God’s Gifts | October 21
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
Jesus, You know that when I made a decision to commit my life to loving You and serving You that these words, spoken by You, captured my full attention. I pray these words will be indelibly impressed on the heart of each one of us.
Jesus, we sometimes, in our immaturity, fear committing our lives to following You because we think we are giving up degrees of control, we are yielding our will and our agenda to Your will and Your agenda.
That is not an easy thing for a strong-willed person to do or for any person that fears yielding control. Jesus, when we feel that way, we have clearly misunderstood Your will for us. You declare here that You did not come to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, which is Satan’s agenda. You came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
When we yield our hearts to You, the abundant life is guaranteed to follow. We know, Jesus, that abundance here does not mean material things, although You bless us in so many ways. The abundance You provide is both eternal and right now. Your presence is our comfort, our assurance of Your love.
You fill us with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and we become equipped to yield the fruit that leads to eternal happiness. This same fruit makes life worth living, here and now. You promise us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
When we come to You, we give up nothing of enduring value (and escape from a life leading to eternal suffering) and we gain Your perfection as we experience Your presence. Bless us richly that we might be a blessing to others, we pray in Your name, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project
