Almost daily, some bulk mailing assures me I am the lucky winner of one of several prizes. All I need do is contact them to identify my prize. 5. HCSB, ISV, BBE. (5) The Jews of our Lords time believed suffering was incompatible with Gods blessings. (2) The Jews thought of Gods blessings in primarily physical and material terms and not in spiritual terms. For You make him most blessed forever; If not, we have reason to question whether our faith is real. Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. The Lord will bless you with full barns, and he will bless everything you do. Deuteronomy 28:2-8 (NCV), I will also bless the Gentiles who commit themselves to the Lord and serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who have accepted his covenant. Isaiah 56:6 (NLT), A beautiful palace does not make a great king! He points them to the true blessings which are in Christ. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. We will see God: They shall see God (Matthew 5:8). But, as it is written, What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. To belong to Christ is to belong to God as our Father and to be heirs of all that God owns that is, everything. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Berean Bible Society
Selah. 9:11 (CEV), Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding. Proverbs 3:13 (NIV), They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Psalm 37:26 (NIV), The best of all the first fruits will belong to the priests. Jordan puts his finger on the nub of the issue, I think, by referring to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. Psalm 41:1-2 (NIV), Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. The very food we eat everyday would also be classified aphysical blessing. When God promised Abraham that his seed was to be a blessing to all nations, this was a part of Abrahams blessing. 98 This verse tells us that Abraham was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Let's take a close look at blessing from the bible: who blesses who, how we receive blessings, how we give blessings, physical versus spiritual blessings, and finally how the flow of blessing can influence our prayers. They think of Gods blessings primarily in terms of that which is physical and material.102 They believe that because Christ has come, every promised blessing can be ours, now, if we but believe and ask for them in faith. Blessings have to do with God's Kingdom. The difference is that one group seems to succeed on the basis of faith while the other group suffers by faith. - Philippians 4:19 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. Suffering is also a blessing because it is a part of Gods process of sanctification. We will be satisfied with personal and universal righteousness: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). Philippians 4:19 Thats in the list: All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death. Death is yours. And instead of telling the world to come to us Come see how I bless my people; God never says that he says, Go go to the world. Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete (Genesis 15:13-16). (Marriage and children are both a blessing, but neither is without its trials and suffering.) Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. And he said, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10). Let that sink in. And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. As a result, Jacob and his family moved to Egypt where they became a great nation. In order to receive God's spiritual blessings, one must be in the right spiritual location, that is, in Christ. Put simply, Gods blessing does not mean that we are free to indulge in every sensual pleasure, but neither does it mean that we must deny every earthly pleasure. Gods common grace is extended to all men, without distinction. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Matthew 5:3-11 (NIV), Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Luke 11:28 (NIV), Jesus said, Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed. John 20:29 (NIV), In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 (NIV), Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 (NIV), The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:25 (NIV), Even if you should suffer for what is right, you will be blessed. 1 Peter 3:14, If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 1 Peter 4:14 (NIV), If you cant carry that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped; if you live too far away, or if the Lord gives you a big harvest, then sell this part and take the money there instead. Deuteronomy 14:24-25 (CEV), You should be happy to give the poor what they need, because then the Lord will make you successful in everything you do. Deuteronomy 15:10 (CEV), Each man is to bring a gift as he is able, in proportion to the blessings that the Lord your God has given him. Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (TEV), Obey the Lord your God so that all these blessings will come and stay with you: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. (3) The Jews thought of Gods blessings in terms of material prosperity and His cursings in terms of material adversity and physical affliction. Eve was cursed with pain in child-bearing and with the dominion of her husband over her. To be spiritual they say is the assurance of earthly pleasures; to be sinful is to bring upon oneself pain and suffering. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.. Our heart has not turned back, And our steps have not deviated from Thy way, Yet Thou hast crushed us in a place of jackals, And covered us with the shadow of death. And in so doing, we actually miss the blessing God has for us in affliction. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The Jews of old and many Christians and others today think of Gods blessings in terms of the immediate enjoyment of physical and material pleasures and the absence of pain. They were blessed by God, through faith. To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Bible prophecy reveals that the descendants of Esau will exist in the end time. To me, it seems like the way God uses blessed or blessings in the Bible is very different from how its used now. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. Luke 6:20-28; 16:19-31 And Im going to circle back and probably end there and affirm what he sees and show why it is such a great answer to his own question. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Your infinite glory, greatness, grander, majesty, and unlimited ability. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! They are His to give; they are also His to withhold. Like Lot, we find our righteous souls vexed by sin (2 Peter 2:7-8). Eternal blessings are full and complete, the enjoyment of physical and material prosperity, the full manifestation of Gods goodness and glory, and the absence of sin, Satan, death, and the curse. The pure shall see God. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. He suffered because of his deception concerning Sarah. Last week Art Lindsley referenced Hebrew poetry found in the Bible to give a more complete picture of flourishing. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. 11:23-26). And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. It is by blessing Him that we enjoy Gods blessings, rather than the curse of sin. The term blessed is thrown around in our culture today, and its all over our Bibles too. This was the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5-7; 13:14-15) whose boundaries were more fully defined in Genesis 15:18-21. Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true. And He said to me, It is done. The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. The unnamed author of this epistle reminds these Christians of their Old Testament roots. Lets circle back now to Jordans reference to the Beatitudes. For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 21:1-8). And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. His blessing is the reversal of the curse (see Genesis 12:1-3; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). We must live by faith trusting God to fulfill His promises, even when our eyes tell us the opposite is happening now. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear. They would do well to give more thought to the blessings of God as defined in Scripture. But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Along with sin came the curse. For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. Verse Concepts. By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God (1 Peter 4:14-16). Humanly speaking, men are blessed or cursed on the basis of their response to Abrahams seed, Jesus Christ (Genesis 12:3; Psalm 24:3-6; 32:1-2; 84:4-5; 89:14-18; John 3:16-18; 14:6; Acts 3:26; Romans 4:6-8; Galatians 3:9, 13-16; 1 John 5:11-12). But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Thy works (Psalm 73:1-28). God clarified the promise of the land in Genesis 15: And God said to Abram, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God. We shall see what they are, what they are not, and when they will be fulfilled. As we come to the study of divine blessing in our series, we begin by considering Gods promised blessings in the Old Testament. Our very clothing is a physicalblessing. Use these Bible verses to remind you of the many blessing you can claim as a child of God! His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Psalm 112:1-2 (NIV), Blessed are those who keep my ways. Proverbs 8:32 (NIV), Each of these blessings depends on your not turning aside in any way from the laws I have given you; and you must never worship other gods. Deuteronomy 28:14 (Living), Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law. Psalm 94:12 (NIV), It is sin to despise ones neighbors; blessed are those who help the poor. Proverbs 14:21 (NLT), It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 (NIV), A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9 (NIV), Good people will be generous to others and will be blessed for all they do. Isaiah 32:8 (NLT), Blessed is the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding. Proverbs 3:13 (NIV), A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. Proverbs 28:20 (NIV), The Lords curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. Proverbs 3:33 (NIV), People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell. Proverbs 11:26 (NIV), He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. Proverbs 14:21 (NIV), Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. Proverbs 16:20 (NIV), An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end. Proverbs 20:21 (NIV), It will go well with those who convict the guilty and rich blessing will come upon them. Proverbs 24:25 (NIV), Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble. Proverbs 28:14 (NIV), The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.
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