“Supernatural provision took place in the context of community as the bread and fish were passed from hand to hand. The bread didn’t multiply while sitting in the baskets; it multiplied as it was shared. . . . The satisfaction of so many with bread that materialized as if it had rained down from heaven […]
“When Jesus raised the bread and fish up to heaven and said a blessing over them, he was affirming God’s control over the situation. He was emphasizing that God’s sustaining grace provides for all his creatures, day in and day out.”- Tina Boesch “Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who in […]
“According to Jesus, the state of being blessed . . . is a promise of the experience of supernatural joy in the midst of suffering, of God’s presence in the midst of pain, and of the hope that one day, we’ll experience blessing in full when God’s kingdom comes.”- Tina Boesch “Blessed are those who […]
“First Abraham and Sarah laughed at the impossibility of the blessing. Then they laughed because the impossible came to life. And God laughed with them, memorializing their laughter in the name of their son, who would remind them of the joy that comes at the end of a long season of painful waiting.”- Tina Boesch […]
[Sarah’s] laughter comes from as deep a place as tears come from, and in a way it comes from the same place. As much as tears do, it comes out of the world where God is of all missing persons the most missed, except that it comes not as an ally of darkness, but as […]
“Christian blessing is . . . intervention and intercession. When God blesses, he intervenes in our lives, communicating truth, sustaining us with good, saving us from harm. When we bless one another, we’re interceding.”- Tina Boesch “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly […]
“God never allows his people to curse; he encourages them to lament. God doesn’t expect us to bottle up our hurt and our fear, suppressing it unnaturally; he encourages us to turn toward him and pour out our hearts.”- Tina Boesch With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse […]
“A curse is the projection of evil on someone. It’s using language or attitudes that project evil into their lives.”- Dallas Willard, Living in Christ’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God (2014) In Chapter 5 (“Inspiration for Blessing”) of Given, Tina Boesch contrasts blessing and cursing. First, she observes that, in […]
” . . . a conviction that blessing received must be poured out on others, that the light that runs through the pages of Scripture is for all the families of the earth, that God’s shine is most often clearly perceived in practical acts of mercy.”- Tina Boesch “You are a chosen race, a royal […]
“The shine exposes the flint in my heart . . . and it forces me to confront my sin and weakness and ask the Lord to change me. That’s the power of the shine — it leaves me longing to be illuminated, more responsive, more radiant.”- Tina Boesch “In the beginning was the Word, and […]
“Naming is an intimate, powerful act because it is about bestowing identity. Those who are named with God are part of his family and should bear a family resemblance. Above all, they should reflect his character. In this [Aaronic] blessing, that means that they will become mirrors of his shine.”- Tina Boesch As Tina Boesch […]
“Oh make my mirror heart thy shining place,/ And then my soul, awakening with the morn,/ Shall be a waking joy, eternally new-born.”- George McDonald, A Book of Strife in the Form of the Diary of an Old Soul (1880) In Chapter 4 (“Blessing That Creates Community”) of Given, Tina Boesch talks about the Aaronic […]