How to Bless My Family

Happy Sunday! Hope you had a wonderful week!  Last Sunday was Men’s Day at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church.  The guest speaker was Bishop David Cooper from New Hope Baptist Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.   His topic was, “How to Bless My Family”.  From the very beginning, God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.”  Genesis 1:28 (New Living Translation)  God intended for man and woman to be a blessing.  He still expects us to be a blessing, especially to our families. HOW TO BLESS MY FAMILY... KISS – Affection - Bishop Cooper used Genesis 27:26-29 as his text,  these excerpts are from the Message Translation.  Then Isaac said, "Come close, son, and kiss me."   We need to show our children appropriate physical affection.  Sadly, whippings do not count as affection even if it does hurt you more than it hurts your child. LOL!  Studies have shown that children raised in orphanages who were not regularly touched as infants or who suffered prolonged periods of time without any human contact failed to thrive. Infants who were not soothed and nurtured by touch did not physically grow and developed severe social problems. (http://www.suite101.com/content/newborns-need-touch-a70941) SMELL – Destiny -  "He came close and kissed him and Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes."  Isaac recognize who Esau was, he didn't ask him to stay inside.  He allowed Esau to enjoy his vocation.  Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  The literal translation means train the child in the way he or she is "bent".  Watch the child, acknowledge their likes and dislikes, recognize what they are capable of doing, encourage them to be what God designed them to be.  Every child will not be a doctor or a lawyer, but motivate your child to be the best that they can be!  INTERCEDE – Pray - "May God give you of Heaven's dew and Earth's bounty of grain and wine. May peoples serve you and nations honor you."  NO PRAYER, NO POWER!  Prayer is essential for our daily lives and especially the lives of our children and family.  It has been said, if you believe prayer works you will pray.  Matthew 21:22, "You will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, if you believe." PROPHESY -  Speak positive words - "You will master your brothers, and your mother's sons will honor you.  Those who curse you will be cursed, those who bless you will be blessed."   Romans 4:17 (King James Version) says that God calleth those things which be not as though they were.  We have to follow God's example.  Even if Pookey and Ray Ray are living in sin, doing everything but the right thing, we still have to speak what can be.  In the Jewish tradition blessing your children is very important.  One of the most moving Shabbat traditions is the blessing over the children given on Friday night. This tradition gently reminds parents to express their love for their children out loud and gives children a feeling of warmth that they can carry with them throughout their lives.  (http://judaism.about.com)     We all laughed when the Bishop Cooper talked about how we sometimes are willing to help other people before we help our own family members.  He used the example of us rushing down the street to help the neighborhood drug addicts, while tripping over the drug addicts in our own family.  He reminded us that this is not the way it should be.  We are responsible to bless our family.  Bless your family this week.  Kiss them, smell them, pray for them, and prophesy over them!  Love Cynthia