ARE YOU MISSING OUT ON ENJOYING THE ABUNDANT LIFE?

SCRIPTURE:
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different 
kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, 
but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the 
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
   
MEDITATION: 
The abundant life seems to elude many Christians in our world today.
The Lord has so many blessings for His people, 
but sin prevents many from enjoying them.
Since Satan hates anything Godly, he will use all of his tactics 
to prevent believers from enjoying the blessings from God.

Wouldn’t it be great if after we become Christians, 
we would no longer have to deal with sin?
That would be nice, but that’s just not the way it is.
Before we are saved, Satan doesn’t have to do anything to interrupt our lives, 
because we already belong to him.
However, after we are saved, 
he unleashes everything he can to create problems for us.
It is a war and we can either 'wave the white flag' 
or enlist the Holy Spirit to lead us to victory.

There are also at least two areas where our actions (or inactions) 
can prevent us from enjoying the abundant life.
The first is relinquishing total control of our lives to the Holy Spirit.  
When we give the Holy Spirit control, our ability to avoid the wrong things 
and embrace the right things improves considerably.
God wants us to be dependent on Him for the words we speak, 
how we spend our time, and the decisions we make.  
We need the Holy Spirit to create that dependency in us.

The second is using the spiritual gift (or gifts) He has given us.  
Every believer is given at least one spiritual gift 
and we are expected to actively use it.   
As the scriptures say, it is given to us for the “common good”.  
This means it is for the common good of all believers (including ourselves), 
and for those around us.
  
We may discover that our gift is not one we feel comfortable using, 
however the Lord would not give us a gift that we could not use, 
or one that He would not help us to use, 
or one that would not be for our good and the good of others.
This gift is like any other gift – it is not something we earned, 
it is something given to us that should bring joy into our lives.

ACTION:
How much are you enjoying the abundant life?
Are there any areas of your life that are preventing it?
Have you turned your life over to the Holy Spirit 
and developed a dependency on the Lord.
What are your spiritual gifts and are you using them?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I am tired of trying to enjoy the abundant life on my 
own. I realize that I am missing out on Your blessings due to the choices 
I have made on my own. Lord, I ask You to take full control of my life 
so that I will make good choices and avoid making bad ones. Show me 
what my spiritual gift is and create in me a desire to use Your gift from 
this day forward. I know that when I actively use Your gift, not only will 
it benefit me and my family, but is will benefit others as well. Thank You 
for valuing me enough to give me a spiritual gift designed specifically for 
me. Help me to use it to point others to You.”