The Abundant Life Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God provided a way through Jesus Christ that we can remain free from the torment that sin brings.   I thank God everyday for the power of His forgiveness.   I thank Him that only through Him can I forgive those that offend me, and I thank Him that He helps me to grow that I can rise above offense.  But what about the times we stumble?   Sin that is left go and not dealt with properly is the breeding ground for torment and hindrance in our walk with the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is much torment in feeling guilty. It kind of feels like a prison because you are no longer free from the inside out. Memories and thoughts of the wrong you may have done seem to have voices, and they continue to haunt and remind you of what you think is irreparable. If you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, you can partake of His wonderful forgiveness. Let us treasure within us how wonderful it is that the Lord will forgive us when we mess up and He will always cleanse our hearts. As we humble ourselves to Him admitting our wrongs and shortcomings, He is desiring so much to bring us back to that place of feeling clean again. Let us look at David in the Psalms. His plea to God was for restoration of his heart in a time in which he majorly messed up and his heart was heavy with guilt and anguish.

 

Psalm 51:7, 8, 10

“Remove my sin and make me pure.”
Wash me until I am whiter than snow!
Let me hear sounds of joy and happiness again.

 

 

 

 

Today let us treasure the power of forgiveness from the One who is able to cleanse and purify. I love how verse eight says “Let me hear sounds of joy and happiness again.” This is what restoration is about. When we experience freedom from guilt we are able to experience the joy that was robbed by our sin and guilt. Only God is able to create within us a pure heart, pick us back up, and cause us to continue on in His will. Thank God for the power of forgiveness!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord is preparing us for His use, and He is wanting to display His love any way He can!  Have you ever wondered at the beginning of the day, and ask Him “Lord, how will You use me today? I do not know about you, but I ask the Lord this question a lot. I desire with all my heart to be used by Him. Sometimes we may have ideas in our own minds how we will be used, but sometimes I think the Lord uses us in ways that we may never expect.   Sometimes He may even use you in a way that you thought to be impossible.   “Now unto Him, who is able to do above and beyond all that we dare ask or think…” Ephesians 3:20

 

 

 

 

Have you ever needed a word of wisdom or a word of encouragement, and it seemed  like God provided the person to walk into your path and the timing could not be any more perfect than the moment it happened?  Yesterday I shared with you that God is the potter and we are the clay. He molds, He works within us, He sees where we need to change, and it is vitally important that we permit Him to work on our hearts. Then there will be times where He may call upon us to be used by Him, to be His appointed vessel for a specific reason.

 

 

 

 

Today’s devotional has been inspired from something I read last evening. This is a little testimony of a precious couple that I know, and I had the privilege of photographing their wedding day. Now they have a precious and beautiful baby girl. What a delight and joy she has been to them.  I asked this young lady for permission to share this with you, and I pray that it will bless your heart as it touched and blessed mine. This young lady shared that they were out celebrating her husband’s birthday last evening.   Never were they expecting their evening to turn out like this…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I totally relate to this story for I saw the affects on my own father from Alzheimer’s. To watch someone you love lose their memory, and the ability to smile and laugh is so very painful. I was touched to know this precious child brought a smile and laughter to this woman stricken with this disease. I am equally blessed for her son that is caring for her. This could have been the encouragement that he needed to strengthen his heart. Experiences like this can minister to one’s heart, and we may never know the extent that  the Lord used this precious child.  This young mother shared with me,  “Matt and I are still speechless! I feel so encouraged now because you never know when you can change someone’s life!”   

 

 

 

 

I think this is so precious, and I feel blessed to be able to share this with you today!  May we be reminded through this that we are called to carry life, light, and joy. we are called to touch the lives around us. Interesting isn’t it how we just never know how the Lord may intend to use us as we go about our day. Sometimes we may never know how being at the exact place and the exact time could maybe be for a specific reason and purpose.  May we walk in an awareness that He desires to use us as vessels for His purposes for great and wonderful things!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone of us are still under the molding and workmanship of the Master’s hands.  Let us be so very thankful that His hands are loving and they work with purpose. Some days we might not feel all that great on the outside and things may be a bit stormy on the inside but know this…God’s loving hand is at work in your life, and He sees  your life as precious and worthy for being  used for His plans and purposes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Dona Hake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord has promised to help us with all things that pertain to life and godliness so be encouraged that it is His heart to help you walk victoriously. Paul wrote in Philippians how to keep our thoughts in line with truth. If we just purpose to think on good things…

 

 

 

 

 

Philippians 4:8-9Amplified Bible (AMP)

 

 

 

 

As we practice thinking on good things, our spoken words and unspoken thoughts will be kept and guarded by the peace of God. I encourage you today to think upon all the good things that Paul instructed us in Philippians. It is as we do this that our thoughts, words, and actions will always line up with the will and ways of our Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This portion of scripture stirs my heart  to think about the true spiritual condition of my heart. If I were to stand over a crystal clear pond and look in, my reflection would answer back at me or in other words I see myself. I would see myself for exactly what I am because the reflection does not lie. When you stand in front of a mirror you can not stand there and say, “this is not me!” or “I do not look like that!” Our reflections are speaking to us and telling us exactly what we look like. So it is when we look into God’s Word, He will reveal to us our need for Him and all that He wants us to be.    If we permit Him, He will show us the kind of person we are, and also the condition of our heart.

 

 

James 1:22-25
Amplified Bible (AMP)

“”But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].

For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror;

For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.

 

 

 

 

There will be those times in which we hear the Word and we may feel a bit convicted and we need to give heed, and be an active doer as this scripture tells us to do. This tugging at our heart is the Holy Spirit speaking to us to make changes, and this kind of change really is a good thing. This scripture is clear that we need to give heed to the Word we hear and read, and the living water of the Word will truly reveal to us the condition of our heart if we permit it to. The Lord is loving, and He will help us to make the adjustments we need to be molded into His image. Let us look carefully at ourselves in light of God’s Word and allow Him to work in us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever seen someone walk through an extremely tough situation, and you ask yourself how you would walk through such a thing?  You may say to yourself, “Oh my…I don’t even know what I would tell someone to do in such a situation.”     I can remember one  day while watching the news one of my favorite news reporters was being interviewed regarding a tragedy.  The interviewer asked this gentleman “If you had to give words of advice relative to this situation what would you say?” His humble face showed that he did not have the answer in that present moment.   He was silent for a few seconds and then he responded, and his words touched me heart.