The Fullness of Life_8

<p>Sunday 8th August&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>The Fullness of Life 8</p> <p><br></p> <p>Whatever captures the mind will influence and directs one's life. What does this really mean? Hebrews 11:15 says</p> <p><br></p> <p>And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Whatever holds your mind holds your life. God in his infinite mercy did not just leave us to ourselves and imaginations. He didn't just leave us to figure out things on our own. He gives us something to focus our minds on, so that we can have an idea of how much his power can produce.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Abraham received God's promise of a child, yet his wife Sarah could not have a child because she was barren. God did not stop there; God called Abraham out of his tent and asked him to number the stars in the heavens. Obviously Abraham lost count, then God said to him that his descendance will be like the uncountable stars of heavens. God used that analogy to anchor Abraham's mind on the reality of the promise of God, giving him a picture of what he should focus on. Another example is virgin Mary. She also received a word from God of an impossible case of immaculate pregnancy. Angel Gabriel told her that her aunt who was said to be barren was already six months pregnant. God had to give Mary something to focus on to build her faith. All God was doing was to give Abraham and Mary a picture to hold onto in their minds while waiting for the fulfillment of God's word.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Now when we talk about the fullness of life, what picture comes into our minds? A smart person would say that if Jesus is the abundant life as we claim, why did he die young? He had no family, he had no wife, he had no children. Definitely His life shouldn't be a good definition of an abundant life. Obviously this is not the definition of the life we want for ourselves. Let's look at Galatians 3:13 through 14</p> <p><br></p> <p>13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the