The Abundant Life

Copyright © 2011 by John W. Parrott.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011905748

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4568-9926-4

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4568-9925-7

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4568-9927-1

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Contents

Foreword

Reflections About Life

Counting Our Blessings

The Bible and Bible Study

The Ten Commandments

Great Questions from the Old Testament

Great Questions from the New Testament

The Christian Mind

Family Values

Growing Old Gracefully

Lessons from the Proverbs

Christians and Money

The Christian Race

God and Creation

Seasonal Devotions

Foreword

About five years ago, I began teaching a Bible study class at our church for a group of median and senior adults. Shortly after the class was formed, I started sending a weekly e-mail to the class members, which was intended to be a word of encouragement in the middle of the week. These e-mails generally contained three paragraphs, one of which was a brief devotional thought. I did not have any long-range organization for these devotionals paragraphs. I would simply select a theme that I thought might be of interest to the class members and then each week write a few sentences about the particular theme. I would usually continue this for several weeks or, in some cases, several months until I had either exhausted my ideas about the topic or just felt it was time to move on to another subject. I certainly had no inkling that I would someday publish selections from these rather random writings as a book of devotional thoughts. Shortly after the class was formed, the members selected a name for the class and decided to refer to themselves as the Abundant Life Class. Hence, the title for this little book.

There is no plot to this work. Each theme is independent of the others, and they can be read in any order the reader selects. Each paragraph in this work corresponds to one of the weekly e-mails I sent to the class members. Most of the content of the book is intended to be spiritual in nature, although in some cases I have attempted simply to provide some practical advice on such topics as money management and coping with the aging process. I have tried for the most part to stay away from divisive doctrinal issues or any systematic theological presentation and to focus on ideas that I thought might have some inspirational value or provide some practical guidance for daily Christian living. For the record, I am of the Baptist faith, but I have tried to emphasize those beliefs and values that unite all those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

I have done only minimum editing to the original devotional paragraphs, mostly to remove references to particular times or circumstances that might not be meaningful to a wider audience. Also, I have modified the order in which some of the e-mails were sent, so the present work is not in chronological order.

I would like to dedicate this modest work to the members of the Abundant Life Bible study class. They have continually challenged and encouraged me during our time together over the past several years. Special thanks to Peggy Whaley, one of our former class members, who encouraged me to compile these devotional thoughts into a book and who then read the first draft and made a number of helpful editorial comments.

To any and all who read this work, I pray that it might be a blessing to your life and encourage you as you seek the more abundant life promised by our Lord.

Reflections About Life

Life is a miracle. This is true of every form of life, but most especially of human life, with its incredibly intricate biochemical systems, its self-consciousness, its prodigious memory and reasoning power, and its unique spiritual dimension. These are all part of our basic nature, which we usually take for granted without thinking about what marvelous creatures we really are. It seems inconceivable to me that life, and especially human life, could be an accidental product of natural processes. The Bible teaches and I wholeheartedly believe that life is the design of an infinite Creator, who fashioned us in His own image and for His own special purpose. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27).

Does life have a purpose and meaning or is it a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Many people today are searching for purpose and meaning in their lives. A challenging exercise would be to write down in one short sentence what your purpose in life is. Jesus was intensely aware of His purpose in life, and in each of the gospels He gives a brief and powerful purpose statement for His life:

1. In Matthew 5:17, He says, Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

2. In Mark 10:45, He says, For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

3. In Luke 19:10, He says, For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

4. In John 10:10, He says, I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.

Jesus’ clear sense of purpose guided everything He did in life. Do you have a clear purpose for your life? What is it? Or more importantly, what is God’s purpose for your life?

Life is change. First, the world around us is constantly changing. I dare say that in my brief lifetime I have witnessed more changes in our social structure than the previous ten generations combined and more changes in science and technology than the previous hundred generations. The pace of change in our world is constantly accelerating, and it is a major challenge to adjust to all the changes around us. But while the world around us is changing, so are we—both our bodies and our minds. We move from one stage of life to another, from infancy to childhood to puberty to young adulthood to career and family to retirement and empty nest and then to the decline of our physical bodies and mental agility. We sometimes find it difficult, even traumatic, to accept and adjust to life’s changes. But change is the very essence of life and cannot be stopped. So how do we cope with all the changes around us and within us? I believe that it is vitally important that an individual have a foundation of basic values that remains steadfast through the turbulence of the passing years. And the most important of these values is an authentic faith in God who changes not. Is your faith alive and growing and centered in the eternal God? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).

Life involves making choices. While heredity and environment have a major influence on the course of our lives, there is another important factor in the equation of life. We have the freedom and responsibility to make individual choices about our lives, and the choices we make determine to a large extent the paths that our lives take. Wise choices will be a blessing to ourselves and to others for as long as we live. But how do we make wise choices? We are faced with more options in life than any of the generations before us, and it is not easy sorting through all these options and selecting the best one. Let me suggest a few basic principles to remember when we are faced with significant choices:

1. Learn to distinguish major from minor decisions and then concentrate on the important decisions. I have read that many people devote more time and energy to planning their vacation than