Does he own this ranch, or does it own him?”
–Elmer Kelton (Six-Bits a Day)
“There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their owner to his hurt.”
“There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their owner to his hurt.”
–Ecclesiastes 5:13(NKJV)
———————————–
I was reading, then started pondering and contemplating this past weekend. The titles of two songs were going through my mind and I started my pea-brain into delving deeper into the words.
“Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need…” (Daniel W. Whittle). I began wondering and pondering, do we need or want the showers of God’s blessing? Yes, of course we need, we must have the blessings of His mercy. They are renewed every morning and every morning we need to be showered with them, and throughout the day. We need the showers of His grace, for we can do nothing in ourselves. We need the showers of sanctification, of the growth of the fruit of the Spirit, of His great love. But many things we want showered with are just wants. I want this, shower me with the wealth of the world, I want that, shower me with entertainment, shower me with hyper-pogostick praise. Shower me with pseudo-religion. Shower me with blessings that I really do not need. And, you know what, sometimes out of His great goodness, He does shower us with abundance. However, remember, if the Lord gives us an abundance of something He expects us to use it properly and for the kingdom of God.
I don’t want to belittle that great song. It is a song of refreshing. A song that means much to us right now in the midst of the horrendous heat wave and drought. But we must sing, as we should all songs and hymns, with the right attitude and right motive.
The second song has the chorus”
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
Count your blessings,
See what God hath done;
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
Count your many blessings,
See what God hath done.
–Johnson Oatman, Jr.
We sing that song, we say we count our blessings, but do we really take the time to thank God for them? Can we even begin to count all the blessings that the Lord has given us? I started doing that on Saturday evening. I became overwhelmed! The blessings of God in our lives are like the stars in the sky. They surmount what we can even begin to count. Do it now, begin to not just count, but ponder the blessings that God has given you.
Life, but physical and spiritual
Salvation
Hope of glory
Fellowship with Him
Fellowship with believers
Assurance
Health
Promises from His Word
Family
Victories in the past
Your heritage, both natural and physical
Comfort
and on and on and on and on and on…
Oh the truth of Oatman’s hymn,
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
———————————–
I was reading, then started pondering and contemplating this past weekend. The titles of two songs were going through my mind and I started my pea-brain into delving deeper into the words.
“Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need…” (Daniel W. Whittle). I began wondering and pondering, do we need or want the showers of God’s blessing? Yes, of course we need, we must have the blessings of His mercy. They are renewed every morning and every morning we need to be showered with them, and throughout the day. We need the showers of His grace, for we can do nothing in ourselves. We need the showers of sanctification, of the growth of the fruit of the Spirit, of His great love. But many things we want showered with are just wants. I want this, shower me with the wealth of the world, I want that, shower me with entertainment, shower me with hyper-pogostick praise. Shower me with pseudo-religion. Shower me with blessings that I really do not need. And, you know what, sometimes out of His great goodness, He does shower us with abundance. However, remember, if the Lord gives us an abundance of something He expects us to use it properly and for the kingdom of God.
I don’t want to belittle that great song. It is a song of refreshing. A song that means much to us right now in the midst of the horrendous heat wave and drought. But we must sing, as we should all songs and hymns, with the right attitude and right motive.
The second song has the chorus”
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
Count your blessings,
See what God hath done;
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
Count your many blessings,
See what God hath done.
–Johnson Oatman, Jr.
We sing that song, we say we count our blessings, but do we really take the time to thank God for them? Can we even begin to count all the blessings that the Lord has given us? I started doing that on Saturday evening. I became overwhelmed! The blessings of God in our lives are like the stars in the sky. They surmount what we can even begin to count. Do it now, begin to not just count, but ponder the blessings that God has given you.
Life, but physical and spiritual
Salvation
Hope of glory
Fellowship with Him
Fellowship with believers
Assurance
Health
Promises from His Word
Family
Victories in the past
Your heritage, both natural and physical
Comfort
and on and on and on and on and on…
Oh the truth of Oatman’s hymn,
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.