Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. (Deuteronomy 33:29)
I think we would all agree that everyone seeks the blessed life. Some seek it in power . . . others in fame . . . still others in the pleasures of this world. But the Scriptures make it clear that the life that is truly blessed is the life that is saved by the Lord and serving the Lord. I pray that this word encourages you mightily today!
There are those who say that Christianity is nothing more than a list of rules and regulations, a veritable ball and chain of “Thou shalts” and “Thous shalt nots” wrapped around the neck. Surely these grumblers are strangers to this great faith. To be sure, God has issued commands — call them rules and regulations if you wish — that shape the way we live the Christian life. But make no mistake, a right relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of Christianity, not rules and regulations. You see, Jesus Christ fulfilled all those rules and regulations on our behalf so that we could be, by grace through faith, adopted into the family of faith, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and given a seat at the great banquet feast. We are blessed by the Best. The Christian can echo the prophet Isaiah’s joyous exultation that “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).
And notice that the primary blessing is not found in material things, but in our Master Himself. To be sure, our God blesses all of us materially. We have all received good gifts from His holy, helping hand; but if we limit our focus to these things, we will miss the deeper message of what it means to be blessed, and when the storm winds blow, we will be left stranded on the sandbar of suffering.
The greatest blessing we can receive is the One doing the blessing. Only when we see our relationship with God as our greatest blessing will we be able to weather the winds of challenge that our Lord has assured us will blow our way (John 16:33). Gifts are indeed the good blessings that God gives us, but the Gift Giver is infinitely better, for He is our shield, our helper, and our glorious sword, and He has promised to bring us safely home.
When Jesus left this earth, He promised to send us His Holy Spirit. Knowing that we have the guarantee of our inheritance in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) is to know a blessing that will last forever, because we have been blessed by the Best. Be encouraged this day, and be empowered to be all God created you to be.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 