God's Blessing

 This weeks blog was inspired by a short message given at our annual Ecumenical Baccalaureate service. In our community the churches in our school district honor our graduating class with a service. Music, scripture, a message and prayer are what we share.  Each church has a representative take part. All seniors, their families, school staff and faculty are invited. We never know how many will attend, but we pray that the love of Christ is evident to those who are there. 

This year one of the pastors had the task of Blessing the Seniors using Numbers 6:24-26

I don't have total recall. But what she said inspired what follows. (thank you Belle!)

God's blessing.

📖  “‘“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.”’  Numbers 6:24-26

He blesses us with favor, protection, prosperity, peace.

 God gifts us with His blessings of:

Favor...His love. God offers His love to ALL!

📖 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Protection..in His love . Not freedom from hurts or tragedy but He protects and keeps our soul.

📖  You are my hiding place;

    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 32:7

Like the line from the old hymn "He hideth my soul in the cleft odnthe rock..."

Prosperity...in the form of provision.  

Our daily bread, not necessarily stores for years, or unlimited wealth or even everything we want. He provides for our needs. 

📖 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Peace...His peace ... it doesn't mean ease, it means His perfect inner peace

📖 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

📖 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

God's blessing is there for each of us..

We just have to receive it.

🙏🏼Our gracious Lord, thank You for Your mercy, grace and generosity. May each person accept the blessings You offer them today. May they use them to spread Your love. Amen♥️

Good Good Father

"You're a good good Father it's who You are

I am loved by You it is who I am"

A line from the Chris Tomlin song Good, Good Father.

As I listened to the song on Sunday a nugget of truth caught my attention. 

No matter what our earthly father was or is like... even the greatest of Dad's are still only human. 

Our Heavenly Father is perfect in all of His ways.  He IS goodness.  That is who He is. PERIOD.

📖 As for God, his way is perfect:

    The Lord’s word is flawless;
    he shields all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30

📖 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;  his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5

and also regardless of who we are and what we have done...we are loved by Him.  That is who WE are ..and nothing we can do changes that.

📖  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

You may choose to disregard it, ignore it, or flat out deny it.  BUT it does not change the fact that you are loved by HIM.

He waits.

📖   The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

Do you see?!....God is goodness itself...He invented it. It is who He is. 

And He loves YOU. 

All you have to do is accept His love and love Him in return.

📖   If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:15-16

🙏🏼 Our amazing Father, thank you for loving us so much. Thank you for our fathers here on earth, regardless of their human faults. It is because of all our flaws that YOU gave Your Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Help us to recieve that love and pass it on to others. Thank you for being the good, good Father who loves all unconditionally.  Amen♥️

🎵 Good Good Father. Chris Tomlin

For His Pleasure

 Something I heard while listening to my book..

"We were created for His pleasure "

"We were created for Him"

Caused me to want to find in scripture where it might be.

📖 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11 (KJV)

📖  Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth
7 everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”    Isaiah 43:5-7

📖  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers o authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16

He delights in His creation!

📖 He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

📖 the Lord delights in those who fear him,
    who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11

 

🙏🏼I pray that today you believe He is delighted in you. That you know you were created for Him and His purposes. And you can trust His purpose is good!♥️

📖  for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.  Philippians 2:13

Never Fails

"The prayer that never fails" is a line from a series of books I have read and reread. 

In the Mitford Series  by Jan Karon,

Father Timothy Kavanagh and his wife "pray the prayer that never fails"

“I’m expecting God to send him [Kenny], I believe God will send him, but in the end . . .” [says Father Tim]

 “In th’ end, what?” [asks Sammy, their teenage charge]

 “I continue to pray the prayer that never fails.”

 “Wh-what’s it say, I f’rgit.”

 “Thy will be done. It’s what our Lord prayed when He knew He was going to be crucified, it’s . . .” 

“An’ s-see what happened?” Sammy looked deeply troubled. “It d-didn’ work.”   [pg.365 A Light From Heaven by Jan Karon]

📖 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Matthew 26:42

But don't you see....it did work!

it didn't fail, God's will prevailed!  In the horribleness and the pain and the tragedy God's will overcame it all when Jesus claimed victory over death and sealed our salvation. 

So if we pray "Your will be done" instead of dictating what we believe should be the answer...we can be rest assured that in the end the outcome will be His will. Even if we can't understand the process. We keep the faith, keep serving, worshipping,  communicating, and loving Him. 

He will bring good...His will out of it.

📖 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:28-29

His good....not our version of good.

I just saw a reel by Megan Fate Marshman  today....to paraphrase;

God's version of good is Jesus, and what brings us to that place of conforming to be more like Jesus is that hard place, that horrible stuff we have to go through.   We don't become good by our effort or by what we do but in the very things we are going through. 

🎞 For Our Good. Megan Fate Marshman

🎵 For the Good Riley Clemmons

🙏🏼Lord, we know Your good comes out of our worst ....and brings us closer to the image of Christ. Please help us to remember that YOU are with us through every step of it. Your will be done.

Amen♥️