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and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
Acts 11:26
ONE THING IS NEEDED
but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:42
HOPE, INHERITANCE AND POWER
So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
THE SEAL OF BLESSING
First, the gift of the Holy Spirit is God’s seal of ownership on believers. Here, in Ephesians 1:13, Paul said that Christians have been “sealed with the…Holy Spirit.” Interestingly, this is not the only time Paul used the metaphor of a “seal” in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. Later in this same letter, Paul instructed the Christians in Ephesus to “not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” because He is the agent “by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Then, in 2 Corinthians 1:22 Paul said that God “establishes us…and has anointed us” by “put[ting] his seal on us and giv[ing] us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
THE SETTING OF BLESSING MARCH
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.
Deuteronomy 11:26–28
THE SETTING OF BLESSING PART 2
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance[a] upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”(ESV)
Numbers 6 22-27
THE SETTING OF BLESSING FEB
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance[a] upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”(ESV)
Numbers 6 22-27
THE SOURCE OF BLESSING FEB 8
At times we can become distracted from God’s Word and begin to rely on other things as our source. However, we should understand that God has always been and always will be our one true source. He is the source of the blessing, which prospers every area of our lives. We activate the blessing by obeying Him.
THE SOURCE OF BLESSING FEB 1
The Lord Jesus as our pattern told us to learn from Him, for He is meek and lowly in heart; He took the Father as the source of blessing, and we also realize that without God we cannot do anything, and His blessing is everything to us.
GRACE AND PEACE
The apostle Paul begins each of his letters with some variation of the greeting “grace and peace.” Many of us have read this many times that we haven’t considered why he might be doing this. Even theologians and biblical commentators often brush it off as not too important, saying it is his “greeting” which was similar to a common greeting of the day, then moving on.