Path of the Blessing: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

128 Pages·2016·0.54 MB·English

by  Tasha Johnson

Path of the Blessing
Abraham-Isaac-Jacob
Tasha Johnson
PATH OF THE BLESSING: ABRAHAM ISAAC JACOB First Edition 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Tasha Johnson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN-10: 1475202881 ISBN-13: 978-1475202885
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www.pathoftheblessing.com
Cover Design: Troy Johnson, Gig Harbor, WA
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright
© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights
reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S
VERSION®.Copyright © 1996, 1998 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the
world. Used by permission of Biblica.
Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958,
1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission.
(www.Lockman.org) Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993,
1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress
Publishing Group.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To all who are ready foranew adventure; readyto travel
anewpath:
Youwillexperience a deeper relationship with God along
the way.
As you travelyou willfindyourself becoming more
andmore refined into His image sothat othersmay
followyour lead.
Youwilllearn howto chase after theblessingsof God and
take holdof them for yourself andthe generationsthat
follow.
Are you ready to start? Then let’s travel
togetherdiscoveringwhat blessingsawait you on your
path…
Preface
Introduction
Part One Abraham
Chapter 1: Beginnings Start with the Past
-Generational Blessings…………………………21
Chapter 2: A Call to Walk a Specific Path
……………………………………………………..…...31
Chapter 3: Choosing a Path …..……….…..…37
Chapter 4: A Path Chosen …..……………..…..47
Chapter 5: Walking with God on the Path of Blessing
……………………………………………...55
Chapter 6: Living in a Place of Worship .63
Chapter 6: Living in a Place of Worship .63
Chapter 7: Walking a Path Void of Blessing
……………………………………………..….…73
Chapter 8: Slipping on the Path of Blessing
……………………………………………..…….79 Chapter 9: Traveling
Through
Mountaintops and Valleys …………………….87
Chapter 10: The End of One Path Leads to Another Beginning
………………………………….95
Part Two Isaac
Chapter 1: Two Separate Paths Meet….101
Chapter 2: Children are a Blessing…….107
Chapter 3: A Path of Obedience Leads to a Path of Blessing
…………………………..………113
Chapter 4: Worshipping on the Path of
Blessing……………………………………………….…121
Chapter 5: The Effects of the Path of Other’s Around Us ……………………....
……...125
Chapter 6: The Self-Reliant Path Divides a Family
……………………………………..…………..….129
Part Three Jacob
Chapter 1: Chasing After the Blessings of God
……………………………………………………137 Chapter 2: Deceit,
Competition and Witchcraft ….…………………………………..…...143
Chapter 3: A Prosperous Path Towards Home
………………………………………………..……..149
Chapter 4: Walking a Path of Faith …...155
Chapter 5: The Path of Blessing Brings Reconciliation …………..
………………………….161
Chapter 6: Seemingly Hopeless Paths Lead to Salvation …….
…………………………..167
Chapter 7: Traveling an Unknown Path
………………………………………………….…...173
Final Encouragement
Notes…….179 Index..183
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere thanks first of all to the Holy Spirit. Without
inspiration and motivation from God I could have never written this book.
Second of all, I would like to acknowledge my best friend and husband Troy and
my two beautiful girls Taylor and Madison. With their patience and
encouragement I found the time and strength I needed to finish what God had
placed on my heart to accomplish.
I would also like to thank all of the friends and family that have prayed for me
and believed in me. Every word of encouragement whether through email, texts,
or cards were deeply appreciated. Thank you.
I treasure you all, Tasha
Preface
Here I am, sitting at my computer staring at the blank page before me, praying
the Lord would lead me as I walk this path that I am on and currently that
includes this preface. I have never written a book before, but don’t count me out
just yet, what I know of the Lord is that he always uses the most simple.
I am a wife to my husband of 18 years and mother of two wonderful little girls. I
know who I am in Christ and not afraid to live that out; strong, courageous, bold,
confident lover of God’s Word. I am a “girly girl” loving fashion and jewelry, I
love shopping (ok I know that that sort of fits in with fashion, but didn’t want to
leave it out), I love going out on “dates” with my husband, I love eating out at
really fabulous restaurants, I love being in charge when called upon and I do rise
to the occasion. I love to pray for people and see the Lord set people free. I love
worship and I love feeling His presence like a ray of sunshine through a window
on a cool day. I love Jesus.
I am passionate about the Lord and his Word but I must admit, I didn’t always
feel that way. I grew up in the church and was saved at a young age. Being
raised in a Conservative Baptist denomination I was like any good Baptist girl
and was taught to know the Word. As I grew older and had moved on to a Non-
Denominational church, I realized that I knew the Word, but struggled to read it
or even desire to read it. I had absolutely no passion for the Word until one
evening, when I was 29 years old.
My husband and I were watching a show called “30 Days” and it was about a
person experiencing something that they wouldn’t normally experience for 30
days through the lens of reality TV. That evening’s show was about a Christian
man living with a Muslim family for 30 days. As I watched, I saw how the
Muslim family was very devout with their prayer times and reading of their
scriptures. It got me thinking, here is this family who is religiously praying to a
god who isn’t the One True God of the Bible and reading scriptures written by a
man. They are so incredibly adamant about their faith, waking to pray even in
the earliest hours of the morning. I then thought, what would happen if the body
of Christ, who worships the One True God, who is intricately active in and
throughout our lives, would be as devoted to their faith as the Muslims? What
would happen if I sought the Lord through his Word daily expecting to hear
from him? After all, this is what the Muslim’s were doing every day motivated
from him? After all, this is what the Muslim’s were doing every day motivated
by religious duty instead of motives of relationship. What would happen in my
life if I were so devoted, seeking the Lord motivated by relationship, not
religion?
I started to get really fired up inside as I watched this show and as I talked out
my thoughts with my husband. After that night, a passion ignited for the Word
like I had never experienced. I prayed and still pray, “God, let this passion for
your Word never die out in me.”
For the past nine years I have been an avid studier of the Word, at times writing
bible studies and storing them away not knowing who is going to ever listen to
them, but me. During one of those times I was seeking God on where to read in
his Word next. (I hate putting God in a box, forcing myself to read through a
whole book of the bible if it feels like an obligation. So I read his Word in a
random fashion, reading a whole chapter or just a verse, pausing to listen to what
God is saying personally to me.) The story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob kept
coming to mind and I admit, I wasn’t quite sure what the story of their lives
were.
So in September 2010 I sat down and started reading, and as I read, it was as if
the story of blessing through the life of those families was lifting off of the page.
I almost envisioned it like an unending red ribbon of blessing flowing through
the lives of these families. I started to write down some of my thoughts, and then
realizing that I had quite a few thoughts I went to my computer. I wrote down
how they lived, why they were blessed, who was blessed, what did this all mean
in relationship to God and why in the world did God lead me to this story; down
this path?
At first the note taking seemed overwhelming, there was so much to be told here.
Was this another bible study that was seemingly just for me? It just seemed too
massive for that to be true.
Then my notes turned into sentences, and my sentences turned into paragraphs,
then thoughts that would be interjected, then personal stories. What was
happening? I was starting to actually have a book.
My personal hope is that all believers get a passion for the Word, and seek the
Lord out for themselves, igniting their own fire within. Maybe my book, The
Path of the Blessing will inspire you, and who knows, maybe the Lord will lead
you to write a book of your own.
you to write a book of your own.
Introduction
We are all walking a path in this life. Whether you have consciously been aware
of your choices or not, you are in control of your own path and have made
decisions along the way that determine the outcome of your path. It is an ancient
path, which we are placed on the moment we are born. This path that we are
born onto has a beginning as far back as your ancestry goes. This is when our
own journey begins.
This path of life that we are all walking has the capability of going in another
direction any time you choose. That’s the beauty of the concept of “free will.”
You can choose to follow the path of the blessing or a path void of blessing.
The path of the blessing is also an ancient path. It is a path that was created out
of love for mankind to follow. It is considered God’s best for your life. It is our
choice whether we follow that path of interdependence or a path of
independence.
To understand the direction that you are heading, you must first look back to see
where the path of your ancestors have been. Then you will be able to determine
if you want to continue on that path or choose another. Can you see the path of
the blessing in your ancestry? If not, there is a way to find it for yourself.
In this book, we take a look at the lives of three men and the paths that they have
chosen. Sometimes they choose to follow the path of the blessing and other
times they choose to do it their own way. Throughout their lives, all three of
them experienced abundant blessings. These blessings were experienced not
only in their lives and in the lives of their families, but even others around them
were blessed just by being near them. Why were some family members blessed
and others not? Did their relationship
with God effect their path of blessing, and if so how? What about generational
blessings from the past, how do they affect us today? How many kinds of
blessings can we experience?
Also throughout this book, you will find at the end of each chapter what I call
“Trail Blazing.” This is a little section that will challenge you on your walk with
the Lord and help you stay on or find your path of blessing. When I looked up