HOW TO RETAIN AND INCREASE YOUR BLESSINGS 

In my previous writing I enumerated how to be a blessing to other. Prior to this I stated the fact that we are blessings and the lives we have are blessed gifts from the Almighty creator.

One thing is to receive a thing another thing is to retain and increase in that which was received.

Proverbs 11:16 KJV

"A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches."

Many had received this precious gift of life and other blessings that accompany life, but they never lasted.

The blessings was short lived because of ignorance or lack of knowledge .

Hosea 4:6 KJV

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."

1. MARRY KNOWLEDGE   

Rejection of knowledge is destructive, many in times past rejected knowledge and paid dearly for their actions.

In order to retain and increase your blessings, you must get the actual or true knowledge of who you are, who God is to you, what He had done for you, what He had already given to you.  The very purpose of life, your divinely assigned duty on earth which should form your vision and mission.

You are a spirit clothed with human body on assignment on earth.

Your assignment is to fulfil the will  or purpose of Him who has brought you to planet earth. 

Knowledge of this will keep you focused and make you to concentrate in serving the interest and pleasure of your creator. The scripture below confirms the assertions above.

Revelation 4:11 KJV

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

According to the scripture above, all creatures of God, including we human beings were all created to serve the pleasure of our creator. God's pleasure is for humans to glorify, honour and serve Him, because he is worthy to receive our respect or honour as indicated in the above scripture of truth. This is the purpose of creation, for creatures to serve the pleasure of the creator. Our duty is be obedient to His injunctions and loyal to His authority.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

 [14] For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

(A)  LOVE, PART OF OUR DUTY ON EARTH 

Mark 12:29-31 KJV

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

(30) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

 [31] And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

We should love God and our fellow humans. Evidence of love for God is when one keep His commandments

( Love of God and humans)

Jesus said:

John 14:15 KJV

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Knowledge and acceptance of this fact will make people not to waste their lives: their strength and their energy and resources in trivial matters or non-issues or things that do not glorify the creator.

(B)  KNOWLEDGE IS  STRENGTH 

This knowledge of who you are, who God is to you and His purpose for your life is strength, it gives you strength to overcome challenges and succeed in life, it makes you more than a conqueror. It makes you stronger than you could imagine.

Hear this:

 

Daniel 11:32 KJV

And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries:   but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

In order to retain and increase your blessings you must be strong .

Strong people retains and increases in riches: divine blessings.

Proverbs 11:16 KJV

A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches.

Knowledge of God is strength. People that know their God are strong people of exploits. With this strength of knowledge one would be able to retains and increases in blessings. Growing from one level of blessings and greatness to another because of adherence to divine injunctions.

This knowledge makes one live a disciplined life.

2. DISCIPLINE (SELF CONTROL) 

In order to retain and increase in ones blessings one must live a disciplined life.

Your vision should form your mission. 

To avoid the danger of loosing ones blessings whether spiritual, physical, material, financial (etc) one is expected to keep his or her body under control.  Many who failed to control themselves have stories of woes to tell.

History tells us better. 

In the present and in the past, many people who were brought to stardom or positions of honour through their humility, knowledge, labour, faith in God, diligence, obedience to divine injunctions who did not take their time to remain disciplined but later became careless, dishonest, lazy, proud and disobedient,  have encountered losses, failures, pains, shame and many have died as a result.

Never let go of discipline that brought you to success, he who let go of it shall have failures and sorrow as companions.

Garments of shame are far from people who are disciplined in their thoughts, in their use of words and in their actions.

Carefulness and discipline is required in every worthwhile endeavors and is also required to sustain them.

3.   HUMILITY 

       BE HUMBLE 

It takes humility to take divine instructions, many humans are selfish and disobedient to divine order, they question the rational behind such injunctions and device other means to gratify their selfish interest and ulterior motives.

But the humble keep to rules and the resultant promotions, exaltations, honour and lifting follows.

Proverbs 22:4 KJV

"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life."

Proverbs 15:33 KJV

"The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility."

The humble honour the Almighty giver of all good things, they are not proud and arrogant hence the LORD continues to sustain them and lead them into higher levels of blessings without sorrow.

4. NEVER BE PROUD 

People who are not humble are proud, many oppress other because of the privilege of occupying a particular position in life or because of their acquisitions. They will sooner or later be brought low in shame or destruction.

Proverbs 29:23 KJV

"A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit."

Proverbs 16:18 KJV

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

Proverbs 11:2 KJV

"When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom."

5. POWER OF APPRECIATION  

Appreciativeness is another watchword to retaining and increasing in what one has acquired. When what one has is valued and appreciated the the needful are done in order to secure or preserve them.

When somebody know and understands the fact that without God's given wisdom and enabling grace that he can do nothing, and that all the blessings one have came from God, the person would definitely appreciate the giver.

1 Corinthians 4:7 KJV

"For who maketh thee to differ from another ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it ?"

2 Corinthians 3:5 KJV

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

If we humans are left alone, the arch enemy of mankind would definitely destroy everybody at once.

That we alive to enjoy the good things of life is because of God's benevolence. It is because of His unchangeableness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."

 [23] "They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Knowledge of the fact that whatsoever good thing you have came from God will make you remain appreciative and grateful to Him. This knowledge will also make you to be loyal and submissive to His authority. 

When one remains loyal and submissive to the giver, the giver who has the ability to preserve and increase what He gave would preserve and give more and more from his inexhaustible treasures. 

6. THANKFULNESS 

BE THANKFUL 

Being thankful and appreciative preserves and increases the blessings received.

Value the wonderful blessings you are endowed with, the precious gifts of life and every good things you have with you which is from God and beautiful creatures around you.

Be thankful to God because every good thing you have is from God who gave you life and wisdom and strength to acquire them.

James 1:17 KJV

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

1 Corinthians 4:7 KJV

"For who maketh thee to differ from another ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it ?"

Deuteronomy 8:18 KJV

"But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day."

Jesus Christ healed ten men with leprosy and expected them to return to give thank to him. Only one man out of the ten came back to thank him.

Being thankful establishes and increases ones blessings.

7.  LET NOTHING BE WASTED 

Proverbs 18:9 KJV

He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

One cannot retain and increase in God's given blessings if one is wasteful.

Luke 15:13 KJV

"And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Many waste lot's of  God's given resources, these resources include:

TIME

ENERGY

STRENGTH

SPIRITUAL RESOURCES 

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

MATERIAL RESOURCES 

YOU ARE A STEWARD OF GODS MANIFOLD BLESSINGS.

YOU ARE A CARETAKER 

Resources should not be wasted on things that are unprofitable to man and things that do not glorify God the giver of all things.

8.  STUDY 

Study and increase.

You increase as you study.

Many people are not teachable, they feel or think they know it all. No man has the monopoly of knowledge, you can learn from me and I can learn from you.

WE DON'T KNOW IT ALL

1 Corinthians 8:2 KJV

And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

Proverbs 9:9 KJV

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 1:5 KJV

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

9.  RELEASE AND INCREASE 

If one does not release some blessings received to other people, the person would not retain or increase the blessings.

RELEASE AND INCREASE, GIVERS NEVER LACK.

Proverbs 3:27 KJV

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Proverbs 11:24 KJV

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."

Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 KJV

"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. 

[2] Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth."

START FROM WHAT YOU HAVE.

You may not have all the world to offer but start from what you have, self pity is self destructive.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 KJV

He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

Proverbs 11:26 KJV

"He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it."

Read my previous writing on "HOW TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS "

YOU ARE ALREADY BLESSED,. RETAIN AND INCREASE YOUR BLESSINGS 

Pst Charles Eberechukwu Nwaneri 

RICHES IN MINDS

https://richesinminds.blogspot.com

Perfect Skill Dominion Enterprises.

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