Abundant Grace, Peace, and Joy! Part One

I have experienced another "renaissance", another renewal, another rekindling of the fire of God within and upon me, and I can't help but want to share it.  Outwardly, we are perishing, as Paul the apostle said, but our inward Man is being renewed day by day.  Amen!  I have had another almost impossible week, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, I was supernaturally able to get through it, and do it well--praise the Lord Jesus for He deserves all the glory!  I know it was because of the prayers of my brothers and sisters in the Lord that I was able to handle some extremely difficult situations that I just didn't have the mental or physical energy to do on my own.  And so I am most humbled by the thought of people who care enough to pray for me in my time of need, and I am amazed by the absolute peace that passes understanding that has been guarding my heart and mind through all this.

Let us all remember that Jesus said that the thief, or Satan, comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but JESUS came that we would have ABUNDANT life.  What does that look like?  Jesus also said in this world we would have tribulation, but BE OF GOOD CHEER.  Why?  Because, He said He OVERCAME the world, and therefore, if we are in Christ, guess what?  We overcome, too!  It might not be right during the trial, and it might mean that He keeps us safe in the midst of the trial.  The fact that we face trials is part of the human condition.  The same sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay.  And so we must ask ourselves, what are we made of?  Is our heart like wax, pliable when heat is applied?  Or does our heart harden, like clay, not able any more to be pliable?

I desire more than anything to have a heart of wax, to be the fuel for the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn bright in the dark world.  Also, the finest gold is wrought in the hottest fire.  Abundant gold, abundant wax, abundant fire.  Be bold, be bright, and let your light shine!  The opposite of abundant life is what the thief comes to do:  To take away all that has already been provided for us through the finished work of Christ.  He is Victor, and so are we!  We who are the children of God have been given the legal right to use the Name which is above all names, Jesus Christ, not as a little magic token or a rote powerless afterthought, but as our birthright.  We have been re-fathered when we were born again, and now our heavenly Father has made us accepted in the Beloved.   

So what this means to us is that we have been given all we need to obtain life and godliness in this present age.  We have the name of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit, and we have a new Father, Who IS Love.  He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides, and He promised to provide a way of escape when we are faced with impossible situations.  Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing--nothing is too difficult for our God!  Hallelujah!  His grace is more than enough, His peace is more than enough, His joy is more than enough.  Thank you, Lord, for your strength that helps us when we most need it, when we are weakest, then Your strength is made known.  In Your presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore!  I'll praise You in the storm, even though it looks bad, for You are Lord of the storm and You are Life.  I could go on and on, but I'm going to have to continue next time.  May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you with every spiritual blessing!  Amen.