By Kerry Knight,
Minister for the Emerald Beach Church of Christ
I know. Making New Year’s resolutions is corny and often doesn’t yield lasting success. We become short-sighted and fail to follow through, especially if the resolution is challenging. But let me offer a rather startling revelation: God wants to bless your life. Words like bless, blessed, and blessing appear over 300 times in the Bible. That’s just about a blessing for each day of the year.
Sometimes the word refers to a greeting or even congratulations. Several years ago I was checking out at a grocery store when I heard the cashier say to her customer, “Have a blessed day!” I like that. Invoking a blessing for someone is much better than just saying, “thanks for dropping in.” God’s prophet wasted no time in using this unique word. In Genesis 1:28, God addresses Man and Woman with these words, “And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” In this text, God is “empowering” the first couple to carry out God’s mission for them and thus receive a blessing.
The Jewish people in the Bible often bestowed blessings of favor on God Himself. A favorite prayer and praise was this sentence, “Blessed art thou Lord God, King of the universe.”
Blessing others was a sign of the Divine. James spoke of “blessing with our tongue” in James 4:9. Abraham began the greatest work of his life after God pronounced upon him: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” ( Genesis 12:2).
At the Emerald Beach Church of Christ, our theme for the new year is “Living the Blessed Life.” Come and join us for worship, and find your blessing at 301 Alf Coleman Road in Panama City Beach.
