Monday, May 27, 2013

Blessed to be a blessing: Genesis 12:1-3


Genesis 12:1-3  (NIV)  "The Lord has said to Abram, Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.   I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.  I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples in earth will be blessed through you.”

                In many ways the Bible is all about blessings.  It's the story of how we are blessed and how God wants so desperately to bless us.    Of course the greatest blessing of all is our relationship with Jesus Christ.   As I begin my blog on my top 100 Scriptures I think it is fitting to start here in Genesis.   I believe God has always been about the task of gathering to himself a holy people.  God has always been about the desire of calling people from one place, one land, from one’s selfishness and one’s sin.   God is calling us.   When you read the Scriptures you will hear that call.    Jesus said it best,  “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:26)   We will get to that Scripture soon enough.   This I believe is God’s formula for love.     God calls us.   We leave behind….  We are blessed.   We offer the blessing to others.    I remember the phrase from the Bethel Bible Series I went through some years back.   It simply said that we are “blessed to be a blessing”.  You can surely see the entire Word of God through that lense can't you?    So today as we walk through the Word I invite you to be on a journey.   I invite you to put your full trust in God.   I invite you to give the Lord your burdens and take up a royal robe that God has prepared for you.   I invite you to be a blessing.

Prayer:  Dear God,   I thank you for your grace and for your love.   I thank you for the new country you have for each of.  Help us to walk toward the new country and lay aside those things that hinder us; our sins, our pride, and our selfishness.   Be our guide and whatever blessings might come our way  help us to share them with others.   May your name be praised and Gloried in our lives.  We pray in Jesus name.    Amen

To ponder today:  In what ways is God calling me today?  Are there things I need to leave behind?  Are there things I need to gather for God’s journey?   Who is God putting in my path to bless today?