To Start: Realize your Blessings
Ephesians 1:3 says that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Isaiah 44:3 tells us that God will pour out blessing upon His people which is you if you are now in Christ. As Christians, we have been blessed. We are under God’s protection and favor and live as children of the giver of every good gift. This is an incredible place to be!
Stop right now and take just 1 or 2 minutes to think of all that you have in your life.........We will wait.
Since this is a hockey oriented blog, let’s just touch upon some of the things that you might have thought of as a blessing:
- Living in a country with an Ice Arena close by
- A car to get to the Rink
- Money to pay for the Ice and Equipment
- Eyes to see the play
- Hands to hold the stick
- Ears to hear teammates call for a pass
Let’s Not Stop There
Getting to the main point of this post now.....finally. Read Genesis 12:2b below:
"I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing."In this short line, God is telling Abraham that he will be blessed SO THAT he can then bless others. We are often told the common phrase “count your blessings” but we don’t often stop to think why we might do this. It is very helpful to recognize the blessings in our life, but it is more important to ask, “Why have I been given these blessings?”
Genesis 12:2b and Acts 20:35b (below) help us to answer this question.
“....remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”We are given blessings in order to use what we have been given to bless others in our lives. In hockey, nobody likes a puck hog. In life, it works the same way. God does not want us to hoard all that He has lavished upon us. He wants us to take what we have and pass it along to others.....kind of like making a pass to a teammate.
How Do We Do This
There is no right or wrong way. Maybe it’s as simple as telling a teammate about all the good things God has done in your life through Christ. Maybe it’s using your extra spending money to take a friend who love to skate or a nearby rink during free skate. What you do is not as important as actually doing something. So, get out there and BE A BLESSING!
Closing Questions:
How can you be a blessing to those around you today?
Why is it important to not only recognize our blessings, but use them to God’s Glory?
We would love to hear how you have been blessed or have blessed. Don’t be shy to leave a comment or send us an email Here.
