Day 4 - What it's not

31 Days

towards

Abundant Life

If this is your first day here you may want to read here first

Day 4 - What it's not

Day one and two were about the beginning of the abundant life in Christ.  Day three we diverted a little so that I could share briefly my heart with you about how I have experienced the abundant life despite painful trials.  Today I want to begin to share how I believe you walk in the abundant life or experience the abundant life. 

 

One thing I have thus far neglected to share with you is that all the commentaries that I have read on John 10:10b say the same thing.  They all say that the abundant life refers to our present life as well as eternal life (future). That means that Jesus who was victorious over death, who created all things, who healed the sick, the blind, the demon possessed,  and who has resurrection power!  That Jesus, has said He has come so that we might have abundant life and have it now.  If He said it, then it is absolutely possible!  Right!?!  Then my question is why don't most of us experience that abundant life?  Why is it that so many Christians are living defeated lives and walking around miserable?

 

 Perhaps it's because we have misguided ideas about what it means to live the Christian life.  Oh intellectually we may know the truth, but somehow in wanting to get it right we get it so wrong. 

 

 Below are two ways in which I believe we get it wrong:

Some Christians think that being a Christian means following a bunch of rules.  The rules can very from person to person and from church to church.  People can work so hard at becoming rule keepers that in the process they lose their first love, Christ.  Or they become so disheartened and decide that the Christian life is just to hard.  Many of these rules are extra-Biblical.   A side effect of a rule keeper is that they are miserable, they try to get others to conform to their rules, and they judge how holy others are based on how well they keep those rules.  These are the same people who judge how holy you are based on the clothes you wear and whether or not you have any tattoos, etc...  

 

On the other hand some people (both Christian and non-Christian) focus on grace.  They simply do whatever they want to do assuming that they are "good enough" with God because they prayed a prayer once.  They are at the other end of the spectrum sinning away and thinking it's o.k.

 

I'm going to leave with you two Scriptures to ponder on and we will flesh these out more tomorrow.  (My hubby wants to take me on a date so I've got to go!!! :) 

 

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. " Ephesians 2:8

 

and

 

" What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"  Romans 6:1-2

 

 FYI I'd love to hear any comments or thoughts you might have!:)

Day 3 - Through the fire

31 Days

towards

Abundant Life
 
If this is your first day here you may want to read here first

I've changed my mind about the subject matter I'm going to blog about today.  Oh, it will still be relevant to the abundant life...it's just that I feel burdened to write about this today instead...

Day 3
Through the fire

What prompted me to change my mind about today's blog was a conversation I had with one of my daughters the other day.  I was digging around in my scrapbook supplies trying to find fun papers, numbers, and letters etc... when she asked me what I was doing.  I explained that I have been trying to make a button for my blog to link it to other blogs that are committed to doing 31 days of blogging in Feb.  (FYI the scrapbook graphic turned out cute but I still can't figure out the button thingy).  Anyways, that conversation led to me telling her about the topic that I'm blogging on: "31 Days toward the abundant life." I explained how I was deeply burdened by the fact that non-Christians don't get to experience the abundant life.  But just as concerning to me is the fact that many Christians do not walk in the abundant life that's theirs in Christ now.  In response she said "it's just not that easy mom." I said, "I know honey, I'm not saying it's easy, but it is possible."

Her words have continued to ring in my ears ever since.  After all, this is my child who lost two people she really cared about in less then a year.  One friend drowned and the other was murdered.   Shortly after her dad (my ex-husband) was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  She is a daddy's girl and this devastated her.  God healed that bout with cancer, but unfortunately the cancer has returned.  This young woman has gone through a lot of heartache in a short amount of time.  My heartbreaks for her and I would never ever want to minimize the pain she feels!

As I would be heartbroken if I thought you might think that I in anyway might want to minimize your pain or ask you to tuck it in the back of your mind and pretend everything is o.k.  That is not what this series is about, at all! 

I promise you that if you stick with me I will share with you why in some of my hardest most painful trials I still had a deep abiding joy, peace, and comfort.  Not that I didn't cry out to God in pain, I did!  And He met me there in it.  Not that I wasn't angry, I was!  And He helped me through it. Not that I did everything right all the time every moment, I didn't!  I even lashed out at the one who hurt me.  I remember in my pain and anguish crying out to God in repentance and being so completely overwhelmed by His grace and love all the while knowing I did not deserve a single ounce of it!   That my dear beloved sisters,  is the greatest love I have ever known and strangely enough that day was one of my sweetest moments in the presence of Christ! All of the above and so much more is what we will talk about in the coming days!

Dear sweet sisters, hear my heart!  I want you to know the depth of Christs love in greater ways then what I have!!!  I'm not going to promise you a pain free life.  In fact if you follow Christ you will suffer. Don't let those words scare you off, because as said in "Day 2" it is a far worse misery to be without Christ then with Him (you may want to get a hold of a Bible and read Matthew 10:28 as well).   Besides didn't I say that the Christian life is an abundant life.  Yes, there may be suffering but also the greatest joy and satisfaction you can ever know or experience is found in serving a God who loves you more deeply then any person ever has or will!

I also, can attest to the fact that when you walk with Christ you can suffer deep wounds and pain from another and not be bitter.  We will have a whole post on bitterness, but let me say this one thing.  Bitterness destroys you and every relationship you have with others and it does nothing to the one your angry with!  Ponder this: is it worth it?  Or would it be better to hand the one your angry with over to a just God to deal with? That's a post for another day...maybe tomorrow...we shall see... praying for you dear ones!!!

Day 2- You are Loved - Come as you are!

31 Days

toward

Abundant Life

Yikes! Day two of my 31 days of blogging journey...I knew it wouldn't be easy...but I had no idea it would be this hard so early...short little blogs and I'm struggling...and a broken computer to boot...praying I can keep to my commitment for the rest of the month... 

If this is your first time here reading this series you may want to read here first.

Day 2

You are Loved 

Have you ever heard the saying "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die" or something similar? That was a motto I used to live by. That was what I thought life was all about. To live any other way would be boring and dull, and if you asked me then what a full abundant life looked like I would have told you that it would involve partying. The reality though was that I was not happy at all, in fact I was a very miserable person. I eventually got to a place where I was tired of it all!  Then one day I heard the gospel message:  That I was a sinner in need of saving.  "If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8) and "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"  (Romans 3:23).  That I needed to agree with God about my sin (doing wrong) and repent or turn from it "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance"(Luke 5:32).  That I then needed to believe that Jesus' death on the cross was sufficient for all my past, present, and future sins.  When I had done all that I could know that I am forgiven, cleansed, and accepted by God. "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).  Not because of anything special in me, but because of Christ and what He has done for me!  But not just for me dear sisters, it's for you too!!!  In response to all that I heard I fell flat on my face, confessed my sin, and surrendered my life to Christ.  After, I had such peace unlike anything I have ever known!  My life circumstances didn't change, but now I had purpose, peace, and a deep abiding joy despite the trials I still faced.  I also had God's Holy Spirit now living in me; comforting me, teaching me, and interceding for me (Romans 8:26).

What about you?   Are you tired of the life your living? Have you begun to awake to the fact that living life your way and on your terms has not brought you all the happiness and satisfaction it promised you in the beginning? What about all those "things" you keep hoping will fill that emptiness inside? Not quite doing it for you like you thought, huh? We can use "anything" to dull our senses to numb the pain and to drown out our thoughts, but it doesn't really work does it?

Dear one, hear my heart, I beg of you! I believe that if you are reading this then God has a message for you!  It's no mistake that you have stumbled upon this blog.  What are you going to do with the truths I have spoken here?  Perhaps you just need to hear that you can come to Him right where you are at and simply cry out to Him for life and life abundant!!! 

I'm praying for you, that you would stop resisting God and begin to know the depth, width, and breadth of His love for you (Ephesians 3:18-19).  I'm also praying that His Holy Spirit would cause you to have a a zeal for the things that He is zealous for and a deep abiding joy that can only come from being in a right relationship with Him! You are loved with an everlasting love!  So dearly loved by a faithful God who will never leave you, abuse you, or abandon you!

I want to leave you today with this one last thought: Elyse Fitzpatrick is passionate about the gospel and how it transforms our lives.  In her book titled "Counsel from the Cross" she said over and over again something similar to this:

"You are more sinful and flawed then you could possibly imagine. And you are more loved and welcomed then you could have ever dared to hope."  Let those words sink in deeply today!

Day 1 - The Beginning

Today is day one of of my blogging about the abundant life.  If this is your first day here you may want to read my intro. about the 31 days series here.

Day 1

Life Abundant Starts Here

It starts at the beginning!  If you want to experience the abundant life you have to start at the very beginning.  After all if we skip the first step, the abundant life is impossible. 

Let's take a look at that verse again:

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

                                                          John 10:10b (NKJV)


Verse 10 says:  " I have come" and that begs the question who?  Who has come?  If you would look back to verse 7 of John chapter 10 in a Bible you would quickly discover that the who is Jesus.   So we could read John 10:10 like this:  Jesus has come that they may have life, and that they may have it abundantly." 

It's important to know the who, or the source of this abundant life.  It's also important to note that without Christ we cannot experience that abundant life.  You might be asking yourself how do I know that.  Well I believe it's true because the Bible (which I believe are the very Words of God) says it.

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Then in John 20:31 Jesus says, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Just as important as it is to know that it is Jesus who gives abundant life it's also important to know that He gives it to those who believe in Him!  Therefore we can conclude that the very beginning to abundant life is to know and believe in Jesus.  Maybe your thinking, "who?" Or "whatever, He was just some prophet".  Or maybe your thinking  "yeah, yeah, I have heard His story many times and well nothing has changed in my life so why should I listen to you?" Please, give me a chance!  Meet me here each day as I pour out my heart and share pieces of my story with you about who I was and what Jesus has done for me as well is doing for me!  Perhaps when we have finished the 31 days you will know Christ, know Him in deeper ways, and Lord willing you will have begun to experience the abundant life in Him.

Maybe your thinking, "yeah, I know Christ died for my sins, let's move on with it."  As a result you may be tempted to quickly skim through the gospel message anxious to get to the doing.  Then let me challenge you to not be so quick!  After all Christ is the very foundation of your faith and the gospel is your motivation to obey.   So, no matter where you are at today I pray you will look at Jesus and His story with fresh eyes over the next 31 days.

Take some time and think on the above scriptures, dwell on them, and let them settle in your mind and heart.  Then ask God to show you what He wants you to know in regards to them.  Tomorrow we will take a look at deeper look at the gospel message. 

Meanwhile, know that I am praying that you will be able to remove the walls you may have built up against the gospel because of what you've been taught, the hardships you faced, or the hypocrisy you've seen in others.





31 Days

31 Days

towards

Abundant Life

Remember that verse I've been sharing with you?

 

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

                                                            John 10:10b (NKJV)


I've been saying I'm going to unpack that verse for you, and I am.  Only I'm not going to do it in one day.  Instead I'm going to spend 31 Days in October blogging about it.  Why 31 days?  Well first and foremost I believe that God wants me to.  You might be asking yourself, "how could I possibly know that?"  Well I have not herd any audible voice.  Nor have I had anyone approach me and say they have herd a word from God.  No nothing as grandiose as either of those.  It really has been more or less a progression of thought starting with the book bag, you know the one I told you about in the blog post here .  Ever since I received that bag I have felt as if God has fanned the flame of my passion.   

Let me back up and say once again that my passion for as long as I've been walking with Christ has been that women would walk in the abundant life that Christ has come to give.  Why?  Because when I look around at women it seems to me that so many are weighed down by life and are living defeated lives.  Even those who know and love Jesus.  That breaks my heart!  It doesn't have to be and it shouldn't be. I want to share with you ladies what God has and is teaching me. I haven't arrived...I'm a work in progress, but I'm also no longer where I once was.


Reason number two is: a woman, "the Nester" a few years ago decided to blog for 31 days, the next year she asked 8 friends to join her and then the following year 746 women were blogging for 31 days.  I found her blog on pinterest and enjoyed reading it so I started following her.  When she asked if others wanted to join in I thought about it, at first I was hesitant (every day for 31 days is a lot after all).  One day after pondering on whether or not I should do it I had an avalanche of thoughts running through my mind.  I just started writing all those thoughts down and that's when I knew what I was going to be doing in October.  I had enough ideas to write for 31 days and then some.

Yikes!  I'm honestly a little bit scarred.  There are things I'm suppose to know how to do, but I don't: like how to create a button for my blog to link up with the others.  Another obstacle I'm facing is my computer is broke.  That only leaves me with my phone or the hubbies computer.  I'm using my hubbies right now late into the night, but I don't have access during the day. He kind of needs it for work... Hmm I sure do hope I can find a way to blog even without convenient computer access... As for the buttons and linking up I'm not overly concerned since even  if I never figure out how to do it I'm still going to do the challenge.  I just can't, not do it...God has placed a burning desire in my heart to share it!  Be looking for the first post on Oct. 1st.   

For tonight I leave you with this one tidbit: You girls are "loved with an everlasting love and underneath are the everlasting arms!"  That is what Elizabeth Elliot always said at the beginning of her radio show.  What comforting words!

31 Days Toward Abundant Life

Day 1 - The Beginning 

Day 2- You are Loved - Come as you are!

Day 3 - Through the fire

Day 4 - What it's not

Day 5 - If not that, then how?

Day 6 - Food for Thought

Day 7- In His Presence

Day 8 - The Blessing of Serving

Day 9 - Surrendered Heart

Day 10 - The Blessing of Suffering

Day 11 - Better not Bitter

Day - 12 Small Stones

Day 13- Paralyzed Praise: A Conversation with Joni Eareckson Tada

Day 14 or 16 Getting Back on Track = Day 14 
Day 15 - The Greatest Intercessor

Day 16 - Tender, Bruised & Broken Hearts

Day 17 - Pressing Through Fear 

Day 18 - Sabbath Rest

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Day 27

Day 29

Day 30 

Day 31

He is actively involved

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  

                                                                John 10:10b (NKJV)

Recently myself and another Women's Ministries (WM) teammate attended a WM Leadership training conference through Lifeway.   While there my teammate wanted to buy a Worship CD. As I was waiting for her I happened to glance over past the piles of CD's that were stacked on the table towards the back wall.  There laying on the floor propped up against other misc. items a plain canvas bag with a verse on it caught my eye.   There was nothing spectacular about the bag, nothing that would stand out to the casual observer.  It was the verse on the front of this bag that jumped out at me.  The very one I shared with you in my last post and the one that is at the top of this one.  When I saw it I immediately asked one of the ladies who was helping with the sale of the CD's if they were selling those bags.  She said no, she was given it at a pre-conference for volunteers.  I then said, "oh, 'cause when I saw it I thought - I've got to have that."  "That's exactly what my heart beat for women is;  that they would walk in the abundant life Christ came to give them despite their circumstances." She then said she wanted to give it to me, but since it was full of her things I'd need to come back the next day to get it.  I protested, but she wouldn't hear of it.

I went back to our hotel room that night still wrestling with what I should do. There was one part of me that wanted that bag so badly, and the other part of me thought if I were her I'd not want to give up the cool bag I just got for free.  Talking with my husband that night on the phone he said "you know you have to go back for it."  Still, I went to bed undecided. The next day I prayed "Lord, if when I walk up to the woman she recognizes me then I will know the bag is from You." "If she doesn't recognize me then I will walk away."   Well, in fear and trembling (literally) I walked up to the woman without saying a word. She looked at me, and initially there was no recognition in her face. But then all of a sudden her face lit up and she said she had the bag right here for me.  She went and got it and handed it to me, and I stood there dumbfounded.  How could I express how grateful I was to her? I fumbled through a thank-you knowing it just was not as enthusiastic as I wanted it to be, mostly because I was torn in accepting it.Why would she give it to me?  Why would God want me to have it?  Will she regret giving it to me? Were some of the thoughts that were running through my mind.  I wish I would have had the courage to give her a huge bear hug and a hearty hand shake as well as oozing over with Thank-yous through tears. That certainly would have more conveyed just how deeply thankful I was, but then I've never been one who is overt in expressing how she feels... 

Why Lord? What are you trying to tell me? What are you trying to show me? What Lord am I to do now that You've given me this:

My heart beat for women!

Daily baby steps of faith...that's how I'm responding. The first baby step of faith:  sharing this story with the WM team and the whole team excitedly deciding that this will be our theme verse for this year. The next baby step of faith: sharing the story on my blog. After all that's what this blog has been all about from the start. So it's the perfect place to share this small miracle God has done. Then in my next several posts I'd like to unpack more and more what I think Christ means when He spoke those Words.

...But then when your blogging you really don't know if your ramblings matter to anyone...is anyone out there reading this?  Is my sharing my heart helping anyone?  That's why I think at times it's so easy for me to just not do it...today I was even tempted by thoughts of shutting down my blog...who do I think I am...why do I think anyone would want to listen to what I have to say...but then somehow amongst those brooding thoughts hope arose! Maybe, I'll encourage one hurting heart today Lord! Just one broken and bleeding child who needs to hear that You are so very near to her, that You, Lord, love her right where she is at, You care, You will heal her broken and shattered heart, You will be there with her through it all, and she can live an abundant life despite her circumstances!!!  Maybe just one...love you and praying for you, whoever you are!

Feeling like I can Breathe again

Hey Girlfriends,

I have really missed chatting with you!!!  My life has been a whirlwind since I got a "part-time" job (25-32 hours per week) at the end of summer last year.  It has been a blessing  providing some financial relief, but at the same time it left me with very little margin.  Because of that I had to cut out some things and not having the mental energy to blog it was one of the first to be let go.

Fortunately I was able to cut back on hours for the summer and I am now just beginning to feel as though I am awaking from a heavy fog of fatigue that oppressed me continually.  It's late at night and I am writing my first post in months....hmm...I guess the fog will be back tomorrow.  If it is, it will be well worth it!!!  I've missed sharing my random, heartfelt, sincere thoughts. 

Friends, I do have so much to share and will share this more fuller soon, but before I go to bed I want to leave you with something to think on.  The Lord has burdened my heart with a verse:

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  John 10:10b (NKJV)

Girlfriends, my hearts desire is that each one of us would experience the abundant life that Christ spoke of!!!  I'm not saying a pain free, trial free, easy life.  I'm saying a life that is rooted in the knowledge of Christ and the depth of His love so that despite the daily trials and sufferings there is a deep abiding joy!!!  The kind of life that knows the comfort of the Spirit and comforts others with the same comfort they received....the kind of life that does not look at what is seen, but the unseen and places her hope in the eternal.  Girlfriend, that's my prayer for you and for me!!!  

I need to go to bed, but I will write more on this soon...for my heart is filled with a burning desire for us to get this!!!