Blessings

I remember my dad telling me about his childhood, and one thing that his mom (my grandmother) would tell her children was not to miss the blessing. Our church almost always finished the service with the blessing, a hymn/song, and announcements. If someone had to leave church early (maybe to go help set up Bible study or something like that) it was okay with Grandma if they missed a song and the announcements, but it was important to stay and be blessed by God through the words that the pastor would speak, and these were often the words used to for the blessing.

Numbers 6:24-26New International Version (NIV)

24 “‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’

This is sometimes known as the Aaronic Blessing or the High Priestly Blessing because God told Moses that Aaron, the high priest, should bless the people of Israel using these words found in Numbers chapter 6.

Image of Aaron, Israel's first High Priest

We don't talk about blessings very often in our present-day culture, but it was incredibly important for the Hebrew culture. Jacob stole his brother's blessing, and Isaac knew the importance of the blessing so he couldn't take it back and give it to Esau. Genesis 27 Later Jacob wrestled with God all night and would not let him go until he was blessed. Genesis 32 The foreign prophet Balaam was paid to curse the Israelites but blessed them instead because that's what God wanted to happen. Numbers 22 

As you reflect on these words, I hope you are able to see, hear, and feel God covering you with his blessings. May his peace be with you!

In the Beginning

The beginning of John's Gospel is similar to the very first book of the Bible.

John 1:1-3New International Version (NIV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

This was on purpose. During John's life, people did not question whether Jesus was a real person - he had made headlines across the country and everyone knew at least a little about this guy's life. Not everyone knew, however, that he was God. John wanted his readers to know right from the start that Jesus was really God all the way back to the beginning of time.

Some historians would say that Jesus was an important figure that we should study, but deny that the person could really be God. CS Lewis, a Christian author, said that Jesus was either crazy for claiming to be God, a liar, or else he really was the son of God. There is no reason to follow someone who fits into the first two categories, but if he is really God, we should pay attention!

It might seem like a strange way to describe Jesus - the Word. The term comes from the Greek word 'logos' which sometimes refers to a 'word,' but it would more appropriately be described as the thing that comes before the word. Before there is a word that comes out of your mouth there is a thought that comes into your head. That thought which precedes the word is the logos, and the One who precedes the world is Jesus. Jesus did not come into being 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem - Jesus was around since the beginning, since creation.

God is...

God is:

• powerful
• awesome
• amazing
• creative
• faithful
• righteous
• just
• holy
• wonderful
• almighty
• majestic

This is not a complete list. There are many more ways that we can describe God, but the disciple John defined God in another way - love. We should be full of love because we are full of God, and God is love.

1 John 4:7-8New International Version (NIV)

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

A Defining Moment

If you were to ask most Christians what the key event in history was, they would point to the cross. All of the Old Testament points forward to the sacrificial death and resurrection of Christ, and all of the writings after the Gospels acknowledge this is the main message of the Bible. The act that defines who God is, for Christians, would be the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

What about the people of the Old Testament? What would be the moment that defines who God is for the Jewish people before Jesus was born? The key event was deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

Exodus 6:6-7New International Version (NIV)

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

The Hebrew Scriptures are peppered with phrases that describe the Lord as the God who brought us up out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. There is no image like the cow for Baal or the countless Egyptian or Greek gods; The Lord was known for what he did, not for what he looks like. God delivered a helpless people from slavery.

We can be very thankful that our deliverance was from more than just a group of people; we were slaves to sin, death, and the power of the devil. Jesus' victory is also our victory, and now we are free to worship a God who is known by more than just what he looks like; our God is known for what he did and what he does!

Roadblocks

Sometimes it's really good when things don't work out the way that you want. In the moment it is really frustrating and irritating, and it's not really fun at all, but often this annoyances can help people grow.

When you hit a roadblock, I believe you have three main options, and any of these options could be helpful depending on the situation.

1. You could give up.
2. You could examine what you could do better.
3. You could have a stronger resolve about reaching your goal.

Maybe it doesn't sound like giving up would be a good option and sometimes it is not, but if you are trying to get to Chicago by taking Interstate-44 West from St. Louis, stopping may be the most helpful thing you can do.

Maybe there is something that needs to be adjusted to make you better and accomplish what you are trying to do. Learning from losses in the regular season might be really helpful as you approach playing postseason games.

Maybe you are doing the right thing in the right way and others just aren't able to see it yet and they need more time to see what you see. Many good inventions were not understood the first time they were explained, but after some time and effort others were able to see the benefits of different technological advances.

Proverbs shares some wisdom, and I believe it is really helpful when looking at life's roadblocks.

Proverbs 19:20-21New International Version (NIV)

20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,
    and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

The first verse points out that wisdom from other people can be really beneficial, but ultimately the Lord's purpose prevails in verse twenty-one. The roadblock may be God speaking to you.

Maybe that's not the right way to say it, because I don't think God is the roadblock. Instead, the road block makes you pause for a while which can take the focus off of yourself and put it back on Him, back on God where it belongs. Many times people, even good Christians, will get caught up in doing things for God rather than being with God. Spending time with God is a good thing, and that roadblock might be just what you need before you are able to move forward.

May you spend time listening to the wise, considering the plans of your heart, and centering your life on God's purpose; it will prevail anyway.

Who are you fooling?

How do you handle a failure? How do you react when something you arranged does not work out well? Even worse, what do you do when you make a mistake and the consequences affect other people?

We live in a sinful world, and these things are bound to happen. The hardest one has to be when you do something wrong but you don't want to admit it. Blaming someone or something else was even the reaction to the first sin - Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the snake! Genesis 3 The disciple, John, had something to say about what we should do when we sin.

1 John 1:8-9New International Version (NIV)

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Look at that first line. It's pretty easy to say that if we claim to be sinless/perfect, the truth is not in us. The other part of the sentence is a little surprising, though. It says that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves. The crazy thing is that it doesn't fool anyone else - everyone else knows!

Imagine a little girl being questioned about a missing cookie by her mom, and picture that girl with cookie crumbs still on her face. When she claims she didn't eat the cookie, she's not fooling her mom, she's just fooling herself. She has deceived herself into thinking she can get away with it.

That's a lot like us, thinking that maybe God won't notice our sin, and that the people around us will think we're perfect if we can keep up a good act. It doesn't work. However, when we finally 'fess up, God is faithful and just and forgives our sins for Jesus' sake because he loves us. That cleansing or purifying from sin may not look fun, but it's way better than holding onto the sin!

Best Evangelism

How do you tell other people about Jesus. This is a very verse about spreading the good news, also known as evangelism.

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

The interesting part of that verse is that it looks like the best evangelism, is not knocking on doors. Peter tells us to always be ready to give an answer.  An answer is only possible if someone asks a question.  The key, then, is to to live in such a way that people ask you that question; let your light shine so that they ask who your Heavenly Father is and give glory to Him (Matthew 5:16).

Who are the people that you are around? Do all of them know Jesus? How could you live so that they ask you a question about what you believe about Jesus?

God will give you strength and words to do this - blessings in your work!