Choose to Be Blessed!

“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the best of
the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be
devoured by the sword.” Isaiah 1:19-20

If I asked you today whether you would rather be blessed by God … or cursed … what would your answer be? Of course, anyone in their right mind would choose for God to bless them, not curse them.

So perhaps you’re surprised to learn God has put the power of choice in your hands. You can choose for Him to bless you.

You ask, “David, how is that possible?”

God tells us in Deuteronomy 30:15-18 that He puts choices in front of us. Good or evil. Life or death. Blessings or curses.

Most of us say we want good…we want life…we want blessings. Of course we do. So how can we receive them?

We’re given the answer when He tells us to “love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments” (v. 16). If we do these things, we’re promised that we’ll live, multiply, and be blessed!

But God warns in the next few verses of tragic consequences if we pursue other gods rather than listening to Him and obeying His instructions. Instead of abundant blessings, we will reap failure, frustration, and loss.

You see, we face choices today. The outcome of our choices will either be mercy and blessings or judgment and curses. God’s blessing isn’t automatic, but rather something we must CHOOSE!

God’s Will for Your Life

Throughout the Bible, we see that when God’s people obeyed Him and walked in His ways, His blessings and favor came. But when they disobeyed Him, He removed His hand of blessing. In order to get their attention and draw them back to Him, the Lord brought them difficult circumstances.

Be clear on this: God wants to bless and prosper you. His Word describes the amazing life He wants you to have:

• God made you to be His “special treasure” (Deuteronomy 14:2).
• He wants to bless you, so you can BE a blessing to others (Genesis 12:2).
• He calls you to be “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

You have a high and holy calling as God’s dear son or daughter!

Conditional Blessings

Friend, I want you to know how much God loves you. You are special to Him. His love for you is absolutely 100% unconditional. He loves you no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done. Nothing you ever do will keep Him from loving you!

But I also want you to know that His blessing, favor, and approval are conditional. God always says in His Word, “IF you’ll do this…THEN I’ll do that.” There are blessings of obedience and curses for disobedience.

We typically interact with our children the same way. We love our kids and grandkids no matter what they do. They’re our flesh and blood, and nothing can stop us from loving them.

Yet we don’t reward their disobedience. We don’t give them our blessings, favor, and approval when they do wrong. No, if they want privileges and rewards, then conditions are attached, such as respect, honor, and good behavior.

In 2 Chronicles 7:13, God says, “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people…”

Why does God sometimes shut up the heavens? Why don’t His blessings always come? He wants to get our attention—to bring us back to Him and back to being the kind of people He’s called us to be.

The Lord goes on to say, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). What a fantastic promise!

A Special Appointment with God

This month we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, one of God’s “appointed times.” It’s not my appointed time, nor the Church’s appointed time, nor even Israel’s appointed time. It’s God’s appointed time. He says so, not me.

Read Exodus 23 and Leviticus 23. God says we should come before Him three times a year and celebrate HIS feasts…and this is to be a perpetual statute throughout all our generations (Leviticus 23:40-42). That means we’re to observe these feasts forever.

In addition to the other tithes and offerings we bring to the Lord, He says we’re to give Him a special offering during this appointed time.

This is part of living in Covenant Relationship with Him. Obeying His commandments and Sowing these special financial Seeds are a part of living in a cycle and rhythm of giving and receiving, which releases His favor and blessings in our lives.

I encourage you to give the Lord your special Feast of Tabernacles offering this month. And I ask you to join with me to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and yes, turn from our wicked ways.

This is what it will take for God to heal us and our land. This is what it will take for His blessing to come.

Let’s choose the good. Let’s choose life. Let’s choose to be blessed!

I am praying for you.

David Cerullo

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Prayer Request