Bless You O’ Blessed of the Lord,                             April 29, 2012

Did you know that blessing someone brings them God’s favor. Yes it does! The very first mention of the word “bless” is found in the first chapter of Genesis where He blessed the Creation He had made. In Genesis Chapter Twelve, verses one through three, God blesses Abraham (previously named Abram): “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. God told Abraham that if Abraham would obey Him and do what God told him to do that, not only would He bless Abraham, but that He would make Abraham to be a blessing to all nations on Earth. Wow! What a statement. A definition of blessing means to bestow or impart God’s favor upon, whether an individual, a family, land, or other possessions. To curse is to declare just the opposite of blessing: such as pronouncing bad or evil things to be imparted to those being cursed. Today we enjoy the “blessing of the Lord” because of that promise God made to Abraham way back four thousand years ago. God told Abraham in Genesis 22:15-18 the following: “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” God had previously said that He would bless all nations of the Earth through Abraham, now in the above verses He tells Abraham specifically how He will accomplish this blessing to be extended to the rest of the nations of Earth…it would be through the “seed” of Abraham, i.e. the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ. Thus, God gave blessing to each and every person who comes into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:8-9 says: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Ephesians 1:3 goes on telling about the blessings we have received through the “seed” of Abraham: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” We know for a fact that God intends for us to bless others because in Matthew 5:44 Jesus says something so very powerful to us concerning those who are against us or curse us: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” Why your enemies? Because God wants to see them become a Christian just like you did. Remember, it was the “blessing” of God that gave you the understanding to be able to accept Jesus as your personal Savior. Today I bless you by Numbers 6:24-26:

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

God bless you. We love you. I love you.

Pastor Lyle, Sister Jean, and your BJWC Church Leadership