| Dear Church Family,
My husband, Randy, and I were talking about family (well, we weren't so much talking as I was asking questions :)).
I was thinking about God’s blessings and curses and considering the differences in our families. Deuteronomy 28 outlines God’s blessings (as a result of obedience to God) and curses (because of disobedience—rebellion—toward God).
When the Israelites were preparing to enter the land of Canaan (the Promised Land), Moses put a choice before them:
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT)
Randy came to know Jesus at 13 years old when his dad came back from a Full Gospel Businessmen’s meeting in the US, received Christ, got the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and was speaking in other tongues. When he came home, he sat his family down, shared the Gospel, and led his whole family to the Lord, and soon they were all baptized in the Holy Spirit.
When I hear Randy talk about his life, I can see God’s hand on it. Don't get me wrong, he's had his share of trials too. But, knowing that God looked after him, Randy has had a level of peace during the storms of his life that many of us want to have. Randy has walked in God’s blessing in many areas of his life because his dad chose Jesus Christ—the only way to life.
Well, my story's not the same. I never heard about Jesus at home. I recently remembered that my dad mocked the things of God. Our home was plagued with addiction, depression, health problems, financial problems, relationship problems, and a lot of instability. The same chaos that was in my home followed me around like a dark shadow most of my life—I was walking under curses because my family chose rebellion, and not knowing better, I chose it too.
I finally responded to God’s call and accepted Jesus into my life 10 years ago. When I came to Living Springs Church in 2019, I encountered God’s love through His people, our church family. They became my family. As I grew closer to the Lord and surrounded myself with godly people whom I could trust and learn from, I started seeing God’s blessings in my life.
Consider your life—are there areas where you feel like you need a breakthrough? Talk to a trusted leader in the church. If they can’t help, they’ll put you in touch with someone on staff who will be happy to meet with you.
Jesus made a way for us to live under God’s blessings: by being hung on a cross, He became a curse with every curse that could ever come upon you or me, that we, in turn, might be released from every curse and receive God’s blessing in its place (see Galatians 3:10–14).
May you walk in the freedom and blessings Christ died to give us.
Ali Biensch |
