Download or read book What Is a Blessing written by Lorine Egans and published by Xlibris Us. This book was released on 2017-11-13 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book aims to bring clarification, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom about what a blessing really is. In America, we have the concept that a blessing is a material entity, such as a house, a car, extravagant clothes, and expensive jewelry (the bling-bling). A blessing in Western civilization is self-centered; whereas, it is supposed to bless others, as well. We see being blessed as being happy all the time (a state of bliss). This desire for a state of happiness and a propensity for a strong feeling of repugnance toward apathy, unhappiness, suffering, distress, anguish, afflictions, difficulties, no problems, no hardships, and no worries come from the philosophy of John Locke (16321704). John Locke lived in England, and his philosophy influenced the Founding Fathers so much that when they wrote the Constitution of the United States, they relied heavily upon Lockes philosophy about natural rights, which they stated in the preamble of the Constitution as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. John Locke is also known as the father of liberalism. Liberalism is defined as the belief in the value of social and political change in order to achieve progress. To be blessed, you definitely have to make progress. Locke lived in England during the time of ruling kings and queens, so Locke posited in his Second Treatise of Government that people had a sovereign power and the monarchy was merely a delegate. John Locke, Francis Bacon, and Thomas Hobbes were three of the major philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment who embraced reasoning (rationalization) as a means to serve God. The Age of Enlightenment resulted in atheism, and it has also contributed to an erroneous conception of what a blessing is. The notion of happiness has penetrated and become a component of one of the characteristics of what we think a blessing is. The blessing has to be what we want to make us happy, prosperous, healthyself-centered blessings just for ourselves. The prosperity-theology doctrine emphasizes the importance of personal empowerment proposing that it is Gods will for his people to be happy. My goal is to help people align their thinking with what a blessing is according to biblical standards, not philosophical rationalizations (Psalm 19:78).

Download or read book Ask Me for a Blessing You Know You Need One written by Adrian Dannhauser and published by Broadleaf Books. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is a blessing? Do you have to believe to receive one? Can you doubt while you pray? And can you extend grace to others while still desperately in need of it yourself? Once a week Episcopal priest Adrian Dannhauser stands outside her Manhattan church beside a chalkboard sign that reads "Ask me for a blessing (because God knows you need one)." Passersby stop, chat, and ask for prayer: for a sick friend, an addicted son, an upcoming job interview, the state of our nation, or the grief of our world. Bus drivers sometimes open their doors for a quick prayer before the light turns green, and someone once took her to meet their doorman so she could bless him too. Half of those who stop are in crisis. Someone always cries. A few are simply curious. Through the heartfelt, frank, and sincere stories of her unique ministry, Dannhauser offers glimpses into the tender, holy, and sometimes hilarious moments of sidewalk prayers. With a potent blend of reverence and irreverence, as well as insights from Christian scriptures, she delves into the power that ancient ideas--blessing, forgiveness, miracles, and prayer--hold in a disenchanted world. For people of Christian faith, other faiths, or no faith at all, having spiritual conversations, even awkward ones with strangers on the street, can help us face our vulnerability, where we may discover a grace sufficient for all.

Download or read book Given written by Tina Boesch and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we express the good that God wants for those we love? How do we experience blessing through pain and suffering? Why would we bless even enemies? How do we keep spoken blessings in sync with God’s will? And how do we integrate blessing, a concept woven throughout the entire Bible, into the fabric of our everyday lives? In Given, you will journey outside of your comfort zone, into a world of blessing as a relational calling—as a way God relates to you and a way you’re called to relate to others. You will travel across countries, cultures, and centuries of church history to expand your paradigm of a word ripe with significance. Along the way, you’ll be inspired to begin the essential Christian practice of being given by God as a blessing. Journey with author Tina Boesch to discover your calling to a meaningful way of living and relating to God and others, inspired by Christ, who gave himself on the cross so that we could fully experience God’s blessing.

Download or read book Book of Commandments for the Government of the Church of Christ written by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and published by . This book was released on 1884 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Living in Christ s Presence written by Dallas Willard and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-12-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dallas Willard explores what it means to live well now in light of God's kingdom. This book is adapted from the talks given at the February 2013 Dallas Willard Center "Knowing Christ Today" conference. Each chapter is followed with an illuminating dialogue between Dallas Willard and John Ortberg.

Download or read book The Power to Bless written by Alan Wright and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blessed people flourish by a power that transcends human talent or hard work--a mystical grace empowers them to be joyful and fruitful. But does it ever feel like others are blessed while you're stuck? With honesty and warmth, Alan Wright shares his inspiring journey from craving blessing to living the blessed life. The absence of his father's affirmation left him struggling for years with symptoms of the unblessed life: shame, pretense, and drift. But when he grasped the most powerful blessing in the Old Testament--the mysterious, ancient blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh--he learned how to receive blessing and how to bless the lives of his loved ones. And you can too. With biblical insight and practical wisdom, The Power to Bless shows you how to craft a positive, faith-filled blessing. By learning a few simple, biblical skills for imparting life-changing blessings, you'll be more spiritually blessed than you'd ever imagined, and you'll be equipped with the power to bless the people you love.

Download or read book Circle of Grace written by Jan Richardson and published by . This book was released on 2015-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Within the struggle, joy, pain, and delight that attend our life, there is an invisible circle of grace that enfolds and encompasses us in every moment. Blessings help us to perceive this circle of grace, to find our place of belonging within it, and to receive the strength the circle holds for us." -from the Introduction Beginning in Advent and moving through the sacred seasons of the Christian year, Circle of Grace offers Jan's distinctive and poetic blessings that illuminate the treasures each season offers to us.

Download or read book The Blessing written by Gary Smalley and published by Thomas Nelson Incorporated. This book was released on 1986 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers advice based on the teachings of the Bible on how to develop a closer relationship with parents and children

Download or read book Divine Blessing and the Fullness of Life in the Presence of God written by William R. Osborne and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2020-09-24 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of blessing pervades the everyday life of Christians—from testimonies recounting God's provision, to praise songs, to wishing someone well. In fact, the term has been so integrated into Christian language that it is rarely considered thoughtfully. In the pages of Scripture, blessing seems to be either physical or spiritual, but a fuller biblical-theological approach reveals that God's blessing has always been both spiritual and physical. In Divine Blessing and the Fullness of Life in the Presence of God, William Osborne traces the theme of blessing throughout Scripture as he guides readers into a deeper understanding of how God's gracious benevolence impacts the everyday lives of Christians.

Download or read book Blessed To Be A Blessing written by Kenneth Copeland and published by Destiny Image Publishers. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God wants to bless you. He has made all of heaven's supply available to you. But the blessings of God are not automatic. You have a part to play. To find it, you'll need to look no further than the Holy Bible. Throughout His Word, God has indicated His desire to prosper His people. In both the Old and New Testaments, God describes His...

Download or read book BLESS written by Dave Ferguson and published by Salem Books. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What If You Could Change the World without Changing Your Daily Routine? When you’ve been transformed by God’s love, you can’t help but want others to experience the same grace and freedom. But how do you share it without scaring them away or offending them? For most Christians, “evangelism” is an intimidating word that suggests handing out tracts to strangers or doing other awkward things. But what if there was a more organic, more authentic way to share your faith with your friends, neighbors, and coworkers? Dave and Jon Ferguson have found five simple, straightforward practices that will allow any believer to do just that. And by consistently living them out, you can affect not just individual lives but your entire neighborhood and community—one person at a time.

Download or read book Double Blessing written by Mark Batterson and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God doesn't bless us to raise our standard of living. God blesses us to raise our standard of giving, and that's where true joy is found. The New York Times bestselling author of Chase the Lion challenges us not to settle for half of what God offers when it comes to blessings—we are BLESSED to BLESS. His discovery started with a simple experiment. Whenever Batterson received a blessing, he would give a similar blessing away. If someone paid him a compliment or gave him a gift or went out of their way to help him, he would return the favor by doing something similar for someone else. We flip the blessing by blessing others in the way God has blessed us. That’s how the blessing becomes a double blessing. It turns giving into a game—one we can’t win because God will always outgive us! It’s an ancient truth found within the Abrahamic covenant: “I will bless you . . . and you will be a blessing.” In other words, we are blessed to bless. The first blessing is receiving, but it doesn’t end there. The second blessing is giving it away! That’s the double blessing. And that’s where double joy is found. In a day and age where the idea of blessing has been reduced to a hashtag (#blessed), Batterson challenges readers to pursue true, God-glorifying blessing and experience an exponential impact by participating in the double blessing. Don’t settle for half of what God offers. Discover how you can both get it and give it . . . in Double Blessing.

Download or read book The Power of Blessing written by Kerry Kirkwood and published by Destiny Image Publishers. This book was released on 2010-07-28 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover for yourself: It really IS more blessed to give than to receive! The Power of Blessing is more than an encouragement to bless. It shows you many ways you can be a blessing to those around you. Blessings are not just about materialism, blessings are more about a lifestyle that changes environments and conditions among families, churches, communities, and even small businesses and large corporations. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9 NIV). The Power of Blessing: • Presents practical applications about how to bless others and receiving blessings. • Teaches the difference between truth and fact. • Shares humorous and inspirational testimonies. • Reveals the importance of speaking God’s intentions as to how things should be. • Breaks generational curses by learning how to bless. Your heavenly Father is the redemptive God who delights in bringing things back into His divine order. Through learning how to bless, you can participate in this redemptive process. By actively living a lifestyle of blessing, you will see changes in the hearts of those you bless—as well as in yourself!

Download or read book Rediscovering the Ministry of Blessing written by Russ Parker and published by SPCK. This book was released on 2014-02-20 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible teaches us', Russ Parker writes, 'that blessing is a unique ministry resource gifted to believers to effect the purposes of God in peoples' lives.' In this enthralling book, the author tells of situations of family estrangement, depression and chronic illness; of times of hopelessness and helplessness where miraculous transformation has been wrought through calling on God to bless someone with the richest blessing they are able to receive. As he has travelled the country teaching on the ministry of blessing, Russ has seen an enthusiastic response and uptake, especially amongst those involved in prayer ministry. He believes it is time for all who want to be part of God's renewal - both in church and through reaching out to the wider community - to consider how we might help others to flourish as the people God has called them to be. 'Russ Parker's ground breaking work on healing community history will be so helpful to churches. It has greatly helped me.' The Rt Revd Graeme Dow, former Bishop of Carlisle

Download or read book A Blessing written by Bonita C. Stewart and published by Wordeee. This book was released on 2020-10-15 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Blessing presents a fresh, bold analysis of African American female leadership. An unapologetic look at our often-overlooked role in America's social, political, psychological and economic history, it is armed with data that should be empowering for today's "unicorns." The book offers a "playbook" to help Black unicorns "team up" and find innovative ways to support one another as they climb, what research shows, are lonely, stressful, jagged yet ultimately rewarding ladders of opportunity.

Download or read book The Promise of Blessing written by Kate Patterson and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amid the instructions on wave offerings and hair cutting tucked away in the book of Numbers, we find a sparkling diamond set in the ring of God's call to His people to be set apart to Him: God's gift of blessing, given to a weary people wandering in the wilderness. Kate Patterson explores the Aaronic blessing from the book of Numbers, phrase by shining phrase, and invites us to join her in discovering the fullness of God's blessing in whatever situation we find ourselves.

Download or read book The Gift of Blessing written by Kate Patterson and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blessing is God's idea--it's the first thing He did when He made Adam and Eve, and it's the last thing Jesus did before He ascended into heaven. And yet many of us picture God as a grumpy old man who measures out blessing in measly thimblefuls. Building on her book The Promise of Blessing, which explores the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6, this encouraging devotional from Kate Patterson offers daily opportunities to see God afresh through that shining blessing made to God's people as they wandered in the desert. Though thousands of years old, this blessing still holds surprising truths for God's children today. With reflections, Scripture, and prayer prompts, Patterson looks at each phrase of God's blessing in Numbers 6. Each day shares a significant discovery about the God at the heart of our faith--a God who loves us and longs to bless His people so they can be a blessing to others. For those wanting to know God's blessing for themselves, this inviting giftbook will bless not only them but also those around them.