A Blessing or Not a Blessing?

While I'm on this theme of our many, MANY blessings. I thought I would share this fun little game to play. I got this idea from Beth Moore, who used to do this with her daughters.

"I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse."

- Genesis 12:3

To add a little biblical humor to your everyday situations and experiences, what you do is put everything under one of two headings...

1) A blessing.
2)Not a blessing.

or abbreviated...

A.B
or
N.A.B.

For example, I would categorize tea as A.B. while I would place waking up early for 8am classes everyday as N.A.B.

I'm pretty sure that you will soon see that all things either are-or are not-a blessing.

In all seriousness, however, I am confident that through God, anything is possible. He can take even the most icky of non-blessings and redeem them. Through the blessing of a holy God all can be recovered. Never forget that.

Have a "blessed" weekend!

Snow! Definately A.B.

Radically Blessed

I am currently knee-deep in another amazing read.

The book is called "Radical" by a guy named David Platt. He is pastor at a mega church out in Birmingham and he is a man passionate about the Lord and His Word.

He begs the question, "Is Jesus worth it all to you?"

In the last couple of weeks I have been faced with thing after thing about how blessed I am and the blessings that God gives. Sometimes I am tempted to feel like I just might deserve a blessing every once and a while, but I don't. I have to fall flat on my face countless times before Him and remind myself that I am so unworthy. Scriptures like this one reminds me what, ultimately, it ALL about...

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude
that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and
language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.
They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches
in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb."

Revelation 7:9-10

In the end, it will be God who will be glorified, not me. Any way he blesses me is so that I can glorify him further on earth. David Platt talks about how "God blesses his people with extravagant grace so that they might extend his extravagant glory to all peoples on the earth." As I see this greater purpose for God's blessings, I want to make the decision not to hoard and hide the blessings I recieve, but to use them to make him famous.

Blessed Through Abram

Before Abraham was Abraham, he was Abram. Before he was called by God, he was just an ordinary guy. He would have faded into the rest of the crowd in the polytheistic society of Ur, until the one true GOD called him by name. "The glory of God appeared" to him (Acts 7:2-3) and from that point on, there was no denying which god Abram would serve.

Abram's calling is clear in Genesis 12:2-3. How does this apply to me and to you? I can't wait to show you! Here's what God said...

"I will make you into 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 the peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Wow. Key words: "and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Put quite simply, who knew that a guy in the Old Testament would directly affect me? I mean, I (as you may have) grew up in church singing,"Father Abraham had many sons; had many sons had father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you. So let's just praise theLord!" But, a blessing from a Holy, Holy, God? Crazy.

So I began a bible study on the patriarchs by Beth Moore this week and I am already blown away by what I can learn from what God did...and is still doing today through men like Abraham in the Old Testament. I could go on and on about what God is showing me (and I probably will)!

Concerning this blessing that we (people of faith) receive from Abram's obedience so long ago, Beth Moore has this to say...

"If God blesses us, we don't have to ponder whether that blessing has further purpose. We're blessed to bless. Blessed with spiritual gifts? Bless with
them! Blessed with intelligence and and skills? Bless with them! Blessed
with finances? Bless with them!

You and I have been blessed. Nothing mystifies me more me more than why God
has chosen a former pit dweller like me. Others tell me they feel the same.
Imagine being Abram, however. One blessed man among all peoples on earth.
Why Abram?...Genesis 12:4 suggests a marvelous initial answer: "So Abram
left." Perhaps one answer is simply, 'Because he'd go.'"

I don't know about you, but this rocks my world. This applies to me in so many ways. When God asks me to do something, will I be obedient? Will I be willing to drop everything to follow God somewhere that I don't even know about? Will I allow God to bless me so that I can be a blessing to others and make His name famous? I hope so.

I want to say yes to Him. I want to be wherever He wants me to be. And the blessing is just a bonus.

Life.

Life is good and I am so blessed.
It has been fun to have some extra time to spruce up the blog a bit.
I hope you are encouraged by my personal testimony under my new tab labeled "Testify" and that my pictures under the tab "Captured" bring a smile to your face.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Blessings!