THE WAY TO BLESSINGS

“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lam. 3:25 NKJV).

Here we are given instruction on how to obtain the blessings of the Lord. There is a twofold requirement - waiting and seeking.

Waiting – “The LORD is good to those that wait for Him.” Waiting is very hard to do but is very rewarding when it is waiting “for Him.” Waiting includes some important attitudes - submission, trust, and honor. First, submission: when we wait for God, it means we are submitting to God. It is to sit when God says sit. Second, waiting involves trust, and our waiting says we believe God. Unbelief does not obtain Divine blessings but loses them. Believing God is a way to blessing. Third, waiting involves honor. The lesser always waits for the greater. When we wait for God, we are saying that God is more important than we are. If we want blessings from God, we must honor God.

Seeking – “The LORD is good . . . to the soul who seeks Him.” We want to note four things that are involved in seeking God. First, seeking God involves the Scriptures. We must seek His Word if we expect to have Divine blessings. Ignoring the Word of God will rob us of blessings. Second, seeking God involves supplication. We seek Him in prayer. If our prayer life is doing poorly, it will diminish blessing for our life. Praying brings much blessing. Third, seeking God involves the sanctuary. We seek God through worship. Failure to worship will cut off Divine blessings quickly. Those who prefer to seek pleasure rather than to worship at church are hurting themselves by cutting off their blessing. Fourth, seeking God involves the soul - “the soul who seeks Him.” Seeking God with the soul means we are genuine in our seeking of God. This is the way to Divine blessing.

(Adapted from Butler's Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and worn with thanks!”

Thomas Goodwin (1600 – 1680)

English Puritan Preacher and Theologian

Word Study

Dream

In Matt. 2:12 we read, “Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way” (NKJV).

Dream is the Greek word onar (ὄναρ =pros-on'-ar). The word simply means a dream. In classical Greek on'-ar is the word for dream and is often used in nonbiblical references and believed to be revelatory. On'-ar does not appear in the Septuagint. In the New Testament, on'-ar also means a dream. All six occurrences of this word in the New Testament are in the Gospel of Matthew. Through dreams Joseph received divine guidance and warnings to avoid danger to the child Jesus (Matt. 1:20; 2:13, 19, 22), and the Wise Men also gave heed to a warning in a dream to escape Herod’s hand (2:12).

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would be holy (Dan. 9:24)

New Testament Fulfillment – Luke 1:35

Did You Know…

In the Bible it states that the Lord Jesus came to bring division (Luke 12:51).

Bible Quiz

According to the book of Job Chapter 15, what is one way that God gets people to listen?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: The Israelites were permitted to eat meat but which part of the animal were they not permitted to eat? The blood (Deut. 12:16).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“Yahweh Adonai”

"But Abram said, O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus…But he said, O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it!” (Gen. 15:2, 8).

1. Meaning – The Lord God / Yahweh Adonai. The title “Lord” has been used to refer both men and God. Slaves have always referred to their owners as masters or lords. In certain societies wives called their husbands lord or master. When a man is addressed as lord or master, the first letter is never capitalized in the English Bible. However, when God is addressed as Lord or Master, the title is always capitalized.

2. Insights – When Abraham addressed God as “Lord God / Yahweh Elohim, he was declaring that God was his Lord. Abraham was acknowledging: God’s sovereign position as Lord, God’s supreme authority over all his affairs, God’s right to his life, and God’s power to provide for him and meet all his needs.

Did You Know – Christian History

John Owen was born in 1611 at Stadhampton in Oxfordshire, England. He was an English Nonconformist church leader, theologian, and academic administrator at the University of Oxford.

Owen entered Queen’s College, Oxford in 1628 at twelve years of age. There he pored over books so much that he undermined his health by sleeping only four hours a night. In his old age, Owen deeply regretted this misuse of his body, and said he would give up all the additional learning if only he could have his health back. Naturally, he studied the classics of the western world, but also Hebrew, the literature of the Jewish rabbis, mathematics and philosophy. His beliefs at that time were Presbyterian, however, his ambition, although fixed on the church, was worldly.

In 1637 Owen was driven from Oxford by Archbishop Laud. Owen then went into a deep depression. He struggled to resolve religious issues to his satisfaction. While in this state, he heard a sermon on the text “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” This fired him up with new decisiveness.

After that, Owen wrote a rebuke of Arminianism. Ordained shortly before his expulsion from Oxford, he was given work at Fordham in Essex. After that he rose steadily in public affairs. Before it was all over, he would become one of the top administrators of the university which expelled him and he even sat in Parliament.

Owen became a Congregationalist (Puritan) and took Parliament’s side in the English Civil Wars. Oliver Cromwell employed him in positions of influence and trust, but Owen would not go along when Cromwell became ‘Protector.’ In spite of this, many of Parliament’s leaders attended Owen’s church.

Owen’s reputation was so great that he was offered many churches. One was in Boston, Massachusetts. Owen turned that down, but he once scolded the Puritans of New England for persecuting people who disagreed with them. Owen was also engaged in controversy with such contemporaries as Richard Baxter and Jeremy Taylor. Through it all, Owen focused his teaching on the person of Christ.

Owen wrote many books including a masterpiece on the Holy Spirit. His later years were hard. Long hours of study, the many troubles of his life, kidney stones and asthma tormented him in his last years. But he died peacefully on August 24, 1683 at Ealing (a few miles from London), eyes and hands lifted up as if in prayer. His funeral showed how highly he was regarded, for throngs attended, including many notable men.

A Little Humor

“I never go to church,” boasted a wandering member. “Perhaps you have noticed that pastor?” “Yes, I have noticed that,” said the pastor. “Well, the reason I don’t go is because there are too many hypocrites there.” “Oh, don’t let that keep you away,” replied the pastor with a smile. “There’s always room for one more!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“To get nowhere, follow the crowd!”