Grace Bible Studies

This week as I was contemplating Christmas and reading through Deuteronomy, I couldn’t help but notice the extravagant blessing God promised the Israelites if they obeyed Him.

You know, in the culture we live in America, we tend to extravagantly bless our kids with stuff. And if we don’t have the means, we tend to feel bad for them that they didn’t get the newest gadget, video game system, iPhone or as much stuff as Johnny, his best friend, got. Like we have failed them in comparison with our friends because we didn’t spend $500 on toys. It’s good to want to bless our kids, but I do wonder how this relates to God. God is our Father and He loves to bless us.

 

I wonder what kind of blessing is for us today. I mean if God proves his love by giving us tangible things, what about the Christians who don’t have much? Is it because they haven’t obeyed God? Is stuff a sign of obedience? Or today we may say, well, it’s a mindset. And yes, the gospel breaks off the poverty mindset, but I do have some concerns about assuming having stuff equals obedience to God. After really seeing “increase” in real estate, and now working in the church, it’s forced me to question all these physical blessings that we think are a sign of God’s favor on our lives. I mean, sure famous preachers can say they are blessed because they obeyed God. But that’s equivalent to an actor saying they are blessed because they obeyed God.

 

The Old Covenant was about serving and loving God.

If the Israelites served God and loved him with all their hearts, they would be blessed.

 

Obedience brought blessing.

 

It didn’t depend on inner transformation.

 

Deut 5 shares the story of the Israelites at the mountain with Moses and God and essentially they said, “We are afraid if we hear God we will die. Moses, you talk to God, and tell us what to obey.”

 

There’s no power in that. Sure they could muster up an outward obedience, and not murder their family, but what about inward?

 

I wonder if this is where we have gotten it wrong in Christianity. We are still trying to live under the Old Covenant principles of doing good to be blessed. We are trying to obey God under the Old Covenant, mustering up enough obedience to be blessed, while also trying to be a good servant like Christ and have all the Spiritual blessings. We all want peace. We all want joy. We all want stuff.

 

So as I think it through, and wrestle with this whole Christianity thing, didn’t Christ already do all that?

 

He fulfilled the Old Covenant and was good for us. He brought peace to the world through his obedience. This is what we just celebrated Christmas for. Peace to earth goodwill toward man, right? So what’s the deal with the blessings of God?

 

What Christianity is about is having a new heart. Becoming more like Christ to serve more people.

 

The Old Covenant was an outer obedience and outer reward. What the Israelites didn’t want was a relationship. They only wanted rules.

 

Christianity is an inner transformation resulting in outer service. It’s an inner transformation of love, and it bears fruit for an outer laying one’s life down. Christianity is all about relationship, not about rules.

 

What if we’ve been duped into believing Christianity is about what I can get from God, instead of how can I be more like him. We somehow think money is a sign of God’s favor, when the sign was Jesus laid his life down, for us. He already proved his love by laying his life down. Now he asks us to do the same with the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

It starts with your family. Is your spouse acting a fool? Lay your life down. Do they have annoying habits? Lay your life down. Then believers. Did a Christian do something that hurts? Forgive as you’ve been forgiven.

Is God angry with you?

Good News: You are not guilty (even though…)!

 

The first few years of working as a REALTOR, it seemed no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t land a listing!

My husband was working hard, but just starting a flooring business, and as you know it takes a while to get a business off the ground. We had 2 toddlers and a baby at home, so I was desperate to make something.

Before the appointment, sitting in my car out front of their home, I’d beg the Lord wiping the tears from my face, “Jesus, please let me get this one. I really need it. Please God.” In the home, I’d take a look around, give them my advice, sit down to answer their questions, and the inevitable sentence would roll off their tongues, “Well, we need to think about it.” My heart broken and time wasted away from my kids, I would cry, “God why are you not blessing me?”

The same story repeated itself countless times as I scored listing appointments, but couldn’t close the deal. (If you’ve ever been in sales, you can relate)

 

I knew His promises, I read the Word every day! I even went to a faith Bible school! I’d declare His promises out loud and believed He wanted to bless me, so why wasn’t it working?

 

Have you ever experienced this? The Israelites were wandering in the desert for 40 years. God was so angry with all their complaining and idol worship, they had to die in the wilderness without inheriting the promised land. Even Moses, who was the humblest man in the world didn’t get to inherit the promised land!

I felt like I was an Israelite wandering in the desert knowing the promise of God but never entering the land!

 

In my desperation to see the blessings of God, I wrote a song, “Let your Goodness pass before me” Get it on iTunes.

 

So why can we expect the blessings of God when even Moses didn’t get to inherit the promise? What’s the difference?

 

It’s the New Covenant! Guys, we are not Israelites under the Old Covenant!

 

Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites had to obey to obtain the promises. They had to offer sacrifices for their sin to remove their guilt year after year.

Under the New Covenant, we believe in Jesus and obtain the promises. God punished sin on the cross! Our guilt is washed away in the blood of Jesus. Jesus paid the debt of your sin, and God will never be angry with you again!

 

Before understanding the new covenant, even though I knew the promise, I felt unworthy of the blessing of God. When I had listing appointments, I felt guilty for the sins I had committed and sabotaged any success headed my way. God wanted to bless me, but I couldn’t receive it.

 

But when learning I have favor with God, not because I’ve been good, but because Jesus was good for me, Jesus lifted my chin up, and I began to get clients.

Guys, you are worthy because Jesus paid the price for you! You are free of guilt from all the bad things you have done because Jesus has already cleansed you.

 

Isaiah 54:9-10 Just as I swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the earth, so now I swear that I will never again be angry and punish you. For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken, says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

 

You do not have to walk around guilty of everything you’ve done wrong. God made a covenant that He would never be angry with you anymore! God knew we had a sin problem, and sent the answer by sending his wonderful son Jesus, born of a virgin, born lowly in a manger, to die on a cross for you and for me. He took our guilt and gave us peace. Because of Jesus, God will never be angry with you, and you qualify for the blessings of God because of Jesus’ behavio...

Blessings? Sometimes it feels like everything is going wrong! Am I under a curse?

 

In this podcast, I share why we are blessed under the New Covenant and what the actual blessing is. Believe it or not, blessings are not defined as how much money or stuff we have. Find what the blessing is by listening.

3 Keys to Financial Abundance

 

Several years ago, I was praying to the Lord, “Should I work or should I stay home with the kids?” I had been praying this prayer for years as I had my real estate license and sold homes from time to time. We were struggling financially and I wanted to help out, but also had kids at home, and I felt guilty for working.

Always in a state of confusion, I never made much money until that day I finally heard God speak.

He said, “Dana, it is for freedom that Christ has set you free. I was the one who gave women their freedom. I initiated the movement for women to have rights and work if they want to. You have the power to choose whether you want to work or not. If you work, I will bless you and you can buy those extra things you would like. If you don’t work, I still will provide all your needs. It’s your choice.”

 

Feeling like I finally had God’s permission to be a working mom, I set out to rev up my real estate business!

And it was incredible! God’s hand of favor in my life was unexplainable! Even my coach said, “Dana, this is not normal!”

 

So what caused the favor of God’s abundance in my life? Well, I’ve thought long about this and would like to share some of the insights along the way. While this is not all encompassing of Jehovah Jireh, I’m hoping it can help you along the way. Below you will find 3 keys to financial abundance.

 

We just finished Genesis 21-41, reading about Abraham and have landed at the story of him being tested to sacrifice his one and only son. As Abraham and Isaac are walking up the mountain, Isaac is like, “Um dad, where’s the sacrifice?” As he is carrying the wood on his back.

 

Abraham just states, “God will provide.”

 

When they get up to the top of the mountain and Abraham is about to slaughter his son, believing God has the ability to raise him from the dead if needed, God spoke to Abraham, “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” And He provided a ram instead.

 

Genesis 22:14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

 

The word ‘provided’ is translated in Hebrew “Jehovah will see”. I find it interesting that it says to see, perceive or have vision.

 

3 Keys to Financial Abundance:

#1     Seeing the provision.

For me, the first step in abundance was seeing that God gave me a choice. He gave me free will. If I wanted abundant overflowing resources, he gave me the privilege and ability to work. Work is a blessing, not a curse!

God gives you the power to gain wealth. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant…

* He gives you the power to produce wealth.

* Work hard, and enjoy your work. Ask God to give you creative ideas, whether for your own business or as an employee.

* You have to put your hand to something. “I will bless whatever your hand touches” is throughout the bible.

 

I asked the Lord this morning why so many struggle financially and I heard him say, “Because they don’t believe they have my favor. Or they don’t believe they are worth it.”

 

#2     You have His favor! Believe you carry the very presence of God!

I began to confess that I have the favor of God on my life. And whatever my hand touches prospers. As I began to believe I really did have God’s favor, my confidence grew and that made me a much better REALTOR!

* To be abundantly blessed financially means you choose to believe His blessing rests upon you and you have the power to gain wealth.

How does God relate with us? Through covenants.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I used to think the whole Bible applied to me. Now listen, I know the whole thing is the Word of God, but what if all these years I’ve read and applied it wrong? This is my 2nd time to read the entire Bible in a year, but the first time I read the whole thing, I thought every passage applied to me. I tried to apply the entire Bible to my life without consideration of who the passage was written to and in the context of history.

 

So as we read through the Bible this time, I’m looking for some things. I’m looking for how God relates with mankind throughout history. And how does he relate to us today?

 

We just started in Genesis, so there are a couple passages that stand out to me. First let’s talk about Adam and Eve, and the big picture of creation; the big purpose of God. Then let’s talk about Abraham and the first covenant revealed to us.

In the beginning, at creation, God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden.

Genesis 1:27-28

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

I believe this is the purpose of God for humans on the earth and it will never change:

* Humans were created for the image of God. The image is the essence of that which is represented. God is light and God is love. And it is interesting to me that Jesus said we are the light of the world and the only commandment he gave us under the new covenant is to love.

God’s first action words spoken to them were:

* Be fruitful – This is still a symbol of Christianity. That we would bear much fruit.

* Multiply (to become great and numerous)

* Replenish (fill and take care of the earth)

* Subdue (take authority of the earth)

* Have Dominion (rule the earth)

 

I find it interesting that after the fall, the great sin of Adam and Eve, God reveals himself progressively and through covenants.

 

The first covenant we see God make with a man on the earth is with Noah. It was a Royal Grant covenant. It was an unconditional divine promise never to destroy the entire earth again with a flood. The covenant sign was a rainbow in the sky.

 

The next covenant we see in Genesis is with Abram. Another Royal Grant covenant was established as a divine promise to bless Abram and give him land for his descendants.

 

The scripture I find the most fascinating is Genesis 15:6. Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

 

God has established a new covenant. And anyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord, believe in Jesus Christ, he declares righteous by faith.

 

So keep in mind as we read through the old testament, that not everything is written to us. We can glean from all scripture and learn from it, but we have to filter everything through the new covenant.

 

There are 4 main thoughts about the end times. Futurism, Historicism, Idealism, and Preterism. On this bible study my husband, Brandon Pollard, and I discuss the book of Revelation. For more details listen to Dr. Jonathan Welton.

The greatest spiritual battle we can engage in is love. Love conquers all! Learning to walk in love will create a healthy environment for others to grow.

As believers in Jesus, we are under the New Covenant. The Old Covenant is obsolete and done away with. Listen to learn more.