Living Life Abundantly

by Donna L. Watkins

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Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) with Bee
Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens - Richmond, VA
Echinacea purpurea strengthens the immune system
against both bacterial and viral attacks.

"Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" (Ephesians 3:20)

That is one powerful Scripture to meditate on. Too often we just read through the Bible and don't really focus on anything. When something seems to hit your heart while you're reading the Bible, STOP reading further. Take the time to stick with that verse. God wants to show you something, maybe many things, from that one verse. You can spend a month on one verse as God uses it to change us from glory to glory. When we accept Jesus as Savior and turn our lives over to Him, we have every promise given implanted into our spirit. "As He is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17).

Notice the last portion of Ephesians 3:20 above. Many times we only quote the first part of it ... but the manifestation of that is 'according to the power that works in us'. We have all we need inside of us but we have to believe it to receive it. Jesus said, "Only believe" many times and also shared that He could not do any mighty works in His home town because of the unbelief there (Matt. 13:58).

Remember the story of Jairus that came to Jesus to heal his daughter. Jesus delayed his walk to the man's house when the woman with the issue of blood touched His garment. By the time they were ready to move on, Jairus' servants came to tell him she had died. What did Jesus say? "Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole" (Luke 8:50). Jesus gave him the qualifications for his daughter to be healed. He needed to fear not and believe and then she would be made whole.

Then when they arrived at the house, Jesus had everybody leave and only allowed 3 of His disciples to enter with the parents. Why? The crowds were mourning and jeering when Jesus said she wasn't dead, but only slept. All of that unbelief would surely affect the parents who needed to believe to have this happen. Peter, James and John were the "inner circle" of the disciples. They were the 3 disciples with Jesus on the mountain with the transfiguration, which means the other 9 disciples were the ones who couldn't get the epileptic boy healed that the father brought to them while Jesus was on the mountain.

You don't magically have life turn around when you get saved. It's how much you put into the relationship that makes things change. I have a box with 52 Scripture cards in it (52 Weeks to a Positive Life) and on the back there are comments by Norman Vincent Peale about the verse. The comments on the opening verse above are powerful, but you will notice it takes our active participation and belief to have things manifest into the physical realm from the spiritual that has been placed inside us at salvation.

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Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis 'Green Joe')
Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, Richmond, VA
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"Today, remind yourself that nothing is too good to be true. Your great hopes can be realized. Your most wonderful dreams can come true. All that you really need, you can have. An incredible goodness is operating on your behalf. If you are living a paltry life, resolve to stop it today. Expect great things to happen. Confidently receive God's abundant blessings. Do not think lack. Instead think prosperity, abundance, the best of everything. God wants to give to you, His child, every good thing. Don't hinder His generosity." -- Norman Vincent Peale

If you've not been spending time to know who God truly is, this won't happen instantly. The belief that's being talked about is in our hearts, not our heads. We can believe facts and information, but if our heart has been programmed from many years of disbelief or a different view of who God is, then it will take time to renew our minds so it can become our heart's belief also.

Consider this story from The Biology of Belief. One conservative, health-conscious New Englander, Claire Sylvia, was astonished when she developed a taste for beer, chicken nuggets and motorcycles after her heart-lung transplant. Sylvia talked to the donor's family and found she had the heart of an 18-year-old motorcycle enthusiast who loved chicken nuggets and beer. In her book, A Change of Heart, Sylvia outlines her personal transformational experiences, as well as similar experiences of other patients in her transplant support group.

One young girl began having nightmares of murder after her heart transplant. Her dreams were so vivid that they led to the capture of the murderer who killed her donor. Paul P. Pearsall presents a number of other such stories in his book, The Heart's Code: Tapping the Wisdom and Power of Our Heart Energy. 

The accuracy of memories that accompany these transplants is beyond chance or coincidence. Our hearts have neurons, just like the brain so that means it has memory.  It's said all of our emotions are stored in the heart from conception till death.  Every moment of our life has shaped and molded what we believe in our hearts.

God loves us so much that He left Heaven to become a man so that He could die to cover our sins. What the Law could not do, Christ did for us. Jesus said that if you had seen Him (Jesus), you have seen the Father, for He does nothing other than what the Father says and does. The Old Testament Law didn't take sin away. They had to sacrifice the blood of animals each year, but Christ's blood has taken away ALL sin in this world.

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

It is finished. Even unbelievers sins have been atoned for. They won't go to Hell because of their sin, but because they didn't take the salvation offered them in Jesus.

So why do we have such a difficult time living an abundant life? We are raised with a performance-based mentality. From toddler age we are being rewarded for being "good" and disciplined for being "bad." It continues through school in grades and sports, and certainly continues into the marketplace when we work. Even relationships are based on "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."

All of that programming leaves us with a heart belief that we have to do something to earn God's attention or blessings. It's already been done with Christ. How could man ever do anything that would match Christ's sacrifice? The Doing Mentality is what keeps us from understanding GRACE. Do a word study on that. Read every verse in the Bible about grace and renovate your mind so you can receive and live in all of God's blessings here on earth. That's what Jesus said He died to give you .... life abundantly.

Related Articles:
Renovate Your Mind
Changing Our Thought Patterns

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