| <Blessed to Be A Blessing> |
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Date: 13 April 2002 Shalom, Boker-Tov, As I am preparing this message this week in the new Incheon International Airport in Seoul, I am being reminded of one very important fact and which the Lord had repeated in my mind over and over again these past few weeks. As I look at the events in the Middle East, I cannot help but be reminded how the whole situation came about. In the Book of Genesis 12: 1 - 3: - The Lord God found great faith in Abram ( his name was changed to Abraham a few years later by God Himself ) and it pleased Him so much that He gave Abraham this promise and which was renewed with his son Isaac and grandson Jacob and who later appropriated this blessing to his sons and grandsons. Abraham lived in a time when idolatry was very prevalent ( sounds exceptionally familiar to our generation as well ) and so imagine the joy of the Lord when He found this man who believed and trust God. So special was this blessing that nations fight over it ( and that is the root of the problems in the Middle East right now ). Jerusalem is at the heart of the claims of every nation involved in the conflict - Arab and Jew claim that Jerusalem was promised to them because both sides are descendants of Abraham, which happened to be a fact. But who are the real beneficiaries of this blessing? The Lord promised that those who believed in Him as Abraham
did are now in position to receive the blessings of Abraham. The apostle
Paul reminded the believers in the church at Galatia in Galatians 3: 5
- 9, 13 - 14: - The natural descendants of Abraham, the Jews do get a portion of the blessings. Look around in the world today and one will realize that although the nation of Israel is rather small in comparison to the other countries, yet the Jews are among the wealthiest people; there are many Jews among the brightest scientists, inventors, actors, doctors, musicians, designers, bankers. They receive their inheritance of the natural lineage from Abraham. But we who believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior also receive this blessing that the Lord God gave to Abraham. In fact because Jesus died for all of us, God now has more sons and daughters than those of the natural lineage do. Do not be deceived and the devil would simply love us not to know this important truth. We have the blessings of Abraham and please do not forget that. And with the blessing, we have complete health for our body, mind and spirit. God is no longer angry with us because Jesus had redeemed us from the curse of the law and since we are no longer under the curse, the natural consequence would now be the blessings of God flowing in our direction. We have received His blessings. What do we do with this blessing? Do we keep it for our own personal benefit? Or do we make use of the blessing to bless others and then in return our lives would be enriched and we receive more blessing? The choice is ours. Interesting that there are two large "seas" in Israel - the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Both lakes receive their intake of water from the River Jordan. But one lake is alive with fish and rich in industry while the other is dead with not a single fish living in it. The Sea of Galilee ( or Lake Genneserat ) is teaming with all kinds of sea life - seagulls make their daily catch of fish to feed their young and all kinds of plants and trees grow on the banks of the lake. Everything was green and beautiful. On the other hand, the Dead Sea is so heavy with minerals that the waters taste extremely salty and bitter ( a drop went into my mouth when I went dipping in the lake during our recent trip to Israel and I spat it out immediately and went to gargle my mouth many times ). No fish live in the lake. The waters in the lake could also hardly be used to water the vegetation on its shores. Only very tardy and hardy trees and weeds grow near its banks. If both lakes receive water from the River Jordan, then what makes the difference? The Jordan River flows through the Sea of Galilee while the Dead Sea keeps receiving the waters but there is no outlet. The Jordan River ends in the Dead Sea. Contrary to common belief that it would be great to keep receiving and do not have to give away, nature does have a lesson for us to take heart. Therefore, I would rather be a "Sea of Galilee" where I am only a channel of the blessings from God than be a "Dead Sea", keeping on hoarding the blessings and not making full use of the riches of His blessings. And it pleases the Lord when He sees us being vessels for His blessings. The more we receive, the more we give and the more we get replenished and then we give again and so the cycle continues. May the Lord find us faithful in the use of His gifts and His blessings. The Lord blesses you and keeps you, Shavrou-tov Shalom, |