Abounding Love Podcast with Former ”Tex” Watson

In this message, I share what we must do to live up to our new name, and to do the "New Thing" as the Apostles did. In Acts 4:1-3, we are told how the Apostles were being persecuted by the religious authorities for teaching about Jesus and His death and resurrection. They had been placed in prison and were released miraculously. But instead of laying low, they went right out and continued to teach, demonstrating the power of the Ho...

This message speaks of the power of God's love and how His love was seen being expressed in the early church. I focused on the miracle done when Peter and John encountered the lame man at the entrance to the Temple, related in Acts chapter 3. This was a new thing that the people had not seen or heard of before. His love, confirmed in Scripture, empowered Peter through faith to act on that man's behalf and heal him. The "new thing" ...

I based this message on the final portion of James 5:16, which states, " . . . The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." We are righteous in the spirit because we're a righteous child of God, and we're becoming righteous in our minds through His Word and His Spirit. 1 Peter 3:12 tells us that God's ears are open to the prayers of the righteous. This provides us a second witness that God hears the prayers of the...

This message provides insights found in the Apostle John's account of the "Triumphal Entry," as told in John 12:9-19. John related that the people had come to see Jesus and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. The people believed in Jesus and were acting on those beliefs by praising Him and preparing the road, making it easier for Him to get to the Temple, where He was going. The Pharisees were plotting to kill Jesus and Laza...

In this Podcast message, I am presenting multiple ideas on how to be successful in sowing God's Word, sowing in a way that produces a bountiful harvest. The condition of our heart, "the inner man", comprised of our born-again spirit and our soul [mind, will and emotions] determines what type of seed we sow. For example, if you walk in the Spirit, you sow Spiritual things and reap Spiritual blessings - eternal life. However, if you ...

In the first part of this message, I bring out a number of essential understandings regarding our faith and how it empowers us. We're all given a measure of faith by God, which comes by hearing His word. Faith and love work through actions. God in faith, speaks into existence what only now is seen. His spoken words have the power to create. In similar ways, our faith gives us the ability to create through our words spoken in love. ...

*Please note: This episode in particular is very poor quality. As a reminder, these recordings are over 40 years old.

Many people believe there are those God should not forgive, and I am one of those in their crosshairs. Such an attitude comes from doubt, and it's this lack of faith that prevents a person from forgiving. A better title for this message is, "How to Overcome Unforgiveness.". We are to ". . . be kind to one another, t...

I share in this episode about "Lottsapoppa." He was a drug dealer from whom I took money in the late '60s. He was later shot by my crime partner. He forgave me years later, after ending up in prison with me. He admitted he wasn't saved at the time, but forgave me nonetheless. This was because of who I was in Christ. "When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." (Proverbs 16:7). This introdu...

There are hundreds of ways to be a witness for God, but for any to work, we must be led by the Spirit. When witnessing, we share our relationship with Christ. We're showing our faith in God's grace. It could be as simple as sharing a tract or asking someone to church. It helps to have something in common with that person, like working out at a gym or grocery shopping together. This way, the subject of God's "grace" can be woven int...

The understanding that we are triune: spirit, soul and body, just as God is triune, is seen repeatedly in Scripture. Internally, we are spirit, which is born again, made new by grace, having become partakers of the divine nature. This is surrounded by our soul (mind, will and emotions), which is renewed through a process involving the Word and the Spirit of God, Who indwells us. The outer man is our body, which is what everyone see...

In Revelation 12:11, the apostle John heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "And they overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." Today, we must lay down our lives by testifying with a loud voice what the Word of God says concerning the power of the blood of Jesus in order to overcome the schemes of the devil. So testify, "I am purchased by th...

Living a holy lifestyle takes place from the inside out, through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible uses many terms to describe holiness, but “holy” comes from the Greek word "Hagios", which means “a saint, a holy one, pure, blameless and concentrated." In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul tells us that we are sanctified in the Spirit the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. But Paul also stresses progressive s...

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit of God living within us, but His Spirit needs to rule our soul [mind, will and emotions] and body. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul sternly reminds the squabbling churches of Corinth that they must submit to the Word of God and cease their constant arguing and discord. Paul’s letter forewarns us as well that our minds are a target for the enemy, and Jesus needs to rule our minds through ...

Episode #229, “How to Succeed in Life” 

There are many Christians who are successful in their worldly obligations, but are not succeeding in their Christian life.  Maybe you have not ever desired to succeed or found in the past that it was almost impossible to succeed, so you’ve stopped trying to find fulfillment in life.  But, if you want to fully benefit from all that God's grace has to offer, you need to decide that you’re going...

What is the spiritual fruit of being made a new creation in Jesus Christ? In Isaiah, chapter 45:8, God 'rains down righteousness' so it can be planted and 'spring forth good fruit'. If you have received God's forgiveness and resurrected life in Jesus Christ, you are a new creation and have been made righteous in God's eyes. Moreover, in Genesis 1:28, God tells Adam and Eve to be 'fruitful and multiply', however, He is not telling t...

In the world today, we see oncoming storms in almost every area of life: war, disease, hurricanes and famine to name just a few. But, if you have Jesus Christ in your life and you recognize Him as Lord, you are blessed in Him regardless of your circumstances. In Ephesians 1:3, Paul writes that God promises an abundance of spiritual blessings to those who will humble themselves by receiving and believing in the finished works of Jes...

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1:15-23, the apostle prayed that the people of Ephesus might come into a greater knowledge of their salvation through Jesus Christ. The word "know" comes from the Greek word, "ginóskó", which means "to have a complete understanding" or "to be definite about".  To "know" is also to have a relationship with the "knower".  Do you need a stronger understanding, or "ginóskó", of God's Word in y...

The word "dynamic" literally means "explosive".  God wants us to be "dynamite" Christians bringing the Word to an unbelieving world as well as be powerful in our own faith. Acts, chapters one and two, tell the miraculous story of the Pentecost and God's gift of the Holy Spirit to all who wish to be born again under the saving blood of Jesus Christ.  A dynamic Christian is one who has the power of the Holy Spirit operating in their ...

Paul and Silas were on their second missionary journey when they came upon many people suffering from the affliction of evil spirits. Paul and Silas cast out those spirits in the name of Jesus Christ, but instead of gratitude, the two apostles were considered a local nuisance and eventually arrested. Although beaten and imprisoned in an unfamiliar place, Paul and Silas continued praising Jesus during their circumstances.  God heard...