The Blessing Has Your Name on It

The Blessing Has Your Name on It Today's Scripture: I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore... Genesis 22:17, NIV. Today's Word: The moment God said you were blessed, you became blessed. Now, you may not pick up that blessing for a year, five years or a lifetime, but that does not change what God said. The blessing still belongs to you. You’ve got to rise up and say, “You know what? I’m going to go get it. I’m not going to live another day defeated. I know God has a crown of favor with my name on it, and I’m going to go pick it up today. I’m going to start acting like I’m blessed, like I’m redeemed, like I’m the head and not the tail, like I’m more than a conqueror.” Friends, the blessing already has your name on it. The good news is there is no line to get it. There is no “Will Call”. There are no late charges and no shortage in heaven! It’s all yours, totally paid for: blessings, favor, confidence, forgiveness. Rise up in faith. It’s your time. It’s your season. Start acting on it and receive everything He has in store for you! Prayer for Today: Father, thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness to me. Thank You for Your hand of blessing upon my life. I receive it by faith. I choose to walk in Your ways and thank You for leading me into victory in every area of my life in Jesus’ Name. Amen.   ***   The Value of You 14 hours ago by Rick Warren “God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life .... And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began.” (1 Peter 1:18-20a NLT) Wealth, popularity, and fame will never bring you value. They’re too temporary. Ultimately, something’s value is measured by how much another person will give up for it. If that’s the measurement, your value is out of this world. The creator of the universe gave his only Son for you! Can you imagine anyone paying a higher price for anything? The Bible says, “God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life .... And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began” (1 Peter 1:18-20a NLT). Once you internalize the truth that God sent his Son to die for you, you should never again struggle with self-esteem. God himself has eternally clarified your value. You were worth dying for. You were worth going through all the pain of the cross. You were worth having nails driven into Jesus’ hands. You matter. Jesus said he’d rather die than live without you. That’s why the Bible says this in 1 Peter 2:17: “Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters.” God loves everyone you meet. You’ll never meet anybody that Jesus Christ didn’t die for — whether they’re believers or non-believers; young or old; Republicans, Democrats, or independents. A person’s value doesn’t come from sex, physical beauty, wealth, fame, or power. Value comes from something deeper. You were made for more. You’ll discover that as you make these realizations about the Christian life: Realize that God considered you valuable enough to die for. The cross says everything about your worth.   Realize that the Holy Spirit lives in your life. When you accept Jesus as Lord of your life, he puts his Spirit into your life. Through his Spirit he’ll lead you through different decisions you need to make — if you let him. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Haven't you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you, and that he lives within you? Your own body does not belong to you” (LB). You have value because the Spirit of God has made your body — with all of its flaws — its home.   Realize that Jesus gave you a new identity. The Bible says it this way: “Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 TEV). When you give your life to Jesus, he makes all things new. It’s like he writes everything you’ve ever done on a big blackboard, and then he erases it. He lets you start over. We do things that we’re ashamed of. But Jesus says our past mistakes don’t have to define us. I don’t care what you’ve done. I don't care who you’ve done it with. I don’t care how long you’ve done it or where you did it. God doesn’t care, either. He cares about where you’re going. God says your life has value. Talk It Over How does understanding what Jesus did for you on the cross enhance your sense of value? If the Holy Spirit has made your body his home, how should that impact how you treat your body?