BLESSED
BREAD
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of
the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight
is in the law of the Lord, and on
his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a
tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose
leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the
wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the
wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the
righteous. 6 For the Lord
watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalms 1:1-6 (NIV)
11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. Psalms 29:11 (NIV)
1 Praise
the Lord. Blessed is the man who
fears the Lord, who finds great delight
in his commands. 2 His
children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be
blessed. Psalms 112:1-2 (NIV)
26 I will
bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in
season; there will be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26 (NIV)
13 Blessed
is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14 for she is more profitable
than silver and yields better returns than gold. 15 She is more precious than
rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs
3:13-15 (NIV)
18 Yet
the Lord longs to be gracious to
you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord
is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah
30:18 (NIV)
10 For it
is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will
never be put to shame.” 12 For
there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all
and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved.” Romans 10:10-13 (NIV)
7 “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words
of the prophecy in this book.” Revelation
22:7 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Though
salvation is not by the works of the law, yet the blessings which are promised
to obedience are not denied to the faithful servants of God. The curses our Lord took away when He was
made a curse for us, but no clause of blessing has been abrogated. We are to note and listen to the revealed
will of the Lord, giving our attention not to portions of it but to ‘all these
words.’ There must be no picking and
choosing but an impartial respect to all that God has commanded. This is the road of blessedness for the
Father and for His children. The Lord’s
blessing is upon His chosen to the third and fourth generation. If they walk uprightly before Him, He will
make all men know that they are a seed which the Lord has blessed.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“We must remember that God will never drag
us along the path of true-hearted discipleship. This would greatly lack the
moral excellency which characterizes all the ways of God. He does not drag, but
draws us along the path which leads to ineffable blessedness in Himself; and if
we do see that it is for our real advantage to break through all the barriers
of nature, in order to respond to Gods’ call, we forsake our own mercies. But
alas! Our hearts little enter into this. We begin to calculate about the sacrifices,
the hindrances, and the difficulties, instead of bounding along the path, in
eagerness of soul, as knowing and loving the One whose call has sounded in our
ears”. C H Macintosh
“We came into this
world wretched, miserable, and undone creatures, in cruel bondage to sin and
Satan, under guilt and under wrath, hostile toward God—the fountain of
blessedness—and in a state of condemnation leading to everlasting destruction.
But when a man is converted, he is brought out of that state of woe and misery
into a sure title to glory, honor, and peace forever. When once a man is
converted, all this blessedness that we have heard of is his; he has an
absolute right to it. God’s work is accomplished for it; His faithful promise
is given.” Jonathan
Edwards
“The Beatitudes are conditional promises of blessing.
Letting Jesus work His character in us is the condition; blessedness is the
promise. Pray for yourself, that you will enjoy the blessing of being the
person God wants you to be, as God molds you in the character of His beloved
and well-pleasing Son.” Sylvia
Gunter
“Blessed are the single-hearted; for they shall enjoy much
peace.”
Thomas a Kempis
“We
should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He
leads us all end in glory and immortality.
It is true they may not be smooth paths – they may be covered with sharp
flinty trials, but they lead to the ‘city with foundations, whose architect and
builder is God.’ ‘All the ways of the
Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His
covenant.’ Let’s put full trust in our
Leader, since we know that, come prosperity or adversity, sickness or health,
popularity or contempt, His purpose shall be worked out, and that purpose shall
be pure, unmingled good to every heir of mercy…..His dear love will make us far
more blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s
fire.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“No matter how athletic, slim, handsome or pretty, intelligent, well-read, respected, connected, funny, wealthy, or religious we are, if we anchor our worth in these things instead of in the smile of God over us, these things will eventually wreck us. The only esteem that won’t abandon us is the esteem given to us by Jesus. Because only in Jesus are we fully known and always loved, thoroughly exposed yet never rejected. Only Jesus will repeatedly forgive us when we fail Him. Only Jesus will declare His affection for us when we are at our very worst as well as at our very best. Only in Jesus can we return to that blessed Edenic state of being naked and without shame. The quest for self-esteem is, deep down, an attempt to silence negative verdicts that assault us from the outside and from within. In Jesus, the Second Adam, the negative verdicts from the outside and from within are made powerless. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Him. In Jesus, we no longer have anything to fear, prove, or hide. There’s no need to self-medicate. There’s no need to self-promote or to drop names at parties. There’s no need to compare or compete. There’s no need to wear ourselves down by chasing career or applause or respect or being able to fit into a size four. We are not called to be perfectly awesome. We are called to be imperfectly faithful, because we have been perfectly loved, liberated, and highly esteemed by the Most High. It is said that Buddha’s dying words were, ‘Strive without ceasing.’ Jesus’ dying words were, ‘It is finished.’ Give me Jesus. Our souls are glory-vacuums, fearfully and wonderfully made for an Esteem greater than self. And He esteems us much. The One who made the galaxies with His breath has said so.” Scott Sauls
HEART SAVOR
·
God is
the fountain of blessedness.
·
There are
blessings in obedience.
·
“Biblically,
one is pronounces blessed when God is present and involved in his life. The hand of God is at work directing all his
affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lives coram
Deo, before the face of God. Blessedness
is sharing in the life of God, being favorably affected and influenced by God.” New Testament Lexical Aids – Hebrew Greek
Key Word Study Bible
