This month's view finds me rejoicing with you who have received Christ as your righteousness, but sad for those who trust in their own good works, instead of Christ's finished work on the cross for their salvation. "God, our Savior, showed us His kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit."1

Awake, O Sleeper

Recently, a poll showed that only a small percentage of Christians read the Bible. Matter of fact, it showed that atheists and agnostics knew the Bible better than most. No wonder the apostle Paul paraphrased the prophet Isaish, saying: "Awake, O Sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light."2 It is the light of God's word that is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path.3

Welcome to the aboundinglove.org website. Our prayer is that you may experience God's love, and let it flow out through you to someone else. We'd love to hear from you, so we can add your comments to What People Are Saying. As you respond, we are able to determine the effectiveness of this outreach.

A Sense of Lack

Many hurting people respond to this website, saying they have no spirituality, but desire to know God. One young lady said she just wasn't getting "it," asking: "Am I a lost soul?" Another woman asked for "a word of wisdom," while seeking a closer walk with God. They all share one thing in common -- a sense of lack.

One man wrote about the many "atrocities of life." I reminded him that man's problem is sin. In the beginning, God crowned man with glory and honor,1 but he chose to turn against God and do his own thing. As a result, all these atrocities begin to rule the lives of mankind. "When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone."2

This month's view asks the two most important questions concerning your future and hope that you need to consider. It is extremely important to "...always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."1

Two Important Questions

A dear friend, named Lyle, recently shared in a letter how he felt led to ask his neighbor this first question: "Have you come to a place in your thinking where you know for certain that when you die you will go to Heaven?" His neighbor wasn't certain, like many who I have shared with over the years.

Here's another question: "Suppose that you were to die today and stand before God, and He were to say to you, 'Why should I let you into my heaven?' What would you say?"

It is wonderful when you visit our site for a word of encouragement. It is important for us to remember that in these troublesome times, "The Lord is our strength and song, and has become our salvation...This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it...Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."1

Rejoice in the Lord...

It could be that you find very little to rejoice about these days. Maybe you have not experienced your deliverance the way the above verses depict; but rejoice anyway, because the provision for your salvation was given 2000 years ago through the finished work of Jesus Christ. He died and rose again for your salvation, freedom, and rejoicing.

It is such an honor to have you return to the site once again. I will be reporting on the death of a dear Christian brother who went home to be with Jesus. In light of his passing, I will share the importance of believing in Jesus for eternal life. As Jesus prayed, "...this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."1

Norman Ezell's Passing...

On May 8, 2010, Norman Ezell stepped into the arms of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down--when we die and leave these bodies--we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God Himself and not by human hands...For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies...Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord."2

I met Norman in 1966, where he and four other men played in a rock band known as the "Five Americans." They were riding the wave of Beatle mania, with their forty hits like "I See The Light" and "Western Union." Then, in 1977, a couple of years after we were both saved, we met again when he visited the prison chapel with Teen Challenge as a music minister. It wasn't long until we were best friends. In 1979, he was my best man.

Welcome to this month's view. I'm glad to hear that you enjoy not only the views, but the entire web site. As you read, I pray that God's love will be revealed to you by the Holy Spirit.1 Remember, "We love God because He first loved us."2 We are beloved by God!

KLove.com

Do you find it hard to stay focused on your relationship with the Lord throughout the day? If so, one way to focus is by listening to contemporary Christian music on KLove. com. As you do, God's word of love and grace will renew your mind to the finished work of Jesus, producing a sense of righteousness and perfect peace.3

"Therefore by Him [Jesus] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."4

Serenity Prayer

My mother's favorite prayer was the Serenity Prayer. Often, she would pray it out loud to overcome as things got too tough for her to handle. I recall her cry:

It is always exciting to hear that you look forward to each month's view. I pray that God may always be glorified, and not myself, because of what He has done in my life. Jesus made it quite clear that "...apart from Him, we can do nothing."1

Sharing God's Grace

As a follower of Jesus, my purpose is to share God's grace, which is His favor and ability working through me to do what I can't. The apostle Paul provides an example: "...whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favor on me--and not without results. For I worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not I, but God who was working through me by His grace."2

It is so exciting to share God's abounding love through the monthly view. I'm so thankful for your response. If you would like it placed on the website, make the subject: What People Are Saying. It is my prayer that what you say will be a blessing to others around the world.

Study Chart Booklet

Update: August 2014 - This booklet is no longer available in black and white. We are working on a new download in color. When this is ready, we'll add a link to it. Thank you!

Praise Report

"My name is Jeremiah, and I'm a graduate student at Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. I'm getting my Masters in Performance Studies, and I'm in the processing of preparing for my graduate recital speech. I just wanted to contact you and let you know that your story greatly impacted my life so much so that I'm going to share it as part of my recital speech.

What a blessing it is to share another monthly view, affirming God's love for you. An affirmed person knows the love of Jesus and expresses God's abounding love even in an emotional way with something as simple as a hug or a kiss. The apostle Paul commanded the church at Rome, Corinth, and Thessalonica to "Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss."1

The Unaffirmed Person

An unaffirmed person has never felt genuine care and concern from a mature adult. Can you find yourself in this partial list of characteristics of an unaffirmed person?

It is such a joy to know that you are reading the monthly view. It is my prayer that while viewing this site, you will be affirmed in God's abounding love. A dear saint, Anna Terruwe, M.D., says: "God's love in Christ Jesus is the ultimate affirming love that heals human wounds and patiently awaits our graced response." May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you.1

Affirmation of God

Webster's dictionary defines affirm as "to validate, confirm, state positively, assert as valid or confirmed," and affirmation as "the act of affirming, something affirmed: a positive assertion."

As you read this month's view, let us declare a mighty move of God in our lives for 2010. In the book of Exodus, the Lord used a mighty strong west wind to blow a plague of locusts from Pharaoh's land into the Red Sea.1 For 2000 years, the mighty wind of the Holy Spirit has been blowing from the throne room of God to remove the sin and darkness from our lives. By faith, all we have to do is be willing to call upon the Lord for deliverance.

Call Upon Me

The Lord says, "Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."2 One way to call out to the Lord is to simply cry "HELP!" He promises to answer you and to show you great and mighty things which you don't know. He is waiting for you to respond.

Another way to call out to the Lord is to proclaim what God's word says about the blood of Jesus. We over come the world, the flesh, and the devil by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony, while laying down our lives.3 That is, we overcome by confessing what God's word says about the blood of Jesus.

The blood of the old Testament sacrifices cleansed the temple, so the Holy Spirit could dwell therein. In the same way, the blood of Jesus cleanses our sin, so the Holy Spirit can dwell within us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.4 We are not our own, for we are bought with the price of Jesus's blood.5 The Lord "...loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."6

After Jesus' death and resurrection, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, until they would be clothed with power from on high.7 Fifty days later (on the day of Pentecost), "...there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."8

From the Mailbox

This same power of the blood and of the Holy Spirit is still available today. You may be in a similar situation as Jessika, a young woman who wrote, saying: "I happened to come across your web site today, and I'm really impressed! I'm so glad you've embraced the Lord. You are an inspiration to me. It's really hard for me, but I'm trying. Sometimes, well a lot of the time, I wonder if God really could love me. Have you ever felt like that?

My mom says she can always feel the spirit of Jesus with her. I wish I had that feeling. How can I get there, you know? I'm so lonely. I have friends. I know men who want to be with me, but this isn't fulfilling to me. I want something real. I want to be happy. Are you happy? What if I'm just a lost soul for good. Is is possible? Love, Jessika."

Today, the mighty wind of the Holy Spirit is flowing from the throne room of God to fill our hearts to overflowing. The Lord is no respecter of persons.9 He loves us all the same, and stands ready to bless us [make us happy] through faith in His precious blood and righteousness. As King David wrote, "Oh, how happy are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Happy is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute [charge] sin."10

Proclaiming the Blood

I encouraged Jessika to print out The Blood of Jesus Christ Scriptures from the home page Study Chart Galleries link. This chart not only offers the Scriptures, but instructions to meditate, recognize, confess, pray and praise God for Jesus' precious blood. Jessika agreed to give it a try, but she said, "To be honest, I'm kind of scared to do this, and I don't know why." I think I know.

First, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."11 Satan is the author of deception, which brings fear and confusion, hindering us from understanding the revelation of the blood of Jesus Christ. Secondly, worldly leaders, even religious ones, can bring deception. "...the rulers of this world have not understood it [the wisdom of God], if they had, they would never have crucified our glorious Lord."12

This is the wisdom of God's love: "He alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit, God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us accepted to God. He made us pure and holy, and He gave Himself to purchase [with His blood] our freedom."13 This is foolishness according to man's wisdom.14

As you slowly meditate on the blood of Jesus, recognize that you are bought with a price, and brought into the presence of God. Confess each Scripture with your mouth daily. God's glory and presence will follow. Pray from your throne room position in the Name of Jesus Christ. Praise God that because of the blood of Jesus, you are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

Confessing the Blood Scriptures

It is important for you to find a quiet place to prepare for a time in God's presence. Be sure to have your Bible, along with the Blood of Jesus verses. Confession means "to say the same thing that God says," concerning who you are in the precious blood of Jesus.

Begin to speak to your Heavenly Father, acknowledging His Word, His blood, and the Holy Spirit. Simply say, "Father, I am so thankful for the promises of Your Word. You say if I call on You, You will answer, and show me great and mighty things that I do not know. I do not know Your presence right now, but I believe You will reveal it to me if I will just call. So I call on You by faith to enter into Your presence with the blood of the Lamb.

Your Word says: I am loved and washed from sin by Jesus' blood, Who made me a king and a priest. I am blood bought for Your purpose, causing me to reign as a priest in Your kingdom. I overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. I am purchased from the slave market of sin with the blood of Jesus. I am justified by grace, redeemed by Christ and declared righteous by faith. I am made right in Your sight by the blood of Christ and saved from Your judgment. I am bought with a high price, therefore I glorify You in spirit and body, which is Your temple. I am blessed, because I share in the benefits of the blood of Jesus Christ.

I have in remembrance who I am in Christ, because of the blood of the New Covenant. I am purchased by grace, free through the blood of Your Son and my sins are forgiven. I am Your property, once far away from You, but now I'm near to You by the blood. I have peace with You through the blood of the cross, and I'm reconciled to You. Jesus took His blood into heaven's Most Holy Place, securing my salvation forever. His blood purified my heart from dead works to serve and worship You, the true and living God. I am forgiven of my sins, which would be impossible without the shedding of blood.

I have boldness to enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. I have a new and living way to enter into Your presence, open to me through the death of Jesus. I have come to Jesus, the mediator of the New covenant, and been forgiven by His blood. I am set apart unto You and made holy by the blood of Jesus, Who suffered for my sin. I have an everlasting covenant, signed in Jesus' blood, the Great Shepherd of the sheep. I am made holy by the Spirit, because I've been cleansed by the lifeblood of Jesus Christ. I am paid for with the precious blood of Jesus, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. I have fellowship with You, my Father, because the blood of Jesus cleanses me from all sin. Amen."

Praise God for His Presence

Begin to praise God for His presence in your life. "With Jesus' help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of His name."15 If the works of the flesh [bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment, retaliation, fear, anger, hatred, violence, lust, and etc.] are quenching the Spirit in you, continue to praise your way through the blood verses, until your soul is freed to experience the mighty wind of the Holy Spirit. It is time to press in with fervency and faith.

When I first came to the revelation of the blood of Christ, it took me twenty or more minutes to break the darkness from my soul. I was born-again, but I wasn't aware of the revelation of the blood of Jesus. I needed to take authority over the enemy of my soul by overcoming him through the blood of the Lamb and by applying the word of my testimony. As I confessed Jesus' blood and yielded my life to God, the Holy Spirit began to flow freely through my soul. The truth concerning the blood of Jesus set me free to experience God's love, peace, and joy.16 As the Psalmist proclaimed: "In God's presence is fullness of joy, at His right hand are pleasures forevermore."17

The more time I spent meditating the blood of Jesus, the less time I needed to enter in into His presence. Before long, I experienced the presence of the Lord by just mentioning the blood of Jesus. As a result, the Lord used me to help others enter into God's presence. The Lord can use you to help others enter into God's presence through the blood of Jesus. Will you strive for God's presence, so you can be effective in ministering to others?

A Prayer For You ...

"When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now, glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen."18

Scripture References:

1 Ex. 10:19
2 Jere. 33:3
3 Rev. 12:11
4 1 Cor. 3:16, 17
5 1 Cor. 6:19, 20
6 Rev. 1:5, 6
7 Luke 24:49
8 Acts 2:2-4
9 Acts 10:34
10 Rom. 4:7, 8
11 2 Tim. 1:7
12 1 Cor. 2:8
13 1 Cor. 1:30
14 1 Cor. 1:17-28
15 Heb. 13:15
16 John 8:32
17 Psa. 16:11
18 Eph. 3:14-21

Acknowledgement: A special thanks to Sherry for transcribing this months view!