God's prerequisite to be
blessed |
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
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