How to Know the Important Truth About Being Blessed

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I refer to myself as “Blessing Counter” on all social media platforms.

So, the question I want to ask today is . . . what exactly is a blessing?

Or to put it another way…

What is being blessed?

The Dictionary defines a blessing as:

a special favor, mercy, or benefit.
a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.
the invoking of God’s favor upon a person.

And being blessed as:

divinely or supremely favored; fortunate.
blissfully happy or contented.

But I want to look even deeper. I want to take a closer look at what Jesus said about being blessed in Matthew 5 at The Sermon on the Mount.

Countless Biblical Scholars have preached, taught, and written about this section of Scripture known as The Beatitudes . . . a plethora of words all expanding on these “Blessed are” verses.

Some consider them a “code of ethics,” others believe they contrast Kingdom and worldly values, or superficial and “real” faith. (LAB Notes)

I wonder if maybe Jesus was simply teaching basic eternal spiritual truths.

Jesus told His followers what God blesses. He taught them to recognize their need for God, to repent and turn to Him, and seek His will. About being blessed. #Blessings #Blessed #TheBeatitudes #TrustJesus #CountingMyBlessings #WWGGG

Let’s take a look…

The Truth About Being Blessed

One day as [Jesus] saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around Him, and He began to teach them.

Jesus said: “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”
Matthew 5:1–3

When you and I realize we are poor in spirit and that we need God, we give up our focus on self and we SEEK God … which is why Jesus said, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4

What if Jesus was talking about mourning over sin . . . encouraging His listeners to repent because they recognize their need for forgiveness. The blessing is that this leads to the comforting truth of God’s forgiveness.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
Matthew 5:5–6

Humble people trust the Lord and follow His will to love God and love others. Jesus said…

“‘You must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37–38

God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7

Once you and I realize how very merciful and forgiving God has been toward us, we are merciful and forgiving toward others and that begins a beautiful cycle of merciful living among all of God’s children.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven.
Matthew 5:8–12

And all of these blessing promises are the result of recognizing our need for God, repenting and turning to Him, SEEKING Him through faith in Jesus, the Word, and prayer.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33

The promise and the blessing . . . God will give us everything we need!

Praying the Truth About Being Blessed

Let’s ask God to help us…

Father, I need You! I need Jesus! I need Your Spirit with me and within me. On my own, I am selfish and stubborn. I am so very sorry, please forgive me. Please help me to be humble and forgiving. Help me to seek You above all else . . . to humbly know, trust, and follow Your perfect will. Give me everything I need to be forgiving and love my neighbor because I love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Father, this life can be hard. Please give me everything I need . . . I give myself to You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Write on today’s post-it note:

I am a SEEKer. I am BLESSED!

May you celebrate His blessings today as you SEEK Jesus and trust Him to fill you with strength, hope, peace, joy, and love.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

And a thank you to BibleGateway.com for sources.

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How to be Blessed and Happy – Really!

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Are you blessed and happy?

Do you want to be?

If you’re like me, you’re thinking . . . doesn’t everybody?

Looking around it’s easy to draw the conclusion that happiness is the result of our circumstances and desires aligning.

But Jesus answer to finding happiness is very different.

How to be Blessed and Happy

Very early in His ministry, Jesus told people how to be blessed and happy. The Bible calls it The Beatitudes.

A beatitude is defined as – supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.

So, I’m going to quietly sit at Jesus’ feet and learn how to be really blessed and happy.

Matthew 5:3–10

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Recognize their need for God.

The blessing of real happiness begins with recognizing our need for God. When you and I acknowledge that nothing in this world will fill the place in our spirits that God created for Himself alone. Until we know our need for Him we will never know true satisfaction.

Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23–24

Knowing my need for a relationship with God is the beginning of faith that Jesus said gives “the kingdom of heaven.”

They are blessed who mourn, for they will be comforted. – Repent of their sin.

The blessing of real happiness continues when you and I realize that no matter what we’ve done, no matter how bad our past when you and I turn to God in repentance we are forgiven. Jesus sacrifice covers our guilt and shame.

“The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

When we grieve over our sins because of Jesus, the Father forgives and comforts. And freedom from guilt and shame . . . wow, that’s happiness.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. – They follow Jesus.

The blessing of real happiness is lived out as you and I follow Jesus with a humble caring heart. We get to know Him . . . not just know about Him but truly know Him and we follow Him by modeling His humble model of love and compassion.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24

It seems counterintuitive that the meek will inherit the earth, but loving like Jesus will bless every relationship and leave a lasting legacy. Think about what you want people to say at your funeral. Can you imagine the blessing of having your loved ones say, “He/She loved like Jesus!”

They are blessed who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled. – They search to know God and His truth.

The blessing of real happiness grows as you and I dig deep into God’s truth and follow it.

Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. Matthew 6:33

Have you ever been hangry? You know, hungry anger . . . it’s not pretty! You need food. Too often life makes us angry because we are hungry for the assurance of God’s promises. And look at that blessing. When we feast on His truth we are filled with everything we need to get over the “hangries!”

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. – They forgive as they’ve been forgiven.

The blessing of real happiness overflows through offering the mercy of forgiveness to others. We are the beneficiaries of God’s mercy and He commands us to give that mercy to others. So much Jesus says we are to pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Show mercy, just as your Father shows mercy. Luke 6:36

Withholding forgiveness and harboring hatred eats at our hearts, minds, and souls. It is impossible to enjoy true happiness while mentally reliving anger and resentment.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. – They are filled with the Holy Spirit.

The blessing of real happiness is enjoyed through a conscience washed clean by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13

When you and I are free to let go of past guilt we can live with purpose and enthusiasm. We are free to follow wherever He leads and see the work He is doing around us.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. – They surrender to God’s authority.

The blessing of real happiness is a gift to peacemakers. Peace makes me happy. God’s perfect peace that strengthens me when life is hard. It is difficult to understand and almost impossible to explain. But it makes me happy.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

Following God’s will and trusting His authority for daily living makes it possible for you and me to work toward peace in our relationships. Great relationships make me happy. And when people are important, when we work to have loving relationships people see Jesus in us. Isn’t that awesome?!

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – They trust God’s promises even when it’s hard.

This one is hard. It doesn’t even make sense. The blessing of real happiness is a promise to those who are persecuted for following Jesus. I don’t want to be persecuted and I would imagine you don’t either. But Jesus said people would hate us for following Him and as we look around the world that seems all too true today.

Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. John 15:20

But we have the promise of a future filled with hope, the promise of kingdom residency . . . God’s presence today and always. That’s something worth celebrating.

Jesus Himself is our best blessing.

Our strength for today and our hope for tomorrow.

“When I dwell on the goodness God has expressed towards me, my heart rises up like an artesian well, my eyes gush forth joy that waters my face and leaves the observer in wonder.” ~Gary Amirault

May you overflow with real happiness – the kind that is found in Christ Jesus alone!

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Thankful Thirty – Blessed by God and Happy

11 / 3 / 157 / 7 / 16

I used to believe I was blessed when things were going well. Not so much when they weren’t. And truthfully, it’s pretty easy to find something that’s not going well isn’t it?
But Jesus put a new definition on blessed in Matthew 5.
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him,

     for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses those who mourn,

     for they will be comforted.

God blesses those who are humble,

     for they will inherit the whole earth.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,

     for they will be satisfied.

God blesses those who are merciful,

     for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure,

     for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace,

     for they will be called the children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,

     for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. 

Matthew 5:3–12

My favorite explanation of these verses came from Max Lucado, who says that the blessing of happiness comes when we admit we are sinners, we mourn our sins and allow God to comfort us with His perfect forgiveness, and then treat others with humility, justice, mercy, and peace.

What do you think?

I believe a restored relationship with God through His gracious forgiveness and great relationships with the people in my life through humility and kindness . . . that’s blessings and happiness.

Quotes – Blessings and Happiness

“If we are to receive the blessings God wants to bestow upon us, we must be willing to give Him the messes in our lives.” ~Joyce Meyers

“All that we call human history–money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery–[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” ~C. S. Lewis

“Life holds so many simple blessings, each day bringing its own individual wonder.” ~John McLeod

If you hope for happiness in the world, hope for it from God, and not from the world. ~David Brainerd

The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. ‘If a man will let himself be lost for My sake,’ Jesus said, ‘he will find his true self.’ ~Elizabeth Elliot

The Good News!

We don’t need to wait for blessings and happiness. Both are available to us this very moment.

Blessings and Happiness that come from:

God’s Forgiveness
God’s Mercy
God’s Peace
God’s Love
God’s Presence
God’s Promises for the Future

So be thankful! Be happy! You are blessed!

Father, Thank you for your countless blessings. Those blessings I need most. Forgiveness. Mercy. Peace. Love. Your presence. And Your promises. Thank you! Help me to focus on You and Your grace. Forgive me for listening to the lies that tell me I need something else or more. Your grace is sufficient. Your love is perfect. Through Jesus I have all I need now and forever. In His name I pray. Amen.