admin, Author at The Abundant Life Center

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Posted on Mar 22, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, March 22, 2018

“…and I Am Sure”

by Dona Hake

“For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.”

Hebrews 4:12-13

These two verses contain such powerful words don’t they? God‘s Word that is given to us to live by is powerful, and God promises us that it works as we believe it and act on it ! It is sharper than the sharpest of all swords, and is able to cut deeply into our souls. It penetrates way down deep where God knows how to accomplish the precious work that only He can do in each of us. You know, He sees things within us that we are not even aware of.

Nothing is hidden from the eyes of our Almighty God. For some this may be a thought that is not welcomed but for the believer that really wants freedom in their life it is a liberating thought. He sees everything clearly and He understands how to work His Word in our heart. May we permit the work of His precious Spirit work deep with in us through the Word we have hidden in our hearts. The miraculous work of God’s truth in you has endless possibilities. My friend, He has began a wonderful thing in you, and He desires to continue to help you and grow you up in Him!

“And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.”

Philippians 1:6. The living Bible

Devotional for Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Posted on Mar 20, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, March 20, 2018

“In All You Do, Do It With Your Whole Heart”

by Dona Hake

Our Lord knows us inside and out, and know this…He knows when we are not giving our whole heart in the tasks that are in the assignment of our life. God sees deep within our souls, and He knows what course corrections are needed to get our hearts right and back on course for Him. May we humble ourselves to Him, and seek to hear His voice in these times. He sees our struggles and He knows well what we dread relative to our job or other responsibilities. The Lord desires that in all that we do that we do it with our whole heart.

Colossians 3:23 (AMP)

” Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul),

as [something done] for the Lord and not for men…”

In this scripture we can see that as we do anything, our focus needs to stay on Him as though we are doing it for Him. As I think about doing all things as if I am doing it for Him I cannot help but to think about how my heart would definitely be more willing even if the job is not pleasant.

Another translations says, in ALL the work you are given, do the best you can. I think that is a great attitude to carry with us as we face each day’s demands no matter how big or small. No matter what it is that is our responsibility, we must simply do the best we can, and do it as if we are doing it for Him. As we pursue to make this a habit of our heart, He will bless and prosper all that we put our hand to.

Devotional for Monday, March 19, 2018

Posted on Mar 19, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, March 19, 2018

“Your Strength, Our Weakness”

by Dona Hake

Many times we hand pick the small stones called hindrances that are scattered in our path. There are small things we just put up with, and then there are things we feel we cannot bear. There are so many things that factor into the equation to face trials and deal with them in this life. One thing for sure is that each of us need to be seeking the Lord at all times, and hearing His specific Word to our hearts in order that we can deal with our hardship according to His Will. Some hardships seem to never end, but know this our Lord is with us no matter what.

Paul spoke of being content in having much and also in the midst of great need. He also wrote how to count it all joy when we face trials. Isaiah wrote of the importance of waiting upon the Lord and He would bring a strength that we would mount up with the wings as eagles. Paul certainly learned the secret of walking through hardships, and we can read that in 2 Corinthians 12:10.

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities;

for when I am weak then I am strong.”

I believe we can learn from the scripture that no matter what we walk through, we can draw on God’s grace and continue to move forward and upward in the good fight. I leave you with this short poem written by Corrie ten Boom. Corey learned and was able to trust and serve God even in a Nazi concentration camp and throughout the days that followed in her life. Her wisdom is priceless…

“Your strength, my weakness – here they always meet,
When I lay down my burden at your feet:
The things that seem to crush will in the end
Be seen as rungs on which I did ascend!

Thank you Lord.”

Devotional for Saturday, March 17, 2018

Posted on Mar 17, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, March 17, 2018

“Who Is the Man?”

Who is the man who fears the Lord

[with awe-inspired reverence and

worships Him with submissive wonder]?

He will teach him [through His word]

in the way he should choose.

Psalm 25:12

I shared with you a few days ago about how important it is that we understand how to live in the awe of the Lord. One of the ways I had shared was by seeking His precious wisdom, and as we do this we would find and understand the treasures that have been tucked away and hidden just for us.

Today we will see how fearing the Lord with awe inspired reverence is couple with worshiping Him with submissive wonder. Oh that we would see our life as an act of worship to Him, and live every day in total submission to the Word of God that we have hidden in our hearts. With every breath we take, we are faced with choices throughout our day. In those times that we are hearing so tenderly from our Lord that our choice is wrong let us submit to Him in the awe of all that He is, and be quick to repent that He can continue to point us in the way that we are to walk. May we never choose to walk in our own way but rather seek to live in the awe of the Lord and submissiveness to His ways and His Word as an act of worship to Him.

Devotional for Friday, March 16, 2018

Posted on Mar 16, 2018 in Uncategorized |

Devotional for Friday, March 16, 2018

“…and HE SHALL!”

by Dona Hake

Oh how our loving Lord desires that we meditate on how He will always show up as we wait upon Him. As we wait upon Him with faith in our hearts we can view it as a time of expecting from Him, knowing that He will do what needs to be done in His perfect timing and in His perfect way.

Psalm 27:14 King James version

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage,

and He shall strengthen thine heart:

wait, I say, on the Lord.”

I want to make emphasis on three words in the scripture.and they “AND HE SHALL.” The scripture does not say “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and it is likely He will strengthen your heart.” Nor does it say “Wait on the Lord: be a good courage and perhaps He will strengthen your heart.“ No! It says, “He shall.“ If He said He shall then our faithful God absolutely will!

Remember in those times of waiting after you have released your faith that He shall show up for you for He is good, He is faithful, and He is all knowing. Praise the Lord today for His faithful, loving care over our life!

Devotional for Thursday, March 15, 2018

Posted on Mar 15, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, March 15, 2018

“The Awe of God”

by Dona Hake

“Don’t ·depend on your own wisdom [L be wise in your own eyes]. ·Respect [Fear; Hold in awe] The Lord and refuse to do wrong (turn away from evil) Then your body will be healthy and your bands will be strong and refreshed.”…”

Proverbs 3:7-8 EXB

~~~

“My ·child [or son], ·listen to [grasp] what I say and ·remember [L store up] what I command you. ·Listen carefully [L Bend your ear] to wisdom; ·set your mind on [L stretch your heart to] understanding. Cry out for wisdom, and ·beg [shout out loud] for understanding. ·Search [Seek] for it like silver, and ·hunt [search] for it like hidden treasure. Then you will understand ·respect [fear; awe; 1:7] for the Lord, and you will find ·that you know God [the knowledge of God] . Only the Lord gives wisdom; ·he gives [L from his mouth comes] knowledge and understanding. He stores up ·wisdom [resourcefulness] for those who ·are honest [have integrity]. Like a shield he protects the innocent.”

Proverbs 2:1-7

Today I would like to share what it means to hold in awe the living God. Those words “hold in awe” really touched my heart as I was meditating on the Word this morning. The word awe is an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration and fear. It is produced by that which is grand and extremely powerful. Oh that we would praise the living God upon every morning that we awaken for how powerful and wonderful He is. Let us praise Him for the wonderful things that He has done in our life for He is truly an awesome God!

The Word of God shows us here in Proverbs chapter 2 that one of the ways we can understand and embrace the awe of our God is seeking His wisdom like a hidden treasure. It is one thing to ask God for wisdom but do we actually seek it diligently with all of our heart as if it is a hidden treasure tucked away just for us?

Many times God and His precious blessings are not always as we expect them to be, and we miss them. Look for and seek after God with all of your heart. Today I encourage you to seek His wisdom, do not be wise in your own eyes, and be ready for the eyes of your heart to be enlightened as it never has been before. The blessing of walking in the fear and awe of the Lord, and turning away from evil is the promise of a healthy body strong bones and refreshment by the Spirit of the Lord.

Devotional for Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Posted on Mar 14, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, March 14, 2018

“Now To Him…”

by Dona Hake

“I ask the Father with His great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through His Spirit. I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.”

Ephesians 3:16-19. (Easy to Read translation)

Today we will meditate on being full of our Lord. What does it mean to be full? Paul sums it up here in his prayer, and that is knowing and understanding the greatness of our Lord‘s love. It is understanding how wide, how long, how high, and deep that love really is.

For us to express the fullness of the love of God we need to understand that it can only be done in and through Christ. May we desire to contain all that Jesus is, may we be filled to the utmost capacity of His love, peace, joy, all that He is… In order that we stay full we absolutely must seek to be in faith and be prayerful as we daily live for Him. Only you can ask the Holy Spirit to fill every aspect of your life to its fullest.

It is as we stay full of Him that we will have the power to live and rise above every trial and circumstance that we face in this life. It is as we are full of Him that He is able to do great things as we release our faith. I want to leave you with this scripture, and in my opinion it is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible, and I love to meditate upon it often.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, 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.”

Today I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to know His love in a greater way than you have ever known. See Him as the God that is able to do above all that you dare ask, think, and is able to do above your wildest dreams in Jesus Name!

Devotional for March 13, 2018

Posted on Mar 13, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, March 13, 2018

“When Kindness Rules Our Lips”

by Dona Hake

I would like to focus on a particular scripture in Proverbs 31. Whether you are a man or woman reading this, we can all learn something from this chapter. This Proverbs 31 woman was an excellent wife and mother, and she surely accomplished many things. Honestly, it makes me tired reading all the things she did! (Lol!!) What a wonderful example she has been for women to look to as example of a godly woman. I want to draw attention to the fact that her strength and dignity did not come from her amazing achievements, but they came from her reverence for God. No matter who you are and what you have accomplished in this life for God, He is looking for the heart that truly fears and reverences Him.

Verse twenty-six speaks of the law of kindness being on this godly woman’s lips. I have been drawn to this particular scripture today, and I want you to look at it closely with me. What a wonderful law this is…the law of kindness. Everyone of us need to desire that our lips be controlled by such a law. In several translations I found verse 26 to be beautifully translated. I have compiled these translations into one paragraph for you.

Here are some excerpts from different translations that I found. This woman that loved and referenced her God desired that loving instruction would be upon her tongue. She conducted her conversation with wisdom and the teaching of kindness was ever her concern. On her tongue there was tender instruction. Kindness was the rule for everything she said. Today I leave you with this exhortation from Mother Teresa.

“Kind words can be short and easy to
speak but their echoes are truly endless”

Today may we desire to conduct our conversation with wisdom and may we be genuinely be concerned that words of kindness would proceed from our lips. May we tenderly speak God’s Word that we may instruct those that are hungry for Him, and may kindness be the rule for everything we say.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Posted on Mar 12, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, March 12, 2018

“Taking One Thought At a Time”

by Dona Hake

Paul tells us in the scriptures that we are to take every thought captive. Every thought. Imagine that… As I pondered this I wondered how many thoughts go through our minds in a day. I have read several places that over 40,000 to 60,000 go through the human mind in the span of one day. Not sure how accurate this is, but we all well know that one can be capable of thinking a lot of thoughts in a day’s time. Here is what Paul declared about the thought realm.

“…we are taking prisoners of every thought,

every emotion, and subduing them into

obedience to the Anointed One.”

2 Corinthians 10:5. The Voice

God desires to touch us in the realm of our thoughts. He understands our human nature, our weaknesses, and He understands how our thoughts can control our souls. He desires to help us maintain our concentration on the things that will build us up and not tear us down. He desires to see us build our faith strong that we may serve Him better as we purpose to do His will. We cannot afford the undisciplined practice of letting our thoughts to themselves. They will multiply and grow in strength and surely become a hindrance to us.

Today I encourage you to accept the challenge of taking each thought captive. Stop it in its tracks if it is a hindering thought, and cast it out in Jesus Name. Those thoughts that are good and healthy for your spirit… let them grow and multiply. Take all things to the Lord in prayer that trouble you for He can help you, and walk you through the unanswered questions and the disturbing thoughts of your heart.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. Keep to the script: whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me—do it—and the God of peace will walk with you.”

Philippians 4:8-9. The Voice

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Posted on Mar 10, 2018 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, March 10, 2018

“Acknowledging God In the Moment”

by Dona Hake

“You will lose your way the minute you decide to go your own way.

When you seek God‘s will alone, you find it everywhere,

and you cannot go astray. Wanting what God wants

always put you on a straight path.”

“Live in the present moment. Tomorrow’s grace

is not given to you today. The present moment is the only

place where you can touch the eternal realm.”

Excerpts from François de Fenelon’s chapter entitled “Inner Realities”

These two quotes are just full of powerful revelations of living simply before the Lord Jesus Christ, and acknowledging Him in every one of your ways. I see firstly in these quotes how important it is that we live to do God’s will. How many times do we forget this simple truth as we go about our day. I believe the Lord desires that we seek Him about the simplest of things in our day. He promises as we acknowledge Him in all of our ways that He will be faithful to lead us.

As we live every moment before our Lord, we must know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are drawing on His fresh grace that is only for that moment. We cannot live on the fumes of our faith and grace that brought us our victories yesterday . They are our testimonies, and yes we speak of them but we must reach for His grace that is for the moment we are in right now.

Oh the power of truly living in the fear of the Lord, and seeking Him that He would convict us at the very thought that we permit ourselves to be wise in our own eyes. Praise the living God who has promised to make our ways straight as we look to Him.

“In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him,

And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing

obstacles that block your way]. Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience]

and turn [entirely] away from evil. It will be health

to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your

sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts]

And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.”

Proverbs 3:6-8. Amplified version