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Need A Blessing?
When a stranger suddenly sneezed when I was standing in front of her in the check out line at a grocery store, I responded by saying, “Bless you.”
She nodded and said, “Thank you. I needed a blessing.”
Her response amused me, and as I thought about this encounter later in the day, I was curious why we say, “God bless you,” or “Bless you,” when a person sneezes.
Naturally, that led me to do a little research on it, and I discovered this practice started during the Bubonic Plaque in Europe when sneezing was seen as a symptom of the disease. Saying, “God bless you,” was a way of asking God’s protection from the disease.
As believers in Christ, we don’t have to wait for a stranger to ask God’s blessings on us after a sneeze.
We can ask God to bless us at any time, at any place, and under any circumstance.
Matthew 7:7 tells us to “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”
An Old Testament character named Jabez asked for God’s blessing in this way: “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.
Before asking for God’s blessing, think of all the ways He’s already blessed you—salvation, family, career, shelter, health—and then be specific in the way you want Him to bless you now.
In asking for anything from the Lord, the Bible admonishes us to examine our motivation for asking—is it in keeping with God’s will for our life and the holy life he expects us to live as His children? How do we intend to use God’s blessing—for ourselves or for others?
One of the prayers of the Apostle Paul is a good guide to follow: “God, bless me abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that I need, I will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8.
My blessing for you today is this: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26.
What Really Counts?
I recently saw this quote attributed to Winston Churchill: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”
As I thought about the sentiment behind this quote—that neither success nor failure defines a person, but what truly matters is the determination to keep going—I realized that while the language was inspiring, it wasn’t Biblical and therefore wasn’t true.
Churchill was emphasizing human determination rather than faith in God. He suggested that personal courage is the key to overcoming challenges, but Scripture teaches us that believers should rely on God’s strength rather than their own determination.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6.
While Churchill’s statement implies that success and failure are transient, believers understand that both are under God’s sovereign control and part of God’s plan for His people.
“He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Daniel 2:21.
And lastly, what truly “counts” at the end of life is not courage, but faith in Christ.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
This is not to say that perseverance isn’t encouraged in the Christian life. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
However, it is only through God’s strength and guidance that believers endure.
What are you counting on when you can no longer count?
It Doesn’t Make Sense
A newly remodeled house burns to the ground. A long-awaited child is stillborn. A businessman dies on the day he retires.
It doesn’t make sense.
Abraham waiting twenty-five years before his promised child is born. A chosen people suffering in slavery 400 years before freedom comes.
It doesn’t make sense.
The son of God becomes a man and lives among His creation. His creation despises and rejects Him.
It doesn’t make sense.
The One who never sinned takes on the sin of all mankind. Their punishment becomes his punishment.
It doesn’t make sense.
No, God’s ways don’t always make sense, and neither should our response.
Habakkuk, an Old Testament prophet, didn’t understand what God was doing, but after voicing his confusion, this was his response. “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17-18.
When God doesn’t make sense, we are to rejoice in the Lord.
No, it doesn’t make sense, but as Paul said, “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18.
Eternity, when all will make sense.
A Most Unusual Christmas
No matter what age you are, you probably have a Christmas tale about a sad Christmas, one that didn’t go exactly as planned, one that was disappointing, one that was so sorrowful you can’t think about it without the tears flowing.
Or you may have a Christmas tale about a happy Christmas, one where someone surprised you with an unexpected gift, one where you reconciled with a loved one, one where everyone loved the gifts you bought them, or one where you had enough money to buy someone the gift they wanted but didn’t think they’d get.
Some of you may even have a Christmas tale about an unusual Christmas, one where events unfolded in a non-traditional way, so much so that you can remember the circumstances as if they happened yesterday.
I’ve had all of the above, and although space—and my introverted personality—doesn’t lend itself to reciting the details of each situation, here’s a partial list of my most unusual Christmases.
- A Christmas morning when a family member had a kidney stone, and we had to spend the entire day in the ER.
- A Christmas when an ice storm struck so no family members were able to make it to our house to participate in our gift-giving and holiday meal together.
- A Christmas Day when my husband, young daughter, and I had to travel to a foreign country where we would be living for the next three years—a frightening and very lonely day.
- A Christmas Eve when I had to call an ambulance for my husband, who thought he was having a heart attack. In the ER, we learned it was acute pancreatitis, and he ended up spending the next three months hooked up to an IV.
Although it may be hard to believe, I could list several more unusual Christmases during my lifetime. But strangely enough, in all of these circumstances, I found peace by focusing on the most unusual day in all of human history—the First Christmas Day—the day God arrived on planet Earth in a human body.
It was a day like no other day, an unusual day, a unique day, a day we should celebrate even if our Christmas Day ends up being sad, happy, or unusual.
Jesus tells us why in His own words. “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” John 12:46.
The Certainty of Doubt
“I think I figured out who the doubters are.” That’s what a reader emailed me after I released my newest book, Four Doubt.
She followed up that sentence by saying, “But I found more than four doubters in this book. If I counted correctly, there were at least eight. It was like everyone had doubts. Did you realize that?”
I write series, so as a way of making it easy for my readers to know which book to read next, and also as a way of having an author “brand,” I include the number of the book as part of the title.
However, the number also has meaning in the plot of the book. Thus, in this series, the Silas McKay Suspense Series, the number in each of the titles—One Wonders, Two Believe, Three Confess, and Four Doubt, can be linked to certain characters, while also signifying the book order.
For example, in Two Believe, Silas McKay finds it hard to believe in the goodness of God after his wife died of brain cancer. Then, as he and a colleague investigate a robbery, she confesses she doesn’t believe in God. I won’t give any specific spoilers, but by the end of the book, two believe.
The reader who emailed me was right about Four Doubt having a reoccurring theme of doubt running throughout the book. Although the four main characters in the plot expressed doubt of some sort, there were others as well.
The reason doubt was so pervasive among the characters is that I try to make my novels as realistic as possible—in a fictional sort of way, of course—and our culture today is permeated with doubt. We express skepticism toward institutions, government, politicians, medicine, and the list goes on and on. However, doubt isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
There are many instances in Scripture where doubt is expressed, and while Jesus pointed out to his disciples that their doubt showed their lack of faith, he didn’t condemn them for their doubt. Instead, he urged them to believe in Him.
When Silas, the main character in my novel, is asked whether he doubts something, he says, “In my line of work, I never shy away from having doubts. Doubt stems from a desire to know the truth, and if I engage in it, it’s only because I’m pursuing the truth.”
One of the certainties of life is that everyone will experience doubt, but pursuing truth dispels doubt. Where does that search begin?
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:6.
Have no doubt. It begins with Truth himself.
What Can I Give You?
If I asked you, “What can I give you?” you might not be as excited about the prospect of getting something from me as you would be if God Himself were to ask you that question.
After all, this is the God who made heaven and earth, who created man from a handful of dirt, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who speaks with the voice of thunder, who is sovereign over all His creation.
While it may sound like I’m engaging in a spiritual fantasy, this actually happened when David’s son, Solomon, was anointed King of Israel. The account is in I Kings 3. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” I Kings 3:5.
Pastors and Bible teachers often use this question to get their listeners to ask themselves what they would do in this situation. “What would you say if God offered to give you anything? What is one thing you would ask God to give you?”
Although there are always some humorous answers like, “I’d ask Him for fifty more things,” most answers aren’t of a selfish nature. In moments like these, most believers focus on eternal values.
Here’s what Solomon answered: “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” I Kings 3:9.
Some might think God would just naturally give Solomon all he needed to do the task he had given him, and Solomon had just wasted this request by asking for wisdom. But how did God feel about it? “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.” I Kings 3:10.
It pleased Him because before Solomon asked for wisdom, he acknowledged he was humbled to be chosen as King of Israel, but he felt inadequate for the task and could only accomplish it by God’s help.
As unique as it sounds, Solomon wasn’t the only person to be given the opportunity to ask something of God. Jesus said to all believers in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Like Solomon, God will be pleased to answer your request if you come with a heart of humility and selflessness, acknowledging your inadequacies, and trusting Him to answer your request in a way that honors His name.
“What can I give you?” asks God the Father, who has already given us His Son.
To Know Him is to Fear Him
Be afraid. Be very afraid. Being afraid of God seems foreign to those of us who sing of His blessings, who trust Him with our eternal soul, and who pray daily to Him for guidance, for help, for comfort.
Yet, one can’t read the Bible without encountering the oft-repeated admonition to “fear the Lord.” Throughout the Old Testament, there are numerous examples of God’s children receiving a blessing because they fear God. Also, because of fearing God, they do what He commands them to do. (Genesis 42:18; Exodus 1:17; Exodus 18:21)
Fear of God is not just an Old Testament concept. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Nevertheless, there are times in my life when I’ve struggled with the concept of what it means to fear God. Yet, I’ve come to realize that having a fear of God gives us a more realistic view of God’s holiness and His power.
Fearing God doesn’t mean we cower in His presence—like a dog who knows he’s displeased his master—nor does it mean we run and hide instead of joyfully approaching Him. Instead, we embrace the fear of God because we recognize His characteristics—His all-powerful wrath toward sin, His unending sovereignty, and His unapproachable holiness—are an accurate understanding of who God really is.
The fearfulness of God is a reality, even if we don’t like it very much.
Having a true picture of God is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
We should fear God. We should be in awe of His wrath and His judgment. Yet, at the same time, we should have peace, knowing He is shielding us from wrath, sheltering us in His arms forever.
Oh, the voices!
Voices! We hear voices each and every day. They tell us to order this, pay attention to that, go there, come here.
Other voices post on our Facebook page, our Twitter feed, our social media sites, wanting us to sign this, like that, watch that, play this.
Who merits our attention? Whose voice is the worthy voice?
A crippled old man appears in the gospel of John to answer these questions. (John 5:1-17).
He doesn’t have a name in the gospel, but everyone at the pool of Bethesda knew him. He’d been lying there for thirty-eight years, unable to take advantage of the pool’s healing properties. Then Jesus stopped by one day, and, in one instantaneous moment, He took care of the crippled man’s lifelong problem.
Following Jesus’ instructions, the Man Made Whole gathered up his bedroll and walked away. Later, when asked by the religious leaders what he thought he was doing carrying around his bed on a Sabbath, he told them he was doing what he’d been instructed to do by the man who’d healed him, by the man who had enough authority to make him whole again.
The Man Made Whole was carrying his bed—in defiance of the religious authorities—because he recognized someone who was able to give life to his withered limbs was someone with authority, someone worthy of his attention.
This same man, this Jesus of Nazareth, healed me one day. He healed me of a lifelong sin problem, a sickness so severe I was doomed for eternal destruction. He did so by taking sin’s disease on Himself and paying the price for it Himself. Now, he commands me to take up my life and live it for Him.
His voice is a voice worth hearing.
Listen to His words from the rest of John 5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (25-26)
A Ready-Made Garden
As I was working in my garden this week, I kept reminding myself of how much I was going to love sitting on my patio this summer surrounded by thriving, flowering plants. I had to keep repeating this mantra because gardening is hard work.
In the midst of one of my many “rest periods,” I thought of the verse from Genesis 2:8, “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden.” That sounded good to me, especially the part about God doing the planting. When Adam and Eve showed up in Eden, they had a ready-made garden, because God had already done all the heavy lifting for them.
This concept of God “serving” or “working” for His children is present throughout the Bible; yet, most believers are taught the opposite. That is, as followers of Christ, we are urged to find ways to serve Him. While it’s true we are to “serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2), we are never to think our service toward God is anything He actually needs, that somehow He would be lacking something if we did not render Him our service.
In fact, when Paul was preaching to the Athenians, he tried to dissuade them from having such an attitude. He says in Acts 17:24-25, “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” God doesn’t need anything from us, because he is the Giver of all things; He is the self-sufficient One.
The proper response to our Giver is to receive His gifts with an abundantly grateful heart, acknowledging we have nothing to give in return. Peter tells us to serve “as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 4:11).
The service that glorifies God is service rendered through Him alone.
I Can Do Anything
I love the story of the little girl whose mother found her crying in the kitchen. When her mother asked her what was wrong, she said, “I’m in the kitchen, but I still don’t know how to cook.” Her mother put her up on a kitchen stool and proceeded to help her bake some cookies. Later, as they munched on the delicacies, the little girl observed, “If I let you do it, I can do anything.”
There are times when I’m standing in the middle of life, and I suddenly realize I don’t know how to do it. That’s when I try to remember to do these three things. By doing so, I feel as if I can do anything.
1. Ask God to take over.
Not long ago there was a popular song entitled “Jesus Take The Wheel.” It’s almost comical to think of Jesus of Nazareth in a long white robe and dusty sandals sitting in the driver’s seat and tooling along the highway of life with me in the passenger seat. However, while the picture may be amusing, the concept is theologically sound. John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” You can have peace; He’s overcome all the obstacles. Trust Him.
2. Allow others to help you.
It’s an all-American ideal to “make it on our own” or to “act independently,” but, that’s not a Biblical concept. When Paul speaks of believers in Christ, he describes each one as part of a whole. In fact, he sees this whole as if it were a human body. He says in 1 Corinthians 12:14, “the body is not one member, but many.” When I ask help from a fellow believer, I’m functioning in the way God intended His Spiritual body on earth to function.
3. Accept the personality God gave you.
Are you an introvert? Then don’t expect to live as an extrovert. Do you enjoy talking? Then don’t expect to stay silent. God says in Psalm 17, “You are the apple of my eye,” and in Isaiah 44:2, “This is what the LORD says– he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you:” Perhaps the best passage for understanding the hand of God upon the life of every individual is Psalm 139. The message in these verses is that God made you the way you are, and you glorify Him when you accept this truth.
Ask God.
Allow Others.
Accept Yourself.
Remember this pyramid with God at the pinnacle. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.
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Ben in Trouble follows Four Steps Missed in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
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Ben in Charge, Follows Three Steps Away in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
Ben in Love, Follows Two Steps Forward in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
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One Day Gone: Book I in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series; Click on Cover
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Prequel to the Titus Ray Thriller Series is $0.99 on Amazon. Click book cover
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His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich 
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