Rewards and Blessings

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Rewards and Blessings

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October 22, 2007 at 7:38pm

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I've realized I've been confusing those two things. Both are good, but their sources are different.

This morning, I was thinking about two new income ventures I've started.

One is Avon. Tash (my daughter) and I have been having a ball with it over the past week. And it is so easy to sell. Ladies LOVE Avon... and so do we. But to make it work, we need to work and get the books out. I realized that is really a reward, our wages for the effort we put into it.

Now the other income venture is VERY different, and it has to do with my Prince Froggy who's smiling at you below. He's on his was to London!!

Okay, I'll tell you the story...

Friday night was my first sighting of our beloved froggy after his long winter sleep. I was so excited to see him. I just love taking photos of him and his froggy friends. And he SMILED for the camera. How neat is that?

Anyhow, Sunday night I get an email from a chappy in London. His company are looking to sell images of Green Tree Frogs for some endangered species promotion. And as it works out, he wants as many photos as I can send him.

Well, the last couple of nights I've been up "working"!!! ...taking more froggy photos and editing them to upload on this site.

So isn't that amazing? Just out of the blue!! These happenings are none of MY doing and completely beyond my control. If these photos sell, it is something beyond what I could have imagined. It is something I haven't worked for. It truly is a blessing of the Lord.

10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 10:22 RSV

And then I got thinking about other things for which we work and we get a financial gain or other benefits. It is something we work for and we deserve the benefits. So that is not a blessing, in the true sense. It is a reward. And the Lord does want to reward us as well as bless us.

18:20 He brought me forth into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 18:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.

Psalms 18:20-21 RSV

31:16 Thus says the LORD: "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. 31:17 There is hope for your future, says the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country.

Jeremiah 31:16-17 RSV

11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who (diligently - NKJ) seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 RSV

So God loves both to bless and reward!

Now I realize that often I pray wrongly. I ask the Lord for a blessing, when really I am seeking a reward for being diligent in seeking Him.

And with these two new income sources, Avon and Froggy, what I earn from Avon is a reward, and what comes in from Froggy is just pure BLESSING!!

And a final thought...

God blesses us because HE is good...

... and He rewards us for believing and diligently seeking HIM!!

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5 Comments to "Rewards and Blessings"

Jeanetteb1

October 22, 2007 at 7:39pm

And I thought of another thing...

The gifts and abilities that God gives us are blessings, but the benefits we receive from using those blessings are our REWARD.

Jeanetteb1

October 22, 2007 at 7:39pm

Like, we might get a free pass to the movies. That ticket is a blessing.

But unless we get in the car and go to the theater, we will miss out on the reward of that blessing. We get the reward for going.

Jeanetteb1

October 22, 2007 at 7:42pm

And still another thought...

So often too, we need wisdom and knowledge to be able to use those blessings. Just like a farmer needs to have the knowledge of how to harvest his crop, and then what to do with it after it's harvested so he can get a financial return.

Jeanetteb1

October 22, 2007 at 8:09pm

I keep thinking of something else to add. So here's one more thought...

God doesn't reward without having blessed us first. First comes His GRACE and then follows our FAITH, and for that we are REWARDED.

Jeanetteb1

October 22, 2007 at 8:18pm

And as Christians, we shouldn't be trying to seek God's blessing, because we are already blessed. The problem is that we don't always see the blessing. I believe our prayer should be that our eyes be open to SEE the blessings.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..." (Eph. 1:3)

"Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah." (Psalm 68:19, NKJ)

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