admin, Author at The Abundant Life Center

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Posted on Aug 31, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, August 31, 2017

“We Are God’s Light”

by Dona Hake

”To reach a great height a person needs
to have great depth.”
Anonymous

Today let us meditate upon the light that we shine. We are His vessels, and He desires that we shine like beacons in this world. This quote causes us to think about how high and deep we go in our spiritual journey. I am pondering that the deeper I go in Him, the brighter my light will shine! I think it is important that we as believers have a hope within us that we will continue to grow deeper and deeper in Him. Refuse to stand still and be stagnant. Refuse to let your God given light to grow dim and ineffective. We must desire to walk in the deep waters of the Holy Spirit and grow by them. May we see the roots of our spiritual life growing consistently, and deeper in our Lord.

The evil of this world is moving at a swift pace, and we need to continue to prepare ourselves to be used by Him to give His Word wherever our assignment may be. As we hear God’s Word today I pray that you will receive all that you are expecting from Him. Remember we must walk into His green pastures with expectation in our hearts. Rest in His peace and be faithful to prayer and fellowship with believers, and hear His Word with gladness and a receptivity. It is as we do this that the Light of our Lord within us will continue to grow brighter and brighter.

I have observed in my life that many times those that go through very difficult circumstances proclaim how that hardship caused them to go deeper in their faith. They walked away with greater wisdom and strength. I have been following closely the floods and devastation in Texas because of Hurricane Harvey. I have watched over and over many that are being rescued, and they are proclaiming their thankfulness just to be alive. Even though they are walking away empty handed…they are still thankful. I am sure those believers that choose to remain thankful and drawing upon the strength of the Lord will indeed be lights to the needy in this tragedy.

If you are dealing with a difficult circumstance, get before the Lord in prayer with great expectation of how He will work on your behalf. If we permit Him to work as He wills in the midst of difficulties we will find that we come out even stronger, and our roots will go deeper in Him. The Lord Jesus desires that we continue to go deeper and deeper in our knowledge of Him that we would be fruitful in every good work. As we grow in Him we will have an abundance within us that is spilling over to a lost and dying world. The world needs what we have and we must be ready to share it with them. May we declare by our actions and words that we are God’s light!

Matthew 5:15 Common English Bible

“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lamp stand, and it shines on all who are in the house.”

As you enter your job this week, expect your light to shine on ALL that are around you. Expect opportunities to share, to listen, and just do whatever He asks you to do!

Ephesians 3:17-19 Easy-to-Read Version

“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.”

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Posted on Aug 29, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, August 29, 2017

“His Hands… Full Of Good Things”

by Dona Hake

“You open Your hand and they are filled with good things.”

Psalm 104:28b

Is your heart being kept full, strengthened and maintained by the power of the Holy Spirit? He desires to open His hand and touch you with many good things for His hands are filled with an abundance of good things! Many times we may be walking in lack simply because we are not drawing from the provision of our loving Heavenly Father. I know I say this often but it means so much to me, and that is Jesus desires to be our closest friend, and He desires that we stay in the moment with Him. It is then that we will begin to fully trust, and habitually receive from His loving hands.

As for the truth that He is our closest Friend let us ponder this deeper. We all know that our closest friend knows us all so well, and this good friend will be the first to recognize if you are hurting, troubled, etc… A good friend will always be there to help you, and most certainly they will point out to you what they are observing so they can be of help. Because Jesus is truly our Best Friend, may we honor Him with humble ears and hearts at all times for He desires to fill our lives with His good things and keep us strong in every area of our being!

Let us be watchful that we do not become deficient in things that He desires

we be filled with. It can be so easy to fall into endeavoring to do things in our own ability and strength. When we stop trusting God for the littlest of things, it eventually snowballs into every area of our life. God desires to fill us that we bubble over with hope as we trust in Him. As He fills us there will be new strength. Our youth will be renewed as the eagle. I encourage you to receive from His hand today. God is so good, trust in Him!!!

Romans 15:13 ERV “I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Posted on Aug 28, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, August 28,2017

“Fix Your Eyes On Your Lord the Rock!”

by Dona Hake

Our Lord and His Word are our forever Rock! He and His Word will NEVER change. Today we are meditating on our sure foundation and hope, our God our Rock. The demands of this life can weaken our focus if we permit it. Oh how the cares of this world can so craftily come to rob our hearts of the Word of God. As we grow in the revelation of keeping our gaze and focus on Him, we will surely walk in a greater revelation of casting our care upon Him. May we diligently tend to our hearts and guard our minds that we can stay focused on our Rock the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are at that place that your focus has been too much on your problems and your heart is heavy and burdened, here is a scripture for you to meditate upon.

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all of you who are tired

and have heavy loads. I will give you rest.”

The Lord understands our frame and how we can heed to the temptation of trying to do things in our inability. It is no wonder that we experience weariness in our souls at times. I am so thankful that the God we serve is forgiving and understanding, and He gently reminds us that He desires to carry our load and bring strength and restoration to our souls. He is calling for those that are trying to carry the load of life in their own ability. He promises that if one lays the heavy burdens and load at His feet, He will deal with each and every one. He will give our heart,soul and our mind the rest that we need. He will bring strength to our heart in place of the weariness that we may be experiencing from trying to deal with problems in our ability. Today we praise the Living God for He is our Forever Rock and He is our Burden Bearer!

Isaiah 26:4

“Trust the Lord

always. Trust the Lord

because he is our rock forever.”

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Posted on Aug 26, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Sunday, April 10, 2016

“The New Beginnings Each Day Brings”

by Dona Hake

Psalm 5:3 (CEB)
“Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.
In the morning I lay it all out before you.
Then I wait expectantly.”

I thank God that His mercies are new every morning and we can wake with the expectancy of a new day with fresh opportunities. Let us look up to Him today, lay all our cares and concerns before Him, and then wait with great expectancy.

Psalm 145:2 (AMP)
Every day [with its new reasons] will I bless You
[affectionately and gratefully praise You];
yes, I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Today I encourage you to draw upon His strength and see your day as a fresh canvas. There may be things that you are facing that tempt your heart to be burdened but be encouraged that God is a God that never grows weary. Lift your eyes toward heaven and lay your heart open to Him and wait expectantly for Him to guide you throughout your day.

All of us have reasons to bless His Name and be thankful. Take time to call out the blessings that you possess because of the goodness of God that flows toward you. Today, with it’s new beginning, praise and bless His Name for all the good things you embrace because of His goodness in your life!

Friday, August 25,2017

Posted on Aug 25, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, April 12, 2016
“Patience and Encouragement”

by Dona Hake

Romans 15:4-5. ERV
“Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. Those things were written so that we could have hope. That hope comes from the patience and encouragement that the Scriptures give us. All patience and encouragement come from God.”

As believers we must always value and prioritize God’s Word and it’s place in our life. We have heard it said many times that so important that we commit ourselves to attending the church the Lord has called you to. Fellowship with believers around the Bread of Life is needful to our growth. God’s Word will bring light and life, and will help us to know exactly what to do in this life. God’s Word is our Daily Bread and our Lord has promised that it will sustain us.

As this Scripture says, the Word of God brings us patience and encouragement. From this patience and encouragement we embrace our hope, and we are anchored by this blessed hope! We can have hope that God will be with us every day. We can have hope that He truly is the answer. He never changes for He is the same yesterday today and forever. We can live this life with this blessed hope which empowers our hearts with courage to do the will of God. Praise Him today for He is the One from whom all blessings flow!

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Posted on Aug 24, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, August 24, 2017

“God’s Divine Appointments!”

by Dona Hake

Have you ever ended up in a divine appointment and experienced the Lord using you in a way that you never dreamed of? Right now I am recalling in my heart one of my favorite scripture which is Ephesians 3:20. I will share it from the Amplified version…

Ephesians 3:20 (AMP)

“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,”

Now I will share a testimony that ties into being used by God in a superabundant way! I have shared this testimony before but it fits beautifully with today’s devotional. This is a story of courage and victory, and my heart was so touched when I heard it reported. It is about a coach and a young boy. From the first day this young coach met this thirteen year old boy he could see great potential in him.

It was time for their baseball practice and this young man was standing by his coach. Suddenly the coach fell face down on the ground. At first the thirteen year old boy thought the coach was just carrying on but he laid there for 30 seconds. The coach was a fun guy, and he liked to make people laugh. This time though this young man knew something was very wrong. He grabbed the coach’s cell phone and called 911 and they walked him through CPR. The interviewer asked the young man, “How did you stay calm and how did you not get upset that you could do such a thing as young as you are?” He basically exclaimed that he realized he had to stay focused and not permit himself to get upset. It was such a joy seeing these two sitting side-by-side. Because this young man was able to stay focused and calm, he was able to save his coach that was experiencing a heart attack.

This testimony really touched my heart. In the midst of the interview my favorite thing about it was when the coach said, “I believe that the Lord puts people in your life for a reason.” I look at this in another way as well and it goes along with the truth and scripture that I want to share with you today.

Psalm 23:1

“The Lord is my shepherd.I will always

have everything I need.” ERV

The Lord desires to touch us in our time of need, and many times He will use others as vessels to manifest His help. Don’t you just love hearing about divine appointments such as these? I want to encourage you today to see the Lord as the Lord who takes care of you, and as we place our trust in Him as the Great Shepherd, He gives us the provision in our time of need. This young coach was given the Lord’s provision in the moment in which his life was at stake. This coach had in his presence a young man that dared to be courageous and pursue to save his life.

May we ponder our lives today and think about the times which the Lord’s provision was given to us exactly at the time we needed it. Whether it be something that is material or actually a person that was put in your path to speak the words that you needed to hear or perhaps your life had been spared because of another’s obedience at the right moment. Thank God we serve a God who takes care of all of our needs as we release our faith in Him every day !

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Posted on Aug 23, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, August 23, 2017

“We Serve a God Without Bounds”

by Dona Hake

Oh praise the Lord today for He is the God that is able to surpass our highest hopes, our greatest dreams….beyond all we dare ask or think. He is the One that is able to turn that which was meant for evil into good. Our God is able to move the mountain that the world proclaims to be impossible and unmovable. What a mighty God who is without bounds, and how thankful we should be to call Him our Father! God is great and all His works are to be greatly praised. From the time that He created the Heavens and Earth until this very day, He continues to show Himself mighty and His wonders never cease. When I think of how great our God is, I realize that our understanding is limited because He is God, and everything about Him is beyond the bounds of our human comprehension!! Today we look at our God that we serve, and how He is a God that is boundless! I just want to share a few scriptures with you to meditate upon relative to this word ~boundless~.

Psalm 147:5
“Great is our Lord and of great power;
His understanding is inexhaustible and boundless.”

~~~~~

Ephesians 6:10
“In conclusion, be strong in the Lord
[be empowered through your union with Him];
draw your strength from Him [that strength
which His boundless might provides].“

~~~~~

1 Peter 1:3
“Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)!
By His boundless mercy we have been born
again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead…”

Today I encourage to allow Him to show you His boundless mercy, love, grace, and strength in your life. How great is our God!

Tuesday, Auguat 22, 2017

Posted on Aug 22, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, August 22, 2017

“He Directs the Humble In Heart”

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.”

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.”

In each of these scriptures I want to draw your attention to the words I have underlined. Oh how precious the Lord sees the humble heart!!! When He sees our hearts are humble He promises to direct us in ALL THAT IS RIGHT. I love when I know that I am doing exactly what is pleasing to my Lord. Let us rejoice in the truth that a humble heart receives grace, favor and abundant blessings. What powerful scriptures for us to remind ourselves of the truth that we must seek to be humble at all times.

In 1 Peter 5:5 it was written that God actually sets Himself against the proud in heart. Whenever we exalt our opinions or experiences against God’s Word, we are positioning ourselves to have our hearts rooted in pride. God hates pride, and He resists it. God is totally unable to lead and guide the heart that is stubborn and proud. The heart that cannot be led by God will ultimately end up on a wrong path. The one that lacks in humility does not receive His wisdom and cannot walk in the ways of the Lord until true repentance comes to his or her heart. Our God has equipped us with His Word to hide in our hearts. This will help us guard our hearts from permitting that which would cause us to be proud and exalt our opinion against His Holy Word and ways.

Lord, we ask You today to help us be mindful of the condition of our hearts and our thoughts. May our hearts be troubled when we begin to think too highly of ourselves, and seek to put our opinions or experiences above what Your Word says. Your Word is the highest truth, and we ask You remind us to stay in a place of humility. We delight in knowing that You are drawn to the humble in heart. Show us Your ways of humility, and cause us to grow in it. In Jesus Name! Amen.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Posted on Aug 21, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, August 21, 2017

“You Were Meant To Make A Difference”

by Dona Hake

God has appointed each of us with an assignment while we live here on this earth. Let us never compare how our Lord desires to use us with how He chooses to use someone else. His eyes are searching for are the man and woman that looks to Him, and seeks to have a pure and humble heart.

The man or woman that desires the pure heart will not dare to permit sin to hinder their walk. They desire with all of their heart to fulfill their God given assignment. They will quickly run to their Lord for the forgiveness, and as they make the choice to humble themselves He will quickly lift them back up. This is the beautiful heart that He so desires to work His life through! You are here to make a difference, and I think that is an exciting thought!

No matter how young or old you are, I want you to listen. Today you can make a difference in someone’s life. This is a brand new day, it is as a clean slate, and God has a “to do” list for you. He has loving words He desires you to speak, godly actions to do, prayers to pray, etc. He desires that our lives be busy, fervent, and excited about His will for us. He desires that you be excited and zealous over the assignment He placed in your heart.

Many times people can be discouraged and depressed about their lives simply because they are comparing themselves to everyone around them. If you feel you have not succeeded in something, then take hold of God, and ask Him for strength to stand up and try again. May I encourage you today to look at yourself, and know that God made you in such a special way for special reasons and purposes.

Psalm 139:14 CJB version

“I thank you because I am awesomely made,
wonderfully; your works are wonders —
I know this very well.”

The psalmist is proclaiming how awesomely he was formed by the hand of a loving God. Oh that we would do the same, and see ourselves as awesomely made and fashioned by the Master’s hand. As He made you, He had special things in mind, and it is up to you to believe how special you are, and seek how He desires to use you in this life. Trust Him to fulfill those plans and purposes. Seek to express all those God given qualities that may be at rest within your soul. Do not permit fear of failure to hold you back. I want to leave you with one of my favorite motivational quotes. This quote challenges my heart every time I read it.

“Creativity has been built into every one of us;

it is part of our design.

Each of us lives less of the life God intended for us when we

choose not to live out the creative powers we possess.” Ted Engstrom

Thursday, August 17,2017

Posted on Aug 19, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, August 19, 2017

“His Lovingkindness Is Toward Us!”

By Dona Hake

Yesterday I exhorted you to never cease giving praise to our Lord. Today let us look at another wonderful thing to give Him praise for, and that is His tender lovingkindness. I love this scripture from Psalm 42:8 that says our Lord commands His lovingkindess toward us in the daytime and in the night His song shall be with us! Let us meditate upon how we end our long days. Many times are days are so full of demands and activity. We go from one task to another, and we need to always be mindful that we are in the moment with our Lord. If things are going good…praise Him. If things are not going good…again I say, praise Him! Pray often and make it a habit to continually cast the smallest of cares at His feet. If you do not, you will end your day weary and burdened.

If you go to bed with a mind full of anxious thoughts and worries, you will most definitely awaken with those thoughts. More than likely they will be even greater and magnified. The Lord does not want us to greet our day with the thoughts of yesterday nor the worries about our tomorrows. It is not in His plan that we carry the burdens of life for His desire is to give us His rest. He desires that we start each day afresh and new looking toward Heaven expecting new mercies and His wonderful grace. We should awaken with great expectancy in our hearts of what He wants to do as we serve Him. I love how the Psalmist asks the Lord to cause him to hear of his Lord’s lovingkindness first thing in the morning. I will share with you this wonderful scripture which happens to be the first Bible verse I ever memorized.

Psalm 143:8 (AMP)

“Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning,

for on You do I lean and in You do I trust.

Cause me to know the way wherein

I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You.”

Our Lord desires that we cast each and every care upon Him for He cares for us. I encourage your heart to hold fast to the fact that we were not made to worry and stress. God created us to rest and rely upon Him for everything. As you look to Him today, expect good things for His lovingkindess is toward you and in the evening His song shall be with you!

Let us trust to experience His lovingkindness as we awaken and hear His song minister peace and rest to us at the end of our day. Let us remember to lean on Him not only for His strength and wisdom but for the balance He can bring to our lives. Thank Him as He unfolds His plan for your day. Lift up your soul to Him and allow Him to touch you because He loves you so much!