Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Strictly speaking, none of us (as universally sinful humans) "deserve" any good thing from a holy God. 

That being said, God does not allow anything to happen to His followers without a purpose. It has been my experience that, often, the perception of events (even those that appear adverse on the surface) as "blessings" is a matter of perspective and response, and also of asking oneself what long-term -- although, in some cases, very long-term (i.e., eternal) -- objective God may be progressively trying to achieve in pursuit of the ultimate goal of molding us into the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:28-30).

Beyond making a conscious effort to conform your attitudes and conduct to the guidance given in Scripture, also consider how you could deal with perceived "un-blessings" in a manner that brings you closer to Him -- even if it requires adjustment of your own perceptions, attitudes, and priorities.

June 11 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Patricio Villanueva Supporter Retired banker in search of the REAL TRUTH.

We know that our Lord is our Celestial Father. And a good father loves his sons/daughters and as such he will reward or punish his kids according to their actions. The word in the Psalms and Proverbs teaches us about the result of our correct and erroneous actions and in some places it compares them side by side. The NT mentions a law of nature: What you sow is what you will reap. If we plant potatos we will not get roses. This law also applies to our spiritual actions. So if we are desobedient to our Celestial Father, then we should know that we will be reprimanded or/and will be punished because of our actions. We are the ones that decide the actions that we will take throughout our lives.

June 22 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

1. You haven’t asked for God’s blessing.

“You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2). All too often I am guilty of this. I just forget to pray or am trying to figure out solutions to problems myself when my first step should be to pray.

2. You haven’t asked in faith for God’s blessing.
For example, you’re praying for wisdom. How do you do it? In faith, OR NOT?

James 1:6 	But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 

3. You’re asking for God's blessing with the wrong motives.
James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” 
CM

And I'm guilty of this one, too, because I often ask with ulterior motives!

June 23 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Danny Hickman Supporter Believer in The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

I don't know if God is "blessing" your life or not. It could be that your life is being blessed, but not to your specifications. For instance, a couple might pray to have a daughter born to them, but have a son instead. The baby is healthy but he's not a girl.The parents might think they weren't blessed by God because they didn't get the baby for which they prayed. 

A man wants a job at Microsoft, so he prays to God about the job. He gets hired at another software company but not at Microsoft. He doesn't see the other job as a blessing from God. 

A dog gets out of the house and doesn't come home one afternoon. The owner looks all over the neighborhood but he doesn't find him, praying the whole time asking God to return his pet to him. He never sees the dog again.

Looking at the scoreboard he thinks he ain't doing too good; it seems that God doesn't answer his prayers, that he isn't being blessed by God. It's my opinion, that this man I'm describing doesn't have much faith in God. He thinks he knows what's best for himself and not God.

Listen to what Isaac says to his oldest son Esau (Genesis 27) when Jacob deceived their father Isaac and, in the words of Isaac, "has taken away your blessing." Esau asks his father, "have you not reserved a blessing for me?" Isaac explained that he'd made Jacob lord over him and, "all his brothers I have given to him as servants..." (vs 37) (I'm still trying to unravel that one; what brothers is Isaac talking about? It's only Jacob and Esau, but I digress).

Esau's response is, "Have you but one blessing? Bless me also." And Isaac did: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck." (Genesis 27:39,40) This was no curse, it was a blessing. It just wasn't to his specifications, it wasn't the grand prize, it was the consolation. 

Did Esau cause this by choosing a bowl of lentil soup over his birthright, when he traded it away to Jacob? Yes, he did. But it didn't have to be that way. If God had chosen Esau instead of Jacob Esau couldn't have traded his birthright, and Jacob couldn't have tricked him to get it.

According to Romans 9 God chooses whom He will bless and how. When Rebekah had conceived children by one man,... though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of Him who calls - she was told, the older will serve the younger... Jacob I have loved, but Esau I hated." Romans 9: 10-13

This isn't talking about how God felt toward the boys, it's talking about what He does for them. He showed His love for Jacob. He loved Esau, but He didn't SHOW His love for Esau by blessing him with the blessing he promised to Abraham. He used Jacob instead. 

Might that be the reason Rebekah helped Jacob trick his father? She knew before they were born that the twin born last would receive the blessing. 

Why were there two boys born to Isaac and Rebekah when only Jacob was needed to produce the 12 sons that made up the house of Israel? Because Israel is only part of the blessing that God promised Abraham. The other sons and daughters didn't produce the Messiah, but they are a blessing just the same. 

Genesis 2:3 says 'God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.' Are the other six days not blessed because they were not declared to be holy? I say they are blessed, just not holy like the seventh day. 

Those who are in Christ have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). There's no such thing as a saint whose life isn't blessed.

August 28 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report