Third Day of The New Year

The Grace Of Blessing And Vindication

The Psalmist is quite clear in letting us know that only a certain person will receive this blessing and vindication. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.

We are assured that since Jesus is the only person to fit these criteria, we must consciously remain ever mindful of Him and in Him, daily seeking a submissive heart in Him. We diligently seek, so that we may know in us, the hill of the Lord and His holy place. In the words of Charles Wesley’s hymn, ‘O For A Heart To Praise My God,’ you and I must daily seek, in Christ;

A heart in every thought renewed,

And full of love divine;

Perfect, and right, and pure, and good,

A copy, Lord, of Thine.  Amen.

 

In knowing our Saviour proven in us, we evidence this truth of grace. Will you believe and will you accept that you and I have been given Blessing and Vindication, as we stand in this New Year? Let’s meditate for a bit on the Grace of Blessing. Blessing is the opposite of curse or woe. Both come from God, according to our disobedient or obedient responses to God. Here are two occasions when blessings and curses or woes are brought before God’s people and all who desire to be His followers.

We go to the Old Testament, where God’s servant speaks God’s message of blessing and curse to God’s people. See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. Deuteronomy 11: 26 – 28. 

In the New Testament, God’s Son, Jesus, speaks God’s message of blessing and woe to His disciples, amidst a large crowd of followers. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. And Jesus ends God’s message, His Sermon on the Mount, as is familiarly known, by saying. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. You can read the full text of Blessings and Woes in Luke 6: 20 – 26.   

Now, I ask. Is not the blessing that stands before us, in this New Year, the same blessing that the Lord God sent to tell the shepherds on that first Christmas day? Listen again to what they hear and receive. Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2: 10b KJV 

I believe and accept that in this Christmas, or Advent message, my blessing from the Lord my God is given. This is not just for me, but for you also. Will you receive it? I bring you all that has been given to me, which, remember, is for you as well. In what kind of mind, state, or season, were these shepherds, when this Grace of Blessing was brought and given to them? Have you ever really stopped to think that these tidings came to people in a season, or time of fear? Why else would it be necessary for God’s messenger to have to first tell them, not to be afraid? Have you ever stopped to note that Fear not, is an integral and important part of the blessing?

The truth is that many of us are in a season of fear, as we take these initial steps into year 2024. Nevertheless, like the shepherds, in an unexpected, unplanned and unnamed season, fear will only take hold for a time.  It is to you and me, in this season of fear that the word comes, Fear not. 

Let’s continue in God’s Grace tomorrow, the Fourth day of the New Year.