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Showing posts from March, 2018

Plenty

"When you have eaten your fill, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws."  Deuteronomy 8:10-11 My family asks me every Christmas and every birthday what I would like for a gift. I typically meet this question with a perplexed look on my face followed up with an awkward, "Um ... I don't know." I'm kind of a simple guy with no real desire for a lot of stuff. Being healthy, well-fed, and sheltered, I don't really think about wanting anything. Unfortunately, I too often forget to be thankful for what I've been given. Moses was fully aware of the human propensity to lose sight of the giver of the blessings in the midst of the blessings. It's easy to start assuming that this is the way it will always be or worse that somehow God owes us a happy, healthy, full life. Moses warn

Blessing

"Then the Lord said to Moses,'Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27 On the eve of my wedding day, my father gave me the greatest gift a son can receive. The rehearsal dinner was coming to an end and my dad stood up to speak. In just a few short minutes, he gave me what every son longs for from his father - his blessing. Publicly, he claimed me as his own. He honored my choices with his approval and spoke confidently of my ability to see them through. He gave me wings. God knew how important blessing was and is. Out of love, he wanted to give his blessing to his people. He chose to use the visible and audible blessing of the priests to be the transport for his blessing