Hashtag Blest.

It's a social media tag for when someone feels blessed and who has or is getting everything

they dreamed of getting.

It can range from getting a new girlfriend, a new job, a pay raise, finding a $10 bill

on the sidewalk or getting surprisingly good news.

But what does it mean to truly be blessed according to Scripture?

That's a very different discussion, one initiated by a discerning listener to the podcast

named Jordan.

He writes this, Hello Pastor John.

Of late, I have been having discussions with my friends around what it means to be blessed.

The term blessed is thrown around in our culture today and it's all over our Bibles too.

To me, it seems like the way God uses blessed or blessings in the Bible is very different

from how it's used now.

I see the term blessed associated with material possessions or family or health.

These can be all good things, but I think you could also argue that if these blessings

lead us further away from God, they are not true blessings at all.

On the other hand, Jesus says, quote, blessed are the poor in spirit, Matthew 5.3.

And he said, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, Matthew 5.10.

And he said, blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds

of evil against you falsely on my account, Matthew 5.11.

Rarely, if ever, do I see people posting about how blessed they are as poor in spirit

or persecuted like we read about in the Beatitudes?

...