Abundance

Ps 65:11

You crown the year with Your goodness,

And Your paths drip with abundance.

One of the major reasons we fail to be generous and give what we have to God and other people, is because we think we are losing, that we are being diminished by what we are parting with and that there’s not enough of whatever it is, whether it’s money, or goods or time for us. However, God’s paths ‘drip with abundance’. Walking with God has never meant that this would demand that I am poor and living in lack. Getting right with God is not, accept that I will now live in poverty. It may mean I need to give what I have, but that will be replaced by an abundance. Walking in the paths of God will have a cost attached, but this doesn’t mean I will be worse off than before. Abundance thinking is able to give generously to God, because we know that there’s always more than enough, somewhere, somehow, God is able and will bring His abundance into my world when I have walked in His path of generosity.

This is so important for leaders so they do not withhold resources and people that God has given them. What we have been given is to bless others with, to give away and to steward for God’s purposes, not ours.

Abundance has always been a sign of the blessing of God. He is abundant towards His people. You may have heard it said that, “God will supply only your need.” That is not true. He will supply more than your need. Your cup will overflow so that you have abundance for every good work. You are able to look after your own life and those around you. God’s blessings come in an abundance that supplies more than “enough.” When Jesus supplied food for the multitude there were basketfuls left over. Far more than just enough!

Many authors of Scripture were extraordinarily wealthy people enjoying enormous abundance in their lives, like David, Solomon, Job, Moses. One of the best ways to become skillful at anything is to spend time with people who have been successful in that area. We can spend time with some of the most powerful, blessed, favored, successful people in history simply by reading what they wrote in the Scriptures.

This is work!

John 6:29 ‘Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

The hardest work on Earth is to have faith when you’re afraid, to believe when you want to doubt, to speak faith & be positive when you feel negative.  Hard work is to switch your emotions from joyless unbelief to joyful believing, speaking the promises straight into your giant problem.  Hard work is not to feel sorry for yourself & accuse other & even God & not caring when everything goes wrong, but rather believing that everything will work out for good.  Hard work is making your mind meditate on the promises of God instead of the problem.  But as we make this effort, His power empowers us and we enter into rest (Heb 4:11) and walk effortlessly into victory.  His grace works in us by faith! (Eph 2:8)

Believe!  See you in Church.

Thanksgiving

Rom 1:8 ‘First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.’

The 1st item on Paul’s agenda was to thank God for who he was communicating with. Being thankful forces us to identify the positives in others.  Thankfulness makes others feel their value.  It brings out the best in others.  It helps us value life & all the blessings we have.  It includes God & others in what we are doing.  It prevents us from becoming conceited.  It opens the door into God’s presence & into other people’s lives.  Finally, it simply is good, right & appropriate to give thanks to the Lord.

See you in church!