Tag Archives: Abundant life

Verily I say…whatever you ask

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you. John 16:23b KJV

 

Having talked so much on the troubles and suffering we must endure, this verse offers us such great hope! Not perhaps what many have acclaimed it to say, but something greater!  Many would have this be a magic genie lamp that you rub while saying, “In your name, Lord” as the magical incantation to get whatever brings us a little pleasure. We want sweets now while He invites us to be satisfied at His banquet table forever. I believe Jesus spoke this truth so that we may know the most immense pleasure of enjoying God in all situations.

 

The context of this passage is Jesus preparing His disciples for His leaving this world. The bewildered followers asked, “What does He mean?” Jesus explains that they will be sorrowful for a while but their sorrow will turn into a joy that no one could take from them (v 22). In this context, Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you.” “Verily” means ‘you can count on this!’

 

He continues by telling them that after their sorrow is done their joy will be full (v 24). It is why He came to this earth, that we may live abundantly, without fear that the enemy will kill, steal or destroy our joy (John 10:10). He offers joy known as peace in a world filled with tribulation; peace because Jesus has overcome the world (v 33).

 

It is what we believe as Christians, unless we follow some other doctrine than what the bible preaches. Our ultimate gift is to be able to enjoy the presence of God more than anything else; imperfectly now and perfectly forever. We are glad to worship Him because His glory exceeds the weight of our sorrows or anything else we might imagine. We take joy in faithfulness. We take joy in the great hope that when this life is done, we will see Jesus face to face. While we see only through a veil now we will then see His glory in its fullest. Our hope and confidence is in His promise we’ll enter into His perfect presence forever… no more pain, no more sorrow or tears. We take joy that the end of this life will be the beginning of an eternity of enjoying God’s greatness and goodness.

 

And from where comes such confidence? It comes from the promise that whoever asks the Father in the name of Jesus shall receive this great joy, whatever we ask and more if we just wait. Our hope is to “Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”  Ephesians 3:20-21

 

Verily!

 

 

What agreement are you living under?

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Under law, God requires. Under grace, He provides.

Driving down the interstate highway, especially (ahem) when I am going the speed limit, there are always plenty of folk who want to go faster. When we get our driver’s licenses we enter into a covenant, an agreement, to obey the laws of the road. The expectation of the law is clearly posted about the maximum speed limit but the law does not bring us to keep our agreement. We easily break the covenant when it suits us.

 

And so it has always been, right? God entered into a covenant with His people. His laws, actually intended to make us aware of our utter dependence on Him, are continually broken. In fact, it seems the human heart is quite unable and unwilling to keep them.

 

And so God, in His mercy, gave us a way out, a new covenant. “Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:22). Knowing that we would not and could not faithfully keep His commands, He gave us a new covenant of grace to draw us closer to Him. “For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.” (Hebrews 8:7)  “By calling this covenant “new,” He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13)

 

Many in the Catholic and Anglican traditions are accustomed to going to a priest as an intermediary between them and God. Others set up rules and lists of accomplishments and deeds as their intermediary to appease God. But who better to put ALL our trust in besides Jesus who lives forever, the exact representation of God Himself, to intercede for us in our trials and weaknesses? (V 23-24) Who else could meet our deepest needs other than the One who is “holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” – the One who is perfect forever”? ( V26-28)

 

If you have ever told a lie, taken God’s name in vain, put other things and feelings before Him, dishonored your parents, envied others or their belongings, you know how futile it is to depend on your own ability to always keep the law. Good deeds have their place when they are an outpouring of a faithful and grateful heart. But by themselves, they accomplish nothing of lasting value; and they certainly, by themselves, do not bring us closer to God.

 

When you look inside your heart and consider your inner motivations, which covenant are you living under? Are you living under the old covenant which demands perfect compliance with the law and an endless list of good deeds to ‘make up’ for your transgressions? Or are you living freely and victoriously under the new covenant of grace?

 

Under law, God requires; under grace, God provides. Which do you prefer?

Choose the new covenant today and enjoy the full life Jesus desires for you.

 

 

Tired of being robbed?

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The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. – Jesus, John 10:10

 

When I was a teenager, our house was broken into. The thief didn’t take much except my jar of quarters, set aside for my college fund. It wasn’t nearly so bad as those who have been robbed of much more, but to me it was a raw deal. Why would anyone take a kid’s money?

 

Perhaps you’ve had something stolen from you too, maybe something a lot more valuable than a jar full of quarters. In fact, we all have been robbed, and sometimes it is our own fault. We might lock the door to our house but what about the door to our life? The articles we read, the things we choose to look at, the movies we watch, the company we keep, the thoughts we think, even our private ambitions – all open the door to our life and can steal from us the very essence of an abundant life.

 

The enemy, a thief, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. How does he do this? He connives and lies in such a way that it sounds believable, even desirable. And what do we lose in this robbery? Joy, confidence, security, sometimes faith and hope. And so often, we are the ones who let the thief into our house…our life.

 

Perhaps you can reflect back on decisions you made that went poorly and resulted in turmoil for you and others. It’s said that the train of sin will take you farther than you wanted to go and charge you more than you wanted to pay. There are consequences to robberies, including the ones we choose to allow. All decisions can be forgiven, but some bring consequences we can’t control.

 

But wait. There is good news. Jesus tells us that He has come to bring abundant life. He offers renewed joy, restored hope, and redeemed value. The thief tries to break in and steal our joy and our hope. But the Son of God offers a full life, that cannot be stolen away. You can lose all your money but still be rich. You can lose all your property and still have a home in His kingdom. Your name can be tarnished, but it cannot be wiped from the Book of Life. Your body may be robbed of pleasure but your soul will survive. Your relationships may be torn asunder but your relationship with God is not threatened. Every circumstance may point to darkness and despair, but God’s light in you cannot be extinguished – it always shines hope.

 

Are you tired of being robbed? Turn to Jesus right now, and accept His free gift of a life that is abundant.

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus, in John 10:10

 

 

Abundant life

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We went out early to start harvesting the Nanking cherries. Loaded with tasty red berries, they will bring an abundant crop for making jelly. It will take a while to pick them all as the ones in the shade ripen more slowly than the ones in the sunlight.

 

Isn’t that the way it is with us? The more we are exposed to God’s light, the better we develop and mature; the more we mature, the more abundant our life becomes. Jesus says that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy but He has come to give us abundant life.

 

What is this abundant life? Is it one filled with the blessings of good health, riches, lots of friends, property, fame, and success? Sometimes, these do come to the faithful; we see plenty of examples of such temporary fruit bestowed upon the unfaithful too. As satirist Mark Twain observed: the rain falls on both the just and the unjust as does the sunshine. So where is the real abundant life found?

 

A Russian engineer discovered this one evening. Marci had been tutoring his wife, a physicist, in speaking English and we had been invited to their home. After supper we started talking about life in Russia and life in the USA. When I asked him about the church in Russia, he proudly announced that he was an atheist scientist and that he believed only in what he could see and touch. I told him how my relationship with Jesus had impacted my daily and eternal life. He responded, “There is one thing you Christians have that we atheists do not have; you have real hope.”

 

In a moment of light, he grasped the essence of truth without clinging to it himself. Real hope in God’s unending love and in the constant peace of His presence is the essence of abundant life.

 

“The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear (respect) Him and those whose hope is in His unfailing love.” Psalm 33:18 This is real hope, fortified by the awareness that nothing can separate us from God’s love. Our hope is in the God who calls us by name and who promises that he will be with us when we pass through the floods; that when we walk through the fire the flames will not destroy us. (Isaiah 43:1-2) This is the same God who promises peace that transcends all understanding and peace at ALL times. (Phil. 4:7, 2 Thess. 3:16)

 

This hope for the moment, day, life now and life eternal – this real hope is the center of abundant life, life lived to the full with purpose and passion. Aren’t you tired of the enemy stealing, killing, and destroying your joy and your hope? Rest in the abundant life Jesus promises today.

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus in John 10:10

Live Abundantly

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Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

When I ask people if they’ve ever felt their joy, passion, and sense of purpose has been lost or taken from them, nearly all reply ‘yes’ to some aspect of their life. When I ask them would they reclaim it if they could the answer is always a resounding ‘yes!’ That is the message of John 10:10, a message of promise and hope.

We have an enemy and he wants to kill, steal, and destroy us and our families. He wants us to live hopeless defeated lives. And sometimes we willingly let him. But Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, full of joy, love, and peace. Even when life takes away physical things: health, finances, relationships, property it doesn’t have to steal away our heart in the midst of these trials. That is what Jesus offers, the ability to endure and the real and lasting hope of restoration.

Do you think your light will shine more brightly into the world when you are held captive by despair over all that is lost, or when you maintain an abundant life by focusing on what you have: a victorious and loving God who protects and provides for you?

I’m not talking about being a bobble-head Christian with a pasted smile and prerecorded message that says, “I love Jesus and nothing bothers me.” I’m talking about real people who face real and sometimes immense problems and yet respond with the real persevering power of a risen Savior. None of us do this perfectly. All of us get drug down. And all of us need each other during those times. But living the abundant life is pursued by doing what Jesus said. Claim the promise of abundant life in the midst of everything else around you; the abundant life that is filled with compassion for others. Then watch your light glow brighter. It all starts with a daily conversation with God asking Him to draw you close and help you live life abundantly.

Do What Jesus Said: Deny Self

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Would you believe the key to an abundant life is actually to DENY self? In fact it is a prerequisite for being a real Christian. Here is what Jesus said:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

When I was a young child in the Episcopal church the Lenten season meant giving up something for forty days. This was to serve as an example of denying self. I wanted to give up canned spinach, but no, it had to be something I liked: TV, candy, my unicycle riding, etc. I never understood how giving up a fairly trivial thing for forty days would make me a better Christian, but I guess it was a start.

What Jesus says is if we want to be more than a church goer, if we actually want to be known as His disciple, we must first deny our very selves and take on His identity. This is a pretty unpopular passage. After all, none of us like to give up stuff we’ve worked to accumulate. We certainly don’t like the idea of changing our life. But think of it this way. What if denying self meant giving up things we think bring us joy but don’t really?

  • What if we gave up time wasters that don’t add any lasting value to our life and picked up fulfillment?
  • What if we gave up worry and picked up peace?
  • What if we gave up disagreeing with everyone and picked up understanding?
  • What if we gave up bitterness and picked up forgiveness?
  • What if we gave up despair and picked up hope?
  • What if we gave up defeat and picked up a victorious life?

In other words, what if we viewed denying self as denying the things that fill up the day but don’t fulfill our lives? I think that is a large part of what Jesus is saying. Do what Jesus said: deny yourself and pick up His love and power. It is both an instant decision that you make and a life long process.