DIVINE BLESSINGS

“The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it!" (Prov. 10:22 NKJV).

What is said here about Divine blessings is not what you will hear from the world. The world seems to think God is a detriment not a blessing. But our verse speaks the truth. It tells of the righteousness of God’s blessing, the richness of God’s blessing and the rejoicing from God’s blessing.

Righteousness of God’s blessing - “The blessing of the Lord.” Very few people are interested in Divine blessing. Most folks are more interested in what they can get from the world. Their chief interest is in the material and physical. Spiritual blessings do not appeal to their carnal appetite. Yet, Divine blessings are good and are not a result of some crooked deal or dishonest transaction.

Richness of God’s blessing - “Makes one rich.” God’s blessings is true riches. It is real in contrast to the false wealth of this world. It is a wealth that is not going to be affected by the times, the stock market, the economy, or the value of the dollar. It is an eternal wealth. The world can give us wealth in terms of dollars and cents and silver and gold. But that is not currency which will last in eternity.

Rejoicing from God’s blessing - “He adds no sorrow with it.” The word translated “sorrow” involves grief, pain, and affliction. How often it is when folks become rich in this world’s goods that they also find much trouble. Lottery winners quickly discover that more problems than pleasure accompanies their winning. The wealthy are often so troubled that sometimes they commit suicide. But God’s blessings do not trouble the heart. They do not bring sorrow. They bring joy; lasting, eternal joy. Therefore, in seeking blessings, we need to put the emphasis on seeking Divine blessings.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Don’t think of the things you didn’t get after praying. Think of the countless blessings God gave you without asking!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Dragged (seized)

In Luke 8:29 we read, “For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness” (NKJV).

Dragged (seized) is the Greek word sunarpazō (συναρπάζω = soon-ar-pad'-zo). It is made up of two words: “sun” which means together, and “harpazō” means to seize. Thus the word means to means to seize together suddenly and violently, to grasp with great violence. It was used of the mob seizing Stephen to drag him away in Acts 6.12, and of the ship carrying Paul to Rome which was seized by a tempestuous wind and carried by the storm (Acts 27:15). Evil spirits are powerful enough to control a person’s mind, emotion, and will. However, they are all subject to the Lord’s power. All power belongs to Him. Indeed “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – A Son given, speaking of Messiah’s Deity (Isa. 9:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Luke 1:32; John 1”14; 1 Tim. 3:16

Did You Know…

In Genesis 3:18 -19, God tells Adam in the garden that the ground shall bring thorns and thistles to him, and that by the sweat of his face he shall eat bread from the ground. At the crucifixion, Jesus the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), and the Bread of Life (John 6:35), wears a crown of thorns after sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane.

Bible Quiz

Who said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me?”

**Answer to last week’s trivia: According to the apostle John in the Book of Revelation, whose name were on the walls of the City of Jerusalem which he saw in his dream? The names of the 12 apostles of Christ (Rev. 21:14).

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Fate worse than death”

“So Jesus said to them, because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20 NKJV).

“Fate worse than death” - The expression “fate worse than death” carries the idea of the damnation of hell. Here the disciples are told whom they should fear; it is not the ones whose powers are merely temporal and physical but the One whose power is eternal. Persecution can only kill the body and not the soul implying that there is an everlasting future for the soul. The only One worthy of our fear is God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. All that men can do is kill the body; and, if they do, the believer’s soul goes home to be with the Lord. But God is able to destroy both body and soul in hell! Thus the person who fears God alone need never fear any man or group of men. The fear of God is the fear that cancels fear.

Did You Know – Christian History

John Ralston Clements was born November 28, 1868 in Newry, Ireland. He was just two years old when his family sailed to America. The immigrants settled in Liberty, New York; and as he grew older, John entered completely into the life of his adopted country.

In 1885 Clements moved to Binghamton, New York. He was converted to Christ in 1886, at the age of eighteen, through a sermon preached by the famous evangelist D L Moody at the First Baptist Church in Binghamton, New York. During the next 60 years, Clements poured out his joy and concern for soul-winning by writing over 5,000 hymns. He was in close contact with nearly everyone involved with presenting the Gospel of Christ in the United States whether through sermon or song. One of them, Daniel B. Towner, the song leader for Moody’s meeting in Binghamton, set the music to John’s first hymn, “Man the Life-Boat,” in 1893.

Since then more than 70 other composers have set music to Clements’ poetry, creating hymns such as “No Night There,” “Lord send us Forth,” “Service Is Our Watchword,” and the popular “Somebody Did a Golden Deed.” Clements also published Songs of Redemption and Praise and was co-editor, with Ira Allen Sankey, the son of Ira D Sankey, of Best Endeavour Hymns, which was published in Chicago in 1907.

When Dr. John A. Davis incorporated the Practical Bible Training School in Lestershire (now Johnson City), New York, on December 6, 1900, John R. Clements was chosen president of the board. He led the school from the time of the its conception, in a simple classroom on 47 Harrison Street, until 1914, when the Bible-training school and evangelistic academy had found permanent residence in Johnson City, NY. Clements also directed Reuben A. Torrey’s Montrose Bible Conference.

When John Clements died in 1946, his faith assured him that he was going to a land where there was no night, as he had written in his hymn “No Night There.” Clements was buried in Floral Park Cemetery.

A Little Humor

Four year old Anne was always fascinated by the gadgets of old age - canes, walkers, wheelchairs, etc. One day she saw a set of false teeth in a jar. Turning to her mom, she exclaimed, “The tooth fairy will never believe this.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Only those who are truly aware of their sin can truly cherish grace!”