84 WALKING IN THE BLESSING James 1;22.

But be doers of the word, not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer and not a doer, he is like one who looks at his natural face in a mirror; Once he has gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.’ (James 1:22-25) in this particular Scripture, the word MAN comes from the Greek word for MALE (I am pointing this out because in most other Scriptures the word MAN means male and or female) why is that significant? Because there is a difference in the way men and women use a mirror. Men in general glance at it just long enough to get the basics done; whereas women are sometimes so intent on knowing how they look that they even carry a mirror and refer to it regularly throughout the day. But don’t miss the point here, it’s not about the difference in how men and women use mirrors, No, it’s about spending a few hurried moments in the Scripture before rushing out into your day; instead of meditating on it and allowing God’s Word to shape your character into the likeness of Jesus Christ for the day ahead. None of us know what awaits us each morning when we shut the door and leave the relative security of our homes and families, But, those few extra minutes spent in the presence of God could be of tremendous assurance and comfort if and when things don’t go quite as we expect them to during the day ahead. Think about it.!! As you read the Scripture The Holy Spirit holds a mirror in front of you, so that you can make whatever adjustments are necessary. Note the words ‘Whoever looks intently and continues in it, will be blessed’. Walking in God’s Blessing is a two-way street. we need to take care of the ‘Doing’ and He will take care of the ‘Blessing’ As a Christian, your new nature is programmed to want to obey God in much the same way as a calculator is programmed to compute numbers. When you put in the right information, you get the right responses. And when you feed your new nature with God’s Word, it’s designed to give you the right response. That’s why Satan keeps us so busy doing other things so that we wont spend time reading our Bibles. His goal is to keep us weak and ineffective. In (2 Corinthians 3:18) Paul writes; “We all ...beholding as in a mirror the Glory of The Lord, are being transformed into the same image” A mirror is simply a reflector. And the more time we spend in God’s Word, the more we begin to reflect His likeness, But it wont happen by just grabbing a verse here and there or skimming through a passage saying to ourselves “Oh yes nice story” No! God always has something new to tell us and you wont hear it by spending a few hurried moments ‘on the run’ with Him, It doesn’t have to be long, but it has to be “Quality Time” If we want God’s best, we must learn to give Him our best, that includes Time, energy, money and work. In fact all we have comes from Him. If we can’t trust Him with it, where is our Faith? That’s a good question, because it calls for a renewing of our minds everyday with God’s Word, to the extent that the Holy Spirit connects with your spirit and produces a Christlike lifestyle. Jesus said in (John 15;3-4) ‘You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you,. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you bear fruit, unless you abide in me.’ When food dries on a plate, that plate needs to abide in some hot soapy water so that all the mess can be removed. That’s why your mind needs to be soaked in God’s Word, it removes not only gross sin but hardened, baked on stubborn attitudes that will prevent you from growing in grace. Thank you for reading my take on “Living In The Blessing” I find the best thing about living this way is-- You never have to look for God or wonder where He is, because you KNOW He is always with you. And you are completely covered, surrounded and protected (Head to Toe) by the veil of Almighty God Himself. Like Daniel in the Den of Lions Like the Israelites in the Wilderness. Like Paul in the Storm or, Peter chained to two guards in prison. God is always there for you. Now, I am not saying there won’t be difficult times, there will be; but, Living in the Blessing gives you the confidence, the assurance and absolute knowledge that whatever happens good or bad, God is in control and sometimes we have to go through some pretty tough situations, not only to see, but to experience and understand the benefits of God’s Grace and eternal presence in our lives.. He has your best interest at heart Give Him a call He has promised to answer you. (Jeremiah 33.3) God Bless. Phaline. --------------------------------