“Ritual reminders of God’s blessings are mission critical. . . . [take] inventory of your blessings so you can flip them. Suffice it to say, you’ve got to establish blessing rituals that fit your spiritual rhythm.”- Mark Batterson
“Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”- Numbers 6:27 (NLT)
Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 5 of Double Blessing as he reminds us of the latitude and longitude of God’s blessing. At :
- Bethlehem – God with us
- Calvary – God for us
- Pentecost – God in us
Above all, Pastor Batterson expresses the hope that we’ve experienced God in all three ways at all three places. Therefore, Mark explains:
“If you know God is with you no matter what, you can get through anything! If you know God is for you, you can overcome every obstacle in your way! And if you know God is in you, nothing can stop you! That is the blessing — God with us, God for us, God in us.” (emphasis author’s)
In conclusion, Mark observes, Scripture contains more than four hundred names for God. Furthermore, when a priest put the name of God on the people, the priest endowed them and endued them with God’s character.
When Diana Nyad was thirty-one years old, she attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida. However, strong winds kept her from reaching her goal. As a result, her dream remained dormant for three decades. But, at age sixty, it was now or never. Yet, the next three attempts ended in failure.
Finally, at age sixty-four, Nyad made one last attempt. And, almost fifty-three hours and 110 miles later, Diana swam ashore at Key West, Florida. Mark believes her determination had its genesis when Diana was five years old. At that time, her father took out a dictionary and showed her this definition of nyad — ‘a girl or world champion swimmer.’ Pastor Batterson adds:
“Our names are inscribed in the Book of Life, just as Diana’s name was in the dictionary. Your name is a birthright and a blessing. But, its true destiny and its true identity will not be revealed until we meet God face to face. That eternal blessing will unravel every mystery.”
Today’s question: What ritual reminders of God’s blessings do you possess? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “A sanctified stubborn streak – sisu to the Finns”
