LIFE OF ABUNDANCE, OR LIFE OF FEAR ?

12/1/2021

Do you ever wonder why it is so hard for many people to put their Trust In God ? Why it is so hard to look at life and not see Abundance versus focusing on what we don’t have, or what we haven’t gotten or accomplished yet ? The truth is that this way of looking at life and God has been going on for a long long time. All the way back when Moses was in the midst of God bringing the Israelites out of Egypt this same scenario was in play. Imagine leaving a life of slavery and misery, watching God provide a miraculous path of escape and the promise of an amazing life ahead….and yet, these people found a way to be complaintive and fearful. So self focused that they couldn’t spend the time to reflect on all the miraculous things that God had just done for them. WHY ? They had left a miserable situation and had been FREED TO MAKE AN ABUNDANT LIFE, and yet, they began to question the very God who had set them free. Will we have food ? Will we have water Where will we stay ? How will we survive ? The brutal truth was that they were ready to consider going back to captivity in Egypt. Trading FREEDOM for SAFETY…..does that sound familiar today ? What does God tell us about FREEDOM AND AN ABUNDANT LIFE ?

FOR FREEDOM CHRIST HAS SET US FREE; STAND FIRM THEREFORE, AND DO NOT SUBMIT AGAIN TO A YOKE OF SLAVERY. Galatians 5:1

LIVE AS PEOPLE WHO ARE FREE, NOT USING YOUR FREEDOM AS A COVER UP FOR EVIL, BUT AS LIVING SERVANTS OF GOD. 1 Peter 2:16

“FOR I KNOW THE PLANS THAT I HAVE FOR YOU”. THIS IS THE LORD’S DECLARATION. “PLANS FOR YOUR WELL BEING , NOT FOR DISASTER, TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE. Jeremiah 29:11

HOW GREAT IS YOUR GOODNESS, WHICH YOU HAVE STORED UP FOR THOSE WHO FEAR YOU, WHICH YOU HAVE WROUGHT FOR THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN YOU, BEFORE THE SONS OF MEN. Psalm 31:19

In our world today there are a lot of people who are afraid. Afraid of sickness. Afraid of losing their livelihood and financial security. Afraid of an unknown future. Afraid of dying, and what lies beyond it. Afraid of almost everything and anything. However, there is truly only one thing that a Christian needs to fear, and that is The Lord Himself ! Wait, you say, Why would I fear The Lord ? Isn’t He supposed to LOVE US ? He is my go to in every difficult circumstance; why would I fear Him ? Enough already, I am not going there….but you see, we must ! I view '“ Fear Of The Lord” as a starting point for my small brain to realize JUST HOW POWERFUL GOD IS. I view Him with AWE and REVERENCE. He is beyond my comprehension of omnipotent and powerful. He is my CREATOR, and He has determined all the Path and Purpose of my life. I realize just how small I am and how very little I know about so many things. I know He loves me completely, but I am a sinner. Thankfully my sin and my failures have been placed on the Cross with Jesus. In that alone lies my Identity and Future. I have a healthy fear of disappointing God in the way I live. I still mess up. I want to be more mature and complete. I want to be deeper in my relationship with Him, and that means giving up selfish desires and wasted time. Most of all I want to submit to Him being on the throne of my life. I equate this fear as being submersed in a need to live righteously, to obey His commandments and instructions. To TRUST IN HIM COMPLETELY AND HAVE UNWAVERING FAITH.

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM; ALL WHO FOLLOW HIS INSTRUCTIONS HAVE GOOD INSIGHT. HIS PRAISE ENDURES FOREVER. Psalm 111:10

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS A FOUNTAIN OF LIFE, THAT ONE MAY TURN AWAY FROM THE SNARES OF DEATH. Proverbs 14:27

"“AND NOW, ISRAEL, WHAT DOES THE LORD YOUR GOD REQUIRE OF YOU, BUT TO FEAR THE LORD YOUR GOD , TO WALK IN ALL HIS WAYS, , TO LOVE HIM, TO SERVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL. Deuteronomy 10:12

FOR YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THE SPIRIT OF SLAVERY TO FALL BACK INTO FEAR, BUT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION AS SONS, BY WHOM WE CRY “ABBA, FATHER !” Romans 8:15

Behold ! All who have given their life to Christ are a new creation ! Alive in the Salvation and Grace of THE KING:) LOOKING TO LIVE A LIFE OF ABUNDANCE AS A CHILD OF GOD, AND A CITIZEN IN HIS KINGDOM ! When your trust and faith are anchored in your relationship with Christ, you have no fear….because you know that your future is ETERNAL LIFE IN HIM ! How powerful is that understanding ! The world can throw all it’s fears and doubts and controls, and lockdowns, and persecution it wants at us. And it will NEVER take us away from our GOD WHO LOVES US ! STAND STRONG in the Faith and Peace of just who is in control of your life. GOD IS IN CONTROL. A storm may roar around us, but our hope and future lies in Christ, who died for our sins that WE MAY LIVE ! HALLELUJAH ! LIVE ABUNDANTLY/JAA

HAVE I NOT COMMANDED YOU ? BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED AND DO NOT BE DISMAYED, FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. Joshua 1:9