Bless: January 17, 2014

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY JANUARY 17, 2014.

BLESS

DEFINITION:

To honor in worship; invoke divine favor for; confer happiness upon.

SCRIPTURE:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits. Psalm 103:2

He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. Proverbs 22:9.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Blessing is an essential element in our relationship with God. Blessing is a two-way action. We bless God when we honor Him and give Him the praise and the glory for His countless blessings He bestows on us. God blesses us when we yield our life to Him in humble obedience and make Him Lord of our life. God’s greatest blessing that He has given to all who receive Him is eternal life. Why did God choose to bless sinful man?

First, God chose to bless us while we were lost in sin because we are His creation. The sole reason that God sent His Son to this earth to die for our sins was because He loved us. Secondly, God’s purpose for us here on this earth is to bring Him glory. God saved us so that we would serve as examples to others of His love and mercy at work in and through our lives. Finally, we are most like Jesus when we serve others. The number one characteristic of Jesus when He was on this earth was His servant attitude. God blesses believers so that we might bless others when God blesses us. His blessings are intended to overflow to others around us.

In Genesis 22:17-18, God was speaking to Abraham through an angel when Abraham, in obedience to God was prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. God said to Abraham, because he was willing and agreed to offer his son to God, that he would indeed bless him and he would multiply his seed as the stars of the heavens and the sand on the seashore and through Abraham’s descendants all nations on earth will be blessed.

God wants to bless us today but there is a condition. We must put our total trust in God and listen to His voice. Abraham could not figure out why God would have him sacrifice his son but he obediently proceeded because he had his total trust in Him and look at how greatly God blessed Him.

In John 13, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. Washing feet was a servant’s job. If Jesus, the Son of God, is willing to serve others, we must follow His example. In verse 17 Jesus said if we do as He did we will be blessed. He told His disciples that if you know these things (why He washed their feet and why they should do the same to others) you will be blessed if you do them.

God has blessed us with so many promises and many have conditions clearly spelled out for us to understand. We are the ones that limit God’s blessings on our lives.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT: It was 56 years ago today that we were in Seoul Korea establishing orphanages for World Vision. We received a call that my (Ken’s) father had died as a result of a heart attack. Even though he was only 46 years of age God had used him to bless so many thousands of people. Today we remember him by thanking God for the blessing we had of having him as a father and a father-in-law.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Isaiah 43: 1b

Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are mine.

PRAYER: 

How grateful we are that You loved us so that we might love others. Make this a special day where we will bless others because You have blessed us. Reveal to us today Your will and plan for us to humbly serve You.