My attitude, choices, and actions will either hinder or promote God’s blessings in my life Deuteronomy 11:26-28 "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.
Direct correlation between my faith and how fully I receive and enjoy God’s blessings Strong and mature faith does not mean life will be without trials and suffering 1 Peter 1:3-9 1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, (5) who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (8) Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, (9) obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Some may see no connection between God’s blessings and the way people live Evil people have it as good, or maybe even better, than the righteous. I know better than you what makes me happy Lookout for me, first and foremost If it feels good, then it has to be good Psalms 73:1-14 A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. (2) But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. (3) For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. (4) For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. (5) They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. (6) Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. (7) Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. (8) They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. (9) They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. (10) Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. (11) And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" (12) Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. (13) All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. (14) For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. Psalms 73:16-19 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, (17) until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. (18) Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. (19) How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
Some blessing are for everyone Matthew 5:45 For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Do I have enough faith in God to yield my feelings, thoughts and wishes to Him? A sense of community? Family Community The work place Citizenship (duties and associations) The church
The KEY for getting the most from God’s blessings Love Even our enemies Matthew 5:43-44 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' (44) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you Foundational nature of love – Col. 3:12-14 Mark 12:30-31 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' (31) The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Titus 2:4 train the young women to love their husbands and children, John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (13) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (14) And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Understanding love 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.