Victory247

“…that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God”   Ephesians 3:19 (NASB)

I was noticing some really nice cars as I was driving to work. The thought hit me that even the best cars won’t work without fuel. An older vehicle that is filled with gas is much more useful than the 2012 Saab that is empty. The owner may have the manual memorized and can even rebuild the engine himself. But without gas, he is stuck.

God wants to fill our tanks every day. He longs for us to depend on Him so that He can be our fuel. Many times we try to just work it out with our own resources. That would be like pushing the new car from the rear bumper. It is easier if we get others to help push, but still not better than the gas powered motor.

We merely need to ask God to empower and direct us daily, hourly, and better yet, moment by moment. He wants to honor that prayer. As a matter of fact, that is the foundation to what the bible explains as trust and faith. That is why He left us with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 says, “… be filled with the Spirit”.

A benefit of using this “divine fuel” is that it will turn an old jalopy into a high powered driving machine. The more we fuel up with God, the more He can refurbish our whole being. Inside and out.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, fill me with Your Spirit. Empower me to live my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good”  Proverbs 15:3 (NIV)

Back in the ol’ college days, my roommate and I had a little prank-thing going. One time I had a feeling that he was up to something, probably because I got him good the day before. So I hid in our dorm room closet with a container of water. I could see him creep into our room through the slightly opened closet door. I’ll never forget hearing his little chuckles as he quietly was rigging up my bed with clothes hangers and weights (I never did know where he was going with that). When he least expected it, I loudly jumped out of the closet while hitting him with water. I’m not sure if he was wet from my water or from a bodily function.

The point is that we act differently if we know we are being watched. We would probably not do those “secret sins” that tear up our relationships, mess up our inner peace, and cause us to battle through life with a bond up conscience. He does forgive us continually, but the damage control is tougher for Him if we aren’t striving to put more and more distance between our wrongful actions and words.

On the up-side, knowing that He is watching helps us to know that He understands exactly what we are going through. He is right there to comfort, strengthen and direct us.

Comedian Brian Regan said,“ I would have been a lot better off if I’d studied more when I was growing up. But you know where it all went wrong was the day they started the spelling bee. Because up until that day I was an idiot, but nobody else knew.”

God knows and watches us. And still He truly loves us right through our idiot choices we tend to make.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I know You long to be involved in my life. Thank You that You are patiently watching and waiting for me to confess wrongs, and to call on You more and more for strength, direction and comfort. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“…He who has been forgiven little loves little”  Luke 7:47  (NIV)

Prayer for today

Heavenly Father, thank You for forgiving me and setting me free. In light of that, give me the strength get some victories over my emotions and feelings. I know this battle will be worth entering. Fulfill me so that I can live life to it’s fullest. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart”  Hebrews 12:3 (NIV)

People and circumstances can be very distracting, especially if those people and circumstances are obnoxiously bothersome. When I read today’s verse,  I think about Jesus enduring those people who beat Him with whips, made fun of Him, laughed at Him, and judged Him totally unfair.

He didn’t lose His focus and goal. He kept moving forward. Even when those around Him, who tried to hurt Him, were the ones He walked down that path and hung on a cross for!

Really think about it (‘consider Him’)! A freaking wooden cross, nails, blood, people yelling… And He stayed the course. Undistracted. Not angry, or feeling sorry for Himself.

The thing is, He was God. He had a supernatural inner-strength. And He left us His Holy Spirit so that we can tap into that supernatural strength. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, we can slice through life’s obnoxiously bothersome distractions.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I can’t do this without You. Give me the strength to not ‘grow weary and lose heart’. Bring to my mind what Jesus endured when I am struggling. In His Name. Amen.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 (NIV)

We so often are comparing ourselves with others around us. When we look at their flaws and faults, well, “I’m not too bad”. But when we look at the Lord, that purity, that holiness, that righteousness, we say, “Oh God help me”. That is what ‘poor in spirit’ is. It’s a true evaluation of ourselves, not in the light of man but in the light of God, where we see the real truth about ourselves and it brings us to that, “Oh God I need help”.

Jesus said, really ‘blessed’ or happy is that person. Why? Because he has had a true encounter with God, and as the result, the kingdom of heaven belongs to him. Not just living for the temporary stuff, but for eternal things.

This verse is the first sentence Jesus says as He is beginning the famous “Sermon on the Mount”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You that You love me in spite of my flaws, and thank you that I can be ‘blessed’ (happy) because I communicate with You and encounter You. Keep changing me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life”
 Matthew 6:27 ( NIV)

Are you worrying about something today? To worry means to allow something to revolve in your mind over and over again. God doesn’t want you to live worried or anxious about anything. He knows that worry steals your peace and joy. It affects every area of your life. Have you heard the saying, “Don’t worry yourself sick?” That’s because worrying affects your physical body. It affects your sleep. For the athlete, worry hinders performance. The good news is that God has promised that you can have victory over worry. It starts by making the choice to trust in Him. When you cast your cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), He will give you His peace.
Decide today to put an end to worry in your life. Choose to feed your faith and fill your mind with God’s promises. As you focus on God’s Word, you’ll drive out worry and fill your heart with faith and expectancy; and you’ll be empowered to move forward into the life of blessing He has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father, today I choose to put an end to worry in my life. I choose to feed my faith by studying Your promises and declaring Your Word over my life. Help me to totally trust in You today and every day. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“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 in their trust in God and developed as a fulfilled individual.

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. Thorough them He then 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 the strength to endure the hard times and use them to 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