Don't Covet the Blessings of Others

Today's Reading:

• Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:29
• Proverbs 11:27

Read Bible Passages Online


Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:29
These first three chapters of Deuteronomy are a monologue by Moses that summarizes the forty-year journey of the Israelites.  I found the compact telling of the events to be quite interesting.  Sometimes I think the overall story can be hard to follow when it's dragged out over multiple books.  Not that I think the story "dragged" -- I have learned so much more than I ever thought possible.  I will say that the details of their journey -- where they traveled, how long they were at each place, etc -- were hard for me to follow.  So this concise summary is nice.

I noticed something in Chapter two about the lands the Israelites traveled through.  The Israelites traveled through many lands and conquered much land as they went.  But there were lands they were told specifically not to touch.  The Lord even told them He would not give them any of that land.

Why?  Because the Lord had already given it to someone else.  That land had been promised and provisioned for others, and it would be theirs.  Yet the people of Israel were not without land -- soon enough the Lord gave them their own lands to inhabit.

What I liked about these passages is how the Lord protects His people -- even from His own people.  The Lord had rewarded those people with land and it was solely theirs.  The Israelites were God's chosen people.  He led them out of Egypt and personally stayed within in their camp.  He led them for 40 years.  They committed offense after offense due to their continuous lack of faith, yet the Lord still resided with them. 

One might even be jealous of the blessings bestowed upon the Israelites.  Perhaps one might feel like the blessings would be better spent on them.  But the point of all I've read comes down to this -- The Lord has an infinite amount of blessings to bestow upon His people.  All those who are faithful to Him will receive their share.  And the Lord will honor the blessings He has given to you, as long as you honor the one who gave them to you. 

So next time you feel like God gives more favor to another person, keep this in mind.  The Lord has plenty to give to each of us.  The Lord loves us and he wants to bestow these things upon us.  And if you're looking towards the blessings someone else has, you're missing what is right in front of your face.  Don't be shortsighted. 

Thank you, Lord for the profound blessings you have bestowed upon me and family.  May your strength stay with me and might your Word remind me to always be aware and always to be thankful for the blessings you have given to me.  Amen.

Proverbs 11:27

If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!

That's a strong warning.  What do I want to find me, good or evil?  Of course I want to find favor, so I must remember to set my sights upon the Lord, for He will never lead me down a perpetually dark path.  When I follow Him I will find the light.  It is always there, beaming and beckoning to us from wherever we are.  We have but to seek it.  

Sickness, Sin, and the Healing Power of Jesus Christ

Today's Reading:

• Luke 5:12 - 28
• Psalm 65:1 - 13

Read Bible Passages Online

Luke 5:12 - 28
Jesus continued his ministry and healing practices amongst the people.  In 5:13, Jesus healed a man of leprosy and told him not to tell anyone what had happened.  You would think Jesus would want the man to spread his works, but apparently the crowds that were following Jesus were humongous already.  The man did not obey Jesus and more people sought him out.

Some men sought Jesus to heal a man who was paralyzed.  The crowds were so overwhelming that they could not get near Jesus with the mat the man was lying on.  So they took tiles off of the roof and literally lowered the man down to be healed.  Jesus told the man that his sins had been forgiven 5:20 and he was healed.

The New Testament is full of examples of the healing power of Jesus.  In many cases Jesus heals the person and they go on.  In this case, however, Jesus told this man his sins were forgiven and he was healed.  This says to me that sickness can be a result of sin.  I don't believe it's only the result of sin, for there are verses where Jesus is asked whose sin caused sickness in a person, yet Jesus denied any sin had occurred (John 9:2 is an example).

Whether a person's sickness/disability/etc is a result of their sin, the sin or their ancestors, or is not related to sin at all, the bottom line is that the healing power of the Lord allows us to be healed.  Just because something bad happens to a person does not mean that he or she did anything wrong to cause it befall upon them.  But regardless of how or why a person is sick, the power of Jesus can and does heal people, even to this day.

I have personally been struggling with trying to harness the healing power of Jesus.  Jesus has bestowed upon us the ability to heal and be healed in His name, yet there is so much involved in being able to utilize it.  I have written a few posts about this topic.  One of them was titled "Receiving What You Pray For".

With the power of Jesus, I have been healed from the headaches that plagued me multiple times per week.  Even though I had absolute faith that the Lord's power would and had healed me, it was a struggle.  I felt Satan fighting against me.  The first few weeks were a struggle.  Every time a headache tried to spring up, I had to fight Satan down with the power of Jesus.

I have not had a regular headache in many months now -- probably six months.  I have other health conditions, but as hard as it was for my human body to fight against Satan using the power of Jesus, I have not yet attempted to be healed of any of them.  I also have regular sicknesses -- I have had a fever for 20 days in a row now, but I have not been able to successfully break free of it yet.  I have, however, been able to call out sickness from within my children using the power of Jesus.  Why is it easier for me to do that then to fight the battle with something that is plaguing me?

I think it has to do with self doubt and self worth.  I have to remind myself that the Lord wants us to be healed, He wants us to be whole, He wants us to feel good and to be able to serve Him 100%.  And whether the sickness is a result of an attack from Satan or from my own sin, the result is the same.  With the power of Jesus I am forgiven.  With the power of Jesus I am healed.  With the awesome power of Jesus Christ I am freed.  Thank you, Lord!  Amen.

Update: The day after I wrote this post my fever finally broke!  There was no 21st day.  Praise the Lord!

Psalm 65:1 - 13
This is a Psalm of praise to the Lord.  David sings of how the Lord answers prayers and forgives our overwhelming sins.  We are told that prayers are answered with awesome deeds.  I can think of many times were I have prayed and the Lord answered those prayers more greatly than I could ever have hoped.  The Lord is so awesome and so worthy of our praise.  The Lord blesses us even when we have let a chasm come between us and Him.  The Lord loves us, and the Lord takes care of us every step of the way.  The Lord blesses us with overwhelming abundance.

This Psalm goes on to talk about how the Lord blesses the earth.  With the rains the Lord softens the earth and creates rich pastures.  Even "the hillsides blossom with joy" (65:12).

This Psalm is just a fantastic display of the Lord's blessings, and makes me truly grateful to have the Lord on my side, looking out for me and my family and my friends.  For loving every single person on this Earth and for creating such a gorgeous and wondrous place to live and thrive.  I love the Lord with all my heart, and the fact that He can love me even though I am not worthy is truly overwhelming.

The Biblical Power of Blessing; When we Tithe, We are Blessed

Looks like I published the Genesis 25 reading early (part of my posting mix-ups).  Here is a link to that post in case you missed it.  I think the order of the Genesis readings will be fine from here on out. 

Today’s Reading:
• Genesis 26:17-27:46
  
• Proverbs 3:9-10
  

Read Bible Passages Online

Genesis 26:17-27:46
Chapter 27 details how Rebekah and Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. This is only a single chapter, however there are so many elements to discuss. My first thought is how did this come about? I know that the Lord told Rebekah that Jacob would serve Esau (Gen. 25:23). My question is this: did the Lord tell Rebekah this so that she would set up the deception and it would become true, OR did the Lord tell her this because He knew what Rebekah was going to do with the blessing? It's kind of a pointless question I guess, but it was the first thing to pop into my mind. 

The topic of blessings is something that greatly interests me. Not God’s blessings – not to say they aren’t incredibly important, but I already have faith in His blessings and know they will come true.  My interest is the power of ordinary people to cast blessings upon others. Not only do they cast these blessings, but they come true! These men offered promises only the Lord could fulfill, and the Lord delivered. There was a lot of power in a blessing. I wonder what kind of power there is in blessing today? Is there anyone alive today to whom God has given that gift to? I don’t mean priests and their blessings of this and that; I mean true “this is exactly how your life will be from here on out” type blessings. I’ll just have to keep my eyes and ears open for more on this topic.  

Proverbs 3:9-10
Verse 3:9 states:

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

I used to tithe exactly 0% of my income.  I knew that the Lord would provide back to me, but I guess I was just too afraid to let my hard earned money go.  Then one day I rearranged my budget to allow for a small but regular contribution.  I didn't have a church at that time, so I scoured Christian charities and found a few causes I really liked and started contributing to them.  That year I gave .05% of my income.  Sad, I know! But an improvement over 0.0%.

The next year I increased my contributions.  I began to really enjoy finding Godly causes to give away my money to.  It started to feel really good to know that I could be a blessing to others. Meanwhile, my cup was overflowing plenty.  Of course I'm not rich and I don't have a fancy house or a lot of expensive furnishings, and I hardly buy clothes or go out.  But all my needs are completely met, and some of my wants too, and the money does come back at me.  I don't give to get back monetarily, but it's awesome to see the blessings come back this way.  And with everything that comes back, I get to use a portion of that to give away even more money!  It's truly a wonderful feeling to help others.

This year I increased my contributions further.  No, I am not yet at 10%, and I do feel ashamed for that, but I am giving more and more each year.  I also have a church now (just joined Wednesday night!) so I do actually tithe with some of the money, but for the majority of my givings I still have numerous Christian causes that I love to help out.  It's so wonderful to know that my small contributions have helped out people from all over the world.  The money I give does so much better for others than it could ever do for me right now. 

Of course the Lord Himself doesn't need our money.  But he does need to teach us how to let go of this thing that has a stranglehold on so many of us.  If we were walking down the street, and someone said: "Please help me lift this box!" we would probably stop.  If someone said, "Please spare some change! " the majority of us would walk on by.  I know because I see it every single day in my metropolitan work location. I used to be one of those people who walked on by.  I am proud to say that no longer am I one of those people who keeps on walking, for the Lord is helping me realize that when we honor the Lord with our wealth, we are the ones who truly are blessed.

Making A Conscious Decision to Sin

I realized today that I have published some of my posts out of order.  I read them all in order but obviously mixed something up!  Here's a missed reading from Matthew and Psalms and I will figure out the rest of the missing posts over the course of the next few days.

Today’s Reading:
• Matthew 5:1-26
• Psalm 5:1-12

Read Bible Passages Online 

Matthew 5:1-26

This passage is really powerful. It starts off by naming conditions for all kinds of blessings – blessings for the persecuted, the mocked, the giving, the merciful, the pure, and more. I just can’t help but wonder, do I fall into any of those categories? I don’t think I do, and that’s not something that I’m proud of.

Jesus goes on to say that all of God’s laws and commandments must be followed. The presence of Jesus does not excuse one for breaking God’s laws. This is a point that hits home to me. I can have all the faith in the world, but none of that matters if I keep sinning and don’t actually change my life. Even though I do believe, I don’t show it if I follow the rules and commandments of my Lord. How can I be forgiven, if I make a conscious decision to sin? I have a lot to work left to do on in my life.

This part of the reading finished with notes on anger, in relation to how people handle it. I think what it boils down to is that everyone is a child of God, and everyone is loved by God. I think anger at other humans inhibit us from closeness with God. I try really hard not to hold grudges against others, but I really need to work on my day to day interactions, from the coworker who sits next to me to those driving around me on my daily commute to and from work.

Psalm 5:1-12

This Psalm was a cry for help from David against his enemies. In it he praises the Lord and prays for vengeance against his sinful enemies. He also prays that God bring together those who take refuge in the Lord and rejoice in Him. I don’t really know too much about the story of David, except that he was a great king. But all the Psalms I’ve read this far have been from David requesting aid against his enemies. How great were his battles? How many enemies did he overcome? I look forward to learning his full story as I continue to read.

Conclusion

These passages have been hard to read and get through, mainly because of the cold, hard truths they force me to see. No longer can I hide behind the excuse that I haven’t read it, therefore I am not accountable for it. It’s time to hold myself accountable.