Tag Archives: Living Abundantly

LIVE ABUNDANTLY IN 2023

January 2, 2023 12:04 am , Leave a Comment ,

It’s a new year and a new beginning. There is no better time to renew our spirits and jump excitedly into the great things God has for each one of us. Life is like a mountain road full of unexpected turns, steep climbs, and downhill slopes. It’s an amazing ride filled with a gamut of emotion. There are sorrows and celebrations in all of our lives. Life will never be perfect. But it is glorious when we rest in Christ’s love.

The love of Christ makes us look heavenward so that every difficulty in this life becomes like a vapor in the wind. His love brings beauty into the most painful circumstances. His love covers the soul with peace, joy, and goodness. His love is better than anything else.

During the past year, Christ’s love has shaken me in ways I could have never dreamed of. It has been a year of spiritual growth and drawing closer to Christ.

I believe that 2023 will be a year for many people to draw closer to the heart of Christ. I can feel it in my bones…His love is rocking the world like never before. Nothing excites me more than watching others get shaken by God’s love.

Are you ready for Jesus to knock your socks off with His love?

With excitement for the year ahead, I’m sharing my mantra (life verse) again: Christ never promised that the road would be easy, but He did promise an abundant life. Jesus said: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

LORD,

Thank You for Your never-ending love and goodness. Give us an abundance of joy and peace in 2023. Help us keep our eyes fixed upon You and let us experience Your love every day. Help us be content in all circumstances and know You are all we need to live abundantly. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

May you experience more of Christ’s love and live abundantly every day in 2023.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

If you enjoyed this post, I would love for you to subscribe to receive my posts electronically by entering your email address into the box on the right side of the blog. It says: “Subscribe to Blog via Email.” Thank you so much to those who have already subscribed.

Posted in: Holidays, Prayers , Tagged: , ,

LIVING THE ABUNDANT LIFE IN CHRIST

December 13, 2018 1:30 am , Leave a Comment ,

Many years ago during one of the hardest seasons of my life, I learned the most about abundant living. While battling hardships and trials, I sought the Lord for the answers to my problems, and He diligently answered me. He led me to a Scripture in the Bible that jumped off the pages when I read it.

Deuteronomy 30:6 says, “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”

In these verses, I found the answer to what my heart longed to know. The word ‘circumcise’ is derived from a Latin word meaning, to cut. In the midst of excruciating trials, it felt like my heart was being circumcised. God was cutting away the idols in my heart that were hindering me from fully loving Him and fully living life. The process was painful, but ultimately it led me to the abundance my soul was longing for.

Everyone wants to live abundantly. The Bible says that Jesus came to give us life, and to give it more abundantly (John 10:10). Yet, how many people truly tap into the abundant life that Christ offers? Could it be the way we view our lives or what we equate happiness with?

For a season in my youthful years, I was seeking abundance in the wrong places, which led to disappointment. In God’s infinite grace, He took me through a season of testing, so that I would come forth as pure gold (Job 23:10). Through the stretching and tests, He led me to the true source of abundance.

The things in my past, that were the hardest to endure, are what led me to the abundant life in Christ—a life of genuine joy and peace—that is not determined by things or circumstances. Through the hardships, God gave me a new heart—a heart that rejoices because of His love.

Are you in the midst of being pulled and stretched? Do you feel as though life is caving in around you?

To be rebuilt, a house needs to be torn down first. It can be an excruciating process. Do not lose heart. God is building a beautiful spiritual house out of your life. He uses every loss and every struggle to bring good in the lives of those who love Him and live according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Nothing He allows in our lives is in vain. He uses it all.

For a child of God, it is pure joy to face trials because we know that no matter what is happening, Jesus is walking along beside us and carrying us through all of life’s hard situations.

Christ wants for us to love Him with all of our hearts, so that we can truly live abundantly and bask in His great love. In loving Jesus Christ more than anything or anyone, we can’t be shaken. When our lives are built upon Christ, we can’t lose our foundation and nothing or nobody can steal our joy.

Countless people in the world have been duped into believing that abundant living is found in wealth and material riches.  The true abundant life is found in knowing Christ deeply. Jesus is everything—when we know this, then we know that any other good thing we have in life is only the icing on the cake.

May you enjoy Jesus this Christmas season and find hope through Him in the weariness of life.

Lord, I thank You for the abundance of joy and peace that You give to us in all seasons of life. Help us to continually look to You as our only source. Let us keep our eyes fixed upon You and enjoy You every day. Let us be content in all circumstances and know You are all we really need to live abundantly. We pray in Your name, Christ. Amen.

“You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5

This revised post was originally written in 2008.

© Copyright 2018 – LIVE ABUNDANTLY NOW

Posted in: Devotions , Tagged: , , ,

WE CAN REJOICE BECAUSE CHRIST LIVES

April 20, 2014 1:16 am , Leave a Comment ,

Because He Lives!!

I woke up yesterday morning thinking of the lyrics to an old hymn written by Bill Gaither. The words are powerful and sum up the message of the gospel beautifully. Because Christ lives, we can rest in His presence and peace. We can face adversity with strength because we know we have our Jesus to carry us.

I pray that as you read these lyrics you will be reminded of the power in the cross to heal and strengthen you.

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives.

And then one day, I’ll cross the river,
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict’ry,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives.

By: Bill Gaither

LORD,

Thank You for dying an agonizing death so that we can live eternally in Your perfect peace. Help us continually to walk in Your righteousness and let us live in the fullness of Your joy every day. Help us to remember daily the pain you bore so that we can be free to live abundantly. Let us revel in the gift of Your amazing grace and let our lives be a celebration of Your love. We pray in Your name, Christ. Amen.

 

 

Posted in: Holidays , Tagged: , , , ,

THE ABUNDANT LIFE

December 2, 2013 7:15 pm , 4 Comments ,

John 10.10

During one of the hardest seasons of my life I learned the most about abundant living. My husband had been laid off from a good job, I was working tirelessly to make ends meet and life was very stressful. I wanted desperately for my circumstances to change.

While battling hardships and trials, I sought the Lord for the answers to my problems, and He diligently answered me. He led me to a Scripture in the Old Testament that jumped off the pages when I read it.

Deuteronomy 30:6 says, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart, and with all your soul, and live.”

In these verses, I found the answer to what my heart longed to know. The word ‘circumcise’ is derived from a Latin word meaning, to cut. In the midst of excruciating trials, it felt like my heart was being circumcised. God was cutting away the things inside me that were hindering me from fully loving Him and fully living life. The process was, at times, excessively painful. But ultimately it led me to the abundance my soul was longing for.

Everyone wants to live abundantly. The Bible says that Jesus came to give us life, and to give it more abundantly (John 10:10). Yet how many people truly tap into the abundant life that Christ offers? Could it be the way we view our lives, or what we equate happiness with? For a season, I was seeking abundance in the wrong places, which led to more disappointment.

In God’s infinite grace, He took me through a season of testing because He wanted to lead me to the true source of abundance.

Are you in the midst of being pulled and stretched? Do you feel as though life is caving in around you?

To be rebuilt, a house needs to be torn down first. It can be an excruciating process. Do not lose heart. God is building a beautiful house out of your life. He uses every loss and every struggle for our good. Nothing He allows in our lives is in vain. He uses it all.

The things in my past, that were the hardest to endure, are what led me to the abundant life in Christ—a life of genuine joy and peace—that is not determined by things or circumstances.

Through the hardships, God gave me a new heart—a heart that rejoices because of His love.

It really is pure joy for a child of God to face trials because we know that no matter what is happening, Jesus is walking along beside us, carrying us, allowing us to bask in His great love at all times and in all circumstances.

Jesus is everything—when we know this, then we know that any other good thing we have in life is only the icing on the cake.

Lord, I thank You for the abundance of joy and peace that You give to us. Help us to look to You as our only source. Let us be content in all circumstances and know You are all we really need to live abundantly. I pray in Your name, Christ. Amen.

“You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5 (NASB)

This post has been revised and was originally written in 2008.

Posted in: Devotions , Tagged: , , , , , , ,