An Unconventional Christmas Eve Message
December 24, 2024
I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. I certainly relished getting hugs from grandchildren and catching up with a daughter I rarely see. She is amazing. She does one million things well. I loved watching her do life in church, in the kitchen, as a wife and mom.
I want to bless you in the blog post today as you face a full week after the holiday. There is POWER in blessing. This is no small thing.
I listen to Beth Moore’s TV shows on Trinity Broadcasting Network through her LPM App (https://subsplash.com/livingproofwithbethmoore/app). All of them are good, of course, but my absolute favorite this year was her four-part series entitled The Blessing. She made this blessing come alive in a way that stunned me. I honestly think my mouth was hanging open in stunned silence as she wrapped up the fourth episode.
Here are a few key points I remember to whet your appetite. For me, they built on one another, each one getting better than the last. If you wish to listen to them yourself, please do so here:
The Blessing Part 1 The Blessing Part 2
The Blessing Part 3 The Blessing Part 4
Numbers 6:24-27
24 “‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
There are many Christians who won’t say rote prayers, but this was prayed over everyone by the priests quite frequently. When you look at the Hebrew, it was not prayed over everyone as a group, but over every individual in the group.
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
God’s face is so glorious it cannot be looked at without dying, remember? When Moses asked to see God, he had to hide in the cleft of a rock until God passed by and Moses was only permitted to look at God’s back. (Exodus 30:20-23) Therefore, when priests were proclaiming this blessing over the people, the people would would cover their faces or look down. Even the priest would cover his hands as they were raised over the people. (Just wait until you hear how the priest configured his fingers and why – Part 4.)
What purpose did this blessing serve?
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
We who are now adopted into God’s family through Jesus Christ, are CHRISTians. He put His Son’s name on us! Let us not be ashamed.
Are we qualified to bless people? Yes, as Christians we are a royal priesthood:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 3:9
As a member of the royal priesthood, therefore, I say this blessing over you via the computer screen…to each of you individually.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Number 6:24-26)
© 2017 by Oaks Ministries. All rights reserved.
Picture Explanation: Our family celebrated Thanksgiving separately for the first time ever, which was odd, but our love spanned the miles. These are the blessings with whom I spent the week. On Thanksgiving morning, I blessed these people with this blessing too.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6
