I am a thankful person and feel blessed In many, many ways. Not that I deserve the blessings, but so grateful for them all. Enoch walked with God and God took him Genesis chapter 5. Noah found favor in the eyes of The Lord Genesis chapter 6. God favored those of the species who chose the things of God. Jesus may be saying in the beatitudes that happiness here in this existence should not even be our goal!
You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
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Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? I do think it has been a way to express gratitude for the undeserved grace of God in my life. Thanks for putting this out there! I appreciate your insights as well. You made some good points, however, I would like to add something that I have learned. We are blest that God gave us the earth and everything in it for our purposes, which we should use it wisely.
So everything is a blessing.
It does not mean a car came directly from God. We built it using the resources he gave us. So it is a blessing that he gave us the means and the resources. We look outside and see a beautiful sky, perhaps trees. Those are truly Gods gifts. However, I do not think he has a favourite among his children. He loves us all. I imagine he will not give a person a car, or not give someone a car. I do not think he chooses who will die in a car accident and who will not. It does not mean he loves us less. I think God has an ultimate plan something we may never understand and we also have our free will.
I think we can be completely confident that he will love us no matter what we have or do not have, and he will be with us no matter what we go through whether we sometimes know it or not. And that we can use everything that happens to us whether it is good or bad for the greater Glory of God and as a means for us to love God back. I have come to realize that sometimes when bad things happen or if we are suffering in some way, if we can love God through those times it can be our Gift to God. When we are given consolation it is so easy to love God but when it is hard that is when we can truly love God for himself because we love him and not because we are given consolation.
Yes, it may be hard but God suffered the cross for us and he is always there to help us. Even though many have repudiated what you have said, by telling you what the Bible says instead of agreeing with YOUR thoughts, you still are accepting praise from others who follow you. I love this post. Wish I could have been there for the discussion. It is a blessing because it was given by our sovereign God, a God whom we are not in a performance based relatationship with, but a relationship by His grace and for His glory.
James proclaimed in James 1: We also see that our hopes must not be in the gifts but in the sovereign God who gives them.
Popular ‘it’s a God thing’ phrase reveals troubling theology, pastors say – Baptist News Global
Friends, God does indeed bless, and we must give Him thanks. I think back on my life and it is amazing that even before I knew what I have now learned, part of me believed in the real God — not the one with a rose in one hand and a hammer in the other, not the one who might answer my prayers, or the types of prayers God will or will not answer. I had just left mass, I had a few months Al-Anon under my belt. There was no way out but to go down this hill.
I had a terrific sence of warmth and peace, never once did my little Cabby slip. Believe me, you know when God speaks through people and really does put you in the right place at the right time. Yeah, it really is that simple. I actually feel the opposite. But, as you say, the chosen are allowed to say whatever they want ;-.
Have you checked your scalp for any special markings? Scott, I find this very thought provoking. One of my pet peeves is watching athletes looked upward and thank God for a succesful manuever or winning a game. There were probably more important issues with mankind that God was concerned with.
However, God has offered eternal life beyond our imagination if we follow Him through His Word! On a lighter note, I also agree with Gabby I know how much you loved talking and telling stories. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mrs. Riggins sorry, I still have to call you that. I remember you sharing faith with us growing up.
I also remember spending lots of recesses in your classroom writing sentences due to my excessive talking. And to think, it was just practice for my grown up job of speaking and writing. Those athletes can serve as great role models by showing their faith in God on the field and through a variety of public charitable endeavors. Everyone has a role in the body of Christ. This is great Scott, profoundly great. I love that my little brother still teaches me new things…I like learning from you;.
Scott, you are correct and insightful, offering a great reminder of a great truth. However, you took a left turn at suggesting that where you were born and your opportunities are luck. For His purposes and His glory. Why not the 3rd world Christian? For his salvation to be made complete through sanctfication. It is easier for the camel to go through the eye of a needle. If God is not sovereign and dumb luck reigns, what are discussing or praying to? This is a lot to think about. To me, God is sovereign in that His power exists in all of us to do what is right, but it is up to us to choose to listen.
So… to answer who do I pray to? I may be out of my depth here, and getting into predestination. Wrong-headed as it may be, maybe my prayers are just a reminder to myself to listen to His voice planted inside me and ignore my own? The voice that tells me to do what is right. Life will go on. And good will win in the end. Because there may be no school!! I can appreciate your feelings on the situation and can only imagine the conditions that you witnessed, but if I may speak bluntly, feelings should not drive your theology, the Bible should.
I recommend reading Job. The last part of that verse shows that Job is saying a correct statement in that both good and evil or rather, suffering are from God. Some other verses that support this are Deut. Lastly, to see how God works through suffering to achieve his will, the story of Joseph in Genesis is a great example.
If these things happen by random, it can be implied that God does not control them, or cannot control them. If God does not control them, we can conclude that God is uninterested in our well-being, which is Biblically false Jer. If God cannot control them, we have stripped Him of his omnipotence, which is also Biblically false Gen.
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Saying that things happen by random can have greater theological consequences than it first appears. This is the arrogance that turns people away from not just christianity in general. Do you seriously view reality that way? If prosperity for some on this earth is a product of God, then we have a God of Favoritism.
If the 20, Google the CDC numbers from who will die today in the African plains from either starvation or unclean water are the product of God, then we have a miserable God. Scott Dannemiller is right about randomness. The events that occur on this earth are the products of randomness and from the actions righteous and evil of mankind. None of this implies as Craig mentions that God is either not soverign or that He cannot intervene. This should be apparent to all of us as we see the horrific events that occur that have no connection to sin.
We have tornados, hurricanes, and volcanoes that are not God ordained. Because Job and Joseph are quoted as saying that God is the cause of the good and bad events of this world, does that remotely tell us that this is how God really operates? This argument that the author is making about being blessed can also be the same argument made with all of the bazillions of miracle claims that are made daily by people who think they are special in the eyes of God and receive His favor.
How can we reconcile someone praying and receiving a job or good parking spot at Walmart , then claiming God intervened, while over , people will die this year from a mosquito bite. People want to feel good and special.
In that, they will make claims that cannot, and do not, correspond with reality. One of your best posts Scotty. You have moved on to the second half of your life with clear eyes. His New Way Ministries is all over this. I really appreciate this post. Thank you so much for this post. Thank you for your writing. This is an interesting, yet somewhat shallow, analysis of what it means to be blessed, or receive a blessing.
A blessing is simply something that makes you happy. Blessings are not reserved for certain Christians. God pours out his love and material gifts on the godly and the ungodly. It is the godly that recognize that God is the source of those things, and the source of what makes them blessed happy.
But spiritual things are, well, things that will make you the happiest. Wow…I guess you skipped the bit that says blessed are the persecuted. So being persecuted makes you happy? Whoops, hit reply too soon. But to imply that they are favored by God? It is understandable to think that way, if we humans somehow earn blessings or favor with God. The answer is no, and on the contrary we deserve to be treated the worst for our sin and rebellion towards God.
Therefore any circumstance that is not the worst is favor from God that is completely undeserved. Dawn — I am with you. I join in all you proclaim condemning the prosperity gospel and holding tight to the very clear understanding that when I have more than another, great care must be taken that neither of us understand this as some sort of divine playing favorites. That said, I claim the language of blessing in all things simply recalling the point, as I understand it, of Genesis Also, not only does God bless us, but we bless God and each other and if I remember my OT history correctly and I sure hope so — this is one of my favorite things , the act of blessing is not a birthday-wish kind of thing, but rather is the act of speaking something into reality.
What a powerful act of co-creating giftedness that is! The following article from Awake explains it quite well: Jacob, for instance, left his home with just his staff but returned 20 years later with enough sheep, cattle, and asses to form two camps. On the other hand, the Bible contains numerous accounts of faithful, obedient worshipers of God who were poor.
Surely, God was not punishing some with poverty while blessing others with prosperity. The answer is different in each case. It seems to me, if we find ourselves blessed in a material way, we just need to spend some time in prayer and contemplation in order to use these blessings in a way that would please God since he provided said blessings.
Ask for His direction and guidance and He will provide it. This is how I see His material blessings! And I seek to use our blessings for righteous purposes. I feel He blesses us all in unique ways best suited for our own growth and learning. One is not better than another; just different ways to bless others.
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And then I saw that was the last thing you wrote! And what He chooses not to grant us. Best prayer I know of….. I actually despise the message in this post. God is our provider. When we see ourselves as the ultimate providers we become proud and boastful. Recently I have survived the struggling fight out of poverty into lower middle class. Would I say that was something I deserved?
No, I am marred by sin, have a rotten past and frankly am blessed to be alive. But to think even for one second that God had no role in allowing me to come out of the places I have been would be foolhardy and haughty. That was the first temptation. Should we blindly follow God and accept things that HE gives us, or should we make our own decisions and take what we want. Thus the curse which is most fitting. God provides the rain the soil the sun and all we do is work with Him to make sure there are no weeds creeping in. It is a blessing. Heavenly Father has blessed me with talents, blessed me with the family, friends, people in life to get me where i am.
You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. The rest of this stuff is gravy. By saying that, you are robbing God of credit and glory and attributing it to luck. As one poster pointed out, God is sovereign and He has designed your life from start to finish.
Do you believe your opportunity to go to Guatemala was the will of God, or dumb luck? Do you believe your job opportunities are opportunities to serve God and accomplish His will, or dumb luck? With all due respect, have you ever asked God what His will is, where He wants you to live, and what He wants you to do? If you have, then He has answered you and given you opportunities to accomplish those answers. The opportunities you have, the contacts you have, even your family—none of it is dumb luck, but designed by God.
It is the atheist that believes everything in their life is random chance and dumb luck, including their existence—not the believer! All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. To say that a good financial standing, success, or even wealth are not from God is nonsense. He gave you the skills, the drive, the job, and anything else for those material blessings to happen, and for you to say they are not blessings from God, again, rob Him of glory.
Now, if you only see blessings in terms of material gain, then I agree: Anyway, let me know what you think. I love the points this commenter makes, and I agree completely. I think the author of the post is merely splitting semantical hairs. Thanks for all of the comments, folks. I do the same thing in thankful prayers every day. I think Phoenix comments below captures the essence of it. While we intend to be servants and preachers of the Gospel, we are simply giving them another reason to distrust Christians. I guess what I am saying is that we simply need to be aware that our innocuous statements could be having the opposite effect than what we intended.
God deserves no credit. I think you should give Deuteronomy 8 a good read and then maybe reconsider some of your points. It is impossible for us to understand why different people are blessed in different ways, and why some appear to not be blessed at all. But that is in His hands, and not for us to question. I agree that to pray for material things is not good, and real loving Christians would not do this. And I believe His will is for all people to come to Him in humility and find peace in His love and grace. This is what I pray for you: That you can find a way to trust Him and realize that the good things that happen for you are not related to the bad things that happen to others.
Just be loving and kind to all, and use His gifts to serve others. And recognize that the suffering of others even provides opportunity to bring glory to God. We can only pray God will give her peace and be loving toward her as she grieves. Suffering is in the world because of sin, not because of God.
But God can even work sin to His will. I hope this helps with the obvious struggle you are having over why you have so much to be grateful for while others are suffering. I hope God can use this to bring you closer to Him. Admittedly there are many, many things Christians get publicly quite wrong, but feeling blessed is not generally one of them. My kids are missionaries in places where a blessing is your house not collapsing in heavy rains, not being arrested for your faith, etc. Jesus summed it up in another context when he said not to rejoice because the demons gods of this world submit to us, but rejoice that our names are written in the Book of Life.
All good things are blessings! Why are we so quick to deny God the credit and glory for all the blessings we enjoy just because there are others who do not enjoy those same blessings? All good things come from God. And I will praise him in all things. Just a broader—and I pray deeper—perspective desired. However, when we as Christians use words that have a specific meaning to us, we need to be conscious of those to whom the words have a more mainstream connotation. To people who do not know or understand God as we do, our terminology could be the final nail in the coffin of their unfaith.
Regardless of theology, semantics matter and, left unchecked, could turn people away from the God whose love, grace and mercy are his greatest blessing. I hope we can all just try to live our lives in the short time we have here on earth by the way Jesus did. We need to focus on whats really important,sharing the good news as much as possible,and,helping others as much as we can. Lets just be thankful that God showed mercy on us by sending his only son,that through Jesus Christ we have a chance at redemption and given the opportunity,tell others.
Scott — thank you for putting into words what I have felt for some time. I am disabled and actually I believe God was just telling me to slow down and enjoy what I have, a good family and the gumption to do the best I can with what I have. I have wonderful people in my life — good friends, good neighbors and a wonderful family.
I still have everyday problems just like everyone else and often pray for strength, wisdom or acceptance to overcome these problems. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I agree with everything else in this post but that. Reblogged this on Found Gospel. I have know the reason… using the word suggests that I am better inherently better than others, God loves me more. How wrong this is. The Spirit would lead me back to the Sermon on the Mount……though I eagerly share the view of this author on his point, I do not concede that all financial rewards are a result of dumb luck.
There are those rare stories of those who seem to have the perfect opportunities simply fall into their lap, but more accurate and true story comes from unrelenting hard work, smart decisions, willingness to take a risk, and even smarter advice from others….. It seems that you are confusing two words: God does not bless us because He favors us. The blessings come as part of His plan to show His love. Here are my thoughts. I think those that are in a mud hut are blessed that they have covering over their heads as we are blessed to have a nice home to live in.
We are taken care of by our Lord whether it be simple or elaborate. I think we are discussing the wrong point here in the comments. The biggest question of what we have been given, is YES that we are very very blessed if we have more…but what God wants is to see what we DO with it!!!! It clearly states in the bible that to which more is given more is expected. If we won the lottery would that be a blessing…I think it depends.
What are you going to do with the money? If you give it all away, it would be a blessing to you and to others. If you keep it all for yourself, it might be your destruction. So those without are not blessed by Him? Or to dumb luck? If we are grateful to Him for our circumstances…we assume he bestows these things to give us comfort, while others do without. He is omniscient—our circumstances have a purpose. That is where I agree with you again. What do we do with it? We are here to do His will. Where your treasure is your heart is also. I worship God, my treasure….
It comes from my heart, not my mind. I cannot take the salt out of the water nor can I remove the word and emotion of being blessed from my heart. During death and sickness and struggling, I have said over and over…. I feel it can be a warning to one but not an absolute for all.
I felt like a faker, just making sure to throw blessings into everyday life. To say my new shoes or an internship is a blessing seems to cheapen those other more genuine blessings. You toss that around in your head a bit and you will see trials completely different. Whom the Lord loveth, he blesseth. He is in the work of building strong and amazing men and women of God … not making our lives easier…. Reblogged this on Spotts in the Valley of the Sun.
I am grateful to have found your blog through Glennon at Momastery. Your blog has cleared a cloud that I had in my faith journey. I have a clearer understanding of my responsibility as a believer to non-believers. I strive to look for the good in all and show love in all that I do. It made me feel a little stabby. I agree with others that an overuse of the word has cheapened the meaning and more so the experience. And I believe you bring up a lot of truth here. There must be something in the water. I just wrote about this in regards to pregnancy and parenting.
We need to better understand what blessing is and means and your article is a great glimpse into that dialogue. Thank you for writing! I also understand the idea of this language material blessings being off-putting to nonbelievers.
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I AM blessed…in so many ways. Kind of reminds me of how my mother taught me to pray. My father traveled a lot when I was a kid and she used to worry like crazy that something would happen to him, that the boogeyman would come and break in the house while he was gone, etc. Instead of praying for all of these unknown things to not happen, she should be praying for God to take the worry from her. For God to help her find her strength and her ability to cope. She could finally sleep in peace after that.
That story has always stuck with me and definitely affects how I talk to God. This article is so refreshing! Do we really believe that God only heals people because of their faith? Is that really who we think Jesus is? Must we always judge through the mask of spirituality?
How dare we make these judgements in Jesus name? I was hit by a car while cycling in the fall, yet miraculously sustained no broken bones. While I was left with a multitude of symptoms, it truly could have been much worse, and eventually I will recover. However, I have felt so frustrated with people in general…. I have seen so much brokenness in the North American church. I see your point, but I disagree. All good things come from The Lord. I agree that grateful is also appropriate.
Your blessings are different from mine, but they are still blessings. You lost me at the dumb luck part. Of course you were born when and where God placed you! Blessings come from God because he is filled with grace. He sees the bigger picture and there is a reason for all of it. Our questions will be answered after death. The best we can do is have a relationship with Jesus and seek Him in all that we do. He will lead us and help us to fulfill our purpose. We can change the world in His name!
This is a beautiful post for all religions and for all of us who are lucky and grateful for it. First let me say, you are blessed above most people simply because you are Jewish. G-d will never give up on you. As long as you have breath in your body, you still have the chance and opportunity to be with Him throughout all eternity.
But know that this will not promise you eternity with G-d. Only accepting His Son, Yeshua, will do this. Then you are truly blessed for all eternity. I agree with Lisa that no one who names the name of Christian should dishonor any Jewish person because the person is a Jew. I realize there are fake Jews just like fake Christians and the fakes cause a lot of trouble. I also realize there are ignorant people. I am of the household of faith for without faith it is impossible to please God.
I honor the position God gave the Jewish people but recognize that He selected them from among nations to be His and to extend the hope God gave them to all people. The Jews were to be the evangelists of the day, not to horde God and scorn others but to represent God and to make believers of others. Sure the non-Jewish believer was not part of the culture of lineage of Abraham but God loved them also.
To the Jew first and then to the gentile makes sense. They were to obey God and do right with God and man by following the 10 commandments. God knew they could not do it so He got them to symbolically sacrifice animals for their sins, and often had a barbeque left over for the priests and people. Some Jews feel superior and that they are better than anyone else. It is not tradition that saves it is the Messiah. Be blessed and always honor God with the blessing He bestows on all and especially those who trust Him and seek Him — will find Him. Our adult Sunday School class had a very similar conversation and then proceeded to do a Beatitudes study.
Modern Christians love to glam on to phrases without really thinking about what it really means. We all can be blessed whether we have a new car or not. Yes, we definitely need to separate the tie between being blessed and material wealth. If your blessing really is to know God, then that is true whether you are homeless or in a castle.
I agree totally, Christina. If a Christian is not blessed who is. Not just in the sense of material things but all things. We have a Savior who bled and died for us so we might live! Thanks for your comment! Thank you so much for this. Reblogged this on Closer to Lola and commented: I just love love love this! I am feeling Grateful tonight for each and every one of you.
It is impossible for anyone to define or speak for God, as clearly you are not claiming to. However, I think it is great that you were convicted by the HS to write about such a debatable notion. His ways are completely opposite to this world. I pray for His will to become my will. Regardless of the outcome. Easier said than done! Thank you for sharing this. I AM blessed, not by your terms, not by finances.
I often through trials and uncertainty in my life say it. Regardless if the outcome is as I wanted. This book is about the power of God's grace and the hope that comes from having a relationship with Him. It is a compilation of the miraculous experiences of 46 different people. It shows how God provides for us, protects us, and performs miracles in our lives. It teaches us that anything is possible with God I love this book!!
It's so encouraging and inspiring to read about miracles that are happening today! I wish that these stories could be headlines in the news, people need to know how Our Father loves us and that he sent his son Jesus to be the bridge to Him so that we could have the miracles that are promised in the bible. These stories confirm God's love for each and everyone of us. See all reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway.
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The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying
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If they were, God would pull them out of their nightmare. Just try harder, and God will show favor. Nowhere in scripture are we promised worldly ease in return for our pledge of faith. In fact, the most devout saints from the Bible usually died penniless, receiving a one-way ticket to prison or death by torture. His disciples came to Him,. I have a sneaking suspicion verses 12a 12b and 12c were omitted from the text. That's where the disciples responded by saying:. What about "blessed art thou comfortable," or 12b "blessed art thou which havest good jobs, a modest house in the suburbs, and a yearly vacation to the Florida Gulf Coast?
So there it is. Even still, we ignore it all when we hijack the word "blessed" to make it fit neatly into our modern American ideals, creating a cosmic lottery where every sincere prayer buys us another scratch-off ticket. In the process, we stand the risk of alienating those we are hoping to bring to the faith. But I certainly don't believe God has chosen me above others because of the veracity of my prayers or the depth of my faith.
Still, if I take advantage of the opportunities set before me, a comfortable life may come my way. But if it does happen, I don't believe Jesus will call me blessed. So my prayer today is that I understand my true blessing. It's not my house. Or my standard of living. My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable.