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Blessings are Earned
This is prompted by a beautiful witness I was privileged to see today.
Many of us have heard in one form or another a person say,"well God never does anything for me" and my mind asks, "well, what have you done for Him?" Have you told Him you love Him? Have you thanked Him for His blessings? Do you realise that everything we have comes from Him? It is always a good opportunity to drop a few seeds and see if any sprout.
Some might find this controversial, but blessings are not contingent upon salvation, but works, case in point;
Deuteronomy 28:1-3King James Version (KJV)
28 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
These people were not yet saved, but were promised blessing for doing, in this instance hearkening diligently.
Christ had not yet come, the blood ordinances were yet in effect, they couldn't be saved until Christ made His sacrifice and while in the tomb went back and preached to them.
1 Peter 3:18-20
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
But it is works which garner blessing;
Proverbs 10:5-7King James Version (KJV)
5 He that
gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
6 Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
Gathering is work, and the worker is blessed, the sluggard.......not so much. (this has no reference to the disabled, works can be as simple as a smile or a good word to someone who is down.)
In fact works are the only things we can take with us when we move on;
Revelation 19:7-8
7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Righteous acts are works, we are blessed for them now, they are our garments later."
From:
Blessings are Earned