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SOUNDING
OUT:
The Lord Bless Thee, and Keep Thee…
God
wants His people to be blessed. He has provided for
them out of His riches in glory. Indeed, he has already
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. Part
of our responsibility to one another is to remind each
other of God’s bountiful supply and provision.
We do that with words.
Peter knew it was necessary to put people in
remembrance of all that God had done for them, and he
was diligent and faithful to do so.
Peter
1:12,13:
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always
in remembrance of these things, though ye know them,
and be established in the present truth.
13 Yea, I think it meet,
as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by
putting you in remembrance;
As
we apply ourselves to the myriad of things we must do
everyday, we can forget some of the simple truths upon
which we have established our lives. However, it is
important that we never forget that God is our sufficiency,
and He abundantly supplies.
God told Moses to instruct the priests to bless
His people for Him. He even gave Moses the very words
for them to say.
Numbers
6:22-27:
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Speak unto Aaron and
unto his sons, saying, On this wise
ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24 The LORD bless thee,
and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face
shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his
countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27 And they shall put my
name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
The
priests did as they were directed and blessed God’s
people (II Chronicles 30:27). Melchizedek, the priest
of the most high God, also blessed Abram in Genesis
14:19,20. The apostles in our administration also spoke
benedictions of blessings upon God’s people. Some
of the most common benedictions today come right from
God’s Word and are spoken with authority to bring
God’s blessing to God’s people. Here are
several I have used:
Romans
15:13:
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the
power of the Holy Ghost.
2 Corinthians 13:14:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you
all. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21:
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in
the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world
without end. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20,21:
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through
the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 Make you perfect in every
good work to do his will, working in you that which
is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ;
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
A
benediction is an invocation of divine blessing often
at the end of a ministry service or written communication.
God is usually invoked as He is understood to be the
source of the blessing and peace. The one pronouncing
the benediction exercises his authority so that not
only do his words express a wish or desire, but they
actually confer God’s blessing on the recipient.
Benedictions are done purposefully and deliberately.
They affect the blessing that they declare as they are
heard and appropriated by those to whom they are spoken.
The key is bringing to one’s remembrance what
God has declared He has accomplished on their behalf.
I think that even our casual greeting of “God
bless you!” can have profound effect when spoken
with deliberate intent and heard with “eager ears.”
Yes, I know many of our greetings vary and are spoken
without much forethought. However, they don’t
need to be. They can demonstrate heartfelt care and
concern that can have a measurable effect. When I say
“God bless you.” I look for a smile. I expect
them to be blessed, and when they are not noticeably
affected, I direct further attention to the situation.
Ruth records a typical interaction between God’s
believing people.
Ruth
2:4:
And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto
the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered
him, The LORD bless thee.
Look
at the blessing that Boaz speaks to his reapers, and
look at their response to bless him in return. These
God-fearing men wanted God’s best for each other
and spoke words of blessing to one another. This kind
of greeting of mutual blessings was common place among
God’s people. When it was not done something was
wrong.
Psalm
129:8;
Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the
LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.
What
do we expect our greetings to communicate to those we
meet? Is it just simply perfunctory, or do we dare extend
God’s blessings to them. Does our handshake or
embrace really communicate that we honestly care about
the person and desire God’s best for them?
Certainly the words we speak should go
way beyond, “God bless you.” We should have
a word fitly spoken on most every occasion. Our care
and concern should be communicated through our words
and actions. Just don’t let “God bless you.”
ever become a mere habit. As sons of God with power
and authority in the name of Jesus Christ, what we speak
has impact. We should expect people to be blessed when
we bless them. When you speak God’s Word as Ambassadors
for Christ, it makes a difference. Let’s resolve
to do it deliberately.
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation
of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my
strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14)
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