admin, Author at The Abundant Life Center

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Posted on Nov 19, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Sunday, November 19, 2017

“Believe and Do Not Doubt”

by Dona Hake

The words that I want to cause you to ponder today are believe and do not doubt. When we pray, God desires we follow specific steps in receiving. Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Now let us read from the book of James chapter one…

James 1:6-8 (NIV)

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,

because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea,

blown and tossed by the wind. That person

should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Doubt is nothing to take lightly especially if we find ourselves doubting the faithful character of our Lord. What does it mean to doubt? It is when one experiences a feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality, or nature of something. God knows our frame well and He knows our needs and desires, and as we pray for them we need to be in total faith and not waver.

James likens a doubter to a wave that is blown and tossed by the wind. You see, when you ask in faith and determine yourself to resist doubt, and you can expect the desired outcome. But what about the waves in the storm that we face in the midst of a trial you may ask? James never said that when you ask in faith that all would be smooth sailing did he? It is more than likely that we will encounter challenges and detours as we determine to stand in faith for something. No matter what we see, feel or experience our hearts must be resolute to believe God’s Word.

Today I encourage you to be single-minded and steadfast in your faith. Determine yourself to grow stronger in your faith in the Living God that you serve. With God’s help you can, and you will stand strong in that place of great expectation from Whom all blessings flow!

Friday, November 17, 2017

Posted on Nov 17, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, November 17, 2017

“God’s Mercy Never Runs Out!”

by Dona Hake

Lamentations 3:22-23 NAS

“The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,
his compassion is not spent;
They are renewed each morning—
great is your faithfulness!”

As we look to our Lord at the start of our day we can stand believing for bountiful blessings flowing from His hand into our life. Look up and know that His acts of His tender mercies are never exhausted nor is His love ever spent. Every morning my friend that we awaken we can go forward knowing we serve a gracious and faithful God. We can know that everything we will need to sustain us is in His hands, and all we have to do is ask Him for it.

I love knowing that I serve a God that is FULL of mercy and His faithfulness is so great. As you meditate upon this, I encourage you to set your gaze upon Him, and allow your spirit to receive all that He has for you today. We can look to Him in prayer and believe that His fullness will be upon us as we trust in Him.

Psalm 90:17
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and direct thou the work of our hands upon us…”

I believe as we allow His beauty or His grace to be upon us, He will direct the work of our hands. He will begin to deal with how we view everything. He is well able to put us in alignment with His will as we stay humble before Him. He will in turn cause all that we set our hand to to be blessed and prosperous. Praise Him today for His wonderful mercies that never run out!!!!

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Posted on Nov 16, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, November 16, 2017

“Are You Rooted and Grounded?”

by Dona Hake

Our lives speak and reveal what is rooted deep within our hearts. If a child of God is grounded in the love of God, he or she will seek ways to be a blessing at every opportunity. If an individual has any root of bitterness within their heart it will be hard for them to flow in His love and freedom that was bought for them by the blood of Jesus.

The Lord instructs us to be diligent over our hearts, for from our hearts flow the issues of life. As we tend to our hearts as our Lord commands, we will value the fruit of the deeply rooted good things He desires to work and produce in us. It is as we guard our hearts like this that we will immediately discern if any roots of ungodly thinking that would try to creep into our hearts and minds.

Today I want you to think about the love of God in your heart. Are you rooted and grounded in His love? Do you value tending and guarding your heart? Can you see that you are growing in the love of God or are you at a standstill? Quite honestly no matter how old you are in the Lord, this is a question we should ask ourselves on a regular basis.

We have heard the quote “Bloom where you are planted.” It is important to know in our heart that we are staying connected with the Living God, and permitting Him to prune us when He sees fit. I was given a Poinsettia one year as a Christmas gift. It is still flourishing after five years. In order for this particular plant to grow and flourish there is a schedule in which I must prune it back. I recently had to prune it back, and it was so hard for it was so bushy and beautiful. In order for it to remain beautiful I did what I know was best for it’s health and maintaining it’s beauty, and so it is when our Lord prunes us. Part of our strength and flourishing in our Lord is His time of pruning us, and we must welcome it. He knows what needs to go, and He knows exactly the right time to do it.

Today, I encourage you to have vision of being rooted and grounded in Him. May your roots go down deep in the things of His Spirit. Look to Him to grow in His wonderful love, and be filled up with Him! I leave you with this scripture to meditate and pray it over your life.

Ephesians 3:17-20 The Living Bible

“And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living
within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of
God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all
God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his
love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so
great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it.
And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.
Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to
do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely
beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.”

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Posted on Nov 15, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, November 15, 2017

“God Hears the Prayer of the Humble Heart”

by Dona Hake

Psalm 51:17 ERV

“The sacrifice that God wants is a humble spirit.

God, you will not turn away someone who comes with a humble heart

and is willing to obey you.”

The humble heart my friends…this is what our Lord is looking for. We serve a mighty and living God that hears and listens intently to the cries of the man or woman with a humble heart. God desires to move mountains on behalf of those that truly reverence His Name, and seek diligently to keep a humble heart before Him and man. You may wonder who are those that truly reverence His Name. It is the man or woman that consistently looks to Him every day to be the Lord of all things in their life. It is the man or woman that calls upon Him for help whether it be a big or small thing. God’s eyes look for those of a humble and dedicated heart, and He is attentive to their cry.

Psalm 145:18-19 TLB

“He is close to all who call on him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who reverence and trust him; he

hears their cries for help and rescues them.”

Father, we thank You this day that You desire to move in great ways in our lives. We thank You that as we ask for all good things that come from You that You are able to place godly desires within us, and You will be faithful to fulfill those desires. Help us to grow in our understanding of true humility for we know that this is so pleasing to Your heart. As we encounter needs in our lives, we ask in Your Name to meet our needs for Your Word says that You desire to perfect all that concerns us. Today we rejoice in Your provision over our lives In Jesus Name, amen.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Posted on Nov 14, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, November 14, 2017

“Truth and Laughter”

by Dona Hake

I love watching the very old TV shows on television. One of my favorites right now is “Father Knows Best.” It was first aired on TV 63 years ago on CBS, and oh my so much has changed in all those years. Almost without fail each episode brings a lesson of holding fast to good and moral values. Last week I was cleaning and had one of these shows on, and the father of “Father Knows Best” responded to one of his children and spoke a very interesting comment. He said, “Laughter and truth are the most powerful weapons.” I found this to be so interesting for in this day and age you would never hear such statements made on TV. Most of current TV has very little moral values coming through the story line of a program. There may be a few but they are few and far between.

Today I bring you some scriptures to meditate upon truth and laughter. They really are powerful, and are weapons against the devil. Think about how the devil loves nothing more than attempting to rob our joy, and keep us from walking in the truth. I encourage your heart to hold fast the God’s truth, and take every opportunity you can to laugh, and enjoy your life in Christ!

John 8:32

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Proverbs 12:17

“He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness…”

Proverbs 12:19

“The lip of truth shall be established for ever:

but a lying tongue is but for a moment.”

Proverbs 16:6

“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged:

and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.”

Psalm 126:2

“Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

and our tongue with singing: then said they

among the heathen, The Lord hath

done great things for them.”

Proverbs 17:22

“A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful

mind causes healing, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”

Monday, November 13, 2017

Posted on Nov 13, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, November 13, 2017

“The Lord Our Shepherd”

by Dona Hake

Psalm 23:1. Amplified version

“The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide

and to shield me], I shall not want.”

We serve a faithful Shepherd. He walks beside us, He walks before us. He tends, guards, and watches over us carefully. To me, this is a precious meditation that we should how dear to our hearts. We can never think about this and ponder it enough. In this day and age, we are presented with so many things, and if we are not careful we can become discontent with what we have in our life. These things can easily become distractions, and take our focus off of what is really important. Just because we want something does not mean we need it nor should we feel that we are entitled to have to have it.

As I am composing these thoughts for you to meditate upon I am thinking about my need for His love to empower me and rule in my heart. Oh how I need His grace and strength to sustain my heart in those times I feel I cannot do something. My heart is so thankful for His wisdom that comes from above to help me in decision-making throughout my day.I thank Him for His provision of forgiveness in those times I’m needing to overlook things, release hurts and offenses, and simply let them go. I praise Him for His peace that passes my comprehension, and sustains my heart in times of trouble. I encourage you now to think about what you really need to get through your day.

As we focus on heavenly things He will take care of all those things in this earthly realm that we have need of. Let us praise Him today for His faithfulness…He promises that we will never lack in any good thing. As children of the Living God, may this be our confession that the Lord is our Shepherd… WE SHALL NOT WANT for He is faithful to supply all of our needs. Let us not dwell on what we do not have but rather that we need to look to Him to take care everything in our life for He is our faithful God.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Posted on Nov 11, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, November 11, 2017

“Vessels For His Use”

by Dona Hake

2 Timothy 2:20-22Amplified Bible (AMP)

“Now in a large house there are not only [a]vessels and objects of gold and silver, but also vessels and objects of wood and of earthenware, and some are for honorable (noble, good) use and some for dishonorable (ignoble, common). Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things [which are dishonorable—disobedient, sinful], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [set apart for a special purpose and], useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Run away from youthful lusts—pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those [believers] who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Today let us meditate upon knowing that we are His vessels. He has called us to do greater things in this life. This is His will for every child of God.

In my prayer time this morning the words came from my spirit, “Help me Lord not to carry care but to carry peace.” I meditated upon these words as I was praying, and I began to see in an even deeper way that as I serve Him how He desires to use me as a powerful and pure vessel of His. We must be rid of anything that would hinder our effectiveness and our testimony for Him. My friends, we must be mindful and careful of what we are carrying in spirit. We must be diligent to carry His peace, love, joy, and His grace and all that He is that we may glorify Him on this Earth.

Lord, help us this day to be mindful that we are Your vessels, and You desire to use us in a great way. May we look to You, and the help of Your Holy Spirit to show us when we are carrying things that are not glorifying You. We know we must make good use of all of our time here that You may use us in all of our potential. Help us to be reminded to lay down cares, anxieties, and anything that would keep us from totally carrying all that You are. In Jesus Name, amen.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Posted on Nov 2, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, November 2, 2017

“Look For Opportunities”

I just glanced at a greeting card that I have sitting on my desk. I keep it there because the words on the front of the card minister to my heart. Actually these words fit perfectly for today’s devotional.

Worship Him with every…

word of your mouth,

deed of your hand,

beat of your heart.

Today I exhort you to look for opportunities for your mouth…speak words of life, build someone up, encourage, and pray. Use your mouth to smile at someone that looks sad or lonely. Seek opportunities to use your hands to work as unto the Lord, and do it with all of your heart. May your heart beat for Him and may you praise Him with your every breath, and give thanks to Him for your being. You are here to serve Him my friend. Set your eyes on Him today, and live life looking for opportunities to bless your Lord and those around you.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Posted on Nov 1, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, November 1, 2017

“When the Pressure Is On”

by Dona Hake

“Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.”

The Lord knows our weakness and He shares our sorrow. What a friend we have in Jesus! These are words taken from the Hymn written by Joseph M Scriven entitled “What a Friend We Have In Jesus.” This song beautifully written serves to remind us that we should never be discouraged in the midst of walking through life’s valleys for our Faithful Friend has promised to walk through each and every valley we encounter.

I encourage you to take your sorrow and weaknesses to Him, and ask Him for His comfort and divine wisdom in your time of need. Many times through trials we come to realize the places within our souls that are really weak and we need to grow strong. Let this not discourage our hearts but rather help us be determined to grow in the midst of it all. He has promised to instruct us in our way, and the Lord understands our frame. He knows us inside and out, and He sees those things that need to be revealed by His Holy Spirit. So do not run away from hardships but rather stand still, stand strong, and know the Lord your God is able to get you through anything.

James 1:2-5The Voice (VOICE)

“Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing. 5 If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking.”

I thank God today that I have the best friend ever, and His Name is Jesus. He said He would share in all of my sorrows, and even though He knows every weakness of your’s and mine, He continues to stand and walk beside us. What a friend we have in Him!! He will equip us for our journey, and cause us to cross the finish line victoriously!

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Posted on Oct 31, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, October 31, 2017

“Without God…”

without God I can do nothing

by Dona Hake

As we grow in God’s grace we also will grow in the revelation that without Him we can do not one thing. Today I want to share a simple thought and truth with you. Without God we can do nothing, yet with Him we can do everything! Of course that word ~everything~ must line up with His will. The scripture that I am about to share is a favorite to many!

Philippians 4:13 (CEB)

” I can endure all these things through

the power of the one who gives me strength.”

What a blessing it is to know that we have all that we need for anything that we face. Let us look at this verse, and as you read it emphasize the first two words, “I can.” Many times when we are faced with adversity or we are feeling weak, the first words that we may be tempted to entertain in our minds are “I can’t do this.” Our President recently said something to the affect that we should face every impossibility as an opportunity. I loved those words so much! The devil would love for us to be quitters especially when he sees the great exploits that our Lord desires for us to do. If we give up because of what we see we also give up the opportunity to release our faith in the God of the impossible. Now let us look at this scripture along with these meditations.

John 10:10 (AMP)

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill

and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy

life, and have it in abundance

(to the full, till it overflows).”

In this life we all face the thief, and he is the devil himself, He diligently seeks to steal and rob from us. He will try to kill our dreams, weaken our faith, and more than anything try to convince us that “we cannot” be overcomers. He seems to sometimes have the mysterious ability to make the smallest of things look gigantic, yet we serve the one that can bring all problems down to size if only we keep our eyes on Him.

Let us look to One that came that we might win in this life. Let us look to Jesus, the One that has given us all the sufficient strength, wisdom, and everything that we need. It is Him that desires that we enjoy life and live it to the full till it overflows and spills out to those around us!