What are you doing with your blessing?

Genesis 12:2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.

When we read this passage of Scripture, the first thing that probably comes to mind are all the promises that God gave to Abraham and the nation of Israel. But it occurred to me that there is a bigger lesson that we can learn here.

We tend to focus on the part of that scripture where God does the blessing — but why did He bless Him? The answer lies in the passage! The Lord told Abraham: “I will bless you — and you shall be a blessing.” Abraham was blessed so that he could be a blessing!

The same is true today. The Lord has done so much for us! He has blessed us with so many things, the most important of which is His mercy in that He died for sinners like us! He has bestowed us with so much grace! He has allowed us to come into His Kingdom and be a part of the great things He’s doing! What we have received should not only be for our own enjoyment but for the salvation of a dying world around us!

God gives freely to us so that we may give freely to others! Let’s not be afraid to give out the blessings God has granted us! Share God’s goodness! To whom much is given, much is required!

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This story is such a powerful illustration of testing and faith that I can’t help but speak about it over and over again. How the Lord could sleep in a boat in a violent storm speaks volumes about His own self-confidence and His natural capacity to disappear from the scene so He can check how well His disciples have apprehended His miraculous power, and really trust Him. He doesn’t spare them one tiny bit from the sense of real and imminent danger. The storm is ferocious, the waves gigantic, the boat really is being overwhelmed with water, nearly swamped, the situation truly is life-threatening, and He’s out, quietly refreshing Himself in dreamland.

During the past two weeks, I’ve received numerous emails responding to our understanding of Israel in the Bible, clearly indicating a need for a more comprehensive explanation of my point of view. This will require a bit more space than …

Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [; ], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [; ; ], equal with God before Creation [; ], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [].

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