Victory247

“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands”  Deuteronomy 8:2 (NIV)

When Moses and the people of Israel went through the desert to get to the Promised Land, it was very difficult. They all learned a lot about themselves and their faith. Each person could have turned back. But anyone who chose to stick it out entered a great place. But more importantly, they developed a trust in God as fulfilled individuals.

All of us have garbage in our lives that prevent us in being completely fulfilled. When we walk with God as Moses did, we will go through difficult times. Through them He will show us our weaknesses and bad perspectives. I guess we could say, ‘He brings to light our dark side’. I heard a preacher once state, “get in touch with your own darkness when going through hell, but don’t stop there. Use the tough time”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the strength to endure the hard times. Use those times to help me deal with my exposed weaknesses. Develop me into the fulfilled person You intended me to be. Thank You that You continue to forgive me and allow me to start over. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities… so great is His love… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”  Psalm 103:10-12 (NIV)

God isn’t out to get us, or waiting around the punish us. Some choose to parent or coach with that type of philosophy. But our Lord chooses to give us room to fail and start over. Sure, we can be corrected by Him, or experience the pain and scars of poor choices. Yet He wants us to learn from our mistakes and realize that He won’t hold them against us.

When we confess our wrongful actions and words, He puts them ‘as far as the east is from the west’ (back then I think they still thought the earth was flat). In other words, completely out of sight and mind. Gone!

There are harsh, self-imposed consequences to continual and habitual sinning. But He wants us to break that cycle and begin to confess and ask for His help. Then He won’t ‘treat us as our sins deserve’. He doesn’t expect us to be sinless, but to sin less. Going in the right direction, and not beating ourselves up in guilt.

We confess, He tells us, “okay, that’s gone. Don’t feel guilty, just keep working on it”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for not treating me as my sins deserve. Give me the strength to keep growing. I can’t do this, but You can. I know this battle is so worth it. Thank You for the fulfillment that will follow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe”  Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)

I was taking a basketball coaching class on-line. There was a statement made that jumped out at me. It said,”Just like dealing with the weather, smart players don’t complain, they adjust”. It made me wonder about how I handle my daily routine. If I encounter a problem or delay, do I complain or do I adjust? If I am mistreated, do I complain or adjust?

When things don’t play out as we plan on, our expectations are rattled. We usually respond with a harsh complaint. The “I-just-need-to-vent” mentality is excepted in our culture, in our ‘generation’. But, two things happen when we choose to adjust instead of complain. First, our inner peace and joy stays in tact. Stress and inner turmoil can tear us up, impact who we are, and will “eat our lunch”. Secondly, not complaining will make you stick out like a sore thumb. It is rare to witness someone have their expectations not met, and see them respond with grace and control. You will ‘shine like a star’ in the vast nighttime sky.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, when my expectation of how things should go is not met, please remind me to call out for Your strength and composure. Thank You that you will develop my insides, and meet my outside needs. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps”  Proverbs 14:15 (NIV)

At times it seems that we just go through our “day to day” and go along with the crowd, floating through our routines. God cares about our daily grind, and He wants to weave into it!

A basketball coach will go home after a game and watch the game again on video. This video session helps him focus on what his team did and didn’t do well. That way he can prepare a good practice for his team to correct specific flaws and build on strengths.

We need to daily have ‘video sessions’ with God. Quietly talking to to Him and reflecting on our day. The nice thing is that we don’t have to make the adjustments on our own. And it’s refreshing to gratefully focus on the good things about our relationships, possessions and events.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to make time to sit down with You in prayer. Show me what to confess and give me the strength to change. Remind me of the things I can be thankful for. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God”  Genesis 6:9 (NIV)

When I was first married I tried to think of creative dates to take my new bride on. If I couldn’t think of anything, there was always going to a good movie. I remember her telling me that a great date for her would be to just go on a walk with me. Not only was that inexpensive, it made sense. She wanted to walk and talk, so we could get to know each other better.

Walking together is a very good time to get to know and learn from another. Going to a movie is merely watching other people on a screen. There is no real communication going on.

Walking with God is a way to say that we are acknowledging His presence as we stroll through our daily routine, while chatting with Him intermittently.

Also, there are times when we can actually get away and take a walk. Those can be great times to pour out our hearts, share concerns, ask for guidance, and talk to Him about others. Those walks are especially great times to listen to what He has to say to us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, teach me how to truly walk with You. Teach me how to listen to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Consider it joyful whenever you encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and patience”  James 1:2-3 (Amplified Bible)

Do we view trials, hard times and temptations, as OBSTACLES in the way of our happiness. Or are they actually OPPORTUNITIES for our growth and development?

We are told to ‘consider it joyful’, a strange response to trials and temptations. We would rather all situations went very smoothly. We would rather that no one got in our way. But life is filled with disappointments and there will always be those who will be irritants to us. We cannot rule and order our lives, as we would have it.

If we did, we would become spoiled and pompous. Wanting all circumstances to yield to our gratification. Wanting everybody to bow and submit. Doesn’t happen that way. And so for our development, trials and temptations are necessary.

So the next time something goes wrong, ask the question, “Is this an OBSTACLE or an OPPORTUNITY?“. And keep in mind, not only can complaining turn these OPPORTUNITIES back into OBSTACLES, but also complaining can infect us with debilitating bitterness.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me not to be angry at situations and people if they go against my expectation. Give me the strength to use and endure those “OPPORTUNTIES” so that I can grow and mature. Turn my complaining into praying. Thank you for the blessings that will follow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me”  (Psalm 18:20 NIV)

As a young boy, I remember smelling the aroma of my mother’s home cooking drifting through our house. I would be watching Batman or Bugs Bunny anticipating that magical call of “come and get it, dinner is ready”. I would hop up and walk all the way over to the TV to turn it off (no remotes back then). Plopping down in my kitchen chair, salivating and stomach growling, the dreaded question was always asked; “Did you wash your hands?” 

I could have lied, and probably did at times, but the wine of the word “why” probably made her want to slug me. At the time it didn’t make sense to me. I wasn’t handling kryptonite, and Superman wasn’t eating with us anyway (though I have to admit, at times I did come to the table with my ‘towel-cape’ and the mighty man of steel’s pajamas).

Studies today show how important it is to wash our hands, not only before a meal, but throughout the day. Our hands are great tools, and pick up many types of germs that can bring illness. With God, staying “clean” is always for our own good. Many times we may not understand “why”, but if we ‘wash our hands’ through admitting our wrongs to Him, He can help us grab ahold of blessings that He longs to give us. Or if we ‘keep our hands clean’ by making good choices, even when others around us aren’t, He promises to reward us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the strength to make “right” choices, and the wisdom to admit my wrongs to You. Thank You for the ‘rewards’ that will follow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“I am the good shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep”  John 10:11-13

Jesus is talking about Himself being a “good shepherd”. A shepherd that truly cares about us. A shepherd that doesn’t only protect us, but one that wants to meet our needs because others can’t, and eventually won’t.

There are times that we feel that others don’t really care. We feel that way because they can’t. Sure they care to a point, but we can’t expect to get all our needs met by people. They can meet some needs, but people have a selfish bent, so ultimately it’s beyond human ability.

Then there are times that others expect us to meet all their needs. We can try, but it’s too heavy a task. We can’t completely care about others, and we can’t expect others to completely care about us. We are trapped in this selfish body that yearns to meet our own needs.

The famous old comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, made a living talking about others not caring. His catch phrase, “I get no respect”, became a household saying. He tells of the time he was drowning and yelling out, HELP! HELP! The lifeguard ran over and said, “Alright buddy, keep it down, you’re being too loud, keep it down”.  Or the time he told his wife that they need a home improvement loan. Then she gave him $1000 to move out. No respect.

The main idea behind today’s verse is not to avoid letting those around us help with emotional, physical, or even financial needs. But God wants our main “NEED-MEETING” source to be Him.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I know You deeply care about me. Help me to tap into Your “NEED-MEETING” resources by taking the time to know You and ask You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart”  2 Timothy 2:22 (NIV)

‘Flee’ doesn’t mean to just not partake in impure desires, it means to turn the other way and RUN! I heard a saying that rings in my head every time I’m watching a movie that maybe shows too much skin, or I’m hanging around with guys who are being dishonest and unethical. That saying is; “If you don’t want to sin, stay out of sin’s orchard”. It’s like when we are trying to lose weight, it’s not good to hang out at a Dairy Queen.

Partaking in the ‘evil desires of youth’ will destroy our hearts, our character and our peace. Instead, pursue God’s stuff and we will develop that inner fulfillment and joy.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the strength to FLEE. Also, to be convinced that wrongful choices are never worth it. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

“Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss”  Judges 20:16 (NIV)

These men were called upon to fight for the Israelite army. I guarantee that these soldiers didn’t “just happen” to be good at the sling shot. It must have taken years of training and practice. Today we expect things to come easily and quickly, with very little extra effort.

To be great at a craft or sport, we need this type of focus that is accompanied by lots of sweat, training and practice. We can ask God to build this into us.

But more importantly, we need to take the time to train our spiritual side. We need to study and think about the bible and it’s principles. Memorize it. Spend extra time talking to God(see “prayer tab” at victory247.org). Plead with God to get us out of harmful habits. Ask Him continually to give us strength to live well. Confess wrongs, then move forward…

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to make the time to train in my craft, sport, occupation, and especially in my faith -walk with You. Thank You for the blessings that will result. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.