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The Abundant Life

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”   John 10:10

 

I grew up on Mick Jaggar’s song “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”.  Mick didn’t seem to experience satisfaction in life so why could I expect to?  He was the famous one living a life of fame, wealth and privilege.  If his life was lacking, how could I expect more for myself?

I think these words ring true for far too many of us today.  We live surviving, and we think that is the way it is supposed to be.  I believe that Jesus’ words in John 10:10 say something else.  Jesus came to bring us life–abundant life.

Does abundance equal satisfaction?  What I have found for myself and for the many women with whom I have worked over the years is that we have holes in our hearts.  Blaise Pascal called these holes “God shaped vacuums”.  In our desperation to find meaning in life, purpose, peace, we seek to fill these holes or vacuums.  It is like the young child trying to fit that piece in the puzzle.  She tries each and every piece except the one that fits.  That certainly has been the story of my life.  I have tried to fill my “God shaped vacuum” with everything:  performance, money, success, a husband, children, food, alcohol, shopping, affirmation.  Sadly, the list could go on for days.  Like the frustrated child, I have found that while those things brought a temporary fit or filling, they never truly filled the void.  The puzzle piece just wouldn’t stay; it didn’t look right and it definitely didn’t feel right.  My hole was still there.  My hole hurt!

When I look back to the passage in John, Jesus had been teaching about the sheep and the good shepherd (John 10:11).  I understand that there are many things and people in life who make promises.  These things or people try to fill the vacuum, but they fall short.  Instead of satisfying, they rob me of peace and purpose.  These are the thieves.  The thieves are different in each person’s life.  Now, I understand why “I can’t get no satisfaction” — I am not looking to the true shepherd (John 10:11)!

The call of Jesus is to follow the true shepherd.  He is the true shepherd.  He is the answer to our God-shaped vacuum.  The path to abundance is one of trust, surrender and faith.  When I follow the Good Shepherd, life may not always be easy, but it is full, full of God’s promises, provision and His wonderful plans of redemption and purpose.  It is in His plan that I find the satisfaction, the abundance that I seek.  It is here that I learn to thrive instead of survive.

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More Than A Conqueror

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Truth:  You are more than a conqueror
We live in a day of victimhood.  It is so easy to defer responsibility to the government, the authorities in our lives, the sins against us…add your own.  This is our list of all the reasons why we are stuck, depressed, defeated, addicted, unhappy, discontent.  God does not want us to live this way.  Yes, the Lord understands that life is hard.  Sin is alive and well and is a very powerful force in our lives.  The good news is that God is also alive and well and is much more powerful than any force that comes against us.  The even better news is that God will give us His power to overcome all these things.  God’s intent is for us to live as more than conquerors.  See, he will not just help us overcome, he will empower us to conquer.  “More than conquerors” means that once we have overcome, we can enjoy the blessings of the conquest.
What do you need to overcome today?  It can be a mindset, a sin against you, an addiction, whatever hinders you from living in the love of God and the power of God.  When you move into the negative self-talk, turn your eyes to him who loves you and hear his message:  you are more than a conqueror through him who loved us.  With him and through his mighty power, you can overcome.  Victim no more!

More Than A Conqueror

More than a conqueror, Thro’ the mighty God,
More than a conqueror, By the cleansing blood;
More than a conqueror, Walking in the light,
More than a conqueror, Reigning day and night.

More than a conqueror, By the living Lord,
More than a conqueror, Standing on his Word;
More than a conqueror, Happy on the way,
More than a conqueror, Till my dying day.

More than a conqueror, In the battle’s din,
More than a conqueror, Over every sin;
More than a conqueror, At the trumpet call,
More than a conqueror, Victor over all.

More than a conqueror, While I live below,
More than a conqueror, Over every foe;
More than a conqueror, Ever shall I be,
More than a conqueror, Thro’ eternity.

 by D.O. Teasley
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God Cares For You!

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Truth: God cares for you

 “Nobody cares — nobody cares how I feel, what I think, or what I want right now.”  We have all heard those words, likely from our children. We have all said those words or at least have thought them to ourselves.  There are many times when it feels like nobody cares. That is a lonely and frustrating feeling because challenges are real, and we all face them each and every day.
In contrast to how we feel, today’s truth tells us a different story.  God cares!  He cares about every detail of our lives.  He knows our anxieties, fears, hurts.  In fact, he tells us to cast our anxieties on him.  God doesn’t want us carrying them alone; he knows they are too much for us.
God cares and he longs to come alongside of you, to love you, support you, provide for you.  The key is looking to him.  God is good.  God is powerful.  God not only cares for you but has the power to work for you, in you and through you.  Claim God’s truth for yourself today — God cares for you!
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You are a temple, a dwelling place of God

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).”
Truth:  You are a temple — a dwelling place — of God.  His Spirit and His life dwell in you (taken from Victory Over Darkness by Neil T. Anderson).
We have been talking about our value for the past week of Lent and learning to take our thoughts captive so to replace negative thoughts about ourselves with God’s truth.  Here is a mind-boggling truth — the very person of God lives within you!
In the Old Testament, the temple was the place where the people of God came to worship, to meet with God; it was the dwelling place of God.  Today, the people of God, are that temple. God dwells in you!  That is of ultimate value; thus, you are of ultimate value.
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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

As I have been teaching this week, the challenge is for us to take any thoughts captive that are negative towards ourselves.  Now, I want to clarify that there are times that God convicts us when we are acting contrary to His word or desires.  Conviction is to be heeded as God wants His best for us.  However, there are many times that we just accept negative thinking about ourselves:  I am fat; I never do it right; I am not a good mother or wife; i am not enough, etc.  The truth is that God loves us.  We are His beloved daughters.  Choosing to live in that truth each day will change us.
Today, I will focus on one of my favorite verses from Psalm 139:  “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (verse 14).
You are not a mistake.  There is nothing about you that God didn’t plan.  He knows the number of hairs on your head.  You are His idea and His delight.  When He sees you, He exclaims:  “she is fearfully and wonderfully made”!  Today, each time that you find yourself in self-criticism, I challenge you to replace the criticism with the words of Psalm 139:14.
My prayer is that this Lent is life-changing as we all enter more fully into God’s love for us.
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Made in God’s Image

Today’s truth is from Genesis 1:26:  “You are made in God’s image.”  Wow!  Take a minute to let that sink into your heart and mind.  You are made in God’s image, crowned with the beauty, dignity and glory of God.  When the thoughts come that you are not worthy or don’t measure up, think about whose image you are made in and who you are called and made to reflect — none other than God himself.  He makes no mistakes!  You are especially designed by Him and for Him.
Enjoy the love and approval of God today!
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Chosen and Dearly Loved

Today, our truth comes from 1 Thessalonians 1:4:  “For we know sisters, loved by God, that He has chosen you.”  The truth is beautiful and amazing:  you are chosen by God and dearly loved.  You were hand picked to be God’s daughter, and you were hand picked in love.

I have two adopted sisters whom our family chose to bring into our home.  We loved them, delighted in them and welcomed them as full members of our family.  One of my adopted sisters used to taunt me saying that she was chosen by our parents while they were stuck with me.  Those words did not hurt me as my sister intended for them to do; instead, I look back and rejoice that she knew that she was indeed a gift to our family, chosen to be among us.  God has done the same for you and so much more. He not only chose you to be His beloved daughter but equips you with all that you need in this life, seals you with His Holy Spirit assuring you of His continued presence and prepares a great inheritance for you.
Can we chose this day to live as His beloved, recognizing that we haven’t earned His love but that we were chosen to be His own.  You were made for this kind of love and will never be content without it.  Embrace the gift!
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Forgiven

Good morning ladies.  I pray that you are doing well with your challenge to replace negative thoughts with God’s truths.  This morning I feel called to share a basic truth that we often overlook:  “You are forgiven”.  This truth is taken from Colossians 1:13-14:

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Do you live in God’s forgiveness and acceptance of you or do you continue to condemn yourself?  For some reason, we are really good at beating ourselves up for our sins.  They weigh us down making us feel unworthy, unworthy of love and forgiveness.  This sense of unworthiness is a lie that we have to stop believing!!!  God has called us out of darkness and into His kingdom of light through his Son.  Through Jesus, we have full forgiveness of sins.
The challenge is for us to forgive ourselves.  There is no extra credit for penance.  What God asks is that we turn away from sin and walk in holiness.  He knows we cannot undo what has been done and He also knows that we will fall again.  That is the joy of the cross and the fact that Jesus took the punishment of our sins on himself.
Ladies, our call is to walk as forgiven children of God.  Let’s stop beating ourselves up and start embracing the precious gift that God has given us through His Son.  You are forgiven.  There is nothing that you could do or will do that God will hold against you.  Move out of your condemnation and into His grace!