daddy4ms

Introduction: #Blessed - Spend any time on social media and you will see this hashtag appear. It appears 137 Million times on Instagram (wedding, babies, relationships, vacations, new jobs). As we begin this morning, I want us to think about the pictures or events in our lives where we would use that hashtag. How many of the things you and I mention are listed in the beatitudes we are going to look at it today?  ·          Descriptive not Prescriptive-It’s describing how things are; not what you need to become ·          Beatitudes not Doatitudes-Things that Jesus wants us to be in power of Spirit not our own strength ·          “The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is not a to-do list; it is a good news list.  Jesus is describing who has the most to gain by the arrival of His kingdom. He is not prescribing what you must do to enter it.” Skye Jethani pg. ...

1  “ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3)

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

God is blessed Bless ed be the Lord , the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. (Psalm 41:13)   Bless ed be the Lord , the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. (Psalm 72:18)  Bless the Lord , O my soul,      and all that is within me,      bless his holy name! 2  Bless the Lord , O my soul,      and forget not all his benefits, 3  who forgives all your iniquity,      who heals all your diseases, (Psalm 103:1-3) So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Bless ed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13) therefore in Him we are blessed And God bless ed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”...

God is generous and gives good gifts 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? (Matthew 20:15)     9  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11) 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)   8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Therefore, we are blessed and gifted Blessed be the God and Father of o...

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Here are more promises of God from the book of Ephesians compiled by Kenneth Boa: We have been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (1:3). God has chosen us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (1:4). It is by grace we have been saved through God’s gift of faith (2:8). We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (2:10). God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (3:20). Our new identity in Christ was created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (4:24). We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord (5:8).

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!  I am thankful for the great mother and mother-in-law I have.  I am also blessed to have a wonderful mother to my children.  Saying thank you doesn't seem to be enough for all you do and have done. I love you all!

As I was looking at Facebook and Twitter last week, I was reminded of how hurtful we can be with our words to others created in the image of God.  Therefore, I want to declare truth from God's Word about who you really are.  This is a repeat on this blog, but it needs repeating. YOU ARE BLESSED “ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Today is our 16th anniversary! I am thankful for the blessing of a wonderful wife, mother, manager, and follower of Christ.  I look forward to many more years together.  Love you, Bethany! I can't wait to celebrate this weekend and then again in Atlanta.

As I mentioned yesterday, we sing and are encouraged and share the promises of God.  But how many do we actually know?  Today, I am beginning to share the promises of God from Scripture.  Today, we look at the beginning of the book of Genesis. God made man in his image, in his likeness, and gave him dominion over the earth and all its creatures (1:26-28). God blessed the descendants of Abraham, and all peoples on earth have been blessed through them (12:2-3; 18:18).

Happy Valentine's Day, Bethany!  I am a blessed man to have you as a wife.  You are a wonderful mom and a great manager too.  I look forward to our date night this weekend.

Yes, it is the first day of no shave November which I am participating in this year.  But that is not what I am talking about. Today is the 5th anniversary of my first day at Hesston MB.  I began my ministry in Hesston on November 1, 2008.  I have been blessed by the body of Christ at Hesston MB and we love the community of Hesston.  It has been a joy to see how God is moving among this church family.  I look forward to many more years to come.  Thank you God for calling me to Hesston and for equipping me for ministry here! Tonight I think we will celebrate as a family.   Now, where should we go eat?

As you know if you read my blog regularly, I am reading The Genius of Generosity by Chip Ingram.  This very short book is packed full of challenge and encouragement.  Here are a few quotes I read this week: "That's why the average Christian only gives about 2.5 percent of his or her income to the work of God's kingdom. Giving feels risky." "Generous people give proportionally to the way God has blessed them." "It's much better to drop our assumptions and expectations and ask God to lead us to the proportion that best reflects our heart and our income." "God always blesses those who are generous, but it isn't always a material blessing." "I firmly believe that the perception that stewardship and giving are guilt-laden responsibilities is depriving most Christians of one of the greatest joys of life." "In the big picture, generosity is not deprivation. It's a shrewd investment for today and tomorrow....