Praise God Who anoints us with Himself so we can live the Abundant Life.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Ps 23:5 ESV
God not only provides for our needs in good times, but also when the enemy is fighting hard against us. God anoints us so we will become part of His Kingdom builders, as we learn to be WHO He designed us to be. When we discover, with the Holy Spirit’s help of course, our spiritual gifts and start operating in them, life gets, well, overflowing! We overflow with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23) This is the Fruit of the Spirit and WHO we were always supposed to be, and the more we grow in Christ, the more this Fruit will naturally spill over into our days. Our lives will begin to reflect the Life of Jesus, more and more, because we will be united with Him more and more.
Now this unfortunately, does not mean we will not have our moments! Lord knows I still struggle with this New Creation Life I have been given, but we will go through those “moments” a lot quicker as we grow. What do I mean? When I used to get depressed, it used to mean months of darkness for me. Now when I sense this infection I inherited from The Downfall, because that is what it is, I can get to the other side of it a whole lot quicker. And how do I do it? Well, I don’t. God in me does though. As I remember He is my Good Shepherd Who has prepared my life for me and I actually lean on His anointing in my life, I return to the Fruit and all its virtues become real in me and my life again, especially peace and joy! After all, there is no need to be in darkness when you are hanging out with the Light of the world!
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
July: 26- Jas 2:19; 27- Dt 31:8; 28- Jn 14:15; 29- Jn 8:11
August: 30- Ro 8:1; 31- Pr 4:23; 32- Pr 18:21; 33- Ps 118:24; 34- 1Jn 4:4
35- Mt 16:24
36- Isa 53:6
37- Ps 23:1-5
<>< Peace, Diane
