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Experiencing Abundance in a Scarcity World

In Psalm 23:5, we see a picture of God’s provision for us.   David describes this with beautiful imagery.  Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  In David’s day, it was the host's responsibility to welcome guests with a couple of common practices:  anointing their heads with oil which was soothing and refreshing, and keeping their cups full for the evening meal.  Here, you and I are the guests and God is the host.  What does He do for us?  He lavishly displays His love for us and His welcome to us by anointing our heads and providing overflowing hospitality.

This is a picture of our relationship with God.  The Lord doesn’t just sustain us enough so we can barely get through.  He loves us lavishly.  Cares for us extravagantly and provides for us fully.   When you see all that God has done for you, you see His covering and blessing on your life.

This can never be truer than seeing what God did for us and is doing for us through our Good Shepherd, Jesus. It is through Jesus, that we are welcomed freely into a relationship with God and it is through Jesus that we are blessed abundantly through our relationship with God.

John 10:9-10 says:  “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

There are a couple of truths that jump out from these two verses.  

First, these verses are a metaphor for Jesus as the only way to salvation. Jesus is the gate, and whoever enters through Him will be saved. This means that we can only be saved by believing in Jesus and His finished work on the cross.  

Second, these verses remind us that Jesus came to give us life, and life to the full. This means that Jesus wants us to experience all that a righteous life has to offer, including joy, peace, love, and purpose.

Know this: you can trust in Jesus for your salvation.  You don't have to do anything else and can’t do anything else to earn our salvation. It is a gift from God through Jesus Christ.   Jesus is the gate. You can also trust Jesus with all of your life.  After believing in Him, you live in a relationship with Him coming and going and doing live His way.  With this, we can all experience life to the full in Jesus.

In today's world, we are faced with many challenges and temptations. The enemy is constantly trying to steal our joy, kill our hope, and destroy our faith. It’s the only thing He does.  He always hurts and never helps!  But we can be confident that Jesus is greater than the enemy. He has already defeated the enemy on the cross, and He gives us the power to overcome him in our lives.

When we go through difficult times, we can remember that Jesus is always with us and always for us.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd which means that He cares for and protects us.  We can also remember that Jesus has promised to give us life to the full. He wants us to experience all of the good that life has to offer, both now and forever.

Here are some specific ways that we can experience life to the full that Jesus promises us:

  • We can spend time with Jesus in Bible study. This helps us to grow in our relationship with Him and to learn more about His love for us.
  • We can trust Him with our needs and wants as we pray.  This helps us grow in our confidence in Him and our dependence upon Him.
  • We can serve others in the name of Jesus. This helps us to put our faith into action and to experience the joy of giving to others.
  • We can worship God with other believers. This helps us to connect with other Christians and to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, together.
  • We can live with gratitude and hope because we know that every good gift comes from God.
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