Thoughts on Blessings

I have been hearing a great deal from folks who are worried about the economy, their jobs, money they have in retirement funds, etc. I have seasons of some anxiety myself. The Methodist Pension fund is in a great deal of trouble as are many others, I have lost a lot. Our Church is beginning to be impacted as well. Even though attendance is up, our giving is less than it needs to be. I wonder what God thinks about all of this. This weekend I had the opportunity to share a message on the Beattitudes. ( you know, the words where Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart, the poor in spirit, the gentle, peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, those who mourn, those who are merciful, and those that are persecuted for righteousness sake). It was a special message because we showed a video of this reading from the Mount of Beattitudes in Israel where I was last week. But as I was preparing the message I saw something new in the Word. God is always willing to forgive, save, and reveal His love for us. But if we want the blessed life the Beattiudes speak of, (seeing God’s kingdom, belonging to God’s kingdom, experiencing satisfaction of soul and life) then we must live a life that God can bless. The best part of this choice of faithfulness is that God gives us the power of His Spirit that enables us to live this “blessed life”. We know when the blessings are moving within us when we experience a change in motives; when faithfulness and righteousness becomes its own reward, when simply walking with Christ becomes our ambition. Maybe God is trying to speak to us, to remind us of what is important, what really matters, and what He really wants for our lives. And yes, God provides, answers prayer, works miracles, just as He fed the 5,000 and in compassion healed the sick and brokenhearted by the Sea of Galilee just before He gave us the Beattitudes. God does care about the our money, jobs, and future. We spend an enourmous amount of energy worrying about the uncertainity of the future, the economy, our health, terrorism and war, what others around us are doing, what we think they should be doing, and so on; I wonder what our lives would be like day by day if we put that same energy into walking with Jesus. He promises a deep peace, but that peace, as Phillippians tells us, is for those that give all their prayers, requests, and supplications to God, with thanksgiving; a peace we are told that “guards” our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Is there a greater BLESSING than this; God save when asked; God blesses the Christian life when it is lived; and God provides because God is God and God is always faithful. There is nothing to fear only the Christ Centered life to live.
Mike