Common Sense Reborn

April 17

²²The Lord said to Moses, ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites.  Say to them:

²⁴“‘“The Lord bless you

and keep you;

²⁵the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

²⁶the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.”  (Numbers 6:22-26, The Jesus Bible)

Happy Monday Friends.  If you are a fan of Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, Elevation Worship, Steven Furtick, The Belonging Co, or Christian Music, the words above should sound remarkably familiar.  These were the words that Steven Furtick, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and the Elevation Worship team made famous in 2020 when they released “The Blessing”, an anthem of prayer that has touched the lives of millions over the last three years.  This prayer comes out of nowhere in the Book of Numbers.  I had not picked up my Bible since Easter, as it has been a very busy week.  I missed out on finishing sharing my favorite Easter songs with y’all(Number #2 is Hillsong United’s “Blown Away” and my favorite is Phil Wickham’s newest offering “Sunday Is Coming”).  

Today has been my first day off since our vacation to see family down in Florida and I was looking for inspiration to share with y’all.  I decided to crack open the Bible and pick up where I left off reading to the baby, which was the beginning of the Book of Numbers.  I pushed through the first five chapters, and was about to put the Bible down for the day, not having anything positive to share, other than how glad I am that Jesus came to bring us the New Testament.  Then I saw that Chapter 6 was titled “Nazirite”, and this piqued my interest, so I decided to read one more chapter for the day.  And at the end of that chapter, I came across the beautiful blessing above.  This then gave me an easy sermon illustration:  Don’t give up.  The blessing is just a little bit further. Keep pushing, keep fighting, keep driving. The Blessing is right around the corner.

When we come to tough points in our life, that is when we need to keep our focus on Jesus and God, and keep pushing forward.  When I got to the end of Chapter 2 in Numbers, after reading every hard to pronounce Jewish name and the numbers of their tribe, over and over again, I just wanted to quit.  I just wanted to put the Bible down and say enough.  As dry and slow as the Book of Numbers is, I know Deuteronomy is just as bad.  But I also know that once I power through The Torah part of the Old Testament, the rest of the Holy Bible is a refreshing story-line of the Israelites greatest Judges, Kings, Prophets, and writings that cover the span of hundreds of years as God sought to lift up His Chosen lineage to demonstrate His purpose to mankind.  Today, I kept my focus on the promise of what is to come and pushed through to find the Blessing that my soul desperately needed to read.  So while this example played out in a small way in the middle of a seemingly routine day at home, the truth is that God has a blessing ahead for you and for me and for your children, and your friends, and God will pour it out upon you and give you favor upon favor and blessing upon blessing.  In the tough times, keep your eyes focused on the gift of Christ and the truth of God’s love for you, and always remember the words above, and that a blessing is just another page away in your story.

Elevation Rhythm just released a short EP with a lot of fun songs.  I believe I shared PRAISES with y’all when it was released as a single a few weeks ago, so for today, I want to share the new single with you, entitled “This is The Gospel”. This song is a fun, hip, island-vibe beat dropping, toe-tapping song about the promise God has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. No matter what troubles you are going through today, remember this truth, The Blessing is right around the corner.