20 DAYS IN 2 HOURS CHALLENGE STARTS TODAY (June 7)

The first devotional of the challenge will be posted soon!

The topic for this inaugural challenge will be “BLESSINGS”.
God created us, He loves us, and His desire is to bless us.
One of the best ways for us to re-connect with God
is to remember His blessings.
Those special times when He surprised us
with blessings we did not expect, or deserve.

There are also times
when He was “with us” during difficult situations.
It could be when we were in danger,
when we were saddened,
when we struggled with a decision,
when we were under stress,
when we had financial issues,
when we were ill,
when we felt alone,
when we felt misunderstood,
when we were treated unfairly,
when we struggled with an addiction,
when we felt guilty about how we treated someone else,
when we felt shame over how we had disappointed the Lord, etc.

The list can go on and on, but if we ever had
that conversion experience when the Lord
saved us, I am fairly sure that we can recall
at least one incident when He has blessed us.

The word “blessings” is defined as, “approval; encouragement;
something that produces happiness or welfare; a special favor,
mercy, or benefit; a favor or gift given by God which creates
happiness”.

We have several definitions to choose from, and we can see
from the list that no matter which one we choose, blessings
is described as a good thing.

Pause for a moment and think back to the day you were born.
Okay, maybe that’s too far back, but think about your life history.
More than likely your life has had times of joy (highs/hills),
and times of despair (lows/valleys).
The ones you remember most vividly, will probably
have some significant event associated with them.

With the lows, you may have experienced
heartbreak, emotional distress, pain, etc.
With the highs, you may have experienced
excitement, joy, peace, blessings, etc.

The world may want us to believe that our blessings are
“good luck”, but when God blesses us, it has nothing to
do with “luck” and everything to do with His mercy,
love, and kindness.

If we accept the world’s view, then we will most likely
overlook how we have received favor from our Creator.
God created us,
which means He loves us and wants what is best for us.

We are the same with our own children, right?
As a result of His love, care, and nurturing,
we can receive blessings from Him, but we may
fail to recognize them as gifts of His unmerited grace.

Galatians 3:14 reminds us that the blessing in Christ Jesus
(which God wants us to receive) isn’t material things,
but something far greater – “the promise of the Spirit”.
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to
Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ
Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise
of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:14)

If we think God’s blessings pertain to only things in the
material realm, then we’ll pursue those things, spend
prayer time asking God for them, and when we don’t
get them, we will wonder if we’ve been blessed by God.

When our focus is in the wrong direction, we’ll miss out
on enjoying the broader, fuller, and more real blessings
from God (which include peace, joy, contentment, etc.).

However, when we focus on, and pursue Christ, we can
enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit as our number one blessing
of God!

Of course we should always be grateful for the material
things God gives us, such as food, clothing and shelter,
but we’re truly blessed when we experience Christ as our
love, our peace, our patience, our satisfaction, our joy,
and so many other aspects of Himself.

God wants the best for those who belong to Him
(ie. those who love Him).
And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according
to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

If this challenge is beneficial, then I will plan on
creating more in the future on different topics.
If you “take the challenge”,
any feedback (positive or negative) would be appreciated.

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