Blessed to Be

It has only been two days, but already I can see that the mindset is a good one if I figure out how to 

generate some discipline.  I woke up yesterday making a stand that "today is the day”: to reign in some bad habits and generate some new ones. I heard a sermon Sunday from a man named Dr. John Leonard who put a few thoughts in my head that were worthy of sharing. The first one was a question:  do you know what a sacrifice is?  And then he defined it this way; a sacrifice is giving up one blessing to make room for another. I had to mull that over a while and consider any sacrifices that I had made, and came to the conclusion that he is probably very right.  

We are blessed everyday with a bucket full of blessings, and if we continue to just horde those blessings without sharing them, our warehouse becomes so full that we cannot even find the time to enjoy even a small fraction of them.  Dr. Leonard gave an example of a man carrying two sacks of groceries, and someone coming up to him and offering him so much more, but there was no way to carry any more than he already had and the only way to accept the generosity was to let go of what he was carrying in hand. 

God’s grace is abounding, it has no limits, but when he graciously pours his blessings upon us, he does that that we will in turn pour those very blessings unto others. What good is a gift if it is never opened and never used? Then he turned to his second point which was a definite ouch to my heart.

He went through the math: 7 days, 24 hours, equals 168 hours.   Now, consider a minute how much of that time we spend on ourselves, including the basics of seeping (7), eating (3) and getting ready for the day (1) that leaves 13 hours a day for what we do....and how much of that time is spent on sharing some or any of the blessings that God has given us with others or for others?  That was convicting, because I do spend time doing mostly what I want to do, not even what I need to do,and to go even further not what I could be doing for others.

Now this is not a rev your engine and do something just to be doing something but it was a nudge to look around and see if there is a spot that God might want you to be an active participant in for the sake of another. We have opportunities in our everyday routines to be a blessing to someone whose path God has allowed us to cross.  We have a chance to pass along a blessing that we have been graced with for the benefit of another, we just tend to sidestep those opportunities instead of embracing them.  

I was walking this morning and passed by a bus stop filled with people waiting for a ride.  I had to walk right in front of them and felt a little self conscious so I turned my thoughts inside out and spoke and said good morning and smiled; only to have several smiles returned. A blessing is not always what you do with what you have but sometimes, I am convinced can be how you act or respond to people around you.  

Dr. Leonard’s lesson was simple:
1) God’s Plan is my Purpose
2) God’s Blessings come to me so that I would use them to bless others.
3) Sacrifice is offloading old blessings so that I might receive new ones.

Simple, straightforward, easy to remember.

And as a friend of mine emailed me yesterday regarding this same sermon, he said:

My job is like a warehouseman - just keep the inventory (God's blessings) moving.  The objective of a warehouse is to be a distribution point along the supply chain.  Not to hold onto the commodities that are coming in. 

I thought that was a great analogy!

Ephesians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the many blessing that flow into my life.  May I not only recognize them and find time to enjoy them and appreciate them but may you also nudge me to willfully pass them along to others who you have ordained to cross my path. Amen  

            
Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!