Tag Archives: blessing others

October 24, 2023 · 5:42 AM

Blessing Your Enemy

My son said he and his friends had been discussing a question and he wanted to ask us too. He said, “Would you rather be trapped in a room with someone you love or hate?” Before we could answer, he started sharing some of his friend’s answers. He then looked at my wife and asked for her answer. She told him it didn’t matter to her because she would just sleep most of the time.” He laughed, looked at me and said, lI know it wouldn’t matter to you either. You’re so extroverted, you’d make the person who hated you your friend!” I told him that I would bless them until they had no choice but to like me. We had a good laugh as I continued to ponder the question.

In 2 Kings 6, the Arameans were at war with Israel. The prophet Elisha knew when and where they were going to attack and would tell Israel’s king. He would then change their strategy to be prepared. After this happened several times, the king of Aram got mad and thought he had a spy. They to,d him it was Elisha who was revealing their location, so he decided to go after him. He surrounded Elisha with his entire army, then Elisha asked God to make the entire army blind. He then led them to the king of Israel and asked God to open their eyes. They saw they were doomed as the king of Israel asked if he could kill them all. Elisha told him not to and to feed them instead. Verse 23 says that the king of Israel made them a great feast then sent them on their way. The Arameans stayed away from Israel after that because of the kindness shown to them

In Luke 6, Jesus was giving the Sermon on the Mount teaching people what God really wanted. In verses 27-28 He said, “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies and do something wonderful for them in return for their hatred. When someone curses you, bless that person in return. When others mistreat and harass you, accept it as your mission to pray for them” (TPT). God’s way is different than our way. We tend to retaliate or get even with someone who hates us. God’s way is to love them and to pray for them. It’s hard to hate someone you’re asking God to bless. It’s also hard to hate someone who is blessing you. Remember that hate is not from God. Love is. How we act shows who our father is according to Jesus. How have you been responding to the people who hate you, your beliefs or actions? Try praying for them first. Then ask God to show you how to bless them in such a way that they have no choice but turn turn away from hate.

Photo by Marcus Wallis on Unsplash

Be A Blessing

I was talking with someone recently about how incomes have fluctuated during the pandemic. Some people’s income increased and many’s decreased. They were saying how theirs decreased, but they wanted to maintain their giving level through their season of having less money. They were following a Biblical principle of giving. No matter how much or how little we have, we are to give to God and others. I cant help but think of the widow’s mites. We don’t get to see the blessing side of her story, just the obedience side. I believe God opened the windows of Heaven and blessed her because she continued to give and bless others no matter how little she had.

Here are some Bible verses on blessing others through giving.

1. Do not neglect to do good, to contribute [to the needy of the church as an expression of fellowship], for such sacrifices are always pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:16 AMP

2. The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched, And he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].

Proverbs 11:25 AMP

3. For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, “You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor in your land.”

Deuteronomy 15:11 AMP

4. When you are generous to the poor, you are enriched with blessings in return.

Proverbs 22:9 TPT

5. Take advantage of every opportunity to be a blessing to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in the family of faith!

Galatians 6:10 TPT

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

The Right Decision

As a person who spends a lot of time driving, I’m forced to make a lot of fast decisions. When people suddenly brake, I have to decide to slam on mine or change lanes. I also have another fast decision to make. Do I bless them or curse them? I would love to say that I hand out more blessing than cursing in traffic. The truth is, in those moments, we default to calling the other person a name, yelling at them, gesturing at them, and or using our vehicle to inform them we don’t like their driving.

In the book of Ruth, Boaz had to make a quick decision. He knew who Ruth was and what she had done for Naomi, so he was very kind to her. On one certain night, Naomi told Ruth, “Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do” (Ruth 3:3-4 NLT).

Imagine Boaz sleeping after a hard day’s work and then being woken up by someone pulling the covers off his feet. More than that, he notices it’s a woman. His thoughts may have been, “What if someone sees me laying with a woman?” They could have been, “How dare a servant take my covers!” Whatever they were, when he made a quick decision, it was to bless and not to curse. He told Ruth, “The LORD bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor.”

Boaz not only blessed her, he admitted that there was another family member who was a closer relative to her than he was. Boaz was willing to give up Ruth because it was the right thing to do. He acted with integrity and with a heart that blessed before it cursed. Each of us should adopt that kind of heart. As followers of Christ, we should be about blessing instead of cursing, giving instead of receiving, loving instead of judging, and building instead of tearing down. Our light shines brightest when it blesses. Proverbs 11:25 says, “The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped” ‭(MSG‬‬).

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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August 3, 2017 · 5:00 AM

The Blessing Thief

Throwback Thursday is a new feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

If I’m honest, I’d rather be a person who helps others than a person who receives help from others. It’s hard for me to accept help even when I need it. There have been times in my life though when I’ve needed help because I was unable to do what needed to be done. When others tried to help, I tried to push them away. Then one day, a person who was trying to help me said, “You’re robbing me of my blessing if you don’t let me help!” I had never thought of it like that.

I had forgotten that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I was definitely blessed by their giving, but I didn’t think about the blessing on the other side. I know they weren’t doing it for the blessing, but in my refusal, I was robbing them of what they would have received from God for helping me. Every act of service gets two blessings. By declining my blessing (them helping me), I was denying them theirs. So why do we reject help?

For me, I grew up in a family that needed the help of others often. God was always faithful to us and people showed up at the right times. I’ll never forget one family that helped me in particular. As they gave me a tremendous gift, I asked how I could repay them. They said, “One day when you’re able, do the same for others.” I decided then and there that I wanted to be a person who helped others rather than a person who needed help. So when I need help, it takes me back to that time and the feelings of being the poor kid back.

In Matthew 10, Jesus was sending out the disciples to preach all over Israel. He told them not to take any money, which meant they would be dependent on other’s help. He knew that if we needed help, it would also keep us humble. In verse 41 He spoke a life changing truth when He said, “Accepting help is as good as giving help” (MSG). By accepting help from others, you are actually helping them. They get a blessing from your acceptance. Don’t deny or rob others of blessings because of your pride. Look at it as your way of helping them when you have nothing else to give. Don’t be a blessing thief.

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Tagged as accepting help, blessing others, blessings, christian living, Christianity, daily devotion, Devotion, Devotional, encouragement, help, it's more blessed to give than receive, receiving blessings, spiritual, spiritual growth, wisdom