KINGFISHER INTERNATIONAL FAMILY NEWS
FEBRUARY 2021
ISSUE 15
Abundant Living Each year, we seek the Lord for a sense of His guidance through the coming year. What does He want to focus our attention on? What are His priorities? In what ways does He want to grow His Kingdom in this world this coming year? As I have spent time waiting on Him, and especially during this time of Pandemic, of global shut down and of great uncertainty regarding the future, it came as quite a surprise to hear what is on the Lord’s heart for us in the International Family this coming year. The Lord led me to Ephesians 3:20 - 21, and to the subject of abundant Living.
“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13, NIV) He had an abundant perspective. He knew that God is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. He chose to live UP to his identity, not live DOWN to his circumstances. And that is the secret of abundant living. Knowing that I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Having an abundant perspective on life.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (NLT)
He is also calling us to be abundantly nourished. His promise is that He will “lead me beside still waters; He makes me lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2-3).
More than all we ask or imagine. Literally ‘hyper abundance’. That is the level of His blessing in our lives and that is the level of expectation He desires us to live our lives at.
I believe that this is the year that He particularly wants to restore our souls - to provide us with abundant nourishment. The ‘hyper abundant’ God wants to nourish us in hyper abundant ways. We have been robbed of so much over the past year and we are still in many ways in the grip of this pandemic. Now, He invites us to be abundantly nourished, to have our souls restored for all that lies ahead.
But one of the outcomes of the Pandemic is that many people now tend to live their lives at the level of fear. We fear catching the virus, we fear the long-term effects of the virus, we fear loneliness and isolation… fear creeps into every aspect of our lives, and Christian believers are no exception to this. We have become used to being told what we cannot do, what could go wrong in our lives, how to stay safe, what the restrictions are. We of course are called to be good citizens, to ‘submit to those in authority’ (Romans 13:1) - this is not a call to civil disobedience! However, I believe that this is a call from God to regain an abundant perspective. An abundant perspective is not a denial of reality. An abundant perspective simply means that we view life like Paul did - we view life from a heavenly perspective.
His third calling upon our lives this year is to be abundant blessers; to seek ways of blessing each other in abundant ways. One of the signs of the end is that “The love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). In this time of fear, of sickness, of isolation, our challenge from Him is to be abundant blessers; to seek ways to bless each other and our communities around us. There are resources available on our website (kingfisherfamily.org) to encourage and enable us in each of these three areas; a free PDF of the book “My Confession” to enable us to get an abundant perspective, a free resource to download called “Spiritual Pathways Growth Plan” to help us to be nourished abundantly. This is His call to us in 2021 - to Live Abundantly!
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3, NIV)
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NLT)
God’s provision throughout the family
Dumagat Education Program update
The power of prayer
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Abundance is not about how many things we have, or how much status we have, or how comfortable our lives are. Abundance is about setting our minds on things above, knowing that we are new creations. And what all that means is that we are no longer limited by our circumstances. Paul himself said,