personal Strenthg

The Horrific Blessing

Most believers live with the expectation that God will bless our lives because of our relationship with him. However, the status of the delivery date of the blessing can be confused by the events and current status of our human condition. One has to ask his or her self; Is my blessing an end all to my life’s journey? Why aren’t I blessed right now and is grateful good enough. This conflict is often accepted as par for the course of life. God does not want you to guess about your status even when you must trust him with your future. Is it possible that miracles are occurring in your life right now in the mist of opposition, in the pain of what appears as failure? Is it possible that this version of blessing no matter how horrific, is God’s favor in motion on your behalf? God want mankind to desensitize its sensory to have proper perception of life’s experience
Romans 8:35-39 ESV / 59 helpful votes
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Definition: Blessing
1. to consecrate or render holy, beneficial, or prosperous by means of a religious rite
2. to give honour or glory to (a person or thing) as divine or holy
3. to call upon God to protect; give a benediction to
4. to worship or adore (God); call or hold holy
5. ( often passive ) to grant happiness, health, or prosperity to: they were blessed with perfect peace
6. ( usually passive ) to endow with a talent, beauty, etc: she was blessed with an even temper
7. rare to protect against evil or harm
8. ( interjection ) bless! an exclamation of well-wishing
9. ( interjection ) bless you! a. a traditional phrase said to a person who has just sneezed b. an exclamation of well-wishing or surprise
10. ( interjection ) bless me! , bless my soul! , God bless my soul! an exclamation of surprise
11. not have a penny to bless oneself with to be desperately poor
God's intention and desire to bless humanity is a central focus of his covenant relationships. For this reason, the concept of blessing pervades the biblical record. Two distinct ideas are present. First, a blessing was a public declaration of a favored status with God. Second, the blessing endowed power for prosperity and success. In all cases, the blessing served as a guide and motivation to pursue a course of life within the blessing
Note that Blessing includes worship
It is also possible for a person to "bless" God. The terminology arises as a response to the blessings bestowed by God: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" ( Psalm 103:2 ; KJV ). These occurrences of "bless" are usually translated "praise" or "extol" in modern versions.
Consider Grace Greek Charis
It almost always means the power of salvation which finds expression in specific gifts, acts, and spheres and which is even individualized in the charismata.” —Ernst Käsemann,
“In Paul ... χαρις is never merely an attitude or disposition of God (God’s character as gracious); consistently it denotes something much more dynamic—the wholly generous act of God. Like ‘Spirit,’ with which it overlaps in meaning (cf., e.g., [Rom] 6:14 and Gal 5:18), it denotes effective divine power in the experience of men.” —James D.G. Dunn, Romans 1-8 (Dallas: Word Books, 1988), p. 17. the unmerited operation of God in the heart of man, affected through the agency of the Holy Spirit. While we sometimes speak of grace as an inherent quality, it is in reality the active communication of divine blessings by the inworking of the Holy Spirit, out of the fulness of Him who is “full of grace and truth,” Rom. 3:24
I The History of Blessing –Whats in your Wallet/family tree
God's promise to Abraham again serves as a foundation for blessings. The pledge that "all peoples on earth shall be blessed" ( Gen 12:3 ) is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ ( Ga 3:8-14 ). He has borne the consequences of the curse for believers ( Gal 3:13 ) and blessed them with the forgiveness of sins ( Rom 4:6-9 ; see Psalm 32:1-2 ). Believers are "blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ" ( Eph 1:3 ) and now inherit the blessings promised through the patriarchs ( Hebrews 6:12 Hebrews 6:15 ; 12:17 ; 1 Peter 3:9 ). As a result of receiving God's blessings in Christ, believers are called to be a source of blessing to the world, especially in response to those who persecute them ( Luke 6:27-28 ; Rom 12:14 ; 1 Cor 4:12 ; 1 Peter 3:9 ; cf. Isa 19:24 ; Zech 8:13 ).
Old Testament
Three common themes are present in formal Old Testament blessings. First, the greater blesses the lesser, a fact picked up by the writer of Hebrews to demonstrate the superiority of Melchizedek to Abraham ( Heb 7:6-7 ). Second, the blessing is a sign of special favor that is intended to result in prosperity and success ( Deu 28:3-7 ). Third, the blessing is actually an invocation for God's blessing: "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful" ( Gen 28:3 ).
The New Testament The parallels between the Old and New Testament usages of blessing are striking. To be blessed is to be granted special favor by God with resulting joy and prosperity. In the New Testament, however, the emphasis is more on spiritual rather than on material blessings.
In a general sense, the terms for blessing in the New Testament are used to designate that one is favored by God. Included among these are Jesus ( Mark 11:9-10 ); children ( Mark 10:13-16 ); Mary ( Luke 1:42 Luke 1:48 ); the disciples ( Luke 24:50 ); those who "have not seen and yet have believed" ( John 20:29 ); and those who endure trials ( James 1:12 ; 5:11 ). As in the Old Testament, when these words are ascribed to God they are rendered "praise" ( Rom 1:25 ; 9:5 ; 2 Cor 11:31 ).

The most recognizable references to blessing come from the teachings of Jesus. He declares that in spite of difficulties at the present time, the promises of God's salvation and coming kingdom bring a state of happiness and recognized favor with God ( Matt 5:3-10 ; Luke 6:20-22 ). The culmination of the Scriptures proclaims the end of the curse ( Rev 22:3 ) and the eternal blessedness of the people of God ( Rev 20:6 ; 22:7 ).

III Creating a Culture of Blessing

A. Why Abraham; What does God sees in you. Genesis 12:2
Verse 19. - For I know him, that - literally, for I have known (or chosen, יָדַע being - dilexi, as in Amos 3:2) him to the end that (לְמַעַן conveying the idea of purpose; vide Ewald, § 357), the language expressing the idea that Abraham had been the object of Divine foreknowledge and election (Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Delitzsch, Keil, Oehler, Kalisch, Lange),
To Be Blessed Means …

B. One of my favorite Scripture passages is the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12, where Jesus lists what it means to be blessed. It's certainly not what comes to my mind when I think of being blessed or when I pray for others to be blessed. Remember all those childhood prayers, "Bless Mommy, Daddy, and Auntie Sue"? We had no idea what we were saying! We were actually saying, "Let them be poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, pure, peacemakers, and persecuted."

C. So how could such things lead to happiness? It seems like they lead more to the opposite of happiness. But the Beatitudes tell us one thing clearly. We can never be happy when we live self-centered lives. We may be fooled into thinking we're happy for a while, but eventually it will fold in on us because true happiness can be found only in a relationship with our Creator. Only the One who made us knows what will truly make us happy and give us satisfaction in life. We have to get to the end of ourselves and the beginning of God to gain any lasting contentment in life. And that can happen only through divine revelation and transformation through God's Word and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. It's the "pearl of great value" (Matthew 13:46), worth selling everything to gain it. And ultimately, it's the secret to true satisfaction.

Matthew 5:1-12
New International Version (NIV)
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:
3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, (Those who are not strong in God produced character for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5
Blessed are the meek, (Greek word Praeis, gentle humble) Humility takes you out of the fights for they will inherit the earth.

6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
William E. Brown

A Culture of Blessing:
Those of you who have a relationship with Christ must realize that your life has power to influence your daily environment in a positive way and have impact on the outcome of others.
The institutions of society the family, government, and religion were the means by which ceremonial blessings were received. Within the family the father blessed his wife and children ( Gen 27:27-29 ; 49:25-26 ; 1 Sam 2:20 ). In the government context, the ruler blessed his subjects ( 2 Sam 6:18 ; 1 Kings 8:14 1 Kings 8:55 ). Those who possessed a priestly role were bestowed with the privilege of blessing ( Gen 14:19 ; Lev 9:22 ). The tribe of Levi was set apart "to pronounce blessings in his [the Lord's] name" ( Deut 10:8 ; 21:5 ).