time and again throughout scripture.
But in these passages, we see some things directed at the wives.
Solomon writes,
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. (Proverbs 18:22)
I have been married for 8 years and I can say this is true. I have definitely found something good, and I have been blessed so much because of my wife.
But there are things that wives do that can change them from being someone who is a blessing to their husband to someone who is a curse to their husband.
Solomon notes one of them saying,
A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping. (Proverbs 19:13)
And again,
Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (Proverbs 21:9)
If that isn’t clear enough,
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife. (21:19)
Men are by no means perfect. And it can be very easy for us to do things that annoy our wives. I know I sometimes (hopefully, not often) annoy my wife.
But the way to deal with our faults is not to pick at our faults like a scab.
I know that’s a nasty picture but the next time you think about nagging your husband, put that picture into your mind, because that is exactly what you’re doing.
Am I saying that if your husband does something to annoy you that you should ignore it completely. No. Tell him about it once. If nothing changes, tell him about it twice.
If after that, he changes, great. But if he doesn’t, stop talking about it. Leave the change up to God. Pray for him.
You cannot change your husband. Only God can.
Or maybe I should say, it may be possible to change your husband through your nagging, but it will come at the expense of resentment and anger from your husband, spoken or not.
Only God can change your husband while preserving true peace in your marriage.
Solomon writes,
A man’s (and a woman’s) wisdom gives him (her) patience; it is to his (her) glory to overlook an offense. (Proverbs 19:11)
But husbands, I’m not letting you off the hook for this one. Particularly because God never lets me off.
I’ll tell you the same thing he tells me (and I’ve mentioned this before): Listen to your wife.
You may think her complaints are trivial. But if they truly are trivial, then it should be no problem for you to change. And when you do it, you become a blessing to your wife.
But back to you wives. God desires that you be a blessing to your husband. But you can’t do that if you are constantly picking at those scabs.
If you do, what you’re left with is open wounds that only make your husband feel like attacking.
So don’t nag, pray. And you’ll be amazed not only in what God can do to change your husband and his attitudes, but in what he can do to change you and your attitudes as well.
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Blessed that all may know
Psalm 67 starts out much as the priestly blessing does in Numbers 6:24-26.
The psalmist writes,
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us. (Psalm 67:1)
What’s interesting to me is the reason for his request.
that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. (2)
So many Christians pray, “Bless me Lord,” for purely selfish reasons.
But the psalmist prays, “Lord, show your grace to us. Bless us. Show your pleasure with us. Because when people see your hand of grace upon us, they’ll see your goodness and desire a relationship with you too. And not only will we know your salvation, but they will too.”
As he looks towards that day, he sings,
May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. (3-5)
And as he sees all the nations turning their hearts toward the Lord, he sees something else: God’s blessing on all who fear him.
Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him. (6-7)
Lord, show me your grace in my life. Lord, draw me close to yourself, and may your face shine upon me.
And as you do, Lord, let others see you in me and be drawn to you as well. Let your life shine through mine. In Jesus’ name, amen.
When things are going badly, our thoughts often quickly turn towards God. But what about during times of victory and blessing?
Do our thoughts turn quickly in praise towards God? Or do our thoughts turn towards ourselves, and how great we are?
Even David fell into that trap (see 2 Samuel chapters 11-12, and 24), but here in Psalm 21, he kept in mind just where his victory and blessing came from. He sang,
The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give!
You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever.
Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. (Psalm 21:1-6)
Not only did David remember where these things came from, he remembered why God blessed him.
For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. (7)
Where do your thoughts turn when you find victory in your life?
Do you find yourself boasting in yourself and your wisdom and strength? Or do you find yourself praising God for what he’s done?
Do you find yourself putting more faith in yourself and what you can do? Or do you find yourself putting more faith in God and what he can do?
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The way of blessedness
And so we head full-on into the Psalms.
We have already touched on those where we knew their historical contexts, so if you notice that we seem to skip a few here or there, we actually covered them earlier.
I’m thinking of adding to the blog menu to make things easier to find, but I won’t make promises on when that will happen. Hopefully soon, however.
In this, the first psalm, it talks about the way of blessedness. How do we find blessing?
We need to watch where we walk, stand, and sit. The writer says,
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers. (Psalm 1:1)
In other words, who are you keeping company with? Whose examples are you following? What path are you standing on?
This passage is not saying that we should avoid non-Christians altogether.
For one thing, that would be impossible. For another, it would be impossible to reach them for Christ if we’re avoiding them.
But the question we need to ask is, “Are they influencing us, or are we influencing them?”
Are we starting to take their on attitudes, or are they starting to take ours? Are we taking the path they’re walking on, or are they starting to be swayed by the path we are on?
The writer here tells us not to be influenced by the ungodly. Instead, we should be influenced by the Word of God.
He says we should, “delight in the law of the Lord,” and “meditate on his law day and night.” (2)
Every day, we should be immersing ourselves in God’s word. Reading it in the morning if possible.
And as we walk, ride the train, drive our car, or even as we just do housework, we should be reflecting on what God has been teaching us, and asking “God what are you saying to me today?”
As we do so, we’ll be like a
tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither —
whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:3)
The picture is a tree that is purposely placed where it can get lots of water. And because it is so near the source of its life, it yields its fruit in season and prospers.
In the same way, when we place ourselves near the Water of Life, the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, he fills us, and we bear his fruit.
Does this mean that we’ll never face problems? Of course not. We just saw in Job that though he did all the things Psalm 1 talks about, he still suffered greatly.
But as it says in verse 6,
The Lord watches over the way of the righteous.
Though Job may have felt abandoned by God, God had never left. He was still watching over Job and even prevented Satan from doing more damage to Job’s life.
And by staying near those streams of Living Water, Job eventually was restored and bore fruit once more.
So let us watch where we walk, stand, and sit. And let our lives be filled by the One who gives true life.
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Saved to be a blessing
The book of Zechariah is full of warnings and admonitions. But as we have seen, it also has words of encouragement as well. And in this passage we see a bit of both.
God starts with words of encouragement, telling the people that Jerusalem would indeed be restored and that it would become a place of joy and safety for those who lived there.
More, he told them that those who had been scattered would be brought back, and that they would be his people and he would be their God once again.
For those who had a hard time imagining it, he reminded them that he is the God that can do all things, saying,
It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me? (Zechariah 8:6)
And so he charged the people,
Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built. (Zechariah 8:9)
God tells us the same. That through his power, we have been saved. And now, we are to take courage, even in the face of opposition, and to become the temple that God intended us to be, holy and set apart for his use as he dwells within us.
But then he said,
Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. (Zechariah 8:13)
Before we were saved, our lives were cursed by sins, and we cursed others by the sins we committed against them. But God tells us that now that we have been saved, we will become a blessing to them instead.
That’s the same promise that God gave to Abraham. That he would bless him and make him a blessing to those around.
God wants the same for us. So he tells us,
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.
I hate all this, declares the Lord. (Zechariah 8:16–17)
In short, he calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. And as we do, people will be drawn to us and to him.
Zechariah closes the chapter by saying,
Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’ (Zechariah 8:22–23)
One day, people will say that of the Jews.
But may the same be said of us, as we live our lives each day.
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The blessing that comes from obedience
So many times we know what God says, but don’t obey him.
One reason is that we feel like we’ll “miss out on all the fun.” Or that we’ll find more happiness if we do things our way instead of God’s.
That’s how the people of Judah were. But here God shows them and us the blessing that comes from obedience.
God told Jeremiah to invite a family to the temple. They were all descendants of a man named Recab.
They must have been looked upon by their neighbors as a bit strange. They still lived in tents when everyone else had built their own homes, and they refused to drink wine like everyone else.
When this family came, they went to the one of the rooms in the temple where the sons of a man named Hanan lived.
Jeremiah then offered them wine to drink, but they replied,
We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.
Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’
We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.
We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. (Jeremiah 35:6-10)
Even when Nebuchadnezzar came against Judah, and they were forced to flee from their land to Jerusalem, they continued to keep the command of Jonodab.
God then spoke to Jeremiah, saying,
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the Lord.
‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.
But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. (13-14)
In other words, “These men obeyed their forefather Jonadab, even though he was a mere man. But here I am your God, and you don’t obey me. Why not?”
But then he said of the Recabites,
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’
Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.’ (18-19)
Because the Recabites were faithful to their forefather, and to God, they found blessing in their lives at a time when judgment was falling on the land they were living in.
What about you? Do you truly believe that if you follow God and do things his way that you’ll find blessing?
This is not to say that your life will be easy. But you will find joy and contentment in your life as you follow him, no matter your circumstances.
I have to admit that trying to keep the chronology of Israel’s history is a bit like juggling balls. There were so many books being written at about the same time, it’s difficult to keep everything straight.
At the same time, I must say that all of this has been quite illuminating. I’m sure I’ve read or heard before of the timing of the book of Daniel, but it still came as a surprise to me to realize that the early events of Daniel came before Judah’s ultimate fall during the reign of Zedekiah.
Even knowing it happened before then, I somehow had it in mind that his exile came in the time of Jehoiachin, the second to last king of Israel.
But according to Daniel, Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem started in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign (he lasted a total of 11 years as king), and Daniel was probably taken in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign.
Anyway, Daniel and a number of Jews from the royal family and nobility were taken to Babylon. Basically Nebuchadnezzar wanted the best of the best from the land of Judah, as well as from the other lands he had conquered.
The idea was two-fold: strip the conquered areas of any potential threats, while strengthening his own kingdom. And so Daniel and his friends were taken and indoctrinated with the Babylonian culture.
To try to get these captives immersed in their new surroundings, they were also given new names. Daniel and his friends all had names which honored God, but each were given new names that honored the Babylonian gods.
It’s interesting that today, most people remember Daniel’s friends’ names by their Babylonian names, while somehow, Daniel’s name has stuck with us.
I suppose it’s because Daniel used his own name throughout the entire book, while using the Babylonian names to refer to his friends.
But early on, Daniel and his friends were faced with a choice. And it was seemingly a very minor one, whether to eat the food that they were being served. It was food that came from the king’s table, and it was supposedly a way to honor those being trained for the king’s service.
But there were two problems. First, they probably violated the dietary laws God had given to the Israelites. And second, the food had probably been offered to idols first.
It would’ve been easy for Daniel and his friends to say, “Well, we’re far from home. God seems to have abandoned us. He let us get captured by these people. When in Rome… (or more accurately, ‘When in Babylon….’).”
But it says in verse 8,
Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. (Daniel 1:8)
He talked to the official in charge of him and his friends, showing some God-given wisdom and tact in doing so (something we all need, but don’t always have), and as a result, was given a ten-day test period to do things God’s way.
When they passed the test, the official let them eat as they wished. The result?
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds…
The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.
In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. (Daniel 1:17, 19–20)
What can we take from this?
How resolved are you to do what is pleasing in God’s sight?
Think of the pressure that Daniel and his friends were under. Pressure from the Babylonians. Pressure from their friends who had compromised their beliefs. Pressure from the lusts of their own flesh, and the pride of life.
Yet these things did not shake them. They committed themselves to serving God no matter what. And God blessed them for it.
Are you resolved to follow God in the face of peer pressure? In the face of temptation?
Let us be like Daniel and his friends, resolved to follow God no matter the cost. And know that if we do so, we will ultimately find his blessing in our lives.
When I was in Hawaii, I often had Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons come to my door.
Even in Japan, I had Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door, although since I’ve moved to my condo 6 years ago, I’ve had no such visits because of condo rules.
It’s too bad really. I had some very interesting conversations with them.
Anyway, one problem with these groups (among many others), is the number of false prophesies that their leaders have given in the past.
And one thing they often say in response is, “Well, sometimes Biblical prophets made mistakes too. Look at Jonah. He prophesied that Ninevah would fall, and it didn’t.”
What they fail to realize is that God’s purpose in Jonah’s message was that the people would repent. It wasn’t a false prophesy, it was a warning.
This is what God says of such warnings:
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. (Jeremiah 18:7-10)
The Ninevites were a perfect example of this. They repented and therefore God spared them.
On the other hand, God promised the Israelites that if they would follow his commands, he would bless them, and that they would be his people and he would be their God.
But the people turned their backs on him, and so although God planned good for them, he instead brought disaster against them.
Here at the end of this chapter, we see that they were so hardened against God’s message that they ignored Jeremiah and wanted to be rid of him.
The result? Exile.
What is the message for us? Turn. Turn from our sin. Turn from our selfish ways. And most of all, turn to God. For only in following him will we find true life.
So as we end this year, let us reflect on the sins in our lives that we need to turn from and also on the things that God would have us do in the coming year.
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Struck to be blessed and to be a blessing
I grew up to a lot of spankings when I was a kid. Well, maybe not a lot, but a lot more than I want to remember.
It was never very pleasant, but as I look back on it now, I’m thankful for the discipline that my dad brought into my life. It’s definitely made me a better person.
God does the same thing with us. He often brings discipline in our lives, not because he’s an angry God, but because he really wants to bring blessing into our lives.
For the first half of this chapter, we see God raining down judgment on Egypt, just as he did in Moses’ time. But in the middle of the prophesy, the tone suddenly turns.
In that day, five cities in Egypt will…swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty…
When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender and he will rescue them.
So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day, they will acknowledge the Lord…
The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will return to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them. (Isaiah 19:18, 20-22)
After that, God talks about how he would work in the lives of their oppressors, the Assyrians. And he says of them and Egypt,
The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day, Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.
The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” (23-24)
It’s really amazing to me when I think about it. Usually these kinds of words are said only of Israel. But here, God shows that he embraces all who turn to him.
Yes, God will strike us when we sin. But his desire is that we would turn to him that he might heal us.
Not only that, he wants to bless us. And he wants us to be a blessing on this earth to everyone that we touch.
Is God bringing discipline into your life right now? Are things tough as a consequence of some sin in your life? Then turn to God and repent.
It’s not his desire to strike us; it’s his desire that we repent.
It’s not his desire to curse us; it’s his desire to bless us.
It’s not his desire that we be a curse to the people around us, but that we would be a blessing.
So as the writer of Hebrews said,
Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. (Hebrews 12:5-6)
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How to lose a blessing
The idea of blessing is a very prominent one in the book of Genesis.
The word is mentioned over 60 times, usually in the context of God blessing someone, or in fathers blessing their sons with God’s blessing.
It’s fitting, that in the second to last chapter, it ends with one long blessing given by Jacob to his sons.
But one thing really stands out in this passage: the blessings that were not given. Jacob did not bless his first three sons, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Why?
Reuben was excluded because he slept with his father’s concubine, who had been given to Jacob by Rachel to have children for her when she was barren.
Why did Reuben do such at thing?
Ironically enough, it was an attempt to try to solidify his position as firstborn son. It was something that was apparently a cultural custom of the time, although I don’t totally understand it.
You see a similar thing happen with one of David’s sons Adonijah in 1 Kings 2:13-25, when he tried to steal the throne from Solomon.
At any rate, by doing this while Jacob was still alive, Reuben lost his blessing.
Simeon and Levi were excluded because of the episode in Shechem where they took revenge for the rape of the sister by wiping out all the men in that city.
And Jacob said, I will not be associated with men such as these. And he refused to bless them as well.
What can we learn from this?
When it comes to receiving blessings from God, our actions matter.
Our salvation depends solely on God’s grace, but if we desire to see his blessings in our lives, our actions do make a difference.
This is true on two levels.
One is that if we want to find true blessing, we need to do things God’s way and not our own.
Reuben tried to gain a blessing by taking things into his own hands, rather than by doing things God’s way, and in so doing, lost the blessing he sought.
So many Christian marriages fall apart because instead of doing things God’s way, couples do things their own.
So many people struggle in their other relationships because instead of doing things God’s way, they do things their own.
So many parents struggle with raising their kids because instead of doing things God’s way, they do things their own.
So many people struggle financially because instead of doing things their own way, they do things their own.
How many times do we ask for God’s blessing on our lives, on our relationships, on our finances, in our jobs, and yet we insist on doing things our own way, instead of his?
It doesn’t work that way. We can’t just ask God to bless us and yet refuse to do things his way. We need to obey him.
Second, when we insist on a life of sin, God will refuse to associate himself with us, and in so doing, he takes his hand of blessing off of us. Jacob told Simeon and Levi,
Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. (Genesis 49:5-6)
One of the keys to this, I believe, is that Simeon and Levi never repented from their actions. Rather they tried to justify themselves (Genesis 34:31).
We simply cannot justify sin in our lives and not repent and expect God to bless us.
God is holy, and he will not associate with or bless people who willfully and unrepentantly holds on to sin in their lives.
I want to make one point clear. I’m not saying that if you struggle with sin that God will take off his hand of blessing off of you. All of us struggle with sin in one area or another.
But if you are willfully holding on to sin in your life and refuse to repent, he will not bless you.
Does that mean we’ll lose our salvation? That God will abandon us?
No. But he will take off his hand of blessing and let the enemy take his shots at us.
Why? Because he hates us?
No. Because he wants to bless us.
In 1 Corinthians 5:5, Paul points out this principle to the Corinthian church when telling them how to deal with an unrepentant sinner. He told them to no longer associate with him and to,
hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
God wants to bless you. He delights in blessing his people so that we may be a blessing to others.
But we cannot receive God’s blessing when we hold on to sin in our lives and do things our own way.
How about you?
Are you in a place where you can receive blessing from God in your life?
Are you obeying him?
Are you keeping your heart clean before him?
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Where blessing and success come from
“Abram and the battle of the kings.” Sounds like some kind of movie set in the middle ages or something like that. 🙂
Anyway, after Abram and his allies gained victory over the kings that had captured his nephew Lot and his family, it would’ve been pretty easy to let pride rise up.
“Here we are, just 318 men, and we rout these kings and their men. What a great military strategist I am! What a great leader I am!”
But Abram didn’t fall into that trap.
Instead, when Melchizedek came, pointing out that his victory came from the Lord, Abram acknowledged it by giving a tenth of the plunder to Melchizedek.
And instead of taking the rest of the plunder as his due for his great victory, he kept none of it—only dispersing some of it to his allies who had helped him and then giving the rest back to the king of Sodom and (assumedly) the king’s allies.
His reason? He remembered where true blessing came from, and would not receive anything from men whose lives were so ungodly. He said in verse 23,
I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’
How often do we fall into the trap of pride?
We begin to think that it’s only because of our own talents, abilities, and efforts that we find success in our lives, and forget that it was God who gave us the talents, abilities, and the strength to do those things in the first place.
And when we forget that, it’s so easy to forget God himself and to start seeking blessings in our lives apart from him, whether it be money, pleasure, or whatever.
That’s what happened to the Israelites when they came into the promised land. Within but a few generations, they quickly forgot that it was God who had brought them there.
As a result, they started seeking blessings from other gods, and in the process, they left God on the side.
It’s worth noting that in a lot of cases, they didn’t completely leave him behind; they just put him on the side while pursuing these other things.
That’s often how it is with us. We don’t really leave God behind. He just ends up on the side somewhere.
How do we avoid this trap when things are going well for us?
First, remember who God is. That he is, “God most high, Creator of heaven and earth.”
An alternate reading for “creator” in the NIV is “possessor.” In other words, because he is the creator, he owns everything, and he is the one who gives us all that we have.
In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul wrote,
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
In Jeremiah 9:23–24, God adds,
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
As we boast in him and not in ourselves, it helps us to maintain perspective on where the blessings and success in our lives come from.
The second thing to remember is to give thanks to him for the blessings we’ve received—as Melchizedek did through his words, and Abram did through his giving.
Once in a while, I hear people say, “Christians don’t have to tithe. That was Old Testament law. We are not bound by that anymore.”
That’s true. But it’s worth noting that before the law came, Abraham—not Moses—set the precedent for tithing. And that he gave it as a sign of gratitude for what God had done.
I believe it is the same with us. We don’t give because of the Old Testament law or out of obligation.
Rather, it’s a way to acknowledge where we got our blessings from and to thank God for them. And in doing so, it helps us avoid the trap of pride.
Lord, help me always remember where my blessings come from. Help me always remember where my success comes from.
I know that they don’t come merely from my own talents or efforts. Rather, they all originate from you.
Help me to always keep a heart of gratitude towards you, to never push you to the side in pursuit of other things, and to always keep you at the center of my life.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
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To be a blessing?
Well, as I’ve mentioned before, even the godly people in the Bible aren’t perfect, and Abram proves this in spades here.
Because of a famine, Abram and his wife go to Egypt and stay there, but Abram is so lacking in faith in God and his protection, that he tells his wife, “Don’t tell anyone you’re married to me. Tell them I’m your brother.”
(This was technically true. They had the same father, but different mothers).
The result: Pharaoh (Quick! Look away and see if you can spell Pharaoh) takes Sarai to be his wife.
Can you imagine what Sarai was thinking? “What in the world kind of husband do I have, anyway?” What was Abram thinking? And I mean before and after Sarai was taken away from him.
Anyway, by not trusting God, Abram got some temporary blessings (sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants, camels, etc) from Pharaoh.
But in the end, instead of being a blessing to Pharaoh, Abram ends up being a curse to him, with Pharaoh and his household getting struck with serious diseases.
Abram gets his wife back, but gets chased out of the country too.
Abram learned his lesson so well, he did the same thing years later. He goes to a place called Gerar, calls Sarah his sister, and she gets taken away from him by the king, Abimelech.
Sarah must have been thinking, “Not again! I can’t believe my husband!”
So once again, Abram ends up being a curse to the king (not to mention Sarah—can you imagine being put through this twice?), as God warns Abimelech to return Abram’s wife lest he and his family die.
Pharaoh and the king of Gerar had similar responses:
What have you done to me?
Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? (Genesis 12:18–19)
What have you done to us?
How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom?
You have done things that should not be done. What was your reason for this? (Genesis 20:9–10)
What was Abram’s answer? “Well, I knew you were ungodly people that would kill me and steal my wife, so I lied. Besides, it wasn’t really a lie.” (Genesis 20:11–13)
What do you think Pharaoh’s and Abimelech’s response to that was? “Oh, I really want to get to know your God now! Your words and actions make him look so attractive to me!”
No way. They were probably thinking to themselves, “I’m more righteous than Abram. And look at what curses he brought on my life!”
It’s easy to criticize Abram. But how often can people say the same thing about me? How often am I a curse to the people around me, rather than a blessing? How often am I a curse to my wife? To my coworkers? To my friends? To my neighbors?
I’d seriously hate to know the answers to those questions.
Lord, forgive me for the times I’ve failed to trust you, and did things my way. Forgive me for those times when I’ve been a curse to the people around me rather than a blessing.
God, I want others to be attracted to you because of me. Show me where I need to change. And give me the strength to change.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 