Good news all the time and especially good news this month--as we've just finished Ramadan! Thanks for your prayers! And over 5,000 benefited from food boxes, financial aid, clothes, toys, dinners, bread and more.--A lot to celebrate. As well, below is something I hope will bless your life--how to bless others intentionally through your words. And...you can be blessed by blessing others. Praying you all have a blessed May, with safety, happiness, health and provision. Love in Jesus, Jacki
If you feel led to help our field in the Mideast you can send to Paypal, the ID address is: Jkiscott@gmail.com
THE POWER OF BLESSING OTHERS.
There is power in “blessing” someone, even a simple “God bless you.” And anybody can do it. Recently when reading through the Old Testament & seeing how people would bless others it was apparent we have lost an ancient privilege & secret to bettering & adding to others’ lives in a powerful way. A blessing was sacred & people knew when they blessed someone, that the God would follow up on it. When you bless someone, the Lord does it. The Lord takes you at your word, & every word counts.
You can see this when Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. Jacob disguised himself as Esau to get his blessing, so when Isaac pronounced the blessing over him, Jacob received the full blessing, anointing, prosperity & favor of the Lord—even though Esau was supposed to get it. It proves there is power in the words of a blessing. Esau then asked Isaac for a blessing too, but it wasn’t like Jacob’s. There is power in blessing others, & God is behind it. Blessings & cursings were really serious things back in Bible times, it wasn’t just empty words. And the blessings were there not just for the one person who was blessed, but their children too, for generations!—The blessing usually covered & included their houses, possessions & well-being.
Now we say, “God bless you” so repeatedly & redundantly that we have become so accustomed to it that it’s lost much of its meaning, we’ve become numb to it. But if you want to bless someone, & you say it with intention & as a prayer, that person is blessed, because the Lord will honour His Word. It’s a vow He will keep. We can bring back this powerful gift into our lives by sincerely saying to people, “God bless you” not just as a by-word or non-thinking habit, but as an intentional prayer, & the Lord will add blessing to their life. You can also add what kind of blessing you want to give. You can say, “God bless you with a safe trip”, or “God bless your work today to be fruitful”, or “God bless your pregnancy & keep you safe & healthy”, or “God bless your children to grow up knowing the Lord.” You can bless strangers or those you meet, such as to the taxi driver, “God bless you with a safe day”, or to a teacher, “God bless you with joy in your work & teaching the next generation.” But as the household of God we are especially privileged to bless each other. What do you want the Lord to do for those in our Christian Family? Give them a good financial state? Joy & happiness? Health & a safe life from Covid? Protection from accidents? A blessed home life full of love?
In ancient times blessings were so powerful a prophecy would sometimes accompany it. These blessings were coveted, respected & sought after. The Patriarchs many times just before they passed on to their heavenly reward, would gather their sons & grandsons around them & bless each one. For example, Jacob, before dying called his 12 sons that became the 12 tribes & blessed each one & a prophecy followed telling how the blessing would be fulfilled in their future. Quite amazing! (Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.)
To give an idea of how a blessing was used, which was even a sacred rite, here are a few examples:
Gen_12:3 If you want to be blessed, you get a blessing for yourself when you bless others. It comes back to you. “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.”
Gen_27:36 Blessings were like money, they were valuable & came to pass. “And Esau said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Esau said unto his father (Isaac), Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept…” The blessing for Jacob included prosperity & inheritance for generations, “And God Almighty bless thee (Jacob), and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people.”
Gen 32:26 Jacob wrestling with the Lord demanded a blessing. You can request a blessing from the Lord—if you’re doing your part. “And Jacob said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
Gen_39:5 Because we are blessed, others that we work & live with can be also blessed because of it. Our blessing rubs off on even the unsaved. “And it came to pass from the time that Potiphar had made Joseph overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.”
Exo_23:25 Blessing over food & water & against sickness. Pray that your food will be blessed—good one during Covid. “And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”
Lev_25:21 You can command a blessing for people to be prosperous. “Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.”
Aaron's Blessing. The priests were commanded to bless the people, so the Lord could follow-up on blessing them. Here is a prayer you can use to bless others. Blessing the people was an assignment & part of the priests’ job & ministry so that they could be blessed, even up until Jesus’ time. Num 6:23 “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them: The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” This blessing is still good today!
Num 23:19 The power of a blessing, to be taken seriously: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.”
Deu_23:5 If someone does curse you, the Lord can turn it into a blessing!—That’s powerful! “Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.”
2Sa_6:20 You can ask the Lord to bless people & their homes. “Then David returned to bless his household.”
2Sa_7:29 You can ask that your family be blessed for generations. “Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.”
1Ch_4:10 You can ask the Lord to bless you in keeping you from evil. Blessings are for the asking. “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast (territories & lands), and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”
Mat_5:44 Jesus asks us to even bless our enemies, & He will do it. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Rom_12:14 “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”
1Pe_3:9 If we bless others who are mean to us, we will inherit a blessing! “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
And God bless all of you as you read His Word, work for Him in the harvest, pray for others, & be His light in today’s world. God bless you with strength, wisdom, love, patience & endurance to run the race & finish well. God bless you with passion for the mission He’s called you to, & blessed with all the support & tools to do the job! And God bless you as you bless others with His love. In Jesus’ name!
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