Bless

Scripture

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. Deuteronomy 28:1‭-‬6 (NIV)

The word "bless" can be used in several different ways. It is not a one size fits all kind of word.

To give a blessing - give your time, resources, or show love to someone
To receive a blessing - obtain benefit from someone else’s time, resources, or energy
To describe prosperity - “How are you doing? I’m blessed.”; “The Lord has blessed me.”
To honor, hallow, praise - “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.” Psalm 72:18 (ESV)
To give a kind gesture after someone sneezes - “God bless you” (or “bless you”)

I’m going to focus on the blessings that we receive. The Lord wants to bless us and be good to us. That is in exchange for our obedience to Him. Some people have a skewed view of God because they think He is all about punishment. While he does have the ability to do both, bless and punish, our actions dictate which one we receive. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28 (NIV)

While I am writing this devotional, today happens to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I am thinking about how blessed I am to live in a country that has benefited from the legacy of Dr. King. I am thinking about his ultimate act of love, compassion, and sacrificial obedience to fulfill the dream to unify our nation. Dr. King’s life is one of the best examples of living like Jesus. Just like Jesus he spoke out about his beliefs that all men are created equally. He wanted to acheive unity through love. Dr. King wanted to spread his message in peace without the use of violence. I attribute this to his Christian upbringing and values. Because Dr. King followed his dream, and ultimately died for it, generations have been blessed and continue to be blessed.

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