Abundant Life

" I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - John 10:10

" I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." - Philemon 6

Jesus came so that we could have a reconciled relationship with God, so that we could have eternal life in heaven with Him, and also an abundant life here. The abundant life that God wants for us is a life full of joy and peace and power and victory and fruitfulness and satisfaction. This type of life brings much glory to Him. Why are there so many Christians who are not experiencing this type of life ? Churches are full of people who are missing out on the abundant life.

Two of the reasons why so many Christians are missing out on God's best for their lives and the abundant life are found in Matthew 6:33 - "Seek first for God's kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you." Quite simply their relationship with God and the building of God's kingdom are not the first or top priority in their lives. Look at Philemon 6 above, a very interesting verse. Actively sharing Christ with others (being a faithful witness for Christ) is vital if you want to experience all that God wants for you. You will never have the abundant, victorious, fruitful, joyful, satisfying life until you commit to actively and faithfully share Christ with others. Jesus says in Matthew 4:19 "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Unless you are a "fisher of men" (a person who actively & faithfully shares Christ with others) you are not truly following Jesus, The Source of abundant life. You must walk closely with Jesus, The Source, and truly follow and obey Him, or you will never experience abundant life.

School Outreach In Sao Vicente

Yesterday we spoke at the state school EE Jose Nigro, which is located in a very poor area in the city of Sao Vicente. The school is for students from 5th grade to high school, and also has some classes for adults studying at night. Many of the students come from broken homes. The students were very friendly and warm and well behaved, and we had a great visit at the school. Many of them, as well as the teachers and school leaders very much appreciated us coming to help them in their lives.

The Holy Spirit touched many hearts as we shared the Gospel, and more than 130 students, 7 teachers, and the school coordinator accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him. Afterwards we passed out the Livro Da Vida books to all, which have some devotions in them as well as many Biblical values and truths for living. The school leaders were very pleased with the results, and they recommended us to 3 more schools in Sao Vicente. They also were interested in seeing if we knew of a church in the area that could teach English classes to some of the students at the church, and we will be talking to some churches in the area about it. That would be a good way to do follow up with some of the students and get them to come to the church to start discipling them.