Gesundheit or Bless You?

When my girls were home and I would sneeze, they would often say, "Bless you!" I would usually have a come-back like, "Are you a Roman Catholic? Cause that's what the Catholics say."

I had heard that in the catholic tradition, when someone sneezed, that they thought that the heart skipped a beat. Thus the tiny "blessing" would protect the sneezer from death. Making sure that God restarted the stopped heart. That is what I had heard.

In reading Numbers 6, just after an explanation of the Nazarite vow, comes a tiny blessing that, in a way, seems out of place.

Numbers 6:24 "'"The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."' 27 "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."

At times you may have seen your pastor raise his hand at the end of the church service and recite this blessing. It is an amazing bit of writing and an economy of words bar none. Thus it is powerful. Look at it again and notice the following:

The LORD bless you

This is nonother than Jehovah God, Creator of all, who is offering to bless his people! Amazing when you contemplate the ramifications. He not only wants to bless you, but he wants to

KEEP you

Would you want to keep you if you were the All-Powerful God? Hum, good question. I am selfish, so I think that I would want to keep myself. But what about anyone else? Would they want to keep me? God wants to keep me!

But wait a minute, how does God bless and keep? This blessing tells us. Look again.

He makes his face shine on us. As I write, I am settling in the morning sun and it warms my soul. There is something about a sunny day that cheers and comforts. Sunshine makes a day seem doable. God's face shining on us helps us to understand that he is there and that he can do his work in my life. No matter what the circumstances.

How does God keep you? Again, the blessing gives direction. He keeps by being gracious. Currently, in the southern US, there is a tropical storm bearing down on Florida. The meteorologists have given the hurricane an interesting name, "Grace." Ironic I know.

God blesses and keeps us in His Grace. The Bible word "grace" means "unmerited favor". God keeps us safe in His grace. That blessing is not something that we earn or deserve. It is his gracious gift.

He also blesses us by turning his face toward us. He looks at us and that look like a brings peace. Can it be that the believers in Afghanistan understand this peace right now? It may be difficult to grasp in a moment when you are in grave danger. However, many maryters of the past came to full understanding of God's peace as they burned at the stake.

The trial of their faith being more precious than gold refined in the fire.

To top off this blessing, God does something that he seems to love doing. He gives us his Name. Are you a Christ one? You will remember that being called a Christian was not a compliment? It was a tag for nutty people. They were just like little Jesus'. And you remember what happened to him!

God will give us a new name and this happens again in the Book of the Revelation (2:17, 3:12).

So you see, passing on this blessing is a good thing to do. It shows love and hope from the giver to the receiver. Pass it on.

Oh, and Gesundheit, that means "health and blessings". Did you know that?

Caught up to Paradise - 2 Corinthians 12

Residing in Michigan for over half my life, I had heard about Paradise. Because Paradise is a small town in the Upper Peninsula, you may have never visited there in your life, but you knew it existed. It was WAY up there next to Tahquamenon Falls and nothing else. Where's Tahquamenon Falls? Next to Paradise and nothing else. It's a long way from home. Why all of the talk about Paradise? Because Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 12. There was this guy who had been caught up to Paradise. Not in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but into the REAL Paradise. While there, he'd heard things that he was unable to repeat. What on earth was this? Who was this guy? Here's what was going on. Paul defended his position of Apostleship in chapter eleven and gave the Corinthians an idea of what Apostleship looked like in chapter twelve. It came with great wonders, like seeing or instead hearing unimaginable things. But, too, that position came with a terrible cost. God gave Paul a &q

What to get God for Christmas

Jesus left perfect surroundings, relationships and glory to be born into squalor. He was homeless before birth. His father was a carpenter in a culture where carpentry was a despised trade. His, mother though young and giving birth to her firstborn, had no attendant nurses, helpers or friends. Rather than a pristine hospital, birth was given in the filthy stench of a stable. Romantic? Hardly. This sacrifice brought a life of hardship. Why? Why this odd story? Obedience. God's gift to humanity was His son. Jesus' gift was obedience to the Father. He paid the greatest price. Not because we are special but because he loves His Father. His gift was the perfect gift. Our Father wants obedience for Christmas and every other day for that matter. In Brazil Christmas is becoming commercialized. A phenomenon familiar for years in the United States tickles a growing economy. There is little time for meditation on God's Gift. There are no chestnuts roasting or Jack Frost nippin

Stop Trusting

Isaiah 2:22 says Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? The Prophet is saying that we shouldn't put our trust in humankind because they are so finite. They are not like God, who is infinite. People are fickle. They change their minds. They love you and then hate you in moments. God invites us to trust him completely with everything that we have. He doesn't show himself to us physically or as a spirit. He demands that we have faith. However, he also gives us the faith to trust him. The universe shouts "Creator!" and yet we often ignore the proclamation. This ignorance does not make God's creation any less a physical demonstration of his grandeur. God's boundless being becomes more amazing in his presence within us. How can the infinite God dwell in the mortals he commands us not to trust? Jesus said, "with man it is impossible but with God, all things are possible."

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