August 2025
Happy Summer Time! After creating such bad news in August 1969, my purpose has been simply to share the Good News of Jesus Christ for the past half a century. This Good News builds your faith in God, your Heavenly Father; in Christ, your Righteousness, Savior and Lord; and in the Holy Spirit, your Comforter, Teacher and Guide -- the Word of Truth. So dear ones:
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV).
What Is Our Purpose?
Are you connected only to this present world, not realizing the importance of God's plan and purpose for your life?
In the 1960s, I was one of those connected solely to this present age, not realizing that life is a proving ground for the life to come. I was blinded by the gods of this world trying to survive any way possible, so I could party, get high and womanize. I was walking entirely after the flesh, confirming the Scriptures, that "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's law, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God" (Romans 8:5-8, NLT).
When I was born again in 1975, I began to please God by carrying out His purpose through the power of the Holy Spirit. Like the apostle Paul wrote: "You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you" (Romans 8:9b, NLT). The inner voice of the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and glorifies the Lord [John 16:13-15], Who manifests His glory in our life and ministry. We ". . . can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord -- who is that Spirit makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image . . . For God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:6, NLT). Are you born again with a purpose?
The apostle Paul received his purpose when he was born again. He testified, "At midday, O king [Agrippa], along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn the from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me'" (Acts 26:13-18, NKJV).
Empowered To Be A Witness!
Today, our purpose is to be witnesses ["martus" in Greek], willing to be a "martyr" for Christ. Jesus said, ". . . you shall receive power [" dunamis", the Greek word for "dynamite"] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and Samaria, and the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8, NKJV). Power; to open spiritual blind eyes, to turn folks from darkness to light and from Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness and an inheritance for those who are sanctified [set apart from sin to God] by faith in Christ. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7, NKJV).
Also, God had planned an eternal inheritance and purpose for us in Christ. "And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ -- everything in heaven and earth. Furthermore, because we are united in Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan" (Ephesians 1:10-11, NLT). "God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:10,11, NLT).
You may say to yourself, "I'm no apostle Paul!" Neither am I, but we are in Christ as believers, who God has called according to His purpose. "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good thing he planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:10, NLT). This is no little matter, since we are God's masterpiece. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you" (Titus 2:11-15, NKJV).
Be A Witness Today!
You have the opportunity to be a witness to the ends of the earth. "For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserve it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time -- to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News" (2 Timothy 1:9-10, NLT).
My prayer is that you may receive power to share the Good News through your own testimony, but you're being a witness when you share the Abounding Love Ministries website and podcast with your friends and family. They may agree with you that if God can forgive and save someone like the former Charles "Tex" Watson, there is hope for them too! It doesn't take a lot to share this site, unless you are ashamed of the Good News of Christ. If so, take your authority in Christ and confess out loud, declaring: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16-17, NKJV).
It's time to RISE UP and RECOGNIZE your right standing with God through faith in Christ. ALLOW this revelation of righteousness to empower you to LIVE BY FAITH, "so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:21, NKJV). Others need to hear the testimony of Jesus through your lips, so that faith may arise in their hearts through hearing God's Word [Romans 10:17]. You have an entirely new life before you -- the God kind of Life ["zoe" in Greek]. As a believer, ". . . Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives your spirit life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you" (Romans 8:10-11, NLT). Listen, my friend, Christ [the Anointed One] lives in you for the work of the ministry!
Steps To Your Ministry . . .
The Abounding Love podcast episode is starting a brand new series, called "Steps To Your Ministry." Since the beginning of the church; apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers have had the responsibility "to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
"Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they could sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body to fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love" (Ephesians 4:12-16, NLT).
In 1979, these Steps To Your Ministry were given to a congregation at California Men's Colony during the creation of Abounding Love Ministries. Some men went on to start their own ministries after parole, such as the late Fuzzy Brown of So Blessed Ministries, who is now with the Lord. [See photo of the Chapel Staff; Fuzzy is the one with the beard]. Many others went on to live productive lives upon release, but some offended again, continuing through prison's revolving door. It will be interesting to hear what you do with these steps over the next few years. For me, I plan to continue strong with my friends, putting out these podcasts and finishing well in hopes the Lord will raise you up to bring forth a bountiful harvest for the Kingdom of God. Join me by listening to this podcast. [Click here for the Abounding Love podcast episode #114 "Steps To Your Ministry #1," dated 7/25/'25].
A Prayer For You . . .
Heavenly Father, I thank You for this divine appointment to open my heart to the Good News of Jesus Christ; that there is salvation for me. I give You my life wholeheartedly. If You can save Charles, You can save me too! I repent of my doubts and narrow-mindedness and turn to You in faith that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead to free me from the bondage of sin and to give me eternal life. I receive Your righteousness through the finished work of the cross, where Your Son took all my pain, guilt, shame, and condemnation. Jesus, You have washed and cleansed me with Your blood and now I am white as snow. I commit my all to living for Your plan and purpose for my life, which is to serve You in all that I do. Holy Spirit, light Your fire in my heart and overflow in my life to enable me to share the testimony of Jesus with my friends, family and even the world. In the name of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
"Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, NKJV).