Discover is a key word around Woodland Church. We discovered that when people discover something for themselves they have ownership of it. It is the reason that when my children would ask what a word meant, we would look it up in the dictionary. They would remember the word, they owned it in a sense.

Applying this principle to the promised blessings in the Bible we learn to discover the blessings that God has promised to us. Discovering what God has promised will change your perspective on life making it possible to live the abundant life Christ promised in spite of your circumstances.

Think about a prospector mining for gold. The gold is in the hills but it has to be dug out. A good prospector also knows the difference between fools gold and the real deal. So many of God’s promised blessings go unclaimed because we expect to find them laying on the ground when we need to dig into the Scripture. Applying the habits of good Bible study will help you assay the promises of God from the fools gold of spiritual charlatans.

My daughter in law asked me for a recommendation on a Study Bible Monday. Her goal is to understand the Scripture better and apply it to her life. That is wisdom. I have recommended the NLT Life Application Bible (LAB) to many people, as I did to her. So many have told me how helpful it has been to them. LAB has good introductions with the mega themes of the book. The study notes are excellent and include questions to help you apply the Scriptures to your life.

I can offer you no greater advice to improve your life, marriage, family, career or future than to Discover God’s Blessings in the Bible this year.

Tomorrow some suggestions for Bible study, plus a book recommendation.

1. Do you understand the Biblical concept of blessing?

2. Have you positioned yourself for God’s blessings? For the blessings of others?

3. Are you in the habit of blessing others?

4. Do you know what God has promised to bless?

Peace and Joy!