Look for Ways to Bless Others

Philippians 2:3-5a (NET) - Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.  Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.  You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had..."

There are many examples in the Bible where people were blessed as a direct result of another person.  Here are a few examples found in the book of Genesis:

• Isaac was blessed because of his father, Abraham - Genesis 26:24 states that the Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham.  Do not be afraid, for I am with you.  I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."
• Laban was blessed because of his son-in-law, Jacob - Genesis 30:27 recounts Laban saying the following to Jacob, "If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, for I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me on account of you."
• Potiphar was blessed because of his employee, Joseph - Genesis 39:3-5 states, "His master observed that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made everything he was doing successful.  So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant.  Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned.  From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's household for Joseph's sake."

We need to seek out opportunities where others can be blessed as a result of our impact in their lives.  Our prayer should be that the Lord make us a blessing.  In the 1920s, Ira B Wilson penned these words to the hymn "Make Me a Blessing":

Out in the highways and byways of life, Many are weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife, Making the sorrowing glad.

Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love, Tell of His power to forgive;
Others will trust Him if only you prove True, every moment you live.

Give as 'twas given to you in your need, Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed, Unto your mission be true.

Make me a blessing, Make me a blessing, Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior I pray, Make me a blessing to someone today.

Bible Verses to Begin the Year - January

As mentioned in a previous post, we continue the practice of texting verses to each other in the family in order to build the habit of daily Bible reading.  Here are some of my January entries:

In Numbers 13+14, we see that Caleb and Joshua "wholly followed the Lord" while the other ten spies doubted the promises of God. As a result of their poor decisions making - they lost their lives and their children had to wander for 40 years. Let's make good decisions in 2012!  Happy New Year!


Although the book of Numbers is not the easiest to read, the story of the 12 spies being sent into the land of Canaan is filled with many great lessons. In addition, 32:23 is a great verse for us to always remember - "be sure your sin will find you out". We will never get away with committing sin - it will always come back to bite us!


Psalm 86:11 (NET) - O LORD, teach me how you want me to live!  Then I will obey your commands. Make me wholeheartedly committed to you!


Psalm 4:3 (NET) "Realize that the LORD shows the godly special favor".  There are blessings to living a God-honoring life!


Psalm 16:5 (NET) "LORD, you give me stability and prosperity; you make my future secure." and verse 11 "You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight." Why would we ever not want to live for the Lord!


Psalm 20:4 (NET) "May he (the Lord) grant your heart's desire; may he bring all your plans to pass!"


Psalm 37:3 (NET) "Trust in the LORD and do what is right!" and verse 5 "Commit your future to the LORD!  Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf."


Psalm 40:5 (NET) "O LORD, my God, you have done amazing things!  I want to declare them and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount!"  Even though the news was sad today, God is so good to us!


Psalm 46:1-2a (NET) "God is our strong refuge; he is truly our helper in times of trouble.  For this reason we do not fear".


Psalm 74:4-6 (NET) "We will tell the next generation about the LORD's praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done.  He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants, so
that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them.  They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. "


Psalm 84:11 (NET) "The LORD bestows favor and honor, he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity." Psalm 97:10 (NET) "He protects the lives of his faithful followers."


Psalm 101:2-3 (NET) "I will walk in the way of integrity ... I will conduct my business with integrity ... I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. I hate doing evil; I will have no part of it.". These verses remind us - we always do what is right!!!


Psalm 106:3 (NET) "How blessed are those who ... do what is right all the time!" Psalm 111:11 (NET) "To obey the LORD is the fundamental principle for wise living".


Psalm 119:10 (NET) "Do not allow me to stray from your commands!" verse 80 states "May I be fully committed to your statutes, so that I might not be ashamed."


Our HOPE is found in God's Word (Psalm 119:114) and our HELP comes from the LORD (Psalm 121:2)


Psalm 141:3-4 (NET) O LORD, place a guard on my mouth!  Do not let me have evil desires, or participate in sinful activities.


Proverbs 6:6-8 provides us with the example of the ant. It tells us how it is ambitious (not lazy), it does what it is supposed to without someone telling it what to do, and it prepares for the future.


How about a few verses from Proverbs on being ambitious? 10:4 (NET) "The one who is lazy becomes poor; but the one who works diligently becomes wealthy." 12:11 "The one who works his field will have plenty of food".  12:24 "The diligent person will rule". 14:23 "In all hard work there is profit".


Proverbs 16:3+6 (NET) "commit your works to the LORD, and your plans will be established...through fearing the LORD one avoids evil."