January 7-Jabez
Day 2
WHAT DOES GOD’S BLESSING MEAN?
Forms of the verb to bless (barak in Hebrew) appear nearly four hundred times in the Old Testament. To bless means to favor, honor, or bestow special gifts or status. In the Bible, for example, fathers pronounced blessings on their sons to pass along the family birthright or inheritance. People blessed God in their worship—“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
But the kind of blessing we’re talking about here is God’s favor on us—His supernatural gifts that we don’t earn and that we can’t receive from anyone else. That’s why the Bible says, “It is the LORD’s blessing that makes you wealthy. Hard work can make you no richer” (Proverbs 10:22, TEV).
The Bible clearly teaches that God cares about all our needs—material, emotional, and spiritual.
1.Where do you think your blessings come from? From your family, marriage, job, hard work, or mere chance? Read James 1:16-17, Why is it so easy to become deceived (v. 16) and think we are the source of our blessings?
2.Do you think everyone who prospers is being blessed by God? (Psalm 37 records the grief a believer can feel when evildoers prosper.)
3.Does God guarantee material blessings and prosperity to believers? Might there be good reasons to withhold them?
4.When you receive eternal salvation, God gives you what Paul calls “every spiritual blessing…in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Read Ephesians 1:4-14. Write down some spiritual blessings Paul mentions.
You can also understand blessings in terms of the basis on which they’re given:
•A conditional blessing means there’s something I have to do if I want what God has to give. If I don’t do it, I won’t get the blessings. Check Christ’s conditional blessings in Matthew 5:11-12 and the blessings and curses listed in Deuteronomy 28-30.
•An unconditional blessing is one that God decides to give with no requirements. The recipient doesn’t have to qualify to receive it. Look at the promises God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3.
5. Are the blessings you receive at salvation (described in Ephesians 1) conditional or unconditional blessings, or both?
6. One kind of unconditional blessing could be called compassionate blessings. These blessings are based on the nature and character of God. He simply wants to give! (Read Exodus 34:6 to see God’s self-portrait.) And it is His will that we want all of what He has to give. What do you learn about God’s desire to bless in these verses?
1 CORINTHIANS 2:9
ROMANS 8:28-30
ROMANS 2:4
JAMES 1:17
7. What kind(s) of blessings do you think Jabez was asking for? What is the basis of your conclusion?”
What is the greatest blessing you’ve ever received in your life?
Have you always considered it a blessing?
WHAT DOES GOD’S BLESSING MEAN?
Forms of the verb to bless (barak in Hebrew) appear nearly four hundred times in the Old Testament. To bless means to favor, honor, or bestow special gifts or status. In the Bible, for example, fathers pronounced blessings on their sons to pass along the family birthright or inheritance. People blessed God in their worship—“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
But the kind of blessing we’re talking about here is God’s favor on us—His supernatural gifts that we don’t earn and that we can’t receive from anyone else. That’s why the Bible says, “It is the LORD’s blessing that makes you wealthy. Hard work can make you no richer” (Proverbs 10:22, TEV).
The Bible clearly teaches that God cares about all our needs—material, emotional, and spiritual.
1.Where do you think your blessings come from? From your family, marriage, job, hard work, or mere chance? Read James 1:16-17, Why is it so easy to become deceived (v. 16) and think we are the source of our blessings?
2.Do you think everyone who prospers is being blessed by God? (Psalm 37 records the grief a believer can feel when evildoers prosper.)
3.Does God guarantee material blessings and prosperity to believers? Might there be good reasons to withhold them?
4.When you receive eternal salvation, God gives you what Paul calls “every spiritual blessing…in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Read Ephesians 1:4-14. Write down some spiritual blessings Paul mentions.
You can also understand blessings in terms of the basis on which they’re given:
•A conditional blessing means there’s something I have to do if I want what God has to give. If I don’t do it, I won’t get the blessings. Check Christ’s conditional blessings in Matthew 5:11-12 and the blessings and curses listed in Deuteronomy 28-30.
•An unconditional blessing is one that God decides to give with no requirements. The recipient doesn’t have to qualify to receive it. Look at the promises God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3.
5. Are the blessings you receive at salvation (described in Ephesians 1) conditional or unconditional blessings, or both?
6. One kind of unconditional blessing could be called compassionate blessings. These blessings are based on the nature and character of God. He simply wants to give! (Read Exodus 34:6 to see God’s self-portrait.) And it is His will that we want all of what He has to give. What do you learn about God’s desire to bless in these verses?
1 CORINTHIANS 2:9
ROMANS 8:28-30
ROMANS 2:4
JAMES 1:17
7. What kind(s) of blessings do you think Jabez was asking for? What is the basis of your conclusion?”
What is the greatest blessing you’ve ever received in your life?
Have you always considered it a blessing?
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