"May God's Blessing Surround You Each Day ... "

If we are to know the blessing of God in our lives, there must be a willingness to go the Lord’s way. This is emphasized in the words of the benediction chorus: “May God’s blessing surround you each day, as you trust Him and walk in His way.” We enjoy the blessing of the Lord as we trust Him and walk in His way. “May His presence within, guard and keep you from sin. Go in peace. Go in joy. Go in love.” The way of peace, joy and love is the way of being guarded and kept from sin. Let us never imagine that we will ever discover peace, joy and love whenever we are intent on going our own way, the way of sin, rather than the Lord’s way, the way of discipleship.

"In The Hard Times ... "

In the hard times - keep on believing that the times of blessing will return.

"I Bring You Good News Of A Great Joy ... "

2 Kings 6:24-7:20

We read, in 7:2, of ‘windows in heaven’. Malachi 3:10 also speaks of ‘the windows in heaven’. Calling us to ‘bring the whole tithe (tenth)’to Him, God invites us to look to Him to ‘open the windows of heaven and pour down an overflowing blessing’. In 7:9, we read of ‘a day of good news’. What ‘a day of good news’ it will be when God ‘opens the windows of heaven and pours down an overflowing blessing.’ All of our days of good news come from the day of good news: ‘I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day… a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’(Luke 2:10-11). ‘In Christ’, there is ‘every spiritual blessing’. God has given us so much. Let us give ourselves to Him: ‘Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called’(Ephesians 1:3; 4:1). 

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Blessings in Christ

Christ in all the Scriptures

http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

We Are Blessed Because God Loves Us And Christ Died For Us.

Leviticus 26:1-46
'Every spiritual blessing' is 'in Christ' (Ephesians 1:3). The moment you begin to feel superior - 'I am blessed because I am obedient' (There is too much of 'I' in this!) - , remember: 'in Christ'. We are blessed because God loves us and Christ died for us. It is His grace which changes us. Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Our obedience comes from Him. Our disobedience comes from ourselves. We do not deserve His blessing. We deserve His judgment. There is only one way to blessing: Humbly confess your sin, turning to the Lord in whom alone there is blessing. We must not 'be proud' of our 'obedience'. There is only one thing about which we should 'boast': 'the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Galatians 6:14). Thank God for His 'new covenant' (42,44-45; Hebrews 8:8-13; 1 Corinthians 11:25).

Leviticus 27:1-34
'Every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord' (28). We are loved by the holy God. We are precious in His eyes. In love, He has reached out to us - through the Cross of Christ (Romans 5:8). We are 'greatly beloved' (Daniel 9:23). The Lord takes great joy in every sinner who returns to Him (Luke 15:7,10). 'Most holy to the Lord' - This is how the holy God looks upon those who have 'faith in Jesus' (Romans 3:26). We are to be 'devoted' to the Lord: The Lord must come first - 'All the tithe... is the Lord's' (30). The bringing of the tithe (tenth) to God was an outward sign of an inward commitment. Do you love God? - Let it show in your living and giving. Let it be Thanksgiving (I want to) - not Grudge Giving (I have to) or Duty Giving (I ought to): 'God loves a cheerful giver' (2 Corinthians 9:7).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

Travelling On A Road Full Of Blessing

Acts 18:22-19:22

Apollos ‘taught accurately the things concerning Jesus’. He needed to have ‘the way of God expounded to him more accurately’(24-26). There is always more to learn. We should never adopt a ‘know-it-all’ attitude. In ‘two years’ of ministry, ‘God did’ great things through Paul (10-11). Paul was moving on. His road led to ‘Rome’. It was a road, full of blessing - ‘The Word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily’(20-21). Paul was on the move. God was on the move. Wherever Paul went, there were opportunities to make Christ known. Wherever he went, people were trusting Christ. Paul was moving from place to place, bringing Christ to so many different people. People were moving ‘from death to life’(John 5:24). This is what drove Paul on - Bringing more and more sinners to his Saviour!

Acts 19:23-20:16

verse 28: ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians’. Remember Exodus 20:3 - ‘You shall have no other gods before Me’. Remove all pretenders from God’s throne. Rededicate yourself to the Lord - ‘King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be’(Redemption Hymnal, 165). People could not get enough of God’s Word. Be hungry and thirsty for God, for His righteousness, for His Word, for His blessing (7; Matthew 5:6). Paul wanted to be ‘at Jerusalem... on the day of Pentecost’(16). This had been a place and time of blessing (2:1-4,41). Paul was eager for the blessing of God in his own life. He was eager to bring God’s blessing to others. How much does the blessing of God mean to you? Do you want His blessing? Do you want to be a blessing? ‘Lord bless me and make me a blessing’.

Acts 20:17-21:14

From Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders, there are some lessons for all of us. (a) ‘Repentance to God’ and ‘faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’(21) - This is not only a call for conversion. It is for every believer - all the time. (b) ‘Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock of God... Care for the Church of God’(28). Taking our own spiritual growth seriously will always involve caring for others. (c) ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’(35). Jesus Others Yourself - This is JOY. Let it be Thanksgiving (‘I want to’) rather than Duty Giving (‘I ought to’) or Grudge Giving (‘I have to’). For Jesus and Paul, Jerusalem meant suffering. For both, the important thing was doing ‘the Lord’s will’(10-14; Matthew 16:21-23). ‘Let us go forth to Him... and bear the abuse He endured’(Hebrews 13:13).

In The Hard Times - Keep On Believing That The Times Of Blessing Will Return.

Song of Solomon 4:9-5:16

There are times when the Lord comes very near to us.
We pray, “Let my Beloved come to His garden” (4:16).
He answers, “I come to My garden,…my Bride” (1).
There are times when the Lord seems to be far away from us: “I opened to my Beloved, but my Beloved had turned and gone” (6).
What are we to do when the Lord’s presence does not seem so real to us?
We must remember His promise: “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
Sometimes, we don’t feel so good. We feel like the Lord has gone away and left us. These are the times when we need His Word of encouragement: “I am with you always.” In the difficult times, we must hold on to His promise. We must keep on believing that the times of blessing will return: “His speech is sweet; He is altogether lovely…my Beloved…my Friend” (5:16).

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These words are taken from

where you will find more words of encouragement.

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My notes can also be found at Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

The Blessing Of God

Without the blessing of God, our worship is empty.
We must look for God’s blessing in the place of worship.
What we must pray for is this: ‘the glory of the Lord filled the House of God’ (2 Chronicles 5:14).
* We must look for God’s blessing in the pulpit, praying that the preachers of God’s Word will be ‘clothed with salvation.’
* We must look for God’s blessing in the pews, praying that all of God’s people will ‘rejoice in His goodness’ (2 Chronicles 6:41).
Where does the blessing come from? - It comes from this: God is ‘good’ and ‘His steadfast love endures for ever’ (2 Chronicles5:13).
All of our praying for the Church can be summed up in this prayer: ‘O Lord God... Remember Your steadfast love...’ (2 Chronicles 6:42).
More than anything else, we must pray for this: ‘God’s love... poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit...’ (Romans 5:5).