Blessed to be a Blessing!

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 112 (NRSV)
Happy are those who fear God

Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who fear the Lord,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.
The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.


DEVOTION

Today I am struck by the words, “[The righteous] have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”

Isn’t this a wonderful thought? Scripture makes it clear that God blesses us to be a blessing!

Psalm 112 starts with a thanks-praise! Then it goes on to detail the many blessings afforded to those people who walk with God.

I notice that there are physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual blessings. The greatest blessing of all—in my opinion--is to be “secure in the Lord.”

I don’t know about you, but I am so glad that I am secure in the Lord. I have a blessed assurance that my Redeemer lives! I know that God loves me and gave Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life. I know that Jesus did not stay dead, but was resurrected just as He promised!

This security does, indeed, cause me to desire a happy, gracious, merciful, and righteous life. I have learned that part of embracing this type of Spirit inspired life is sharing my blessings with others!

Whether I give of my time, talent, or treasure, it is my sincere desire to do it joyfully and liberally. I desire to literally give my life away in love and service to God and to other human beings!

I know that the day will come when my mortal body will fail and my loved ones will mourn my passing, but I am reminded of an old song we sang during my childhood which intoned “only what you do for Christ will last!”

As we serve the least of these, we are establishing a legacy of love and service that will last forever!

Are you willing to share your blessings? If so, please pray with me:

Holy God, I am blessed to be a blessing! Please forgive me of my sin of selfishness, greed, or lethargy and fill me up with the Holy Spirit so that I can love and serve your children today and always. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.


THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus."

http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html