Pastors sermon for last Sunday: So what does it mean to be blessed? Does it mean being lucky or fortunate? Does it mean winning the lottery, surviving a near-miss catastrophe, or coming into some form of material prosperity? Does it mean being on the winning team or having good health in old age? The natural human tendency is to see only those things we enjoy as blessings. It is easy to label things that make our lives more happy or prosperous as godsends. Yet Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”1, etc., even, “blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.”2 Something deeper is revealed here. There is a conflict between our natural cataloguing of who or what we consider either blessed or unfortunate and what God reckons. The credibility of God’s promises cannot be assessed only by the tangible judgments we make. If it could be there would be no place for faith. The Holy Spirit gives us eyes to see how hardships are often the greatest blessings. Can you be blessed in the midst of illness? Can you be blessed in the midst of trial? Can those who lose their jobs, their livelihoods, their hopes and dreams and even their loved ones be blessed? Yes, often these experiences reveal blessings most clearly...
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 07:55:20 +0000
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