Thursday, February 04, 2010
I was listening to a man interview Ozzie Osbourne this week. Ozzie has a new book out called, "I am Ozzie". His I am statement doesn't come close to Jesus' I Am statements. Anyway, the guy asked Ozzie, "Do you consider your life to be blessed or cursed?" Ozzie's reply was quite interesting. He basically said he considered his life to be blessed because he used to get high a lot and never got hurt. He used to drive drunk a lot and never crashed the car. He got to live out his dream of singing and playing before lots of people. Pretty sad. Ozzie thinks he is blessed because he hasn't crashed his car while driving high.
After that interview I wondered how people would define the word "blessed". We hear people say it all the time; especially at awards shows.
I believe Psalm 1 defines for us what it means to be blessed. Here it is in the NAS:
1How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
This Psalm immediately draws us in with the words, "How Blessed". How can we be blessed? I believe the answer is to "delight in the law of the Lord". So, instead of finding his pleasure and satisfaction in the words and ways of the wicked, the blessed person delights in God's words and ways. And notice the benefits: We're fruitful - "yield fruit"; We're durable - "leaf doesn't wither" and we prosper. We should not confuse culture's definition of prosperity with God's. God's prosperity is eternal in scope.
So if someone asks you, "What does it mean to be blessed?" You can point them to Psalm 1. It means my life is planted in God's hands and He is making it fruitful, durable and prosperous. I hope Ozzie reads this.
BLESSED!
Pastor Tim
After that interview I wondered how people would define the word "blessed". We hear people say it all the time; especially at awards shows.
I believe Psalm 1 defines for us what it means to be blessed. Here it is in the NAS:
1How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
This Psalm immediately draws us in with the words, "How Blessed". How can we be blessed? I believe the answer is to "delight in the law of the Lord". So, instead of finding his pleasure and satisfaction in the words and ways of the wicked, the blessed person delights in God's words and ways. And notice the benefits: We're fruitful - "yield fruit"; We're durable - "leaf doesn't wither" and we prosper. We should not confuse culture's definition of prosperity with God's. God's prosperity is eternal in scope.
So if someone asks you, "What does it mean to be blessed?" You can point them to Psalm 1. It means my life is planted in God's hands and He is making it fruitful, durable and prosperous. I hope Ozzie reads this.
BLESSED!
Pastor Tim
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Just came across this. I am teaching on the Beatitudes this fall in our women's group and my research of "blessed" has been very limited. I love this passage and am so glad you brought it to my attention. Great illus. of Ozzie. The misconceptions are great when it comes to what it means to be blessed. Even Christians are misguided. Thanks for the insight!
I hear many people, usually Christians, say they are "blessed" when sickness didn't kill them or when they receive worldly goods or when they aren't in dire circumstances like some other people. It sounds like they think they were chosen by God's goodness to receive something temporal and that people who have not received the same "goodness bestowed upon them" are not blessed. But God does not "bless" anyone in this way. It's the luck of the draw. Better to say one is "lucky" to have temporal goodness or to not be stricken with horrible circumstances in one's life. This life is temporal. If one believes in heaven, then the idea being blessed should be saved for eternity. Then we'll see who has been truly blessed.
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