Wealth and Moderation

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always have all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8 )

It’s fine to live in moderation. There is only so much that a person needs to live well. But notice that God’s plan is not only for all sufficiency, which is quite enough for every need we have, but also for abundance, which is more than enough, so that we can give to every good work.

Many Christians settle for sufficiency for meeting their needs — but then they have nothing left for giving to all the good works God wants to do through His people. To me, that is selfishness.

Now, this sufficiency and abundance generally do not come by outright miracles — although these can and do happen. But God has many ways to get His provision to us, ways in which we can partner with Him in the process. For example:

• God gives strength for labor. Work is not a dirty word. God had work for Adam and Eve in the Garden, to tend and keep it. Work is part of the blessing; toil is part of the curse.
• God gives wisdom for conducting business, for craft, for trade, and even for investment.
• God also gives favor and opportunity to His people.
• To the one who is ready to sow, God gives seed.

God is never at a loss for the means to supply for His people.

God’s plan is for abundance — excess! Yet, it is always very much a matter of the heart. That’s why the apostle John said, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). Do our hearts know what to do with the abundance, the more than enough that God desires to bless us with? If not, then a little heart surgery is in order.

Lord, if I’m only going to blow the abundance on myself, and forget about You, then please don’t let me have that abundance. Instead, teach me what to do with it, so that I may have the abundance to give to every good work. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The abundance of God has always been about being blessed and blessing others. Those who have not learned how to bless others have not yet learned what it truly means to be blessed.

God’s Way of Multiplication

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous. (Genesis 26:12-13)

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God…

Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks…

The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you…

And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, n the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 4, 8, 11-12)

Honor the LORD with your possessions,
  And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
So your barns will be filled with plenty
  And your vats will overflow with new wine.

(Proverbs 3:9.10)

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
And He adds no sorrow with it.

(Proverbs 10:22)

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
  That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,” says the LORD of Hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
  And pour out such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
  Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of Hosts;
  “And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,
  Says the LORD of Hosts.

(Malachi 3:10-12)

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:23)

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife, or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)

Give and it shall be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:7-8)

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all thins, may have an abundance for every good work … Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 10).

Let him who is taught in the word share in all good things with him who teachers. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6:6-8)

Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account … And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:15-17, 19)

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.(3 John 2)

God has many ways of multiplying us in every good thing. This includes material things as well as spiritual.

• Obeying Him and receiving His blessing will bring increase and multiplication.
• Honoring Him with our possessions and increase will bring even more increase and abundance.
• God honors the tithe with more than enough increase, and He will rebuke the devourer for out sakes.
• Receiving the Word of God and letting take deep root in us brings increase. It is the increase that comes by faith, for faith pleases God and comes by receiving His Word (Romans 10:17).
• Giving for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel brings hundredfold increase now in this life. This includes houses and lands as well as spiritual blessing. This promise of multiplication is so embarrassing for some Christians, they feel that must explain it away.
• What we give will be given back to us in greater measure, according to the measure with which we have given. What we measure out with our little hand, God measures out with His big hand.
• Abide in Jesus and letting His Word abide in us brings much fruit as we ask in His name. This glorifies God.
• When we give bountifully, we reap bountifully, and God supplies more than we need so we have abundance for every good work. So the circle of giving keeps increasing and multiplying.
• When we sow to the Spirit, sharing in the ministry of the Gospel, we reap a harvest of things that pertain to everlasting life. What a mighty multiplication that is.
• Paul uses the language of accounting — giving and receiving — to talk about the abundance of harvest that comes to those who give into God’s kingdom.
• The multiplication of prosperity has very much to do with the prosperity of our souls—obedience to God, honoring Him with our possession, abiding in Jesus and receiving His Word, and the willingness of our giving.

Want to experience the joy of God’s multiplication in your life? How is your soul prospering?

The Flow of Blessing, the Overflow of Prosperity

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree
Planted by rivers of living water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:1-3)

Yes, I’ve covered this ground before. But you see, I pray through the book of Psalms every month, so the beginning of each month is a fresh opportunity to meditate once again on this passage.

Today God spoke to me about flow:

• The flow of blessing
• The flow of meditation
• The flow of His river
• The flow of prosperity

To step into the flow of God, we need to step out of the flow of the way the world does things. That is what verse 1 is about. But that is not enough. More important is what we do next, what we put in place of the world’s flow. That is what verse 2 is about.

To delight in the law of the LORD means to desire it more than anything else, to look forward to it with great anticipation, and enjoy it with enthusiasm and satisfaction. When we are pulled away from it, we hurry to get back to it, because it is so good.

To meditate on the law of the LORD day and night means to dwell on it continually, to think about it constantly, letting it flow through us, informing and directing everything we say and do.

The law of the Lord reveals the will, the desire, the pleasure of God (I have not just said three different things, but one thing three different ways). It shows us His heart, and in it we see that His heart is very good. He is all for us, and everything He has spoken in His Word is always for our good.

Meditating on the Word of God is getting into the flow of His heart, thinking His thoughts and learning His ways. Isaiah 55:11 says that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. But that does not mean we cannot know them, for He has spoken to us through His Word precisely so we could know them.

When we get into the flow of His Word, the flow of His heart, the flow of His thoughts, how can that lead us to anything else except blessing? God has been very successful and prosperous. When we think His thoughts with Him and walk in His ways with Him, how can we be anything less than successful and prosperous, too?

The promise is that we shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water. That’s quite a good thing, a tree well-watered by the river and nourished by the rich soil of its banks. God has a river for you and me—the river of the Holy Spirit. On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus declared:

If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-38)

John added, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive” (John 7:39).

There is both an inward work and an outward manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Here, Jesus was talking about the outward manifestation. Earlier, He spoke to a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob about the inward work:

Whoever drinks of this [natural] water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13-14)

He was describing the experience of being born again, born from above by the Spirit of God. It is like a fountain that springs up within, or a tree that is planted by the rivers of water. It is an inward work where the water springs up like a fountain through the roots and capillaries of the tree, bringing it to fullness. The tree is blessed.

After the inward work comes the outward manifestation — fruit. It is the overflow of the life that has been going on within. The work that the Holy Spirit and the Word of God do in us gives life and continual refreshing to our inward man, tuning us up to the thoughts and ways of God. Then as we walk in His thoughts and ways with Him, we begin to get His kind of results and bear His kind of fruit. The person who does this shall always have an abundance of fruit in season. His leaf will not wither — how can it when the life of the Spirit is freely flowing through him — and whatever he does shall prosper.

Getting into the flow of meditation on God’s Word, the flow of His thoughts and ways, the flow of His Spirit brings us into the flow of blessing — and the overflow of prosperity.

The Wealth of God

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

In a very real sense, the glory of God is the wealth of God. The Hebrew word for “glory” is kabod and literally refers to weightiness, as in the weight of gold or the measure of wealth. It is the value of every good thing one possesses. The glory of God is the manifestation, the substance of His goodness. It is His treasury, His wealth.

The substance of glory manifests even as financial wealth. Just after the Exodus, when they tired of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, the children of Israel gave Aaron some of their gold and told him to form it into an idol, a calf of gold (Exodus 32). Speaking of this, the Bible says,

They made a calf in Horeb,
  And worshiped the molded image.
Thus they changed their glory
  Into the image of an ox that eats grass.

(Psalm 106:19-20)

What irony! The gold they had received from the Egyptians as part of God’s restoration plan was the very gold they used to dishonor the One who delivered them and made them wealthy. They changed their “glory,” their wealth, into an idol.

Now, God is not stingy with what belongs to Him. He always desires to share it with His people:

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
  The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
  From those who walk uprightly.

(Psalm 84:11)

The NIV has, “The LORD bestows favor and honor.” Favor corresponds to grace; the grace of God is the favor He has toward us. Honor corresponds to glory. Honor does not come empty-handed, but brings with it the substance of wealth. The glory God gives to the righteous includes every good thing. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). Paul said that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). We are not to trust in riches, of course, but in God, who blesses us.

The glory of God’s wealth belongs to those who belong to Him, who are made righteous in Him. It is for those who walk uprightly, who fear the LORD and delight in His ways.

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD;
  Who delights greatly in His commandments …
Wealth and riches will be I his house,
  And his righteousness endures forever.

(Psalm 112:1, 3)

The only righteousness that endures forever is that which belongs to God. But He freely gives that to us, also. That is why Jesus came. “For [God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We receive this righteousness by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, wealth is not necessarily the sign of God’s favor in your life. There are many wicked men who prosper in finances and material things—but they will not endure, for they are not well-founded. Their wealth will inevitably end up in the hands of the just. The Bible says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children; but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous” (Proverbs 13:22).

That is what happened to the wealth of Egypt — it went out with the children of Israel in the Exodus. God said:

So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians. (Exodus 3:20-22)

He also brought them out with silver and gold,
And there was none feeble among His tribes.

(Psalm 105:37)

God plundered Egypt, stripping it of all its wealth, and gave it to His people—for their children, and their children’s children. That is also what He would do for them in the Promised Land; the wicked inhabitants would be routed, and God would distribute the spoils to His people.

Just before He lead His people across the river Jordan into Canaan land, God renewed His covenant with them. The book of Deuteronomy is the document of that renewal. God said,

And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:18)

And God made this wonderful promise:

The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.

And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to you fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. (Deuteronomy 28:8-13)

God has a covenant to establish, a promise to fulfill. His purpose is to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory — and He intends to do it through His people. Just as the surrounding nations trembled at the manifestation of God’s wealth to Israel, so shall the world stand in awe of His provision to His people today. For His provision is the revelation of His glory — His greatness, His goodness, His wealth. As Paul said, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Diligence and Blessing

He shall be like a tree
Plant by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in is season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

(Psalm 1:3)

This, of course, is speaking of the one who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of the mocker, but who delights in the instruction of the LORD and continually meditates on it. Whatever he does shall prosper.

In Deuteronomy 28, describing the blessings of keeping covenant with Yahweh, God puts it this way:

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today … The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 28:1, 8)

This is a wonderful promise of prosperity. It belongs to Christians under the New Covenant as much as it belonged to Israel under the Old, for the New Covenant is called a better covenant, based upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6). It will not grant less than the Old Covenant, but more.

But these wonderful covenant promises are not all necessarily automatic, they must be appropriated. All Christians have these promises from God, but not all have laid claim to them and experienced the manifestation in their lives.

How do we lay hold of these promises? The answer, of course, is by faith. Faith is believing the promises of God. But it is not enough simply to believe, we must also speak and act in accordance with that faith and those promises. For it is the nature of faith to act. That is why James says that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Paul said that faith works, or expresses itself through love.

Those who walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners and sit in the seat of the scornful are not the crowd who are going to be diligent in the things that bring true prosperity. They may connive and cheat and see some short-term gains, but these will quickly evaporate. And they certainly do not exercise faith working through love.

So the promise of God is that there is prosperity for everyone who delights in His Word and obeys His commands. He will command the blessing on all to which you set your hand. But notice, in the following verses, that diligence is part of His instruction to us.

He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich. (Proverbs 10:4)

The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. (Proverbs 12:24)

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting,
But diligence is man’s precious possession. (Proverbs 12:27)

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. (Proverbs 13:4)

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

Do you see a man who excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before unknown men. (Proverbs 22:29)

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations. (Proverbs 27:23-24)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

The Hebrew word translated as “diligent” generally means to be incisive or sharp. We might say “on the ball.” It is active, it is timely, it is decisive. It is quick to act, but not without due consideration, to take care of the things that ought to be taken care of. Another word means to be skillful, to excel. Such excellence requires that one be ready and steady in their effort. The word for “diligent” in Proverbs 27:23 is actually the word for “know” used twice, reflecting a Hebrew idiom for emphatic action. The idea in this verse is to do all you can to keep up with what’s going on in your affairs, or your prosperity can easily slip away.

The promise of God does not mean that we can let diligence go by the wayside. On the other hand, we should not put our trust in diligence. Rather, the promise of God is the assurance that, if we will be diligent we will be successful and prosperous in whatever we do. So have faith in the promise and in faith bring forth diligence.

The Will of God in Your Wallet

We call our ministry Walking Barefoot Ministries and our mission is simple: to help you take the next step of faith in your walk with the Lord and experience the presence and power of God in your life. We believe that God has a plan for every area of your life, and that every plan He has for you is full of blessing and goodness.

God even has a plan for your finances, and if you will step into it, you will be tapping into the flow of His abundance and prosperity. So we want to help you take the next step of faith in your walk with the Lord regarding your finances. We want you to experience the presence and power of God even in your wallet.

Here is a simple step you can take in this area, and it is based on the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus taught His disciples to pray this way: “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!” (Yes, these are commands because the words in Greek text, the original language of the New Testament, are in the imperative mood.)

Does the kingdom of God have anything to do with your finances? Of course it does. Does the will of God have anything to do with your wallet? Yes, it has everything to do with your money and all your resources. Since that is so, it is very appropriate to pray, concerning your finances, the same way Jesus taught.

So here is a simple step you can take (and a good way to start the new year). Open up your wallet — whether it has anything in it or not — and pray this:

Kingdom of God, come into my wallet!
Will of God, be done in my wallet just as it is being done in heaven!

Of course, the religious spirit will be offended by this because the spirit of religion is, in reality, a spirit of poverty. It wants us to focus on our own works and take pride in how much we can do without. The abundance and prosperity of God is an offense to this spirit because it wants its own will to be done in your wallet, not the will of God.

Well, what is the will of God for your wallet, anyway? Remember that we are praying for the will of God to be done in our finances just as it is being done in heaven. So what do finances look like in the heavenly dimension? Paul answered that in his letter to the Corinthians (and in a specifically financial context, no less):

And God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Isn’t that exactly what heaven looks like? Doesn’t God make all His grace abound there? Of course. If that is His will for the heavenly realm, then that is His will for you in this earthly realm, as well, for Jesus taught us to pray, “Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Now, notice the fullness of Paul’s statement: all grace, always having all sufficiency in all things, plus abundance (that is, more than enough) for every good work.

That is the flow of God’s prosperity. It flows in to meet your every need, and it flow through to meet the needs of others. There is a continual giving and receiving and giving and receiving.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), so let the Lord’s Prayer and 2 Corinthians 9:7 stir up your faith. Then, when you have no doubt about it, open up your wallet and pray over: “Kingdom of God, come into my wallet. Will of God be done in my wallet just as it is being done in heaven.”

God of the Overflow

The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want … My cup runs over!

(Psalm 23:1, 5)

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:4)

Praise the LORD …
Who satisfies your desires with good things
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:1, 5)

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

• He is the God of abundance.
• He is the God of enough, and more than enough.
• He is the God who supplies all your needs
• He is the God who satisfies all your desires with good things.
• He is the God who exceeds all you can ask or think.
• He is the God of the overflow.

He is God and He is good. Believe Him for everything that is in your heart and life, and He will exceed your wildest expectation.

The Source of Your Provision

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Notice that this verse does not say that God will supply your needs according to:

• your job
• your talents
• your education
• your church, committee, choir memberships
• your neighborhood
• your stocks, bonds and annuities

His provision is not even according to your need. Yes, it is more than enough to meet every one of your needs, but it is not according to them. The provision is according to His riches in glory. This provision is now accessible to us because of the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a glorious freedom comes when you realize that your provision does not come from you but from Him. He is your source and supply. He is able to make all grace abound to you so that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God’s Desire for You

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2)

This verse perfectly expresses God’s will and desire for you. It was written by the Apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34), that is, He is ready to show equal favor to all who come to Him. That includes me and you.

In this verse, we see three things God desires to bring forth in your life:

1. Prosperity of soul. This is key, for out of it flows everything else. The Bible says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

2. Prosperity in all things. Not just spiritual things, not just physical things, not just financial things, and not in everything except finances — but in all things.. Listen to what the Lord says about those who delight in His Word and make it their constant meditation: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3).

3. Health. Not just healing, but health. The Greek words means wellness, soundness, wholeness. Some Christians try to make a deal with God: “Heal me of cancer, Lord, and I’ll keep the diabetes.” That misses God’s will — He wants to heal us of everything, not just some thing, so that we can walk in divine health. God has identified Himself to us as “The LORD Who Heals You” (Exodus 15:26).

Wow! Consider what this means:

• God does not want you to be soul-sick: full of anger, envy, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear and doubt. Instead, He wants you to be full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control (the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23).
• God does not want you to be broke. Poverty and lack do not come from Him. His plan for you is just the opposite — full provision and prosperity. Paul said, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8, study this passage and carefully note the financial context).
• God does not want you to be afflicted with sickness or disease. He does not send them to punish you, teach you or humble you. In fact, they do not come from Him at all. He can certainly teach you in the midst of sickness, to help you overcome by faith, but He does not send them to you.

Now, some Christians (especially those afflicted with a religious spirit) are so blown away by these promises that they feel they have to explain them away. “Oh, that’s John’s way of greeting people. He doesn’t really mean all that.” Or, “John simply means spiritual blessing, nothing more” (as if the spiritual realm has nothing to do with the natural realm — see The Connection Between Spiritual and Natural). Or “It is just John’s wish, not God’s will.” They are not ready to give themselves fully to the abundance of God’s grace.

But the Holy Spirit does not use words lightly. Neither does John. John’s prayer is given to us precisely because it reflects the heart of God for His people. You and I might say, in a very perfunctory manner, “Hi, how are you? Hope you’re doing well,” and not really be thinking about what we’re saying. But God is not like that. He does not use words lightly — what He says, He means. He will do all that He promises, and if we are willing to believe, we shall receive it.

John much more than spiritual prosperity in mind. He covers that aspect under “just as your soul prospers.” The health he prays for is the health of the body. Prosperity in all things includes physical, financial, family, business, ministry and every other kind of prosperity — in addition to prosperity of soul. As we have already seen, prosperity in all other things is actually based upon prosperity of soul.

Of course, there are many Christians who do not experience prosperity in all things, in their bodies, or even prosperity in their souls. That is because, although God desires to bring these things forth in their lives, they are not automatic. We must receive them by faith and resist the devil. You see, it is the devil, not God, who sends sickness, lack and failure into your life. But the Bible says that, if you submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee from you (James 4:7).

You submit to God by believing His promises and obeying His Word. You resist the devil by refusing to accept sickness, lack and inner turmoil in your life. This does not mean that you deny their reality, but that you deny their right to be in your life. If you have somehow given those things a right to afflict you, you can deal with that by repenting, confessing and renouncing whatever has given the devil a place in you. God is faithful both to forgive and to cleanse you from all everything that is not right in your life (1 John 1:9). Then keep speaking the promises of God over lack, sickness and confusion. The devil will flee and the abundance of God will begin to come forth.

God’s desire is for you to prosper in all things and be in health, even as your soul prospers. So submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you, taking his afflictions with him.

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Healing Scriptures and Prayers
by Jeff Doles

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A Partnership in the Glory Realm

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul is writing, not only to a church he has established, but to a community of believers who were active partners with him in the Gospel:

Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:15-19)

There was a financial partnership going on here — that is, the Philippians aided Paul’s ministry out of their finances, not just once, but often. Paul actually uses a mercantile metaphor in the phrase “concerning giving and receiving.” The Greek words translated “concerning,” eis logon, are an idiomatic expression referring to the keeping of accounts. “Giving and receiving” is the language of credits and debits.

Because of their financial participation in the ministry of the Gospel, the Philippians were not only giving, but receiving as well. Paul was experiencing an abundance in the area of his ministry needs, and he was believing God to abound toward the Philippians in the same way. Notice the mention of accounts again: “I seek fruit that abounds to your account.” There is nothing we can give to the ministry of the Gospel that will not be repaid many times over. Jesus said,

Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)

This is what the Philippians were doing, and an accounting was established. We can see that their gifts were offered in faith, for they were pleasing to God, and without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrew 11:6). They were well-qualified in their giving, so they were well-qualified to receive the abundance and prosperity of God.

But what does this have to do with the glory realm of God?

Simply this. By their righteous use of finances in supporting the ministry of the Gospel, they were in partnership, not only with Paul, but with God Himself. God’s promise was that He would abundantly supply all their need according to His abundance in glory. In other words, by their giving, the Philippians were positioned to experience the glory realm of God and see it manifest in the area of their needs.

When you are in partnership with what God is doing in the world, your every need becomes an opportunity to experience the realm of His glory as they are met with His overflowing supply. Are you positioned to enter this realm and receive this abundance? If you are giving in faith to the work of the Lord, then yes — God shall supply all your needs according to the riches of His glory realm by Christ Jesus.

Prospering in Heaven and Earth

Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said; “O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” (2 Kings 19:15)

God is the Maker of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are made up of the same stuff — the Word of God. The Bible says,

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3).

Not only are heaven and earth made up of the same substance, they both operate by the same principle — the Word of God. When darkness was upon the face of the earth, God spoke His Word and said, “Light be!” and there was light upon the earth (Genesis 1).

Some people study only the earth, and they understand neither heaven nor earth. Then they propagate their ignorance. Others study heaven and think it has nothing to do with the earth, and so they fail to live effectively in either realm. The wise will study heaven with an eye toward understanding the earth, and they will prosper in both realms.

The Order of Prosperity

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2)

There is an established order to prosperity. It begins with the soul, for John said, “even as your soul prospers.” Then there is health, the prosperity of the body. Finally, there is prosperity in all other things, including, but by no means limited to, financial prosperity.

Financial prosperity will not lead you into soul prosperity, but soul prosperity will lead you into a place where you can receive financial prosperity.

Focus on the prosperity of your soul, then you will be ready to prosper in all things. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Abundance or Contentment?

Paul’s word to Timothy:

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

Paul’s word to the Corinthians:

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Contentment or abundance — which one does God want us to have? Actually, it is not either/or but both/and. God wants us to have contentment and abundance. It is not readily apparent in the English texts, but the Greek word behind “contentment” in 1 Timothy 6:6 and “sufficiency” in 2 Corinthians 9:8 is the same: autarkeia. It has to do with an inner disposition about outer circumstances.

The truth is that we cannot understand abundance until we have come to understand contentment. Some people are never satisfied, no matter how much they have. It is this sort of person that Paul is advising Timothy about. They desire to be rich but are never satisfied because they are looking for finances and material possessions to rescue them and make them happy.

But money and things were never designed by God to meet those needs. In fact, when we look to money to rescue us, make us happy, or fulfill us in any way, we have idolized it, making it a god before us. There is only one who can do those things for us, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, God promises to meet all of our needs. But until we look to Him alone, we will not realize the fulfillment of that promise because we are putting our trust in other gods. That always leads to fear, because fear is the opposite of biblical faith. So, out of fear, we will keep trying to gather more than we need, never having contentment.

The answer to contentment is simple: Trust God to take care of you in all things. “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want [have lack].” His grace is sufficient for every circumstance. Then you will be able recognize the abundance God is placing within your hands to bless others with.

The Problem With Money

The Bible does not say, as some have erroneously supposed, that money is the root of all evil. Rather, it says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). In other words, money and material possessions are not the problem, but it is our attitude toward them that determines whether they are a blessing or a curse. Are we putting our trust in our wealth and possessions? Then we are in trouble, because we are looking to material things to solve spiritual issues.

God is not against wealth and riches. In fact (brace yourself here, because I’m going to show you something that offends the religious spirit), God promises wealth and riches to those who are upright:

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be might on earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house. (Psalm 112:1-3)

Now, the falsely pious will object, “But He is talking about spiritual wealth and riches” — as if the world is divided between spiritual and material, so that one has nothing to do with the other (that’s the error of Gnosticism). But if you will examine the context, you will discover that He is talking about wealth and riches in the natural. In the ancient Hebrew mind, the spiritual has everything to do with the natural, for God, who is spirit, is the creator of the heavens and the earth. So "wealth and riches" are a spiritual issue, but they are material, as well.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul said something amazing about the grace and abundance of God:

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

This not only has application in the area of money and finances, but in the context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, we discover that this is specifically about money and finances. Paul was raising funds for the believers at Jerusalem, and using this as an opportunity to teach the Corinthian church about giving.

Some people are content to have just enough money to get by. But that is just false piety rearing its head again. It is, in fact, a selfish and unbiblical attitude. God does not want us to have only just enough, He wants us to have more than enough! If we have only just enough to meet our own needs, then we have nothing left to give to good works. But the grace of God abounds to us so that we not only have enough to fully meet our needs, but we have plenty more besides to give to every good work.

Abundance means “without bounds” or “beyond the boundaries.” It is overflow. It is more than enough. God desires to give wealth and riches to the upright so that we may have abundance for every good work — not just a few good works, but for many good works. Can you imagine having abundance of finances so that you can give to the variety of godly works, missions and ministries that come before you? That is what God envisions for you and me.

The problem about money does not arise because we have more than we need. The problem arises when we think that money is about us rather than about God’s desire to bless us and bless others through us.

Money is a great medium of exchange, so that we can actually give ourselves to the work of God all around the world. Money is a gift from God so that we can reveal His heart, His love, His goodness.

If money is a problem for you, check your heart. For it is the attitude of our heart toward money that causes us trouble. We err when we look to money to rescue us. We err when we think that money is just for our benefit. We err when our desire is only to have just enough. Don’t sit on the blessing God desires to give to someone else through you. Look to God to not only meet all your financial needs in every way, but to give you great abundance, so that you may have plenty to give to every good work.

The Abundance of God

There is no lack in God. He never comes up short, never runs out, never does without. There is always enough, and plenty more besides. Our God is a God of abundance.

• I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:6)
• The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures ... My cup runs over. (Psalm 23:1-2,5).
• How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them fro the river of Your pleasures. (Psalm 36:7-8)
• You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip abundance. (Psalm 65:9-11)
• In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace [Hebrew shalom, nothing missing, nothing broken], until the moon is no more. (Psalm 72:7)
• For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
• But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. (Psalm 86:15)
• Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. (Psalm 116:7)
• Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. (Psalm 119:7)
• The righteous shall surround me, for You shall deal bountifully with me. (Psalm 142:7)
• The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
• And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
• Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. (Ephesians 3:20).
• And grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14)

Step over into the abundance of God. He does not lack, and He does not hold back any good thing from those who are made righteous through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His grace and provision is abundant toward you.

Poverty is No Blessing

He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
That He may seat him with princes —
With the princes of His people.

(Psalm 113:7-8)

There are many Christians who have a poverty mentality. They seem to think of poverty as some sort of blessing—not one they want to be blessed with, necessarily — but a blessing nonetheless. These same people also tend to think that prosperity is a sort of curse — but like Tevye the Milkman in Fiddler on the Roof, they would not mind being cursed with it. What these same people do seem to mind, though, is when other people teach that God wants to deliver all His people out of poverty into prosperity.

According to the Bible, however, poverty is not a blessing. Look at Deuteronomy 28, for example. It gives us a list of blessings (vv. 1-14) and curses (vv. 15-68). Poverty, along with sickness and failure, is not found among the blessings, only among the curses.

Some might ask, “But didn’t Jesus bless poverty in the Sermon on the Mount?” No, He didn’t. He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). There is a blessing for the poor, but poverty is not that blessing, nor it is blessed.

“Blessed are the poor.” But the poor are not simply those who have nothing. The poor are those who are totally dependent upon God, who realize that without God, they have nothing. A person can have nothing, and yet be trusting in his own efforts and devices to see him through. That is not who Jesus is talking about. On the other hand, a person may have much wealth, and yet be totally dependent upon God, realizing that, without God, he has absolutely nothing. Such a person is “poor in spirit.”

Now, “poor in spirit” is not a poverty mentality. Jesus is not advocating lack. That would violate the 23rd Psalm, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want [be in lack].” Jesus is advocating trust, and there is great blessing on that. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). God is not pleased by poverty and He does not reward it all. But faith pleases Him and receives great reward from Him. That is why Jesus declared that the poor in spirit are blessed. They do not possess a poverty mentality, but a blessing mentality.

Poverty is not a blessing. Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the poor, because you are going to stay poor.” No, the poor in spirit — those who trust in God alone — are blessed because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Jesus was not speaking of future expectation, “the kingdom will one day belong to them,” but of present reality, “theirs is [present tense] the kingdom.” It should be instructive to us that, in the kingdom of heaven, there is no poverty or lack, but prosperity and provision.

Jesus has no intention of leaving those who are poor in spirit in poverty. As the psalm writer said, “He lifts the poor out of the dust … that He may seat him with princes.”

Poverty is not a blessing but a curse. But being lifted out of the dust and seated with princes — that’s abundance of blessing.

The Scandal of Prosperity

Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. (Psalm 35:27)

God has pleasure in the prosperity of His people. But oddly, some of God’s people are scandalized by that teaching. Oh, they are okay about having prosperity for themselves, but they get offended when someone says that God’s will and desire is for all His people to enjoy prosperity. It goes against years of training they have had in the world, and in church teaching influenced by the world — that faith is uncertain, and you never know what God is going to do, that God is out to get you and will make you sick and broke to teach you a lesson.

They ignore God’s continual desire, repeated often in Scripture, to bless His people — not just a little, but a lot, in fact, abundantly (without boundaries). They know the 23rd Psalm: The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want (be in lack), He makes me lie down in green pastures, He anoints my head with oil, my cup runs over. But for them, that is about when we die and go to heaven — never mind the fact that He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. There are no enemies in heaven, so Psalm 23 is a picture of what God desires for His people in this life.

God is not a respecter of persons. What He does for one He desires to do for another. Psalm 23 is for all of us, not just for David and a select few.

A couple of decades ago, many Christians, even pastors, were appalled when Oral Roberts began to teach that “God is a good God” and “Something good is going to happen.”

Then, a few years ago, when Bruce Wilkinson came out with his book on The Prayer of Jabez, many people were scandalized again. How dare he suggest that we can ask God to bless us big, and then expect to receive it!

These same people are once again offended by Joel Osteen’s new book, Your Best Life Now, because he teaches that God wants to bless and prosper His people.

But the Bible portrays the wild extravagance of God toward His people. Look, for example in Deuteronomy 6:

So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant — when you have eaten and are full—then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Deuteronomy 6:10-12)

That is God’s idea of blessing on the earth. Notice that the caution is not against prosperity, but against ingratitude. God is not against us having things, but only against things having us and causing us to forget Him.

Now, some will say, “Yeah, but that was for Israel, under the old Mosaic Covenant.” But the New Testament does not do away with the Old Testament. Rather, the New Testament fulfills the Old. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant, based on better promises (Hebrews 8:6).

Instead of being outraged, offended, and scandalized by the abundance of prosperity and blessing God desires towards us, let us lay hold of it by faith, and affirm with David, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

God wants to bless and prosper you. Believe it in your heart, confess it with your mouth, and gratefully receive all He has for you, that you might be both blessed and a blessing to all those around you.

Prosperity and the Rightness of God

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. (Psalm 97:2)

What does prosperity have to do with the righteousness of God? Everything. God is not opposed to prosperity. He is not even just neutral about it. He is all for it. As Psalm 35:27 says, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

If you study the Hebrew word for “righteousness,” tsedeq, you will discover that it also means “prosperity.”

You see, righteousness is really about rightness. It is the rightness of God, the rightness of His person, and the rightness He has built into the structure of the world.

In fact, says the psalm writer, rightness, along with justice, are the foundation of God’s throne. Rightness is doing what is right, and justice is setting right the things which have somehow ended up wrong. God does what is right and sets things right because He is right.

When the rightness of God prevails in a situation, then prosperity naturally follows. I say “naturally,” because it is the very nature of God’s rightness to prosper. Poverty, lack and failure are not from God. They are not right, so the judgment of God comes to set things right for His people, to bring prosperity, provision and success.

It is the very nature of the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness [‘His way of doing and being right,” Amplified Bible], and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

God’s way is totally good and brings no lack.

If you want prosperity, seek after the rightness of God, that is, His way of doing and being right.

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise!

Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
  And the man who gains understanding;
For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
  And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
  And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Length of days is in her right hand,
  In her left hand riches and honor.

(Proverbs 3:13-16)

Here is God’s desire for His people: Wisdom! Wisdom brings happiness. So, we see that God wants us to be happy. Some will protest, “No, God wants us to be holy,” as if holiness and happiness are in some sort of competition (they are not) and we have to choose between one and the other (we do not).

Other people will want to “spiritualize” the whole thing, by which they actually mean to divorce the spiritual from the material and ignore the material altogether. But what happen in the natural has everything to do with what happens in the spirit, and in fact, flows from the spirit.

Still others will say that these are only principles, not promises. But is God a respecter of persons, doing for one what He will not do for another? No, he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him in faith (Hebrews 11:6). He will show His salvation to all who love Him (Psalm 91:16). Nothing is left out of that salvation.

Even others suggest that, since God is sovereign, we can never know what He’s going to do? But we can know what God is going to do — He’s going to keep His Word. The sovereignty of God does not mitigate that in any way. Rather, His sovereignty is the assurance that He is going to do whatever He has said He will do.

This does not mean that there is nothing that can block us from receiving these things. There are things that can become a great obstacles to fully enjoying God’s blessings. Unbelief is one. Unwillingness to forgive is another. But if we are willing to deal with those roadblocks, God will move heaven and earth to fulfill His Word on our behalf.

Now, notice that Wisdom is pictured as holding out her hands. In her left hand is length of days, that is, long life. God’s promise has as much to do with the natural realm as with the spiritual. This is not a protracted state of feeble, doddering life, but life that is vibrant and healthy. It is youth renewed by that satisfying of our desires with good things (Psalm 103:5). It is life that is fresh and flourishing and fruitful, even in old age, to declare that the LORD is righteous (Psalm 92:14-15).

In her left hand, Wisdom brings forth riches, not only spiritual riches, but material riches as well. “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments …Wealth and riches will be in his house” (Psalm 112:1, 3). Here again, wealth and riches has as much to do with the natural realm as with the spiritual.

Wisdom also brings honor. “The LORD will give grace and glory (the NIV says “favor and honor”); no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). Wisdom releases the favor of God into our lives.

Honor is not an idle “feel good” concept. It has substance to it. The word for honor/glory here is kabod, and literally refers to the weight of good and valuable things. Spiritual blessing, certainly, but also material blessing as well. God does not withhold it from those who walk uprightly, those who walk in wisdom.

God wants you and me to be healthy, wealthy and wise. He wants us happy as well as holy. He wants us to live long and strong on the earth, and to be fresh and flourishing and fruitful, even in our old age. The main thing is to lay hold of the wisdom of God.

The Shepherd of Abundant Life

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have lie, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

Jesus is making a contrast between Himself, as the Good Shepherd (John10:11), and the thief who tries to sneak into the sheepfold. This thief is the devil, false teachers, the spirit of religion, and all who rebel against the authority of God. The thief comes for three purposes:

• To steal. He does not add anything good to your life, but comes to take good away from you.
• To kill. He may promise you a good life, but he actually comes to take your life away. He is a murderer.
• To destroy. He comes to completely destroy you and everything about you — your life, your work, your home, your family, your inheritance.

Many people, even many Christians, believe God comes to steal, that is, to take good things away from us, to kill us or destroy us. They believe He does these things to punish us for sin, to teach us a lesson, or to test our faith in some way. They think He is waiting to pounce on us in judgment.

They’ve got the wrong guy. Jesus, who is the express image of God, does not come to do any of those things. He comes to give life, not just a little, but abundantly. He is overflowing with life, and He comes that you might overflow with it also. He is waiting for you to turn to Him so He can rescue you.

This abundant life is not just about living long, or even living eternally. It is much more. It is a quality of life. It is health and wholeness and prosperity. It is a life filled full to overflowing with the life and blessing of God.