When we serve God, our blessings will be numerous, abundant

Do you know people who like to carry around old baggage everywhere they go? They can't let go of anything. It is as though they just can't let go of the past. They deprive themselves of freedom because they can't forget what someone did to them 10 years ago.

You can't get the most out of today if you are continually rehashing the hurts and disappointments of yesterday. When someone has hurt you, ruined your character in some way or said something to offend you, it is not easy to let go of it.

Our natural tendency is to hang on to it. No one said it is easy, but opening up your heart and letting go of things of the past is the most exhilarating and life-altering things we can do.

Our Lord taught by saying, "Judge not, and you shall not be judged." We have no right to judge others even in the smallest matters. We don't have that right because God didn't give us that right.

James said, "Speak not evil of one another, brethren. He that speaks evil of his brother and judges him, speaks evil of the law, and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge."

He goes on to say, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and destroy: who are you that judge another" (James 4:11-12).

I don't see how it could be any plainer than this. As we don't have the right the judge others, by the same token, others don't have the right to judge us. Some people love to point out other people's faults and short-comings.

We don't have to worry about what others say about us because what they think of us doesn't matter. What matters most in life is the way we live for the Lord Jesus Christ and that do the things that are pleasing to Him. We should treat other people kindly and with respect as the Lord would have us.

Jesus continued in Luke 6:37 by saying, " Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned: forgive, and you shall be forgiven." It's a guarantee! It is a fact! We can count on it. We can stand firmly on this promise and know most assuredly that it is true.

We should be forgivers of those who have wronged us because He has forgiven us.

The greatest way that we can show Christian charity is by letting go of the bitterness and resentment we may harbor in our hearts toward those who have used and taken advantage of us.

In the next verse, He said, "Give, and it shall be given." This is not a maybe. This is not a hope-so kind of thing where you have to believe it is true, but we can know with absolute certainty, beyond the shadow of any doubt that this is true.

It's amazing how things can come back to you. When we do a good deed for someone or say a kind word, it will always come back to us in some way. There are those times when we don't feel like giving times when you feel that it's just not worth it times when you feel like you give and give till you can't do it any more. But what we have to remember is that we are doing it unto the Lord.

When we are in favor with God and doing our best to serve Him, He will bless us in ways which we can't imagine. When we are walking in the ways of God, we should expect the manifestations of God to be on our lives.

Many people don't experience the abundance of God's blessings on their life because they don't expect them. If we are seeking God's goodness and favor to be on our lives, they will surely come because this is the kind of God we serve.

We serve a God of wealth and of plenty. He is not in short supply. The Psalmist David says that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullest thereof; the world and they that dwell therein" (Ps. 24:1). In another place in Psalms it says that God owns "the cattle on a thousand hills."

There are those who are making the mistake of assuming that just because they have something that they own it. This is not entirely true.

Just because you paid for it and have possession of it doesn't mean that you own it. You might have the deed to your house, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you own it.

The money and possessions that we have down here in this life are just on loan to us by God. The scriptures say that we brought nothing into this world and we surely will take nothing out.

The things that are most important are the things you can't buy. You can't buy another person's love. You can't buy a rainbow or a tree, the air we breathe, the health we enjoy or the relaxing sounds of the waves on the seashore.

All these blessings are ours no matter who we are or where we live. It does not matter if we are rich or poor or the color of our skin or what nationality we may be. All blessings we enjoy each day come from God, and all He asks is that we enjoy them and to give Him praise.

While all these blessings of God are good, the greatest of them all is His love. We are told from His Word that He loved the world so much that He gave His only Son. Why did He do this? He did it that we may have everlasting life.

By asking Him to forgive us our sins and to come into our lives as our Savior and Lord, we get God's greatest gift.

By Billy Edwards

The Four Laws of God’s Blessing

“I will bless you … and you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2 NIV)

1. Our blessings should flow to others.

The Bible teaches us that we are blessed not just so that we can feel good, not just so we can be happy and comfortable, but so that we will bless others. God told Abraham in Genesis 12:2, “I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing” (NIV). This is the first law of blessing: It must flow outwardly.

How do you bless others? By serving a need, whether it is physical or emotional support, financial help, or practical advice. "Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand" (Philippians 1:4 MSG).

2. When we bless others, God takes care of our needs.

God promises that if we will concentrate on blessing others, he’ll take care of our needs. There’s almost nothing that God won’t do for the person who really wants to help other people. In fact, God guarantees this blessing. In Luke 18, Jesus says, “I guarantee this. Anyone who gives up anything for the kingdom of God will certainly receive many times more in this life and will receive eternal life in the next world to come.”

When you care about helping other people, God assumes responsibility for your problems. And that’s a real blessing, for he’s much better at handling your difficulties than you are.

3. Our blessings to others will come back on us.

The more you bless other people and the more you help others, the more God blesses your life. Luke 6:38 tells us, “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back — given back with bonus and blessing” (MSG). You cannot out-give God. The more you try to bless other people in the world around you, the more God says, “I’m going to pour blessings out on you. We’ll play a little game here. Let’s see who will win. Let’s see who can give the most. The more you bless others, the more I’m going to bless you in return.”

4. The more we’re blessed by God, the more he expects us to help others.

Jesus said it this way in Luke 12: “Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given” (GNT). We are blessed to be a blessing.

Talk About It

- Based on the blessings of your life, what would you say God expects from you?

- What are the needs around you for which you can use your gifts to be a blessing?

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.