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 – Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
The New Living Translation (NLT) says it this way: “May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace“ (Numbers 6:24-26)
Our God loves and cares for us deeply. He wants to bless us abundantly and give us His peace. He does not look at us with an angry face when we sin. Instead, He smiles on us because we are forgiven. When the Father looks at us, He sees His Son, Jesus Christ. Over two thousand years ago, Jesus came to earth and carried our sins in His own body on the cross. He became a sweet smelling sacrifice before God, Who consumed Him with His wrath. He was crucified, died, buried and rose to life on the third day. Because of the wonderful work that Jesus did on the cross, all our sins have been forgiven – past, present and future sins. Jesus took all our unrighteousness and gave us His righteousness as a free gift – “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24) There is nothing we have to do to earn His free gift except to believe in Him.
A jailer was about to kill himself when he learned that all the prison doors were opened and the prisoners’ chains fell off. But Paul, a prisoner, “shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Don’t harm yourself; we are all here!’” (Acts 16:28) The jailer “…fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, [a prisoner] and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'” (Acts 16:29-30).
They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your family.”
Acts 16:31
A large crowd whom Jesus had fed with five small barley loaves and two small fish, wanted to know what they must do to do the works of God.
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
John 6:28-29
Now, God does not bless us based on our works of good behavior. Instead, He blesses us based on the work that Jesus did on the cross. This is the grace of God! “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11) We don’t have to work to receive His grace because Jesus already performed that work on the cross.
Today, God smiles on you despite your faults/sins. He wants to pour out His grace on you despite your failures. He wants to show you His favor despite your shortcomings. He wants to give you His peace. Believe in Jesus today!
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17
Meditate on…
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 – Numbers 6:24-26
SONG: The Blessing by Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes – Elevation Worship
MESSAGE: What do I do if I’ve tried to believe in Jesus but can’t? by Desiring God
