Questions:
13.
To be buried in the cave of the patriarchs. He had confidence his people would return to the promised land
14.
a.
in hard work be weak, it is more blessed to give than to receive
r.
whose transgressions are forgiven, sins are covered, whose sin the Lord will never count
e.
in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ
t.
in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ
j.
who perseveres under trial, having stood the test, receive the crown of life that Lord promised
p.
do not repay evil with evil/insult with insult, but evil with blessing – called
r.
read aloud the words of this prophecy, hear it, take it to heart – time is near
My Daily Journal:
I was torn at first with the line asking what a person must do to receive blessings. Clearly we don’t do anything to earn blessings, no more than we do something to earn a gift. If you earn it, it isn’t a gift, it is payment. I see blessings in the same way.
But in preparing my lecture I was reminded of an older gentleman I worked with at a retail store in the mall when I was in high school. This man suffered from periodontal disease and, to use the vernacular, had really bad breath. He was aware of the problem and did things to try to cover up the situation. He constantly ate breath mints. He wore very strong cologne, he would attempt to not get too close to people when talking. But all of those were simply steps to cover or mask the problem, they did nothing to fix it.
For us, sin is the problem and it stinks. The bible says our prayers are like a pleasing aroma to God. In the same way, our sin is a stench. We do all kinds of things, all kinds of “good works” to try to mask it, but we can’t. The only fix is to fix the problem. That is called sanctification and it is a process that God, our great physician, takes in our lives to remove the infection of sin in our lives and transform us into His image. Christ is the only cure, and while we can’t do anything to earn Him in our lives, if we fail to accept Him then we miss the cure.
In the same way, if we fail to do spiritual work, we miss the blessings of that work, if we fail to be in Christ we miss the blessings of the heavenly realm, if we avoid trials and tests we miss the growth they provide. This isn’t earned, it is lived. It isn’t covering over, it is submitting to the only one who can heal.
The Notes are Good 
This year of BSF is coming to a close. As we progressed through the year I always do my lesson first and the the day of class I read your blog and another BSF blog written by a woman. There is an amazing difference in the personal or journal comments at the end of each lesson for the two of you. Your comments and take on the material have been such a source of blessing to me as well as others I’m sure. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to reading your blog next year as we delve into the study of Matthew.
thanks a lot.
I was remotivated to give blessing to one who do evil to me. This is wonderful words that allow me to realize the solution in the troubled situation in relation with other people. I just started to read a scripture and note you send. I think I am going to use this e-mailed material with my work colleagues. Thanks a lot for sending.
Thomas Kwon
Daejeon, South Korea