GOD BLESS YOU!
Genesis 12:1-4
Genesis 12:2-3: “I will make you a great
nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be
blessed through you.”
Ten
year old Jeremy sneezed. What blew out
from his mouth would have landed ten feet away.
But he caught that spit missile fueled by his breath in the crook of his
elbow. If he had been sick with a cold
and didn’t catch his sneeze, wherever those germs landed would have lived for
three days—infecting whoever touched “germed” surfaces.
If
his hand had captured that sneeze, whatever he touched would have spread his cold
germs for three days. That’s why we’re
advised to wash our hands frequently—especially during flu season.
No
wonder people say, “God bless you,” when someone sneezes. But this phrase should never be said automatically. Those three words carry a wallop!
How
many ways do you count God promised that He’d bless Abram in the opening Scripture? When the Lord promises to bless, He means
that He will intervene powerfully and obviously in someone’s life.
We
wonder, what blessings? They might
include insight, honor, security…an infinite number of possibilities! God only demands two conditions be met to
receive His blessings: faith and
obedience.
Abram
proved both to be true in his life. God
desires to bless every life abundantly.
But few meet His two demands. Do
you trust God in every situation? Have
you obeyed every command?
Believers have work to do. We’re blessed every day—regardless of whether
we recognize them or not. And blessings
are meant to be passed on. Passing on
blessings is how believers do the good works that God has prepared in advance
for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Apostle
Paul is a great example.
Paul’s
good works continue to bless Christians today.
Obeying Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all nations” in Matthew
28:19-20, he preached the gospel of Christ all around the world. His letters (epistles [e-PISS-ls]) to the
people he ministered represent thirteen books in the Bible’s New Testament!
Has God blessed you through Paul? How can you pass on God’s blessings to others?
Take Home Nugget
Whatever blessings believers pass on
to others also smell great! Apostle Paul
made good friends in the churches he founded.
These people looked after Paul’s welfare, and he appreciated their help
very much.
Paul wrote a “thank you” in Philippians
4:16-17, 18b: “for even when I was in
Thessalonica, you sent to me again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am
looking for what may be credited to your account. …They are a fragrant
offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”
The Philippians must have delighted in receiving this thank
you letter from Paul. Just like people
today appreciate help from others, we pray that their gifts be “credited to
their account” in heaven (1 Peter 1:4).
So…we bless others when God blesses
us, and are doubly blessed with fragrant offerings, acceptable sacrifices
offered up to please God? Now that’s
cool!
“God bless you, son!” Jeremy’s dad
said, meaning every word.
Good
works blessings “fragrant offerings” have no carbon footprint!
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
J.D. Griffith
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