This week's soul-nourishment emphasizes the gift of blessing on the soul, both for ourselves and others, not merely with words but with facial expressions and body language also. May we be blessed to be a blessing in the name of the Lord.

Blessing is not just a word. Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. We must think it, and feel it, and will it. We communicate it with our bodies. Blessing is kind of like an ancient dance of the Hokey-Pokey; before you finish, you have to "put your whole self in." Blessing is done by the soul... Blessing and cursing are not compartmentalized Bible words at all. They are simply two ways we treat people. They are as inescapable as breathing out and breathing in.
-- Soul Keeping, John Ortberg, pages. 153-155

Numbers 6:24-26

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.

Invoking God onto our Week

We step into this week celebrating You, Father, from whom all blessings flow;

We celebrate You, Jesus, through whom all blessings flow;

We celebrate You, Spirit, by whose power and fruit these blessings manifest themselves in our lives.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Luke 10:25-37

An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

What jumps out at you from this Bible reading? Ask God why…

Everybody has a soul. We demean people when we forget they have the depth and dignity of a soul. Even the people I don't like have a soul. The soul cries out for connection. To love someone with your soul mean your will, your choices, your mind, your thoughts, your feelings, your body, your behaviors, and your habits are aligned for the good of their entire being before God. We bless the soul when we love that way. That's soul love.
-- Soul Keeping, Ortberg, page 157

Traditional Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you
In the palm of His hand.

Proverbs 11:25

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Seeing suffering does not move me to act if I think of the person as "him." (Remember the priest and the Levite in parable of the Good Samaritan). But when I think of that person as a part of "us," part of "me," then I am moved to bless. Jesus may have been speaking quite literally when he said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." What if our souls went out in humble love to all the people God brings into our world? Undeserving, but loved. The soul blesses by loving. Our soul needs blessing.
-- Soul Keeping, Ortberg, pages 159, 160

Remember: Take five to ten minutes a day to stop and listen, to connect with God in music. Let the Holy Spirit use it to feed your soul.

1 Samuel 18:1-3

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

Outward Expressions of our Commitment to Jesus:

This includes time alone for prayer and reflection to hear from and yield to the Holy Spirit. (SCOPE²). 

Father God, we are being challenged this week to be mindful of both blessing and cursing people, with the thought that even a raised eyebrow carries a facet of cursing. How deeply you desire to use us as blessings; and how disappointing it must be to see us your children showing disdain or impatience toward those you wish to see blessed. Help us rise to the challenge of being bless-ers to those with whom we interact; in Jesus’ name I pray these things,

Amen

The Hebrew way of conveying human experience is very concrete. The Bible talks about the soul being hungry or thirsty or hollow or empty, not satisfied... The ultimate reality behind human dissatisfaction is sinful souls that have been cut off from the God we were made to rest in. That's why we're dissatisfied. Our souls are always craving, never satisfied.
-- Soul Keeping, John Ortberg, page 163

Psalm 131:1-2

My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.

Jesus said if you devote your life to pleasing yourself, you will actually destroy your soul, whereas if you place honoring God above pleasing yourself, then your soul will be truly satisfied. For whoever wants to save their soul will lose it, but whoever loses their soul for me and the gospel will save it. The psalmist echoes this paradox when he wrote, "my heart is not proud, O Lord. My eyes are not haughty... I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." This is a striking picture of my relationship with my soul. How do you wean a child? You do it by strategic disappointment. This metaphor suggests your soul is becoming like that weaned child. It's not constantly troubling you with unsatisfied desires all the time.

-- Soul Keeping, John Ortberg, pages 164, 165

Father God, I want to be the kind of person who honors you above all, including above my own desires. I want to know the experience of “losing my soul” for your sake and finding the life of a godly follower. Help me to set aside whatever has taken your place in my world, to wean myself from that which I seek satisfaction from yet harms my soul. Let your Holy Spirit give me wisdom to know what to do, strength to carry it out, and comfort as I let go of what I’ve been clinging to rather than you. Often there are emotional attachments to what we cling to – so please help me lean into you rather than trading one idol for another; in Jesus’ name I pray – and thanks ahead of time – your child…

Amen.

Jonathon

This week has been about blessing other people. When it comes to being a “bless-er”, Jonathon, Son of King Saul and heir to the throne of Israel, is a great example. Here’s why: Jonathon and future King David had become great friends. Even when Jonathon’s own father was cursing David and trying to kill God’s anointed, Jonathon loved his friend more than a position of honor, wealth, and power. Rather than seeking to remove a rival to the throne, Jonathon sought to bless David and even worked against the determined cursing of his father, nearly leading to his own death. At great personal loss, Jonathon honored God, blessed his friend David, and by extension, blessed thousands upon thousands of others. This is a great example of turning from self-driven desires and “losing” one’s own life for God’s sake.

Romans 8:12-13

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Addiction, Kent explained, is a kind of worship, a kind of counterfeit worship. For the soul was created to worship. The soul requires a center to give it identity, to have a purpose for its activities, to give it a hope and a foundation. There is no such thing as an uncommitted person. An addict is the supreme example of trying to satisfy the soul with all the wrong things. The more it fed, the more it craves...
-- Soul Keeping, John Ortberg, page 167

Isaiah 55:1-2

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.

Father God, we close a week pondering the meaning of blessings and open the week highlighting the greatest blessing given to man – life in Jesus Christ. Thank you for the gift of Jesus, the gift of righteousness through Jesus, the gift of forgiveness paid for at the cross, the victory over death proclaimed at the empty tomb and shared with us in baptism.

Blessed are you Father, giver of life eternal– Halleluiah!
Blessed are you Jesus, giver of life eternal– Hosanna!
Blessed are you Father, giver of life eternal– Halleluiah!
Amen

The paradox of soul-satisfaction is this: When I die to myself, my soul comes alive. God says the wrong approach to soul thirst is through human achievement and material wealth. So soul-satisfaction is not about acquiring the right things but about acquiring the right soul. It is not something you buy, but something you receive freely from God.
-- Soul Keeping, John Ortberg, pages 167, 168