“³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)

I may not feel right now. I may not experience right now. I may fully understand right now. God has already blessed me with all spiritual blessing. This one is difficult for me to grasp, even as I have been a Christian for over 35 years.

What makes this hard to believe is that I have already received my spiritual blessings. I received them when I accepted Christ as my Savior. I received them as a condition of repentance. I am already rich with reward.

It is difficult to see that reward each and every day. With the difficulty that is experienced, I find it hard to stay focused on the reward of heaven and avoid the negative thinking that creeps into my mind.

Some blessings I have been given are their and I have to remind myself that they are there. Right in front of me, like my wife and sons are physical blessings and I am just not realizing them each day.

But these blessings are not what my Lord has given in the way of spiritual blessings. I will realize those when I get to heaven as they are from the heavenly realm, and are part of the inheritance I received with my salvation. I was added to the family of God and with that addition, I was granted all of the same as my brothers and sisters in Christ were when they accepted Christ as their savior. Some are enjoying their reward as they have passed on, and yet others walk along side me and will enjoy theirs when they arrive at the appointed time Christ has for them just as I will. I have to remember that my greatest blessings are in heaven when I arrive.

What are you looking for in the way of blessings? Are you focused on those that you have here in the world? Are you looking for the spiritual blessings that you will enjoy when you arrive in heaven?

“²⁶Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’” – Matthew 26:26 (ESV)

I know, this is Matthew’s account of The Lords Supper. I want to look this morning at the blessing performed by Jesus. The disciples were sitting with Him and taking the Passover feast. And here, they were reaching the end of the meal when Jesus gets the attention of them. He gets their attention and offers up blessings for the bread and the wine. At this point in the meal, it was not customary to offer blessings. That would take away from the feast that was being had.

Talk about getting the attention of the disciples. Eating a meal and having great conversation when all of a sudden Jesus gets up to offer blessings to all to hear. Imagine reaching the end of the wedding and the groom stands to offer up blessings for the feast that had already been eaten. Or toward the end of the thanksgiving meal the patriarch of the family stands to give thanks for everyone being there. Not out of the realm of possibility, but certainly a little odd given the timing.

I am taking away here this morning the reminder that there is never a bad time to give thanks. There is no harm in offering blessings at the end. Anytime they are needed I should feel comfortable and led to giving thanks and offering blessings. I know that there are so many times when I have been in a position to do more than just be there, and have not had the courage to do what I should and give thanks or offer blessings in the situation. I have to be better at knowing when to and taking the opportunity when led to be the voice that others need to hear. No matter the time, situation, or timing.

Have you found yourself in a situation where you felt led to offer, and didn’t? What could you have done differently in those times? What actions can you take to be sure you do not miss the opportunities offered to you by God in the future?

“¹ON that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, ²for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.” – Nehemiah 13:1-2 (ESV)

O how often I have been “given” something other than a blessing. I have been mistreated and beat down and frankly felt completely unworthy of anything.

But, God has always pulled me through. He has always gotten me to a better place after the suffering I went through. God certainly allowed my suffering to “teach me something”.

I have witnessed the questions as to how could a God of Love allow for suffering, adversity, and persecution. That is just the part that demonstrates love is the willingness to allow for the suffering, adversity, and persecution. I have to learn somewhere what is right and proper. Even as a parent, as much as I want to, I cannot protect my boys from the difficulties they will face. I have to let them suffer, encounter adversity, and be persecuted for them learn.

All of that difficulty has been a blessing for the future in that I am now stronger and more able by coming through it. God allowed and continues to allow me to figure it out on my own. I have to remember that just because I came through okay, that does not mean I will not have the same challenges in the future. I will continue to be challenged, only this time the experience from yesterday is a blessing for tomorrow.

Have you experienced suffering, adversity, and persecution? How do you look at those times in your life? What if you looked at them as blessings for tomorrow?

“²And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:2-3 (ESV)

This is the passage where Abram is called by God, and whereas that is the greatness of the passage, as I read this morning, I picked up on verse 2 above. God called Abram to go and he did. The end of the verse is where I was impacted this morning.

Abram and his family was blessed, yes. Abram was a blessing to those around him. He and his family were the blessing to others. You can see that fact in verse 3, but when I look closely at verse 3 I see the same. God blessed Abram so that he could be a blessing to others.

I have to allow God to bless me and my family. I do not and should not resist Him. I should be approaching things with those blessings in mind. God will bless me and my family and I need to be on the lookout for those blessings. I have for so long been only seeing the adversity and persecution. I am a child of God and He will bless me, I should be looking for and using those blessing to be a blessing for others.

I was telling my youngest son, Aarron, not too long ago that giving does not have to be around the world. We have a neighbor that asked if we could keep up with her yard on occasion. Not really to be the gardener, but just to weed eat and mow on occasion. That is the giving and where we can have a greater impact. We take care of those around us and be a blessing to them.

What have you not been allowing as a blessing? Are you receiving the blessings that God has for you? Are you then being a blessing thanks to your reception of blessing?

Being financially satisfied is something that is desirable in society today, especially here in the United States. I would argue that there are more that are secure than we believe if only there were a shift in priorities and view of what satisfied means.

“²Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food.” – Isaiah 55:2 (ESV)

Here, Isaiah is demonstrating that my “money” should be spent on my physical “need”, and the other things I “spend” on are not satisfying. How can that be? I am sure that Isaiah is not aware of how “Miss Me” jeans, “Bentley” cars, a closet full of shoes, that zero turn lawn mower, and a 6000 square foot house satisfy me. Isaiah is speaking to and for those that cannot afford those items and not to me as I NEED each of those above to live a satisfied life.

Well, Isaiah is NOT speaking to the less fortunate exclusively. Just because I CAN afford something, does not mean I NEED it. Satisfaction does not come from the monetary items I collect. Satisfaction comes from the Lord and fellowship with Him. I can sit in my living room or back porch, go to the office in my 2005 Neon, wear the same shoes for three years, mow with my nine year old push mower, all while in my $20 five year old jeans.

God provides for our NEEDS and with that provision I can be satisfied. I only focus on Him and doing His work to gain more satisfaction. I have to be content with the provisions of God at this time and look to heaven for my ultimate reward. Money only gets me so much, my true satisfaction comes from living a life with Christ as the center and focus of my yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

What is it that satisfies you? Are you looking at the monetary for your satisfaction? Are you able to be satisfied with God provides?

God continues to teach me over and over again from the same passages. This morning I am in Psalm 90 and was here back in September of 2018. I was studying the word “teach” and today, the word “satisfy”. My focus is two verses later in the passage, and my learning is so great.

“¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” – Psalm 90:14 (ESV)

How often have I gotten up in the morning looking to be satisfied? How often have I looked to the world to be satisfied?

I have the choice to live for Christ and when doing so I will be satisfied regardless of what happens in the world. I should not be hanging on for the worlds view of me. The world has nothing to offer me related to satisfaction. All comes from God and He is where I should look. When I go to bed in the evening I will be satisfied with tomorrow before it even arrives. I have been given the gift of salvation and in that I will be satisfied.

I will continue to do the work of God each day and look to Him as He is where I direct my actions. I work to please and glorify God and the world does not have to accept that for I am not looking to the world. I am satisfied each hour of the day. And if I am not satisfied, I have only myself to blame and I will take action to direct again to my Lord to regain satisfaction.

How are you approaching the day? Are you looking for satisfaction from a world that does not even know you? Are you satisfied for tomorrow before you go to bed today?

The title this morning is a bit presumptuous. I am not implying that I am the same as Christ, you will notice the question mark.

“¹Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourself with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, ²so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” – 1 Peter 4:1-2 (ESV)

Peter explains that I should be carrying out my day to day in the same way that Christ carried out His day to day. Not worried about the suffering that comes. Not concerned with the adversity and persecution. Not looking to please man. I should be looking to please God and when doing so sin will not be an active part of my life. The commentary in my ESV Bible says, “Although believers will never be totally free from sin in this life, when believers endure suffering for the sake of Christ they show that their purpose in life is not to live for their own pleasures but according to the will of God and for his glory.”

So, I should be living my life as Christ. I should concern myself with spreading the good news of God and doing His will. As I do, I will suffer for the world does not understand. But isn’t that the point. When the world does not understand, that is my chance to help them understand. I am then able to fulfill the work that god has tasked me with.

Are you trying to please the world? Are you trying to avoid the suffering, adversity, and persecution? What if you simply lived your life the same as Christ?

I believe that what is missing in this world is that we are not approaching things the same.

“¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, an comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” – Philippians 2:1-2 (ESV)

Paul states it plainly here that we are to be one in all that we do. There is no mention achievements, or status, or place in the world, only the actions that we are to undertake. The characteristics of being one in our mind and our heart.

I have to be careful in how I say this, as some may take it to mean that I believe we should all be the same, and that could not be further from the truth. God asks for us to be of the same heart and mind. We are to use the talents He gave each of us to further His kingdom. We use this sameness of mind and heart to accomplish this task. When in the right heart and mind, our actions will demonstrate that movement and we will be able to work and live together in harmony.

I find it disturbing in our world that there is so much discourse due to our inability to move on and work to further the kingdom of God. Is there evil in the world, yes. There is no place for that evil, but it is still here and will continue to be here. My approach is to denounce that evil and get with those of like mind and heart and spread the love of Christ in the place of that evil. It is up to me to get my brothers and sisters in Christ together to love all in the name of my Lord, Christ Jesus.

When you look at the world, are you determined to be different? Where are you looking to be like others? Are you looking to be the same in heart and mind?

About six weeks ago I was studying “service” and wrote in my bible the following, “We are all unique with gifts, service activities. We are to use them in service to our Lord.” Today I am studying “same” and have been lead to the same verses in chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians.

We are all unique and are led to perform different tasks for our Lord. And that is where we are the same. I was created by the same God as you and that makes us family. We are of the same heavenly Father.

“⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV)

My Lord created me with the gifts He wanted me to have. That does not make me better or worse than others. It makes me equipped to do the work He would have me do. I am equipped to do one thing and you another. Together we are tasked with advancing the gospel. I in the way God intended and you in the way God intended. Our ultimate goal is the same, we are simply tasked with getting there in a different way.

The same God created all. That makes us the same. We may look different, sound different, act different, and be different, but we all serve the Lord and do His work for His glory.

Do you consider yourself family with those around you? Do you consider that you were created by and serve the same God? Do you realize that you are uniquely created to achieve the same goals for our Lord?

Being in the world I am fortunate to see all of the differences there are. We are from different cultures, societies, countries, backgrounds, upbringings, and times. Each of those differences are important to those that are in them. From a country, heritage of that country is important. From a culture, that culture is important. From a different time, that time is the best time and should be remembered.

It is important to remember that we are from the same world and that world is important. This is where the sameness is in the picture. When in a community, I have to work for that community. When in an area I have to respect and remember that area as important to someone. I have to remember the differences so as to positively impact the difference that I am experiencing.

Instructions are provided for me to remember that whereas I am different and have a different role of function, I am still a part of the same group.

“⁴For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:…” – Romans 12:3-6 (ESV)

I see here that we are all in it for the same reasons. I have certain gifts that God gave to me and I should be using those gifts to impact my brothers and sisters in Christ. I have to embrace the gifts of my brothers and sisters in Christ as they use the to impact me and my brothers and sisters.

I will say that I am exhausted by the pictures of divisiveness that are a part of this world. I believe it was Rodney King that is credited with the phrase, “Can we all just get along.”

When you look into your surroundings, are you aware of the differences that are present? How is it that you react to those differences? What if you embraced those differences as a means to achieving the same goals?