A Blessing and a Treasure

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

Psalm 3:8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. 
Psalm 24:5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. 
Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous will be a blessing but the name of the wicked will rot. 
Luke 24:51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 
John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 
Romans 15:29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ. 
Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

The words “God bless you” should be expressed more often among Christians. However, the body of Christ spends more time correcting itself than blessing itself. Being open to correction from the Holy Spirit is important, but receiving blessing from God and from our brothers and sisters is equally important. We are a people who sadly lack affirmation from God and from each other. God Himself is constantly speaking blessing to us; however, we very rarely speak blessing to each other. 

I would like to take some time to discuss the power of blessing in our lives and how it can be a benefit to us in our walk with Christ. We have many reasons to receive blessings from God and to receive blessings from each other. The first reason is that God did it for us first. The very nature of God is to bless us, for without His blessing we could not survive the wiles of the devil and the temptations of the flesh. 

Let me define blessing as the presence or the influence of God’s favor upon our daily lives. Because God is the author and giver of life, nothing positive can occur in our lives without Him giving it to us. Another reason for us to bless one another is that it makes us more open to the presence of God in our lives. In other words, when we bless in God’s name, it gives His presence to others. 

We need blessing from God and we need others to bless us. This is a source of encouragement and strengthening to us often when we need it the most. This is because the devil is busy condemning us while Jesus is busy blessing us. Unfortunately, the ear that hears condemnation is bigger than the ear that hears blessing. The ability to bless others is a weapon against the evil one. It drives the devil away and keeps Him from finishing His plan of discouragement and destruction in our lives. 

The act of blessing brings us closer to God and to each other. It makes our heart softer toward one another and to God because it reminds us that God loves us. Blessing and being blessed is the same as giving and receiving love. When we bless each other, we say God loves you and so do I.” Blessing one another leads us to deeper relationships. This helps us have a deeper intimacy with God and with each other. 

As we discover God’s desire to bless us, we also discover the joy of being desired and loved. When we bless each other in Jesus’ name, we both give love and receive love. A circle of blessing takes place when we receive blessing and then give it away to others. This drives the devil away from us because blessing is the opposite of condemnation. It kills the devil’s plan to use anger, resentment, fear and jealousy to destroy others and ourselves. Living a lifestyle of blessing each other helps us to participate and release the abundance of God. From the abundance of God flows everything we need for life. Blessing and living flow together in the same river. From blessing comes life, and God wants our lives to be filled with blessings. 

In this flowing of blessing brings the presence of the Holy Spirit who comforts us, leads us and draws us to be like Jesus. The power of blessing allows the Holy Spirit to have full reign to bring the Kingdom of God to us. For it is in blessing that we are also able to receive His loving correction. For the Spirit of God desires first to bless and then to correct us, for His merciful blessing is greater than His judgment. Living a lifestyle of blessing helps us to be a more grateful and appreciative people. 

Jesus lived a lifestyle of blessing and doing likewise make us more like Him. Why do we not bless others? We human beings are often waiting for the other shoe to fall on us. We live in an evil world where evil happens. This evil world needs the blessing of God and the blessing of His people. We are afraid of blessing because we don’t know how to deal with the continuing goodness of God. 

Human nature dictates that for it to be really right, something has to go wrong. We do not bless because we are self-centered. We are afraid that if we bless others, God will forget about us and our problems and our needs. We do not bless because we are afraid that someone will get ahead of us or be more important than us. We do not bless because our world is full of competition and jealousy instead of the love of Jesus. We are afraid that we will be second rate and not important. 

We do not bless because we are indifferent. We are so busy thinking about ourselves, we do not have time to bless others. We do not bless because we are numb. We do not have the hearts of compassion and mercy to bring blessing to others. We do not bless because we are full of the world. The world piles up in our hearts and our spirits filling us with things instead of the Kingdom of God. We do not bless because we are angry with God and others. This anger kills our desire to bless others because we want only vindication and revenge for ourselves, We do not bless because we are empty, for without Christ we have nothing to give except ourselves. 

Living a lifestyle of blessing others leads us to learn how to treasure each other. When we treasure something, we consider it valuable and important to us. Too often, we do not treasure God, each other or ourselves. It is a lifestyle of blessing that leads us to treasure God, ourselves and each other. When we begin to live seeking the Kingdom of God, we build our treasure in heaven and then treasure what God does in us. We discover that because of God, we are the treasure and that others around us are a treasure also. The Kingdom of God is one big treasure. 

When we bless one another, we treasure one another. Blessing produces treasure. We treasure one another because God first treasured us. When we do not treasure and bless one another, we begin to destroy each other. When we bless a person, we help build a treasure in that person. When our treasure chest is empty, we need to receive the blessing of God and the blessing of others. When we honor God and honor people, we also learn to treasure them. When we believe in God and believe that God lives in others, we treasure them. 

Receiving God’s blessing and giving blessing to others gives us a foretaste of heaven; it reminds us what heaven is and where we are created to be. It reminds us that God is good and is continually good to us. The power of blessing strengthens the weak and builds up the body of Christ. The blessing of others brings the spirit of evangelism because it reveals the goodness of God to us and to others. 

Finally, blessing others shows us what love is like. A blessing comes from our loving God who continually watches over us and protects us. When we bless others, we walk in His love and live in His love. The more we bless others in the love of Jesus, the more we become like Jesus. A lifestyle of blessing builds a canopy of love around us and paints a living portrait of Christ for others to see. 

Blessing others helps us to see and remember the generosity of God to us. It helps to put us in a mindset of constantly seeing the blessing and the favor of the Lord. It was the lack of ability to do this that helped caused the Israelites to wander forty years in the desert. When we do not remember God’s desire to bless us, we can forget the covenant that He has made to always remember us and be with us. This is a covenant of love that promises to take us to heaven and to enable us to enjoy heaven forever with Him. When we receive His blessing and bless others, in return we can live in the peace and joy of his everlasting promises. 

Blessings for Obedience Deuteronomy 28:1-14 
If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all His commands, I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.  All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 
– You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 
– The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 
– Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 
– You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 
– The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 
– The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 

The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground, in the land He swore to your forefathers to give you. 

The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. 

Luke 6:28 Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 
Acts 3:26 When God raised up his servant, He sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. 
Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.