Tag Archives: abundant life

February 22, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Leaving Survival Mode

One of the activities I love doing is camping. When I was younger I was taught bushcraft and how to do a survival camping trip. They dropped us off in unfamiliar territory, only let us carry what we could fit into a bandaid box, soaked the bandaid box in water, then left us. We had to find shelter, build a fire, hunt for food and sleep on the ground. We had no help or provisions. It was a rough weekend that I’ll never forget.

Compare that to how I like to camp. I enjoy taking my tent, a queen size air mattress, a cooler full of food, lanterns, chairs, pots and pans, cooking utensils, plates and lots of comforts. It’s still outside and in the woods, but I have everything I need for a great weekend. I even have transportation and a phone if something were to happen. This form of camping is a lot more enjoyable because of what’s available to me.

Many of us live our faith as if we were on a survival camping trip. We feel like we’ve been abandoned, we don’t have anything, we are in unfamiliar territory and we’re left to fend for ourselves. I’ve spoken to so many Christians who feel this way, and think it’s normal. Let me tell you it’s not. God has not abandoned you and left you alone on this journey. He doesn’t leave us to survive on our own. Instead, He has given you everything to have the other style camping trip.

2 Peter 1:3 says, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (NLT) God has already packed the car for you. It’s a matter of us unpacking it and utilizing what He’s given us. You have special giftings, the Bible, the Holy Spirit living in you, direct communication with God and so much more. We as believers need to start utilizing the things God has made available to us, and get out of survival mode. That’s the life God has called you to.

Photo by NEOM on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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January 5, 2024 · 5:30 AM

MORE

I’ve seen several people and churches ask, “What is your word of the year?” I love reading the comments on posts like this to see what people are seeking. One comment that stuck out to me was the word “more”. I couldn’t help but think how we could all use more of what God has for us. I need more of His grace. I want more of His blessings. I crave more of His presence. More is a great word and God has more to give you this year and throughout your life. Don’t settle for less than what God has for you. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give you life MORE abundantly. Pray today and ask God to give you more of what He wants to give you.

Here are some Bible verses on things God wants to give you more of.

1. But he continues to pour out MORE and MORE grace upon us. For it says, “God resists you when you are proud but continually pours out grace when you are humble.”

James 4:6 TPT

2. Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly MORE than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21 AMP

3. For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], MORE will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away.

Matthew 25:29 AMP

4. May God give you MORE and MORE mercy, peace, and love.

Jude 1:2 NLT

5. Yes, God is MORE than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have MORE than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.

2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT

What would you like MORE of from God this year?

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

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December 1, 2023 · 5:54 AM

God’s Abundant Gifts

When I go to a restaurant that serves food cafeteria style, I’m watching for different types of food servers. One measures the food out perfect before putting it on your plate. Another barely fills up the serving utensil with food. My favorite one is the one who puts a big, heaping spoonful of food on there! Sometimes they do that, then spoon some more on there. That person reminds me of who God is. He doesn’t give a little or just enough. We serve a God who gives all good things to us abundantly until our cup runs over. Every good and perfect gift He gives is given to us in a more than enough way. He doesn’t do it so we can hoard it though. He gives in abundance so we can give and bless others as well.

Here are some Bible verses on gifts God gives in abundance.

1. But the humble of heart will inherit every promise and enjoy abundant peace.

Psalms 37:11 TPT

2. The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

John 10:10 AMP

3. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV

4. Abundant life is discovered by walking in righteousness, but holding on to your anger leads to death.

Proverbs 12:28 TPT

5. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 51:1 ESV

Photo by Grant Ritchie on Unsplash

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October 4, 2023 · 5:51 AM

Burning The Ships

One of the most well known stories of the New World (whether true or not) is about Hernan Cortez. You may remember him from your history class back in the day. The story goes that in 1519 he had plans to conquer Mexico. As his men left their ships he wanted them to understand there was no turning back to their previous life. There also wasn’t room for failure, so he destroyed the ships. He wanted them to fight with everything they had and to leave the past behind. They fought for years to conquer the land. With the help of Allie’s they created, the weapons they brought and their determination, they were able to defeat the Aztecs and pave the way for the Spanish forces to colonize Mexico. The story of Cortez burning the ships has been used throughout history to illustrate points because it illustrates so many things including leaving things behind.

The Bible shares the story of the patriarch of Israel. God approached Abram, as he was called at that time, to ask him to leave his father and mother. Abram was asked to travel to a distant land that he didn’t know about or even which direction it was. I don’t know if Abram had to think about it or gave an immediate yes, but he left his life behind to follow where God led. Along with his story, Hebrews 11 also tells the account of Moses. Verse 24 says that when he matured, he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Instead of clinging to his comfortable life, he stood up for the freedom of the Hebrews. His burn the ships moment came when he stood before Pharaoh and demanded that they be let go. Because of their faith and willingness to walk away, God used them in mighty ways.

In Matthew 10:39 Jesus said, “Those who cling to their lives will give up true life. But those who let go of their lives for my sake and surrender it all to me will discover true life!” (TPT) What has God asked you to leave behind? Have you burned those ships or are you keeping an open door to them? We tend to try to leave a way back because it’s comfortable to us, but that way back impedes our progress. Jesus has asked us to give Him our whole heart and life. Surrendering to Him and His will is the on,y way to the abundant life He offers. It’s time we all had a burn the ships moment in our life where we commit fully to the life He called us to. We like to identify with the results of Abraham, Moses and others listed in Hebrews 11, but not with the cost. True discipleship, true Christianity, is to no longer cling to the things that hold us back and to fully surrender our lives to Him. Ask Him today to show you what things you need to let go of and then fully commit to living the life He’s called you to.

Photo by Nathan Trampe on Unsplash

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September 19, 2023 · 5:37 AM

Giving God Control

One of the books I read a couple of years ago was a study of 100,000 churches and the results. Something that caught my attention was it showed how many Christians are good with living lives that are close to Christ. However, there was a significant drop off to those who live Christ centered lives. We’re comfortable with the first one, but struggle to make the leap into giving up full control. A life that is close to Christ prays, reads their Bible and seeks Jesus for decisions in their life. It’s like a person who is driving the car of their life and asks Jesus for directions of which way to turn. By contrast, a Christ centered life is one where Jesus is in the driver’s seat making the decisions and we are in the passenger seat going where He takes us. Few fall into this category.

It reminded me of the story of the Rich, Young Ruler in Mark 10:17-27. This man approached Jesus to ask what he needed to do to receive eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments. He felt good since he lived a life that did that (like most of us). Verse 21 says, “Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, ‘You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me’” (GNT). Jesus didn’t tell him he wasn’t going to Heaven. He called him to a life that was Christ centered. To give up his will and possessions for Christ was more than he was willing to do. He, like us, enjoyed being in the driver’s seat and went away sad because he wasn’t willing to give up control.

Galatians 5:22-23 talks about the Fruit of the Spirit that God produces in our lives as Christians. Then in verse 25 it says, “The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives.” How much control have you given the Holy Spirit in your life? Do you find yourself in the driver’s seat or the passenger seat? Both are saved and going to Heaven, but only one offers a life that is truly Christ centered. The life that Jesus was inviting the rich, young ruler into. If we want that kind of life, we’re going to have to give Him control of our life. It’s not an easy thing to do which is why so few make that leap. Jesus is always calling us into a deeper commitment to Him, to a life more abundant. The way to get to the fullness He offers is through giving up control.

Photo by Frames For Your Heart on Unsplash

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May 16, 2023 · 5:38 AM

Maturity Matters

I read something a while back that shocked me. It said the average person only reads one book after they leave school. One book for the rest of their life! That’s crazy to me, and I’m not a person who devours books. That means that the average person will mature physically once they’re out of school, but not intellectually. They do very little to grow their mind, improve their understanding of the world or learn something new. I realize we have a ton of information at our fingertips with the internet, but articles aren’t books. They give you the Cliff Notes, not the full tools that will truly help you improve. It should be worrisome to us that the average person peaks intellectually between 18-24 years old.

Paul spent most of his entire adulthood traveling to young churches and writing them letters on the importance of growing and maturing in their faith. He was constantly telling them and Timothy, his understudy, to grow their roots down deep, mature their faith and produce fruit. He understood that we’re not supposed to stop once we’ve accepted Jesus and are baptized. There’s a lifetime of growth and learning ahead of you. Yet, somehow, the same mentality that affects our learning growth, infects our spiritual growth. It tries to remove our drive to learn more about Jesus, change how we live and mature in our faith. When that happens, we miss out on the abundant life God has for us. We become like the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years. We’re out of the bondage of sin, but we fail to reach the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey.

Ephesians 4:13-14 says, “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth” (NLT). Maturity in Christ perfects the Body of Christ from false teachers, builds unity in the Body and makes us more Christlike. Take time to read this full chapter today. God has so much more for us. We can’t be satisfied with milk when He has meat waiting for us. We must be intentional about our spiritual growth and maturity. It requires us to learn more about Him and to live out our faith more than one day a week. It requires us digging into God Word ourselves and relentlessly pursuing Him. God has more to this life for you. Don’t be satisfied with where you are.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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August 27, 2018 · 5:43 AM

Living A Full Life

If you Google, “How to have a better life,” you’ll find several articles with 10 things to do or 3 steps to a better life. There’s no shortage of ideas on how you can improve your life. There are also countless pages of Life Coaches out there who want to help you as well. All of that tells me that people aren’t happy with their lives and they’re looking for ways to get a more fulfilling life. You get one shot at this life, so why not make the most of it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to improve your life or situation, but I think we must be careful where we look for it.

In John 10, jesus is explaining that He is our shepherd and that He leads us. He says we follow a His voice and not a stranger’s because we know Him. Then in verse 9 He says, “I am the Gateway. To enter through me is to experience life, freedom, and satisfaction” (TPT). Not only is He our shepherd, but He’s also the gateway to the life we’re looking for. Who knows more about life than the creator of life? The freedom and satisfaction so many of us are looking for is found only in Him.

In verse 10 He goes on to say, “I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!” Being a Christian doesn’t mean you’re to live a boring life. It means you’ll live life to its fullest. We’ve got to stop going to Google for how to get a better life and go to God who wants to give it to you. Nothing is more satisfying than living the life you were created to live. The only way you find that is through Jesus. We must submit to Him and His will as a sheep submits to a shepherd, and then ask Him to lead us to an abundant life that’s more than we could ever expect. That’s how we have a full, satisfying life.

Photo by Chang Duong on Unsplash

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July 11, 2016 · 6:14 AM

The Author Of Life


The guest preacher at our church shared his story of hardship and how God used his brokenness to rebuild him. He shared how everything was going wrong and no one was giving him any hope. It was then that the Lord spoke to him some powerful words that I believe God has been trying to tell us since the beginning of time. The Lord told him, “I am not the author of your crisis, but I am the orchestrator of the outcome.”

As I read through the Bible, I see the same story repeated over and over. People fail to trust God, they fall away from him, crisis happens, they call out to God for forgiveness, and He orchestrates redemption. As I sit and read the Bible, it’s hard to grasp the timelines of how long these things happen and go on for. What takes minutes to read, could have taken years to happen. In those minutes, it’s easy to wonder how they could quit trusting God.

However, when we are in similar crises that drag on for days, weeks, months, and years, it can seem like it will never end. It’s hard to see a light at the end of a tunnel when you’re surrounded by darkness. It’s difficult to trust God in those times. In fact, we often blame Him for our troubles and ask why He brought it on us. If we aren’t careful, the unexplained, never ending storms in our lives can cause us to grow bitter against God because we falsely believe He is the author of them.

Jesus knew we would forget that the bad things in our life don’t come from God. So He reminded us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness” (GNT). If your life is under attack, that is not from God. While none of us are exempt from bad things happening, all of us can have the author of life orchestrate something good from those bad things.

God can take the broken pieces of your life to rebuild you stronger and better. We must keep perspective of who He is in our storm. You can’t fall for the lie that God is the one who destroyed your life. You must remember that He is the one who restores, renews, and redeems. Your storm will come to an end. God is already working this out for your good even though you can’t see it now. Trust in the author of life to do what He does best in your own life. He sees you in the storm and He’s orchestrating the outcome.

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June 14, 2016 · 1:59 AM

A Place Of Life


As we walked into the Garden Tomb area outside the current walls of Jerusalem, a person behind me said, “This looks like a cemetery.” I laughed, turned around, and said, “That’s because it is!” The place is beautiful and peaceful. It’s easy to forget where you are as you stroll through the garden. It doesn’t feel like a touristy spot like so many places here do. It’s a relaxing a spiritual experience for sure.

After looking at Golgotha and going inside the tomb, we stepped aside and took communion. As I was holding the bread and the juice, I kept thinking about my comment that it was a cemetery. This was a garden with a tomb in it really. As I thought about that more, and we took communion, I began to reflect on the garden aspect of the place. A garden is a place where things grow. It’s a place where life thrives.

What better place for Jesus to be buried than in a garden, a place of life. Jesus came so that we may have life, and life more abundant. As I looked around this garden, I kept thinking about how it was a reflection of who He was. It was a place of peace for the Prince of Peace. It was full of life like the giver of life Himself. Jesus wasn’t buried in a place that was surrounded by other dead bodies. He was surrounded by life.

As I walked away from that place, there was a small plaque of John 14:6. In that verse, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE.” I had always focused on the first two, but had rarely thought about what it meant for Him to be the life. He can grow the most beautiful things in our life where it looks like a cemetery. He can speak life into your most impossible situation because there is nothing too hard for Him. Don’t look at the problems in your life as an end. Give that to the Lord and He will turn them into a place of life and growth like the garden near His empty tomb.

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