Who doesn't want to be blessed? No one who really knows what it means to be blessed would reject the blessings of God. But in most cases the blessings of God are not without conditions. That's why we often read "if ... then ...". God is a cheerful giver and He gives abundantly. Check it out!

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

When God gave these promises to Moses, the people were under the Old Testament, the Law. Today we have a much better covenant. When we obey the Gospel and stay filled with the Holy Ghost, we are truly blessed people. God’s blessings are not short-lived, but for all eternity, because Jesus gives us eternal life and a future with Him.

A new year is about to start. Regardless of what we might experience in 2016, we will be blessed and be succesful at the end if we follow Jesus and obey His will because the Source of all blessings is with us - He is called Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. Do not be conformed to this world where the primary goals and interests are materialistic. But rather seek after the spiritual and eternal values first, for the Lord Jesus Christ promised that every other thing will be added unto you if you seek His kingdom first (Matthew 6: 33). May God bless you according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Additional verses to study: Deuteronomy 11:26-28; Psalm 5:12; 24:3-5; 115; Isaiah 19:24-25; Proverbs 10:22; Galatians 3:13-14; Colossians 1:26-28; Hebrew 8:6-10; 1 John 5:11-14