Blessings

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing … Ephesians1:3ESV

How do you count your blessings? The old song says “Count your blessings, name them one by one”, and in the words of the old fiery preachers, “name them and claim them”. Sadly that wee phrase has become the byword of the prosperity gospel people, but we can lay claim to it too. I have a plaque in my kitchen which reads, “When I count my Blessings, I count you twice”. Do you have blessings like that?

I don’t know about you, but when things are not going so well, I forget to recognise my blessings, never mind count them once, and certainly not twice. Does that relate to you too? But God blesses us over and over again, even when we don’t see it, feel it, or recognise it. In one short verse, the apostle uses the word Blessed and blessing three times as if to make a point, and Paul makes it well. Simply put, we are blessed more than we deserve!

If you do a search in the Bible for the words ‘blessings, blessed, or bless, you will find hundreds of places where God will look after, or bless us, His people, and pour out so many blessings that we can’t contain them, even when we can’t feel them. God’s promise is this: “He has (already) blessed us with every spiritual blessing”. It’s a fact, not a theory. It’s a promise, not a thought. And since He is a God of His Word, we can count on it. So, next time you are tempted to think that God has left you on your own, remember His blessings. While you are there, start counting!

What's In A Name?

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: one of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 11-13 NIV

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth because they were a troubled and divided group. Their idea of the gospel was coloured by the teachings of various people. The apostle started his letter with the warning in the verses above. Their difficulties individually and collectively stemmed from the truth of these words, and we would do well to take heed of the same pitfalls today.

The internet makes it easier to pay pick ‘n’ mix with preachers who sound good, and whose teachings are apparently sound. It’s not uncommon to hear some church folks say, “I like the way ‘X’ speaks”, or “It’s good that ‘Y’ doesn’t mince his words”, or even “ ‘Z’ is a false teacher and an antichrist”. Have you heard these words? Or more to the point, have you said them? We are told that the folks in the Corinth ‘church’ group quarrelled about who was the best. Paul makes it clear that this attitude was all wrong, and the Apostle was in the preferred list of preachers!

These three preachers would not all have been speaking at the one time, and in the same place. So it follows that each man had his own followers. These ‘disciples’ would follow whoever they thought was best, and it is striking that Christ is at the end of the list. Christ is reduced to one person in four. Small wonder that Paul starts his letter by addressing and correcting this important issue right up front. I trust we are of Christ and no other preacher, no matter how good we think they might be. Maybe it’s time to change our language!

Pleasant Surprise

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favour rather than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1

Sometimes an event takes you by surprise, but in a good way. This one happened unexpectedly and made me smile. When you get to know some folks better each and every time you meet them, they sometimes will give you a nickname, or a ‘pet name’ as a way of showing friendship and a confirmation that your relationship is on good ground.

This mainly happens with young love, and between husband and wife, but there can be other occasions. Have you ever been called by a name other than your Christian name, or a shortened version? Most have, but what would be the ‘good name’ this verse can be talking about? That is when I got my surprise.

I am blessed to have two fine daughters, and grandchildren at various stages and ages. To them, I am known simply as ‘granda’, and I confess to enjoying the title. Not grandad, or grampa, or grandpa, but ‘granda’. I feel blessed when this name is used because some history lies behind its use, making it even more special.

I have met some lovely, Godly people, and in some way each one has enriched my life, but I have always remained known by my given name. This time it was different. Out of the blue, one of my new friends referred to me as ‘granda’. Of course not their granda, or even a relation, but their way of recognising the role played in my grandkids’ lives. To me, there is no greater honour than being called ‘dad’ or ‘granda’? As the verse indicates, that is a ‘good name’ and as far as I’m concerned, better than ‘great riches’.

Hello My Name Is..

Hello my name is David and I have a problem, which I confess in front of my peers and betters. I am a blogaholic and liable to say things that offend. Obviously Abraham Lincoln was wrong when he said that we “can never please all of the people all of the time”. See, there I go again because even that great man recognised that you can’t please everybody, so why should I? Well that’s why I am in this therapy help group for hopeless cases.

How did I get here? Well, I will get to my feet, kick back my chair, step into the circle, and tell you my story. I have this sense of standing up for the underdog. I know it is wrong, and I am trying to correct myself and get into line with the majority who think it is best to ‘go with the flow’ and accept what is given as right and proper, but I still get spasms of sympathy for those who have no voice of their own, or worse still, whose voice has been diminished by political correctness.

Then there’s my dual personality. There are things I wouldn’t dare say about injustice in a real face to face conversation, but put me in front of a keyboard, linked to the blogosphere, and I will say things that are bugging me about society’s ills as I see them. I am working on this personality flaw too, and soon I hope to join the majority of silent people who don’t ever express their opinion, just in case it is seen as wrong in some over-sensitive hearts.

But my biggie, is opening my mouth and speaking or blogging without due care and attention. If I was a driver, I would be up before the judge, and thrown in with all those other criminal offenders who deserve to be there. So I throw myself on the collective mercy and wisdom of the group. You, society in general, can help me by letting me learn to be quiet about expressing my feelings for the underdog, the injustices of society, and my inability to keep everybody happy. Then I can pretend everything in the world is rosy. I am sorry this group was not available to Abraham Lincoln, because he would have benefitted greatly from your group therapy help. It is too late for Abe, but maybe there is hope for me after all.