Dave’s Monday Blast – December 11, 2017
Pastor Jim Denison comments, “Many Americans are more prosperous than ever before. However, prosperity is a very deceitful idol. It claims that we have all we need if we have all we want. But sinful humans don’t know what we need. We don’t know that the answer to our deepest longing is not found in what we own but in Who owns us”. C.S. Lewis was right: We are like “an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”
There is a better way. Scripture promises, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!” (Psalm 128:1). “Blessed” translates the Hebrew asre, meaning to experience “a heightened state of happiness and joy, implying very favorable circumstance and enjoyment” (Dictionary of Biblical Languages).
To “fear” the Lord is to reverence Him, to worship Him, to serve Him as the Master and King of our lives. It is to walk in His ways, submissive to His word. Such obedience does not earn God’s blessing. To the contrary, it positions us to receive what our Father already wanted to give us. He wants to bless his children. He “longs to be gracious to you” (Isaiah 30:18). Just as I delight to bless my wife and children at Christmas, so our Father delights to bless us… all year long.
Denison further comments, “Our text does not qualify what kinds of blessings our Father wants to give us. Some may be material, others emotional, relational, physical, or spiritual. But our Maker knows us better than we know ourselves and knows what is for our very best. And He promises us that “everyone” who reveres Him as Lord is blessed by Him. There are no exceptions or qualifications. If you make God your Lord, you will experience His blessing. If you are not experiencing His blessing, it is because He is not your Lord today.”
1 John 2:17 reminds us that “the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever”. Jesus is still the Lord of the universe. The question is: When last did you make Him Lord of your heart? In the midst of the materialism that is the Christmas season, let’s remember that the path to true happiness lies not in a store but in a stable. That’s good isn’t it!
