Abundance of Life
"Unlike Joshua and Caleb, the other Israelites followed the Lord's calling out from Egypt, but they did not follow Him into the land. Many Christians repeat this same error today. They have followed the Lord as He led them out of the spiritual death of sin and guilt. They are "out of Egypt." They are forgiven of their sins. They have a new life in Christ. However, they do not follow the Lord on "into the land." They do not follow by faith into abundance of life. They do not follow the Lord in humble dependence for transformation, for fruitfulness, for a life of spiritual victory." Bob Hoekstra
...for they have wholly followed the Lord." Numbers 32:11-12
I am preparing for a summer Bible study with a group of women, which is led on DVD by Priscilla Shirer, called One in a Million, Journey to Your Promised Land. I came across the above writing of Bob Hoekstra online, where he expresses so nicely how many people are simply satisfied with the salvation step and miss abounding into the deep fellowship, personal transformation, overflowing fruitfulness and spiritual victory.
Imagine going to a wedding reception and when you arrive you are in a room where they are passing a refreshing wedding punch. You see the wedding cake and look forward to when it will be cut and the delicious sugar and buttery concoction melts in your mouth. Hours pass and you chat with the other guests who come and go in the room. The cake is sliced, you enjoy your piece and go home. The next day at church people are all a buzz about the amazing food at the wedding reception. Say what? Had you stepped out a bit further into other rooms you would have found the seafood room with enormous shrimp, lobster cocktails, crab cakes and scallops sautéed in vermouth. A carving station was located elsewhere and had a succulent ham and the largest, juiciest prime rib anyone had ever seen...and oh, my, the yeast rolls and fresh horseradish. There was a chef behind a grill who designed your personal pizza to order and two others making quesadillas filled with any ingredient imaginable. The fresh fruit and vegetable table with its ice cravings was a sight to be seen. You missed it all, because you were just standing there waiting for the cake.
That's what some Christians do. Come into my life Jesus and I'll see you again when we cut the cake at heaven's door.
