Notes of Faith November 2, 2024
The Latitude and Longitude of Gratitude: Beyond Words
A faithful man will abound with blessings.
Proverbs 28:20
Deut 28:1-14
Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:
3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 "Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
5 "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 "The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 "The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 9 "The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 "So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. 11 "The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 "The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 "The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them
When it comes to fundraising, a grant is money that is freely given. When we take something for granted, we accept it freely, without question; we assume it to be true. For example, it is easy to take one’s blessings in life for granted, to assume they are naturally ours.
God warned the nation of Israel about taking blessings for granted: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18, NIV). Following that warning, Moses expanded on the covenant in Deuteronomy 28 and the blessings that would come from walking in it. King David would later put it in other words: “For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You” (1 Chronicles 29:14).
Instead of taking God’s blessings for granted, let us thank God for them—even for the blessings of giving Him praise and thanksgiving. Everything comes from Him.
Faith brings a man empty to God, that he may be filled with the blessings of God.
John Calvin
Every breath we take, every beat of our heart is a blessing from God! Family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, all that God places around us are blessings from God. How do respond to those blessings…indifference, apathy, ignorance, love, joy, peace? We should fervently strive to not take God’s blessings for granted. They will not always be with us…even breath and heartbeat! Obedience brings blessing…let’s start with loving God and loving everyone else!
Pastor Dale