Blessed!

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Psa 103:1-2). So begins Psalm 103. Cataloged there are His forgiveness, His healing, His redemption, His tender mercies, His renewal, His justice, mercy and grace. I have set aside twelve wonderful blessings that bring happiness to every Christian all around the world: Grace, Truth, Justice, Presence, Fruit, Gifts, Citizenship, Freedom, Revival, Promises, Revival, Rest and Hope of Heaven. Why is it that our prayers typically begin with thanksgiving? It is the definition of our response to His many blessings. We pray for our meals and term that act "returning thanks" or "giving the blessing." Because He has blessed us, our primary instinct is to bless Him. Satan would have us live by the curse, to be angry little people who live by fear, who are selfish about our lives and possessions, who are consume by protecting our turf and who mistrust others as we assume the worst about them. We choose instead to be so grateful for our salvation that we celebrate life by recognizing God's blessings and looking for opportunity to share with others. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). O that the blessings of God not be wasted on an ungrateful heart. Rather that I would be determined to be a blessing to others and bring glory to the name of my Redeemer!