The Blessings in Deuteronomy 28 Tuesday, March 24, 2009

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Ask around….you’ll have no trouble finding people who want to be Blessed.  But, the average person does not understand the Blessing.  I did not for a long time.  Probably most of my life…smile.  I just thought it was a good word. However, there is a lot more to it.  In fact, the bible gives us a blueprint for The Blessing.  There is a specific way for believers to be Blessed and it is all laid out.  Let’s look at Deuteronomy 28  verses 1-14.  (Comments on passages appear in red)

Deuteronomy 28  (Amplified Bible)

¹IF YOU will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

²And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God.

Listening to God and doing what He says can cause you to receive more blessings than you can handle.

³Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field.

Here God tells you that no matter where you are; you’ll be blessed.

⁴Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock.

If you hearken to God’s voice  (read the Word, follow the Word, meditate upon it and listen for God’s instructions in quiet time) …you will prosper and do well…in business, in life…  Your children shall be blessed…(the fruit of your body)

⁵Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading trough.

Blessed finances.

⁶Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Everywhere you go; you’ll be blessed.

⁷The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

You can’t beat that.

⁸The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouse and in all that you undertake. And He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

Finances, the bank, real estate.

⁹The Lord will establish you as a people holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.

God’s promise.

¹⁰And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name [and in the presence of] the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.

Believe it.

¹¹And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

That’s pretty clear.

¹²The Lord shall open to you His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

Don’t borrow.  Do you see that.  Revise your spending patterns.

¹³And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day and are watchful to do them.

If you’re not on top…this may be why.

¹⁴And you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Enough said.

God’s Will by Gene McGuire Saturday, May 18, 2008

“. . .Your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42)

COMMENT: Of course you recognize that our Lead Scripture is from Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where he agonized over the fate that laid before him. We all know that Paul was a obedient follower of Jesus, but recently while reading my devotional, it dawned on me how Paul was put into a similar position as Jesus and made the same correct decision.

In Acts 21:11 a prophet informed Paul that the Holy Spirit told him that if the apostle were to go to Jerusalem, he would be taken by the Jews and handed over to the Romans. Paul, like Jesus, decided to follow the will of God. True enough, in Jerusalem he was mobbed by the Jews and eventually sent to Rome. The will of God for us Christians is the Word of God. For instance, there may be times when it would seem more advantageous to tell a “little white lie” because it might bring a lot of embarrassment if the whole truth were told. Even though we may imagine dire results if we were to tell the truth, we can be assured that the Lord will work all things together for our good when we follow His Word. Romans 8:28 tells us that if we love Him we will have that good outcome and loving the Lord is synonymous to keeping His commandments. (John 14:15) So we could rephrase Romans 8:28 this way: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who keep God’s commandments, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

SCRIPTURE STUDY:Proverbs 3:1-8

WISE SAYING: OBEDIENCE LEADS TO ABUNDANCE (Pastor Amos Dodge)