Blessed {A 7 Day Reading Plan}

 

The end of October has arrived. Tricker-treaters will be at my door soon.

 

(I once made pitiful costumes like these for Mike and me. It was the one costume party we attended and the last. Now that Pinterest lives, I would do a much better job. The dogs look a lot cuter than we did.)

Despite the fact that we haven’t had Halloween yet, I’m noticing Christmas decorations in stores. This used to offend me. But not anymore.

I get it. (The whole rush for Christmas thing.)

Actually, I need it.

I need someone to remind me how quickly Christmas will be here. I could use the extra nudge to start preparing.

But

Before I do that, I could not think of a better time to read scriptures about being blessed to start preparing my heart for the holiday season.

There’s all kinds of “blessed’ in the Bible. It’s not always what we think of like the beautiful home, perfect family, and job. No, “blessed” is so much more. James writes about a blessed that doesn’t sound so easy and fun.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him (James 1:12). 

 

The word “blessed” was translated from the Greek word Makarios. The definition of this word blew me away. It means blessed, blissful, happy, and satisfied. But there’s more.

Biblically, one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his (her) life. The hand of God is at work directing all his (her) 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 favorable affected and influenced by God, which invovles, among other things, participating in the Kingdom . . . .

(Key Word Study Bible, addition mine). 

Coram Deo

Yes please! I want to live coram Deo, before the face of God. And we can. We simply have to place ourselves there everyday.

The paragraph above makes “blessed” or makarios sound lovely but let’s connect it back to James.

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because . . . ”

What’s the secret to the “blessed” here?

Persevering!

But I want to encourage you that persevering doesn’t have to include blood, sweat, and tears with our teeth clenched and muscle fatigue. We can persevere with joy, peace, patience, and the grace (chesed) of God because of the power of the Word and the work of Holy Spirit in us.

We also persevere by encouraging one another by our testimonies and sharing what we’ve learned. We’re encouraged when we know someone has walked down the same rocky path we face and made it to the other side.

If you need encouragement to pray for your children, maybe they’re your trial :) you’ll be encouraged by Lori Hatcher in her post, Praying Eternity into our Children.  If you feel you’re bombarded by problem after problem after struggle, Karen Friday gives great tips in her post, 3 Things to Remember when Life’s Not Good. 

Sometimes when we hear other people’s “blessed” which usually involves the testimony of getting to the other side of the struggle or the good things in the midst of the hard, we tend to compare and think, “God’s not doing that for me,” or “When will I get my blessing?” But I love what Holley Gerth wrote in her blog post last week:

Too often we compare our beginning to someone else’s middle, our behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlight reel. It’s easy to get caught up in comparing our painful places to someone else’s promised land, forgetting that we’re still journeying and we can trust the unknown of the future to the God we know is authoring its pages. (Your Story is Far from Over)

Blessed Bite of Bread

There’s so much to learn in this life. God has so many good things stored up for you and me. He loves us. He wants to bless us. Let’s spend the week learning about God’s best blessed.

 

Sneak Peek

Malachi 3:10: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

 

Ephesians 1:3:  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

 

Genesis 2:3: Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 

Titus 2:13:  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

 

Numbers 6:24-26: “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you;  the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’

 

Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,  the people he chose for his inheritance.

 

Philippians 4:19: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus

 

Printable For You

It’s better to take a quick bite of breakfast before you run out the door just like it’s better to read the verse for the day than nothing at all. But it’s even better if you take time to eat the whole bowl of oatmeal. Right?

I like mine with a dollop of coconut oil, walnuts, and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Yum. It’s like eating an oatmeal cookie for breakfast. (There’s a point here, I promise.)

The Bite of Bread Printable is kind of like my oatmeal with brown sugar. It’s pretty (if you have a color printer), and it’s packed with questions and prompts to make your quiet time even more filling and nutritious. Click here for the printable.

Daily Broadcast

Come join us! A whole bunch of us gather in my kitchen every weekday morning to go deeper into each “Bite” for the day. You don’t even have to live in my town! We meet through Facebook Live. (Thank goodness. I’d have to clean my house every day if you were actually sitting around my table.) Follow me on Facebook to get the live feed, or you can watch it later on my YouTube channel.

You can also subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss one teaching. They’re 30 minutes of soul nourishment.

Okay my friends, are you ready to be blessed?

I’m praying for you.

 

Living Fully Coram Deo,

Andy

 

PS. If this was encouraging, and you don’t want to miss any Bite of Bread reading plans and posts, subscribe today! You’ll receive a 22-Day Devotion on Psalm 119 called Finding the Beauty {Full} in God’s Word.Just click here to dig deep to live fully. 🙂 

 

Shout out to pixabay.com ! That’s where I get my images. Major love!