Let's Play The Victory Game

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
Psalm 60:12

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame.
Psalm 44:7

God is asking us to see the victory that he is bringing us continuously. Let God define victory. Let him describe it to you. Taste it. Remember it. Watch for it. Expect it. Today, and each day from now on will be a day filled with victory. When you can't see the victory then ask God, "Where is the victory in this?" He will show you. It will be great fun. Come on. It's time to defeat the enemy and walk in victory.

We Are Risen With Jesus!

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Isaiah 8:19b

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Luke 24:1-6a

I am becoming very aware that there is a part of me that is my own worst enemy. It believes the lies, is intimidated by the opinion of man, and walks in constant shame and defeat. This part is very vocal and drags me down and confuses me. Sometimes it is yelling so loud that I can't even hear God. I am becoming aware that this part of me is dead. It was crucified with Christ. It no longer lives. Why should I listen to it? "The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God." I do not live by faith in this crucified self. I am being asked by God to turn and hope only in him. I am sure the angels are singing. God is throwing a party. I am waking up to the fact that I am no longer dead. I am risen with Jesus. Hallelujah!

God Wants To Lead You To Unexplored Territories

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:16

He will lead you on paths you have never considered. Lay down your agenda and follow him. He has plans for you that you do not know, that no one knows. You feel safe in the explored territories. God wants to take you to unexplored territories. Look at Christopher Columbus. He had a plan, but God took him somewhere new that he didn't even know was a possibility. God wants to take you on a journey of hope. Let him take your hand and lead you to freedom.

God Never Gives Up On You

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. Hosea 2:14-15

Francine Rivers wrote a book with Hosea in mind. She writes of a prostitute that gets rescued and is married to a good man. All she knows is prostitution. She doesn't know what true love is or what a healthy relationship between a man and a woman looks like. The man is good to her and teaches her of true love. Even when she runs back into prostitution, he brings her home again and loves her all the more. Eventually she starts to get it. She starts to understand and receive love.

This is what I feel like is happening to me today. Somehow God is getting through. I have been clueless of true love and what God expects from me. I am starting to get it. I am being set free from my old way of thinking. I am being set free to love and be loved.

Step Back Into God's Arms

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

Step back into God's arms. Taste and see that he truly is good. Watch the good work that he is doing. Trust that he is in control and that he is doing a good work in the lives of those that you pray for, including yourself. It's too big for you, this job that you undertake, this job of controlling the world around and within you. Step back and know God's love. See the joy and love on his face when he looks at you. See the hope in his eyes. He has great things planned for you. He won't let you down. He will be by your side through everything. He will hide you under the shadow of his wing. He will not forsake you.

There Is More

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37

For years I have been praying with two wonderful friends. Over and over, God keeps saying to us, "There is more." We always tell him that we want this "more" that he is referring to. Sometimes we can guess what he is talking about and sometimes we haven't a clue.

The "more" that he has for me today is that I matter. I matter more than conquering obesity, addictions, a dirty house, debt, and circumstances that are defeating and discouraging. On the other hand, I matter so much that these things must be conquered. I saw a picture of an exhausted athlete, lying on the ground panting. His coach has been training him and pushing him beyond his comfort zone again and again. Breathlessly, he asks, "Tell me again, why we are doing this?"
The coach answers, "Because you matter."

He pushes me to conquer because I matter. On the other hand, he wants me to know that I matter more than conquering.

"We are more than conquerors." To some it would seem that I am taking this scripture out of context. But in reality, I am seeing this scripture in a deeper way than I ever have before. I am seeing the "more." I used to think that it only meant that Jesus helps us to be super good at conquering. Now I know that not only is this true, but it also means that we have more worth to God than whether we conquer or not.

A Shelter From The Storm

LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 25:1-8