Victory247

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”   Matthew 5:5 (NIV)

The word ‘meek’ was used to depict the Roman horse. These horses were big with rippling muscles. They had the power and girth to trample and reek serious havoc if they were to run wild amongst the village. But they were very tame and obedient to the rider.

The common feeling we get from hearing the word ‘meek’ is a timid, feeble being that cowers into a corner. But Jesus was referring to the Roman horse, massive strength that is under control.

Most of us go through times when our lives seem to be spinning out of control. We get too busy and too overwhelmed with responsibilities. As we try to control our tail spin, something side tracks or side swipes us. We scramble to get organized, but we realize we need to take time to sleep and eat. Friends, spouses, children, family get neglected, which creates even more spinning.

The last thing we think we have time to do is the first thing that we need to do. Meet with God. Give Him our concerns, struggles, and time management. Stop the bleeding by sitting at His feet with requests and pleas of dependence. Then whisper prayers throughout the day.

As we depend on God and His Holy Spirit for our daily strength and character, we have massive power to stop the frantic tail spin, live life well, and even have time left over to help others.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to depend on You moment by moment, so that You can instill meekness into me; controlled strength. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense”  Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)

We have heard the saying, “expect the unexpected”. That can be good, but I would like to also suggest that we “expect the expected”.

Sports coaches, players, and fans should expect that the refs will make at least a few bad calls. Spouses can’t be surprised when (not “if”) something is said that is hurtful. Parents shouldn’t go into shock when their teenager does something stupid. Friends need to be aware that they will get offended by selfishness. Teachers can’t be taken back when a student turns on them…

The key is to have a plan. There are times we need to let an offense slide by. There are times that offenses need to be addressed. But if we are ready (expecting, praying in advance and right after), our reactions to offenses can be much more productive. Offenses can actually help us develop our personal character and our “patience muscle”.

We need to watch our reactions this week. Reactions are good indicators on how we are doing. It is worth it to use these hurtful moments to allow God to grow our character and patience. How we approach this can be a relationship builder, or a relationship killer.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me Your strength to handle offenses. Use them to develop me. Prepare me to expect the expected, and to tap into You for my reactions. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”  Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)

It’s amazing how every person is unique. Today’s verse says that God created us with a certain body, pattern of thinking, emotional wiring, skills, and talents.

Our culture tries to convince us that we start reaching our full potential as a human if we make a lot of money, or perform as a top athlete. I personally know men who have a terrible quality of life, have few friends, offensive, and grumpy, but they still are convinced that they are better than someone who makes less money. They have learned how to make a wealthy living, but don’t know how to live. Both are possible, but not essential for a full life.

I once coached a 7th grade basketball team. Tryouts were taking place to pick the top 12 players. The other 14 kids who got cut felt like they were losers. Their esteem was shaken. Value is placed on athletic skill. I know that several of those “cut” young men are quality individuals, but feel less of a person then those who made the team.

It seems unfair, but there is only room for so many players. The blessing is that those “cut” guys can now have more time to find a niche in life that better fits them. Actually, making the team could stunt their growth.

We do the same thing. Failure can be God’s way of humbling us and redirecting us. One person defined success as; “going from failure to failure and not losing your enthusiasm”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, don’t let my culture define my value and worth. You see me as valuable. Help me to see through Your eyes what and who You want me to be. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“There was a rich man who lived in luxury. At his gate was a poor man named Lazarus who died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side (Heaven). The rich man also died. In Hell he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ Abraham replied, “between us and you is a great chasm, so that those who want to go across cannot. He answered, ‘Then I beg you to send Lazarus to my family to warn them of this place of torment.’”  Luke 16:19-28 

Jesus is telling a story about two men who died. I think one was rich and one was poor to illustrate that what we have in this lifetime doesn’t compare to what we have in eternity. I know He wasn’t condemning wealth and condoning poverty. He just used that to help drive home the point.

I was watching a show called “Beyond Scared Straight”. They take kids who are on the road to going to prison someday. The program starts out showing these kids thinking that going to prison wasn’t that big of a deal, so they didn’t care that their reckless behavior of fighting, stealing, drugs, and truancy could lead to the State Pen.

These kids are taken to an actual prison. They go through the whole process, and get “talked to” by the inmates and employees. During the course of the show you can see the kids go from cocky to completely intimidated and afraid. At the end of the show they give footage of the kids back home with a whole new outlook on life. They started going to school again, staying out of trouble, and one kid even used his artistic graffiti abilities for the good.

If God, Jesus and heaven are real, then hell is real. Thinking about hell at times can actually give us a better perspective on our lives and how we use our time. If you are unsure of your eternal destiny, read “Start the Victory” atop victory247.org. If you are concerned for another, show it to them. It could change a life and an eternity for someone.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for rescuing me from a horrible torment. Use me to lead others to Your gift of heaven. Make my life a blessing. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you”    Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

When I was a kid I remember this verse being called the “Golden Rule”. It almost became just a trite saying. It wasn’t until I got older that I put thought and effort into applying this to daily life.

When dealing with others we need to ask, “how would I want to be handled?”, “how would I want to be talked to?”…we basically need to put ourselves into their shoes. Try to look at our interactions through their eyes. It’s being ‘others-oriented’ instead of  ‘self-oriented’.

When we walk into a room, are we thinking; “Here I am everyone”. Or; “There you are”.

The more we ask for God’s strength and strive to be ‘others-oriented’, the more He can invade, effect and impact our lives. He will keep blessing us so that we can bless others. Or we could even say that if we bless others, He will bless us (what came first, the chicken or the egg?).

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the strength and faith to be ‘others-oriented’. Renew my thinking as I interact with people. Remind me to put on their shoes. Thank You for the blessings that will follow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped” Psalm 28:7 (NASB)

When I think of a ‘shield’, my mind wanders back to my youth watching great battle scenes with knights, lances, big swords, and whatever that ball with spikes attached to a swinging chain is called. The ‘shield’ was protection.

Occasionally, I come across a particular scenario that I find very humorous. An adult man holding a woman’s purse for her. “Awkward!”. He has to make sure that he grasps it like he doesn’t really care about the purse, the loaf of bread hold is my favorite.

She is basically saying, “You are someone I can completely trust to protect this bag of valuable stuff. She knows he will be a shield to all snatchers and thieves.

We all need a shield of protection with our insecurities, self-worth, frustrations, secret fears, and hurts. God wants us to hand Him our “purse of stuff”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to open up to You and continually hand You my “valuable stuff”. I know You are always there to be my help. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. After the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city”  Acts 14:19-20 (NIV)

Paul was speaking and ministering to the people in Lystra. The fickle crowd went from wanting to worship Paul, to being persuaded to throw stones at him. Sounds like Ohio State football, or Philadelphia baseball fans.

I can picture Paul lying on the ground with blood, bruises, and broken bones. They thought he was dead. He came back to consciousness, stood up, and went back into the city! He had a mission, a focus, a goal, a passion, and a lot of guts. I’m sure he didn’t feel like going back in, but he did.

There are days we know what we need to do, but we are pummeled. Hit by figurative stones from bosses, friends, co-workers, neighbors, enemies, illness…, and the heaviest stones from those we love. We feel bloody, bruised, and broken. We don’t feel like moving forward, we want to escape, sulk, complain, fight, or just quit.

How did Paul do it? Why did he go back in? He had the right perspective that life is a side-issue compared to eternity. Time is short, and he is just passing through to a great place. He also tapped into God’s strength. The prayer,“I can’t, but Lord, You can”, needs to be paramount in our minds. Feelings didn’t control Paul. His perspective, mission, and God’s energy did.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I can’t, but You can. Give me Your perspective and energy. Thank You for heaven. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD”  Jeremiah 17:5 (NIV)

Webster’s dictionary definition of cursed; “being under or deserving a curse“. I hate when I look up a word and they use the word or form of the word in the definition. So I’ll look up curse; “a cause of great harm or misfortune”.

So, “being under or deserving a cause of great harm or misfortune” is our destiny if we place our trust in man for security, and depend on our own abilities (flesh) instead of God’s.

Seems like a pretty heavy sentence. We all have that bent for creating a secure place that is self and man made. Then we go out and take care of our own needs. We may not admit it, but we’re looking out for “ol’ number one”. So, are we all doomed?

Yes, based on this Old Testament passage, yes, doomed. That is why Jesus had to come and rescue us (see “Start the Victory” a top victory247.org). After we receive Him, then we have the ability to release the curse. We can depend on Him, ask Him for strength and direction, seek His desire for our lives, walk by His principles, take the time to know Him, and then follow His leading. And BOOYAH, curse broken!

He doesn’t expect that do everything right, just that we are making progress going in the right direct. The chains of “harm and misfortune” fall off.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I want a full life. Help me to depend on You, and dissolve that curse. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…” Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV)

Most of us have heard the saying, “nothing is certain except death and taxes”. Death is one of those issues that we try to avoid thinking about. We even call the death insurance policy ‘life insurance’ instead of what it really is, ‘death insurance’.

I was talking to a friend about his son that had a football coach die. This coach was close to his son, and even considered him a mentor. He told me that this tragic experience took his son a long time to work through emotionally. But once he did, it has drastically effected, in a good way, his whole view on life. Death puts life into perspective.

I was the math student that understood the process better if I started with the answer and worked backwards. In the same way, realizing the fact that “it will be over some day” should help us make better choices, not take things for granted, and appreciate the people in our lives more.

Some may say that “if I’m going to die, why not party my life away?”. I say, “I want people at my funeral who were touched by my life of faith, of helping others, and living right”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You that I can go to heaven when I die because I placed my faith in Christ. Help me to make good decisions based on the perspective that death gives me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols”  Ezekiel 36:25 (NASB)

When I was a young kid, I remember arguing with my parents about having to take a shower. My mind would think, ”what’s the point, I will be dirty again tomorrow anyway”.

Now that I am an adult, a timely shower can refresh my whole outlook on life. Those days when I do some lawn work, do my exercise bike ride, or just merely going outside in the 95 degree heat, can make me feel disgusting.

Going into the house for a shower gives me a completely more relaxing mode then if I depended on the air conditioning.

God wants to give us that refreshment during each day. We can “take a shower” in the middle of any day. Requesting a fresh start blesses Him more than it does us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You that I can confess my wrongful thinking, actions, or words and get a fresh restart. I need cleansing from my apathy and laziness also. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.