Being Blessed by God

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

This is the traditional Biblical benediction we use in our worship services taken from the Jewish blessing. In fact, I used it this past Sunday. While there are other meaningful benedictions, I still find this to be the richest in text and speech. It is a hard one to beat!  In a booklet called Scripture Talk there is a page on this blessing with three statements left for the reader(s) to complete. I thought it would be helpful to share them with you:

• I sense God's face shining on me when ...
• The benediction at the end of church services makes me feel ...
• One place in my life where I'm wishing for peace is ...

I would add one or two more:

• The Lord has blessed me this week ...
• God's grace has come upon me ...

You can add others and share them. Maybe a little time reflecting on these statements and the words from Numbers will help us see the blessings and peace and grace we have from God.

~Pastor Stan