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 3^rd seems at first to be the hardest, but is really just as simple.  Let 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 3^rd 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!

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

The "Spiritual" Hunger Games Part 2

This is serious business, so as I dove deeper into this passage, this is what I discovered.  That for each physical representation there is a spiritual representation as well.

(v.35) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat

Each one of us as people are spiritually hungry, we are looking for our souls to be at peace and in Matthew 4:4 Jesus has the answer for that very problem.  “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to feed others by speaking the word of God to those who are spiritually hungry.

We all are looking for something that will fulfill that part of us that seems to never be satisfied; thirst. Once again Jesus has the answer in John 4:14 “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  Then in John 7:37-39 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to supply drink; offer the everlasting water, relationship with Jesus to others.

(v.35) I was a stranger and you invited me in

Beyond physical hospitality is the spiritual meaning; evangelism.  When Jesus, as a representation of others, in this verse says that he was a stranger and we invited him in suggests that he wasn’t apart of the group that we are a part of; that is the body of Christ.  Evangelism is inviting others into the family of Christ.  Matthew 12:50 speaks of family, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 16:15 the will of God is clear, “Go into all the world and preach the good new to all creation.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to invite everyone around us, letting them know that they are welcome to come into the family of Christ.

(v. 36) I needed clothes and you clothed me

Just as equally important to have physical clothing for our bodies is to be spiritually clothed in mercy and to clothe others around us in mercy as well.  In Luke 6: 27-36, generosity is the vehicle to clothe others in mercy. ²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to extend mercy through generosity to others around us.

(v. 36) I was sick and you looked after me

All of our souls are sick and need Jesus as our healer according to Mark 2:17 which states, ‘“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”’

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

Plain and simple, we need to care about the condition of one another’s hearts and our sin-struggles.  Much like a physician we need to lovingly tend to the aid of one another’s struggles offering Jesus as the cure.

 (v. 36) I was in prison and you came to visit me

We are all prisoners to sin until we allow Jesus to start working freedom.  In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus quotes the book of Isaiah, ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We cannot reject others that have not come into relationship and freedom with Christ and live in a Christian bubble.  We need to reach out and love everyone around us.

So in the end, which group will you find yourself in?  Which group are you in now?  It’s not too late to make a change speaking the Word of God, offering relationship with Jesus, inviting everyone, extending mercy, reaching out in love.