God Delights in Blessing Us

God blesses us all day long in so many ways; we are just too busy to notice. If we focus on our to-do list or the negative issues we are facing, we miss seeing the blessings.

God delights in blessing His children (Psalms 8:4-5, 139: 6-7, 17). He rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). When we ignore or do not appreciate what He does for us, we get disappointed and frustrated by what we wanted Him to do, and what we perceive that He failed to do.

God arranged our genes, gave us our parents, and had us born in the city and country that He chose in order to give us the personality and talents we have, so that we can use them for His purposes.

Self-improvement is our carnal attempt to perfect our self. God wants to lead us, and for us to take the back seat (Mark 8:34). As we focus on praising God in the midst of our short-comings, He will replace our imperfections with His Spirit's fruit.

As we yoke up with Jesus, we find rest in God's grace. His mercy allow us to submit to His Spirit's direction each and every moment of every day. His presence eliminates the emptiness, fear and depression in our soul.

We develop a friendliness with others. We share the gospel with anyone interested in hearing that God loves them and has a plan for their life. We love God and His Kingdom as our priority and then we love others as we love our self (Matthew 6:33; Mark 12:30-31).

Prayer:

Father God, You hold us securely in Your love. We have no fear of life's storms, because You are in control of them all. You bless us with Your contentment, joy and fulfillment even in the midst of negative circumstances. You calm the storms and cause the sun to burst through the clouds, illuminating our days with Your peace.

As You shed Your love in our hearts, teach us to love others as our self. Remind us to look for Your blessings all through our day and to share Your blessings with others as You give us the opportunity to bless them. Help us not to miss Your divine opportunities or to take Your divine provision for granted.

Thought for the Day:

God does not ask us to trust one another, because we are frail humans and hurt one another - often without realizing it; but He does expect us to trust Him to bless us in His timing, will and way.

God's Blessings

Some preachers continually speak about God providing earthly blessings to His people. They declare that God wants us to have health, wealth and success. Other preachers declare that we will not always be blessed in this life. They both refer to blessings in this earthly realm and forget about the eternal blessings.

God does want us to enjoy the temporal blessings, which He provides for us; but they are not always guaranteed. In fact, God will also bless us with trials and tribulation (Matthew 5:11; John 16:33). Jesus was tortured and crucified. John was in prison and beheaded (Matt 11:2-6, 14:10). God gave Paul grace to deal with his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Blessings are gifts from God, which come in all shapes and fashions. Many make us fortunate and happy; yet, sometimes, these blessings appear couched in misfortune and tribulation. Our attitude about them is what makes the difference. Our testimony may be the only source of saving grace for someone suffering along with us.

If we rejoice always (James 1:2; Philippians 4:4), then we view even the most horrendous trial as a blessing from God (Genesis 50:20). He walks through it with us, and in us, providing for our needs and using us as a light in the darkness around us (Psalm 23; Philippians 4:19). It is healthy to mourn our losses, but joy comes as we hold His hand through it all (Psalm 30:5).

God calls us to completely surrender to Him, to trust in His wisdom and to have faith in His faithfulness to His Saints (Job 11:13-15; Proverbs 3:5-6). He rarely operates as we expect or desire, but our Father always knows what is best. Relying totally on God provides the most peaceful existence for us. Living in the center of His will is the happiest place on earth.

Prayer:

Father God, You do all things beautifully in Your timing and way. You are rarely early, but always on time, and usually at the very last earthly minute! I am so glad that You brought me to the place of total surrender to You and Your will in all things. Remind me to be still, to acknowledge You as God, and to allow You to work out everything for my good (Psalm 46:10; Romans 8:28). When I remember what happened when Sara gave her maid to her husband - the Muslim world was born and they have been fighting the son of promise ever since – this prevents me from inventing my own solutions to my problems and spurs me to desire to walk in Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

When God is silent, He is simply enjoying our companionable silence; so be still and know that He is God and has everything under His control.

– Psalm 115:3, 46:10, 16:9; Zechariah 4:6

The Glory of the Lord

Moses saw the back of God’s form when he went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from the Lord. The experience was so amazing that his face shone so brightly with the glory of the Lord that no one could look at him. His face was as dazzling as the sun itself. Today, authentic Born Again Believers have this same glory of the Lord resident within us by His Spirit.

The Law, which Moses delivered to Israel on tablets of stone, was a dispensation in God’s government. It gave mankind a chance to earn God’s blessings (2 Corinthians 3:7-8). The Law was very impressive, and it successfully instructed Israel for generations of time. Yet, Jesus eventually came to fulfill the law and to pay the actual penalty of our sin (Matthew 5:17; 1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus brought the glory of His Spirit in Him, which is even more glorious than what Moses experienced. Moses wore a veil so the Israelites could not see that the glory was fading away, just like the ministry of the law (2 Corinthians 3:9-14). However, we have the glorious Spirit of God dwelling within us now and for all eternity.

Nothing can deter us from serving God according to His perfect will for our life (Ephesians 2:10). We are filled with the glory of God each and every day. God removed the veil from our eyes and we can see Him face-to-face. He is our living, intimate God, and He has no desire for us to keep the dead letter of the law (1 Corinthians 3:15-16).

God is personally present in our life and sets us free from the spirit of the Law of Sin and Death by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). We can never earn our own forgiveness or our salvation apart from Christ (Romans 2:8-9). In God’s presence, His glory in us gradually increases with our spiritual walk. It shines out of our countenance, and people know that there is something different about us (1 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Prayer:

Father God, the more we spend time in Your presence, the more we are transformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). You are changing us from glory to glory (1 Corinthians 3:18). Remind us to make you the first priority in our life. Help those who know You superficially to come to a real, saving knowledge of salvation through Your Son (1 Timothy 2:4).

Thought for the Day:

We can love Christian songs, tee-shirts, bumper stickers, church services and fellowship; yet, never know Jesus in a personal way.