Tag: faith

The Power of Blessing and Curse

Blessings and Curses

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (NKJV)

The Lord God spoke specifically and clearly to the people of Israel about His conditions and promise to bless them when they obeyed, and the consequences of disobedience.

According to Moses, the promise of blessings from the Lord God to His people are based on the following conditions:

Listen closely, pay attention to the voice of the Lord.

 “…if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord (v.1)

  • Practice and obey.

“…observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today” (v.2)

  • Stay focused on the Lord God and do not serve other gods.

“So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” (v.14)

“According to the Collins Dictionary, blessing can mean favor, special gift, benefit, help” or “something good that one is grateful for”[1]

Here are the promises of blessings to those who choose to obey the Words of God:

The 12 Blessings of Obeying the Lord God

  1. Blessed in the city and the country (v.3)
  2. Blessing of children – “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body” (v.4)
  3. Blessing of produce of the land or agricultural blessing (v.4)
  4. Blessing of livestock – For those who are in agriculture, “the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.” (v.4) And for those who are in business and other professions, it’s the blessing of productivity and success
  5. Blessing of provision, food, or economic blessing “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.” (v.5)
  6. Blessing of protection and travelling mercies “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.”  (v.6)
  7. Blessing of victory over enemies – “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.” (v.7)
  8. Blessing of Abundance – “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (v.8)
  9. The blessing of the favor of the Lord – “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you. (v.9)
  10. The blessing of favor and respect of people – “Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. (v.10)
  11. The blessing in the work, job and projects  – “The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand (v.12)
  12. The blessing of helping others- You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. (v.12)
  13. The blessing of leadership – “And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath.” (v.13)  The Lord God declared numerous blessings if the people obeyed, but He also pronounced numerous curses as consequences of disobedience or sin.
     
    “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of
    the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.    ” (v.15)
     
    The Curses of Disobedience:
    Curse or having misfortunes in the dwelling place or wherever they live
    • “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.  Deuteronomy 28:16 (NKJV)
    •  Hunger or not having enough food
    • “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.” (v.17)
    • The misfortune of barrenness
    • “Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.  (v.18)
    • The misfortune of not having protection from accidents, etc.
    • “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. (v.19)
    • All kinds of misfortunes, confusion (perhaps mental illness, depression) etc.
    • “The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.  (v.20)
    • The misfortune (curse) of serious illness, disease, and untimely death
    • The Lord will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going topossess. The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. (v.21-22)
    • Misfortune or curse in agriculture, produce, and livestock, with drought and famine
    • “And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.”  (v.23-24)
    • Misfortune or curse of defeat by enemies
    • “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.” (v.25-27)
    • The misfortune or curse of serious illness and diseases
    • “The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.” (v.27-28)
    • The misfortunes of poverty, blindness, oppression, etc.
    • “And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.” (v.29)
    • The misfortunes of losses; wife, children, house
    • “You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.” (v.30-32)
    • Agricultural loses (unproductive land)
    • “You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.” (v.38-42)
    • The curse of being a slave in their own land or oppressed by other nations
    • “A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.” (v.33-34)
    • “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.”  (v.43-44)
    • Total loss and destruction
    • “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. (v.45-46)There are more curses or terrible misfortunes listed in this chapter of Deuteronomy 28 for those who do not obey the words of God:
    • “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses.” (v.58-59)
    • These Words in Deuteronomy chapter 28 about blessings and curses, written more than four thousand years ago, were specifically for the people of Israel. However, this still applies today to the people of Israel and to all people. The good news is that Jesus Christ came, and through His death on the cross and resurrection, broke the curse of sin and death!
    •  “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”  Galatians 3:13-14 (NKJV)
    • “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  Galatians 3:26-29 (NKJV)
    • Compared to the ancient people, we now have the advantage of having the Word of God written in our language. We can know God through His written Word. And we can hear His voice because the power of the Holy Spirit is available to every follower of Jesus.
    • When we receive Jesus in our hearts as our Lord and Savior, when we read and study the written Word of God in the Bible, when we know Him and His will, we still have the option to obey or not to obey. The Lord God has given us minds and freewill to choose. When we obey His Words, then we have all the blessings mentioned above. For those who choose not to believe, worship, and obey the Lord God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the curses are not punishment but consequences of sins. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  Galatians 6:7 (NKJV)
    • God loves everyone in the world – the people of Israel, Arabs, Americans, Asians, everyone. The free gift of salvation and eternal life through faith in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is available to all people in the world.
    • “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16 (NKJV)

[1] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/blessing

Spring 2024 Home assignment

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 107:1 (NKJV)

From January 29 to April 20, 2024 we traveled from Southeast Asia to the Southeastern part of the United States of America and back, to visit some supporting churches.

We travelled thousands of miles by air and automobile. We thank the Lord for the strength He gave us for each journey.  Here are some of the highlights of our Spring 2024 home assignment in the USA.

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Psalm 103:1 (NKJV)

11-Week Home Assignment

Week 1

We traveled around 12,000 miles from Phnom Penh to Singapore to San Francisco to Atlanta. We picked up a rental car in Jonesboro, GA. Thank you, Lord, for Macedonian Call of Georgia’s ministry of helping missionaries to have an affordable rental car. We drove to Pine Mountain to stay at a mission guest house. Thank you, Lord, for the Barretts.

On the weekend of Feb. 2-4, we participated in the Global Impact Celebration (GIC) of St. James Church in Athens, Georgia.

GlC at St. James Church, Athens, GA

Week 2 – February 9-11

GIC at First Methodist Church of Tuscumbia, Alabama

Week 3 – February 18

We had a good visit and enjoyed our time at Guntersville First Methodist Church in Alabama as we shared ministry highlights in two church services.

Guntersville First Methodist Church, Alabama

Week 4/5  

On February 24 to March 3, we participated in the Global Ministries Conference at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama

Week 6: March 9/10

GIC at Hartselle First Methodist Church, Alabama

Refreshing the Soul

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3 (NKJV)

Since our weekends were full and hectic with visiting churches, mission conferences, driving miles and miles, and talking with people, the Lord provided refreshment for our bodies and souls through visiting the FDR State Park in Pine Mountain, GA during weekdays.

On week 7/8/9, we had to take care of some medical issues and doctors visits. Thank the Lord for giving us His grace and strength to go through it.

On week 10, we were blessed to visit another supporting church in the Northeast.

Queens Bible Church, NYC

On week 11, we went through another long journey as we traveled from Pine Mountain, to Atlanta, to San Francisco to Singapore, and finally to Phnom Penh.

We thank our Lord God for His faithfulness in providing us a vehicle to use, places to stay and for strength in the travels. We are grateful for the hospitality and generosity of those who hosted us. We thank our Lord also for the faithful support of our ministry partners and for friends and families who pray for us.

My Morning Star

My Morning Star

Jesus You are my bright and morning star

Who always leads and guides.

Whether through turbulent seas

Or through quiet and calm streams.

When the night is dark and gloomy

When dawn seems so far away

I know You are still with me

With Your steady hand

Guiding, leading, prodding

Showing me the way.

Jesus You are my bright and morning star

You are the way, the truth, and the life.

When dark clouds and storms come my way

I know the next day

You are with me to calm my day.

Jesus you are my bright and morning star.

To eternal bliss you are the only way.

I will be forever grateful to you,

From eternity past to eternity future

Jesus You are forever my bright and morning star.

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”  Revelation 22:16 NKJV

Christmas is Emmanuel

“Behold the virgin shall be with child, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us.” Matthew 1:23 (NKJV)

Reading: Matthew 1:18-25

How can we celebrate Christmas this year with all the unsettling and negative news reports from around the world such as violence, wars, sickness, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, and other natural disasters? Sometimes doesn’t it feel like the world is coming to an end?

What about those who lost loved ones and are not looking forward to spending Christmas alone? Maybe some are struggling to make ends meet. How can they celebrate Christmas with all these challenges and difficulties?  

When Jesus came and was born as a baby, the situation in Israel was no better; it was the worst of times. The tyranny of Roman rule was felt all over the world. People in Israel were oppressed by violence and over taxation. People were hopeless and desperate, and the religious leaders were certainly not helpful.

In the most desperate time of world history, baby Jesus was born. His parents Joseph and Mary did not have much so Baby Jesus was born in a humble feeding trough in a barn.

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7 (NKJV)

However, God fulfilled His Word spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “Behold the virgin shall be with child, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us.” (See Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23.)

During this Christmas season, no matter what is going on in the world, even if our personal situation or the economy is not looking good, let us remember the true message of Christmas.

Be of good cheer, for Jesus is “Emmanuel, God with us.” Since Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), Jesus is still Emmanuel. He is still with us in good times and in hard times. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and someday Jesus will come again, not as a baby in the manger, but as King of Kings.

In that day, the words of the Apostle Paul will be fulfilled when he said, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Philippians 2: 10-11 (NKJV)

Then, the fulfillment of the words written by the Prophet Isaiah also came to pass,

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Someday we will all see, the reality of the second part of this Word;

“And the government will be upon His shoulder.

Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end.  (Isaiah 9: 6-7)

That is why we sing, “ Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” (by Isaac Watts)