admin, Author at The Abundant Life Center

Friday, April 6, 2018

Posted on Apr 6, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, April 6, 2018

“Simple Obedience”

by Dona Hake

I can remember times in my life in which I truly felt the prayers of loved ones or friends lifting me up. I never mentioned my hardship, yet I felt like there were those holding my arms up in the battle. Praise God for the simple obedience of those that prayed, and they had no idea what I was walking through. Their obedience to the Father’s voice brought strength to my heart when I needed it most. God desires to use our spiritual eyes and ears to stay tuned to what His Spirit desires to do in us.

Never underestimate the times that you have felt prompted to pray for someone and you had no idea of what they were walking through. Simple obedience in such a matter could mean a major victory in an individual’s life. God desires to use us to be a strength and minister through us. I find this scripture interesting as well as applicable to the truth I am bringing to you today.

Proverbs 20:12

“It was the Lord who gave us eyes for seeing and ears for hearing.”

He wants to use our eyes to show us what He is seeing, and He wants to use our ears to hear the hurting or needy hearts of those around us. Let us ask the Lord to help us to see and hear the cry of those spoken and unspoken words of the hurting. I have had times where I might see a complete stranger and I see pain in their eyes and I walk away and just whisper a prayer for them. I more than likely will never see nor speak to them ever again yet I believe the Lord uses us to possibly change situations through such simple prayers. Also, do not be fooled by those that seem so strong and happy on the outside because they may be crying out for help and falling apart on the inside. Again, see people’s hearts with God’s eyes and you will not miss such divine opportunities to be used by God .

Today I encourage you to keep your ears and eyes open. Never take the position that you have to know all the facts before you can pray. If you see or hear pain…just pray. God desires to work in and through you to reach out and strengthen those that need our help. There is power in simple obedience.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Posted on Apr 5, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, April 5, 2018

“When All That We Need…”

“We mutter, we sputter,
We fume and we spurt.
We mumble and grumble-
Our feelings get hurt.
We can’t understand things-
Our vision gets dim,
When all that we need-
Is a moment with Him.”

Corrie ten Boom

I loved this poem written by this precious woman Corrie ten Boom. She truly understood what hardship was. She understood what it meant to wonder what was going to happen to her and her sister every moment of the day during imprisonment . You see living in a concentration camp Corrie learned to pray in the most hopeless of situations. She grew in her love for God, and those around her, and her many dark situations taught her to keep a thankful heart.

Many times we can be overcome with what is going on in the moment of our lives. And this poem gives us something to meditate upon that is very precious. In those moments of anxiety, confusion, or feelings getting hurt or it seems we do not understand things…it is in those moments we must make the decision to step into a moment with our Lord and simply pray.

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.” Philippians 4:6-7. Amp. Version

I love this translation for it exhorted my heart when I face moments of frustration or confusion, etc…to step out of that moment, and step into a moment with Him and simply cast my care and pray. It will be then that I not only seek answers to my problems but I need to stop and thank Him for what I do have. Many times our focus can become so strong on what is wrong in our lives, and we need to simply stop and give thanks to our Lord for all that we need is a moment with Him!

Monday, April 2,2018

Posted on Apr 2, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, April 2, 2018

“Jesus Our Light”

by Dona Hake

Oh the wonderful light of our Lord that we have been given to live by! This is the only true Light in this world but know this for sure…there are those that are looking for something to fill the darkness in their souls, and this world tries to counterfeit God’s light in order to draw them away from our Lord. The scripture speaks of the devil masquerading as an angel of light. Today let us meditate upon being deliberate in walking in the light that we have been given so that people can be set free, and not snared by the devil.

Psalm 36:9

(CEV)

“The life-giving fountain
belongs to you,
and your light gives light

to each of us.”

My friends, let us live to bring hope and His pure light to the hopeless. I encourage you to look for opportunities to live and speak from that life-giving fountain of light within you in Jesus Name!

1 John 1:5 (The Message)

“This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ

and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light;

there’s not a trace of darkness in him.”

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Posted on Mar 31, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, March 31, 2018

“The Pure Heart”

by Dona Hake

“The blood of Jesus does not cleanse excuses.

It cleanses sins that are confessed.

We have to humble ourselves.“

Corey ten Boom

After I read this quote I immediately began to think upon the scripture in Psalm 51:10.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God;

and renew a right spirit within me.” (KJV)

This is such a precious scripture to me,and it is one I love to pray often over my heart.It is when we desire to have a clean and pure heart that the Lord will be able to work deeply within us. The Lord will speak to us plainly and frankly if we permit Him to. He will show us in those times that we are not rightly dealing with sin in our heart, and He will show us that making excuses is not the right thing to do. When we make excuses for things in our lives we have come to a place where we do not want to deal with our hearts according to truth. We are merely seeking to remove guilt and blame from ourselves according to our own standards of what is right and wrong.This is a very dangerous thing to fall into for this is self deception.

May we trust our Heavenly Father, and the work of the Holy Spirit to help keep the eyes of our understanding clear so that we can see our sins as we should be seeing them. Saying that, we can rejoice as believers that the Lord has an abundance of love, forgiveness and grace for us, and He desires to deliver us and help us maintain a clean and pure heart in Jesus name.

“The blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,

and the truth is not in us.” 1John 1:7–8 (RSV)

Friday, March 30, 2018

Posted on Mar 30, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, March 30, 2018

“I Will Rest In God Alone”

by Dona Hake

“Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him,”
Psalm 62:5 HCSB

God’s desire is for us to stay in the place of rest that He has provided for us for it is there that we are able to live refreshed and drawing upon Him. It is there that our hearts, minds and bodies are living as He created us to live. It is there that there is strength and peace beyond any comprehension exists.

Sometimes it is human tendency to push our minds and bodies beyond the boundaries that God created for us. Worry is an example. The Lord did not create for us to carry cares, and keep our minds in a preoccupied state of worry. It is God’s plan and desire for us to live on this earth drawing upon His grace and strength as we purpose to do His will. In those times we realize we have stepped into our own ability, let us return to His rest that He desires for us.

I encourage your heart to live in that place that provides abundant relief and freedom from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs our soul. Let us abide under the shadow of His wings. It is as we rest in this place that we really do experience the power of His restoring strength to our soul! Rest in God alone for this is our hope.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Posted on Mar 29, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, March 29, 2018

“But Fruit Is Grown In the Valleys”

by Dona Hake

“Mountain tops or for views and inspiration,

but fruit is grown in the valleys.“

Billy Graham

I was so touched and inspired by this quote when I came across this the other day! It caused my heart to reflect on how it is such a blessing to rejoice as we walk through times of mountaintop experiences in this life, but we come to understand all too quickly that this is not reality to expect every minute of our lives.

God has promised to be with us in the valleys, and many times it is in the valleys that we gain wisdom, peace, and strength that we never would have attained unless we walked through dark and difficult times. One thing for sure is when we stay connected to Jesus He will continue to cause us to flourish in the midst of any dry or dark season. Whatever we do and whenever we do it we can believe that we can continue to mature and prosper.

“And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].”

Psalm 1:3. Amplified version

In His presence is fullness of joy no matter what is going on in our midst. We can do nothing without Him yet with Him we can do all things! Let us expect from our Lord that we will continue to bear fruit whether we be on the mountain top or in the valleys of this life.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

John 15:4-5

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Posted on Mar 28, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, March 28,2018

“He Goes Before Us”

by Dona Hake

“You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies; You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace.” Psalm 23:5 (The Voice translation)

In ancient Near Eastern culture, at a banquet it was customary to anoint a person with fragrant oil as a lotion. Hosts were also expected to protect their guests at all costs. Our precious Lord offers us the protection of the Loving Host even when our enemies surround us.Our Lord, our Loving Shepherd promises to guide and protect us through this life to bring us into His eternal home forever.

Today let us rejoice that our Lord has laid out every provision that we need to walk through this day in Jesus Name. He understands every enemy that we are facing, and His provision is more than enough. May we be mindful to draw close to Him and continue to dwell in His presence, and surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Posted on Mar 27, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, March 27, 2018

“His Name Is Wonderful”

by Dona Hake

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:

and the government shall be upon his shoulder:

and his name shall be called Wonderful…”

While we usually look at this scripture more when we ponder the birth of Jesus, today let us look at this it in light of the death of our Lord. “…unto us a child is given.” God’s Son was given to us but God’s whole plan was to give Him up for us. Jesus…the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. The sin we could never pay for. God’s plan to deal with our sin problem was to give up His Son to redeem us back to Him. Our Lord is wonderful isn’t He? Today I desire to stir your hearts to remember His wonderful work of redemption in you.

Let’s look at words synonymous to wonderful… awesome, wondrous, miraculous, prodigious, astonishing, amazing, astounding, phenomenal. This is the Jesus that we serve. As believers we can testify of the many wonderful things He has done in our lives, and we should never lose sight of those things. Let us never live one day without thankfulness in our hearts for the wonderful work at the cross that we could be redeemed, set free, and living our lives without the guilt and shame that we once knew.

At times I have tried to imagine what it would be like to live life without Him, and I cannot fathom it. I often think of people that do not know Him, and wonder how they get through one day in this life. I look at myself before I knew Him, and I will never forget what was going on in my heart and soul. In the stubbornness of my heart forty five years ago I continued to reject Him. I knew something was missing, and that feeling of something being missing is what would not leave my soul alone, and it drew me to the Lord’s love. One thing that I will never forget, and that is how I would lay on my bed as a teenager, and before falling off to sleep for two solid years I would pray…”Lord there has to be more to this life than this.” I will never forget the night that my blinded eyes were open. When I surrendered it all to Him, and it was then that I came to know true life. God’s wonderful work in me! Now…think back on when you surrendered your life to Him.

We need to tell of His wonderful works when people ask why we carry such joy. I encourage you to ponder the many testimonies that you have witnessed in your life since your have come to know Him, and just take time to give thanks to Jesus for He is so wonderful!! Tell of His wonderful works!!

Psalm 40:5 (ERV)

“Lord my God, you have done many amazing things!
You have made great plans for us—too many to list.
I could talk on and on about them,
because there are too many to count.”

Monday, March 26, 2018

Posted on Mar 26, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, March 26, 2018

“He Directs the Humble”

by Dona Hake

Proverbs 25:9 (The Voice)
“With justice, He directs the humble in ALL that

is right and He shows them His way.”

Proverbs 11:3 ERV says,,

“Good people are guided by their honesty.”

The Lord desires that the believer of the Lord Jesus Christ be walking the path of humility and integrity. This world is full of deception and pride, and we need to walk uprightly before Him in every area of our lives that we are shining as lights and exposing such darkness.

How sad it is if a believer slips and chooses the path that pulls their heart from truthfulness, humility, integrity, and excellence. Our hearts and souls should be tugged at the mere thought of being tempted to walk in any kind of pride, dishonesty or lack of integrity in this life. The Lord wants vessels that are pure and willing to follow Him wholly in all of His ways.

The devil is so sly and crafty and he understands how to deceive people into thinking that it is acceptable to pick and choose the truth they walk in. God desires that we walk in the totality of His Word, for there is no deception in the realm of His truth. If one thinks they are getting away with living a lie, and keeping it hidden, they will see that the Lord will expose the deceptive heart in His time. There will always be consequences for going against the voice of our heart. I will never forget the profound truth Roberts Liardon spoke, “Truth ALWAYS outlives a lie.” God wants our hearts to be pure, right and of utmost integrity.

1 Peter 5:5 (Amplified)
“For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.”

Let us diligently seek to be mindful of the condition of our hearts. May we seek the Holy Spirit daily to show us if we are in pride in any area of our life that we be not hindered in receiving guidance when we need it. As we pursue to keep our hearts humble, He promises to direct us as men and women of integrity in all that we do, and He will give much grace, favor and blessing!

Friday, March 23, 2018

Posted on Mar 23, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, March 23, 2018

“But Those Who Trust”

by Dona Hake

I just finished reading about what an eagle does right before an approaching storm. He knows the storm is approaching long before it breaks. He will seek out and fly to a high place, and wait. He waits for the winds of the storm to come, and at the exact moment the eagle sets its wings so that the wind will pick him up, and lift it above the storm. While the storm is raging below, the eagle soars above it! He seeks not to escape the storm but rather he uses the winds to lift him higher.

In Isaiah 40:31 Isaiah spoke of the eagle and it’s great strength. He wrote about waiting upon the Lord just as the eagle waits for the storm. We too can wait upon the Lord, for it is Him that will prepare us to do battle, and cause us to rise above every storm.

In this life we can know that storms will indeed come. Jesus told us that we would have days with trials and tribulation, but praise God He helps us and makes us overcomers as we trust in Him. Storms do not have to take us down and overwhelm us for the Greater One lives within us, and the Holy Spirit is able to show us things to come. Just as the eagle is able to sense the storm coming we can know of such things by the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.

It is important to remember that the storms of life can also be embraced as opportunities to show those around us how the power of the Living God works in a believer that trusts in Him. As we wait on the Lord in the storm, He will instruct us how to soar and ride with open wings, and great strength that comes only from Him.

“But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles. They will run— never winded, never weary. They will walk— never tired, never faint.”

Isaiah 40:31. The Voice Translation