Seize the Moment – Day 563
The Priestly Blessing!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, October 1.
In Numbers 6:23-27, God gives Moses the priestly blessing for His people:
“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
When God’s people do what He commands them to do, God responds with His presence and power. Today, we do this formally with the giving of the benediction at the end of a service. It is not simply a sending-out prayer; rather, it is the giving of God’s “priestly blessing.”
Never forget that God is the one who blesses, we simply mediate the blessing to one another. In the same way, God is the only One who can save a single soul, we are commanded to mediate the gospel to people in loving word and generous deed, one person at a time.
God is the active agent of every blessing. That is what it means for God to “make His face shine on you” and “lift up His countenance on you.” That is God giving you His attention and pouring out His blessings of grace and peace!
Seize the moment and seek the face of God in your life. Call upon the name of Jesus Christ through whom every promise of God is a “yes and amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20).