Are you living in spiritual poverty? You don’t have to …

Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, used to tell this story of a famous oil field called Yates Pool …

“During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy. Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract. At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day. And Mr. Yates owned it all! The day he purchased the land, he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he’d been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He didn’t know the oil was there, even though he owned it. Many Christians live in spiritual poverty. They are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, but they are not aware of their birthright.”

Are you one of those Christians living in spiritual poverty?

Many Christians live as if surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ and entering into a covenant relationship with Him has no real effect. They act as if they’re obtaining safety for the coming Judgment Day, and little else.

But a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ is supposed to be deeply impactful personally, with the follower of Christ experiencing an ongoing inner transformation that has very real results internally and externally.

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God,” Ephesians 3:16-19.

Your covenant relationship with Jesus Christ is the most life-changing, enriching, and enabling experience you will ever have. How different could 2024 be for you if you tapped into your “spiritual birthright” by trusting Jesus Christ? How different could your life be if you just drilled down into God’s love for you?

Scotty