Wednesday, December 19, 2012

3 Steps for a Blessed Life


Wouldn’t it be great if there was a manual on how to live a blessed and prosperous life?  Something that was simple to understand and follow?  Good news!  There is such a manual and it’s in the Bible.  The overlying theme for this manual is OBEDIENCE.  –But don’t let that scare you off, because it’s really so simple that it comes down to only 3 Steps! 

Here’s what the Bible says:

Deuteronomy 30:15,16

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.

For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17,18

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.  You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

19,20

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.  For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

How can we fulfill the requirements to live a life of prosperity full of blessings?


First of all, it’s a choice.  We either choose to walk a path of life or a path of death.  These are the choices Moses was presenting to the people of Israel just before entering into the Promised Land.  “So what does that have to do with us today?” you might ask.  In order for us to enter into the promises God has for us, we need to consider our choices.  If we expect to be walking a life full of blessings, then there are requirements to fulfill and those are the very same requirements Moses gave to the Israelites.  –Still not connecting? Stay with me, because in a little bit, I’ll explain how we are heirs of the same promises that Israel has received.

The requirements are to 1) love the Lord your God 2) to walk in his ways 3) to keep his commands, decrees and laws

The first 2 requirements are fairly simple; love God and obey Him.  The 3rd seems at first to be the hardest, but is really just as simpleLet me explain…

Since this scripture was written before Jesus was sent down to earth to die for all humanity, the people at that time were only able to get close to becoming righteous through animal sacrifice and obeying the Law of Moses.  Now fast forward to the New Testament and in Galatians chapter 3 Paul speaks of how Jesus Christ became the law to fulfill it and that the sole purpose of the law was to ultimately lead us to faith in Jesus.  When we put our faith in Jesus, then we become sons and daughters of Christ and Abraham’s seed; heirs of everything that Abraham was ever promised and blessed with. (3:29)

So what is the 3rd requirement post death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for God’s people today?  It is for us to be in active relationship with Jesus; walking with God.  Within that relationship is GRACE for all of our failures.  (That’s why Jesus had to fulfill the Law, so that He could be perfect for us; knowing that we could never be perfect enough to enter into relationship with a Holy God)

Are you experiencing more “life” or “death” in your life? “Blessings” or “Curses”? What are you going to choose today? 

Please share how you are specifically loving God more, obeying God, and actively walking in relationship with Him. Let’s encourage one another!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Heart Song: Contest Time!


I am currently writing a weekly devotional with the key components of The Compass that I wrote about in my first book, Path of the Blessing.   I am so busy right now that I realize I need help.  So here’s where you come in!

I need a total of 52 weekly devotions to cover a year and so far I have written about 20 ways to worship the Lord based on scripture.  I need 32 more ways so I am having a contest. 

Here are the rules:

Post under the comment section telling me how you worship God AND if you have a scripture verse to back that up, even better!  Just leave your first name and city, state where you are from along with the comment so I can give you credit in my book. 

*If I don’t already have that idea down myself, then I will let you know in the comment section that I will use your idea and give you the credit in my book; The Compass.

*Please prayerfully consider your comments being mindful that the purpose of this blog and my book is to encourage one another towards and in relationship with Jesus.

*If you are not familiar with The Compass that is in my book Path of the Blessing, you can find Path of the Blessing through my website: www.pathoftheblessing.com
and read about how The Compass can help us find the most blessed path to take in life. (Also available on www.Amazon.com

*The Contest runs December 13, 2012 thru February 13, 2012

Website:

www.pathoftheblessing.com