This morning I had the honour to speak to the listeners of FM107 Vanuatu, Vanuatu's first privately owned radio station that extends to all the Islands of this beautiful nation. After speaking on the power and authority of the church I finished by praying the nation of Vanuatu and the people. As I prayed I proclaimed blessing upon the people and the Lord reminded me how he had instructed Israel that not only would He (God) bless them, but that they in turn would be a blessing to the nations around them.
Often today we hear a lot of talk about being blessed by the Lord, and rightly so, as we read in Jeremiah 29 the Lord loves to bless His people and as God's children and the children of our natural fathers we can expect to be blessed. But just as our heavenly Father commanded Israel to be a blessing, so too are we commanded to be a blessing and not keep it for ourselves.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:5 that no one lights a candle and then puts it under a bushel, but sets in on a candle stand where it can give light to the whole household. In the same way, when we find a treasure we want to share that with those around us. Recently I read a survey that said people who have won the lottery, around 90 percent of them after only fives years have squandered all their money and are basically back where they started financially. This sounds like bad financial handling, but the reality is, often people who win money have a desire to share it with those they love.
Jesus in John 17 said that it was our love for one another that would cause others to want to know Him. It is through the giving of ourselves and the laying down of our lives for others that I believe Christ shines the brightest in our world. I invite you today to give thanks for what the Father has done for your life but also challenge you to ask the Father how you might be used to bless those around you.
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