“Our Daily Bread”
http://odb.org/2012/11/22/the-joy-of-a-generous-god/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht
1 Thessalonians 5:18… in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (NKJV)
Well, today is the day that just about everybody in the USA goes somewhere and eats turkey with family and friends… And on this special day, at least on the surface…we say we are thankful for all that we have… But how many of us are truly thankful to God for the bountiful meal set before us ?? More to the point; how many of us who call ourselves Christians, are able to tell the Lord thank You, for the bad as well as the good ?? This is what the Christian, who is walking in the will of God, as a Spirit filled Christian…will be able to do by the power of the Holy Spirit… (See my writing for the last 4 days)
Some of us only think of God when we are in trouble, or when we are asking God for His blessings… But there is much scripture teaching us that our priorities must be directed in obedience towards God first, before we can expect to receive His richest blessings… God tells us…that as His children, we should obey His commandments and live for Him… When we live in God’s will for our lives, God will be free to bless us… There is scripture in the Old Testament, that goes into great detail about how God will reward the love and obedience we as Christians show Him… Here is the link for the entire piece of scripture… http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deut11&version=NKJV
Here is one key piece of this scripture…Deuteronomy 11:26-28… “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.” (NKJV)
Here is a link by www.bible-truth.org , about how obedience by the Christian brings blessings… The author breaks down this scripture from Deuteronomy, and other scripture pertaining to a Christian’s priorities… http://bible-truth.org/msg19.html
We also read in the gospel of Luke, where Jesus Himself tells us about who God will bless…Luke 11:28… But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (NKJV)
And what better scripture to read and understand on “Thanksgiving Day”, than Psalm 100; which is known as a Psalm of Thanksgiving…Psalm 100… Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (NKJV)
And finally, here is a link that I found, that does an excellent job explaining “How to Be Blessed” as a Christian; by using the 9 Beatitudes that Jesus taught us from Matthew chapter 5… There is also a video clip included in this link, from a movie done in down to earth acting (sometimes comical); by a man portraying Jesus… It is taken from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” teaching, which gives us excellent biblical principles… http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Blessed-%28Christianity%29
Here is the link for just the video portion of this link on how any why God will bless His children… http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2QE4YmQV5fk#!
So today, as you gather together for dinner, no matter where you live in the world…remember that God wants all of His children to live in a way that will be pleasing to Him… Put God first in your life… Think of others ahead of yourself… And do your best to live in God’s will and His ways, always obedient to the loving guidance of the Holy Spirit… God will be free to bless you with much more than just a bountiful meal with all the fixins’…
Ephesians 3:19-20… to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (NKJV)
Heavenly Father, help all of Your children remember to give thanks and praise to You, not only on this special day we call “Thanksgiving”…but to give You thanks in everything”, both in good times and in bad; 365 days of the year… Help all of Your children Lord, to share the love of Christ with all of those around us, who don’t have the hope of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), like You have given to Your Spirit filled children… I pray for this fullness of Christ’s love in all of our hearts, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
written by bruce r mills
God's group 
I made no mention of financial prosperity as a blessings… I did speak of rewards given to those who live obediently to God’s will for their lives… The New Testament scripture I used above was…Luke 11:28… But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God
and keep it!” (NKJV) The writer of Hebrews tells us…Hebrews 11:6…But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJV)
This reward, to me is the blessings of absolute joy and God given peace a Spirit filled Christian that is walking with the Lord experiences… Yes, Jesus wants us to to help those that are less fortunate… And yes, it is always better to think of others ahead of ourselves… But God blesses those that are living in obedience to His Word and His will… We don’t get to heaven because of our good works done for Him… The good works are done because we love God; and as James tells us “Faith without works is dead”. (James 2:14-26)
As a matter of fact, Jesus warn us that getting into heaven is not about works, but about doing the will of His Father, in…Matthew 7:21-23… “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say
to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (NKJV)
Thank you though, for the response…
In His Grace,
bruce
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In Deuteronomy, God does promise to bless Israel if they obey His laws: they will prosper in their promised land. In the New Testament, however, Jesus does not bless such prosperity; he blesses the merciful (the compassionate, who help those in need), for they will receive mercy (in the end). Jesus says it is more blessed to give than receive.
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