Victory247

“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.

“I will confess my wrongdoings. And You forgive the guilt of my sin” Psalm 32:5

I can clearly recall an incident that happened when I was a little ten year old boy. My friends and I were playing basketball in a neighbors driveway. The ball took a bad bounce and hit the antenna of their parked car.

The first instinct of little boys is to avoid punishment by running from the scene. So, nine little gutless wannabe NBA stars fled, and one stayed. Me. As I approached the front house door with antenna in hand, I thought to myself, “what in the world has gotten into me?”

The mom came to the door, and I will never, ever forget her reaction. Instead of ripping into me, she said how proud she was of me. She called my mom to tell her the story. You see, she saw the whole thing transpire through the window.

I think I wanted to confess because the guilt would eat me up. I knew that this would have been a big investigation and I would have to lie.

Their are times that we “run” after a wrongdoing, habitual sin, or offensive act to someone. We think, like the little boys did, that we can run to avoid getting blamed. But guilt will track us down. We then run from guilt, and our lives turn to activities that help us not think about it. But it finds us eventually.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the “guts” to pick up the “antenna” and admit my mistakes and wrongdoings to You and others. I want the freedom from guilt and freedom to receive Your many blessings. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love”  Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

When we hear that we have freedom, it lends to the thinking that we can do whatever we feel like doing. Instead, that thinking leads to a restricted and unfulfilled existence.

Back in the ol’ college days, a group of 8 of us guys rented a condo in Florida. I remember looking around the place after just two days, realizing that we exercised our “freedom”, and junked up the whole place. The kitchen was so filled with trash that we couldn’t cook. We had to hurdle stuff to get around the family room. Our “freedom” made it an annoying hassle to exist in that messy, smelly living space. It wasn’t until we cleaned up that we could relax again.

Same in our own lives. God wants us to be free, but freedom doesn’t work well with indulgence. An out-of-control area of our personal lives can place bondage and restrictions on us. Freedom comes by following God’s principles, confessing those troubled areas to Him, asking for His strength, and “serving one another”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I want freedom and enjoyment. Help me to make good choices. Show me how to depend on You so that You can guide me into a full life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? …But love your enemies, do good to them. Then your reward will be great”   Luke 6:32-35

When we know that somebody likes us, it is easier to like them. If someone has always helped us, we find it a pleasure to give to them. But, if we know a person who doesn’t like us, then we tend to not like them. If someone is usually selfish at our expense, it is really hard to want to help them in their time of need.

Dealing with difficult people and relationships can drive us to pleas for help from God. And often times, pleas of being forgiven because of our response to those difficult people.

Only God can create in us an ability to cope or deal with certain relationships. I feel that God uses these to move us into a more dependent bond with Him. We can evaluate how our faith-walk is going by how we are doing in this area of life.

Today’s verse tells us that when we make progress in dealing with these relationships, that our “reward will be great”! Not only in heaven, but in our daily inner peace and experience.

When I was a young basketball coach I easily got mad at the refs for making calls that went against my team, got angry at the players that didn’t perform to my expectations, and held bitterness toward opposing coaches, fans, and players. Until I learned to deal with this, with a lot of God’s help, I was miserable all season.

I learned to ask parents, players, coaches, and friends to pray for me and the players for a stronger dependence on Him. As I prayed more and grew in my faith, I could see myself handling people so much better. I actually began to truly enjoy coaching and all the relationships that go with it. I even have friends that are referees! My “reward was great”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to confess all my bitter and negative feelings toward others. Help me to care even if they don’t care for me. Keep convincing me that my reward is great. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”  Luke 17:15-17 (NIV)

There were ten men who were healed by Jesus of a horrible, skin eating disease called leprosy. All ten were thrilled when they realized they were cured, but only one came back to thank Him.

I’m sure that Jesus didn’t heal these guys just for some strokes and a ‘thank you’. The important thing He seems to want us to get from this event is the importance of a thankful, unselfish heart.

When my own children were little kids, my wife and I never expected a ‘thank you’ when we gave them something. We took care of them irregardless of any ‘thank you’s’.  As they get older, I can see a maturity develop. When we hear ‘thanks dad for the ride’, or ‘thanks mom for the haircut’, it isn’t expected. But it is great to hear. Not because we need the affirmation, instead we are thrilled to see that they have developed the critical characteristic of appreciation.

I always get a kick out of the parents that drag their children up to another adult that did something for them, like a sleepover or prepared a meal, and throw out the line; “what do you say to Mr. Joseph?” Then I hear the ‘heart felt’, externally pressured response of, “thank you” (as the kids are looking either into the sky, at their own parent, or down at my feet).

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, ingrain in me an attitude of appreciation. Teach me to thank others, especially those I can take for granted. Help me to recognize the things You do for me, then to “come back” and truly thank You. I want to bless You with those words of gratitude that You long to hear from us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God”  Psalm 10:4 (NIV)

‘Wicked’ is a pretty intense word used here. I don’t consider myself ‘wicked’ when I go several days without seeking God, but the point being made here is well taken. He wants so badly to bless us that it seems to make Him frustrated when we don’t seek, and think about Him.

We need to pay attention to what we think about. We need to take on a second set of eyes to watch and evaluate the thoughts that stream through our minds. I’m convinced that the more “room for God” that we make, the more fulfilled He is able to make us. Our mind is vital, and is a serious battlefield if we choose to allow God and His principles to invade it. He can redirect how we view others, enjoyment, our direction and purpose, how special we are to Him, raising a family, dealing with hard times and hurtful people…

A classic scene on Spongebob with his goofy Starfish buddy stating; “The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma [thought bubble for Patrick shows a carton of milk tipping over and spilling]. The ever-messing up sidekick shows his thoughts of failures and mistakes, then lives them out.

“Making room for God” entails taking time to read devotions and the Bible, listening to faith-filled teachers, thinking about God and His ways, confessing thoughts of hate, lust, and self pity, then praying for His thoughts to infect our minds. Nobody can do this all at once. Just beginning the process is the key, then slowly building good thinking habits. And when we go awhile without any attempts of “room for God”, start over!

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I know their is a battle for my mind. Help me to keep starting this process over of “making room” and continuing to figure out Your thoughts laid out in Your bible. Allow me to allow You to impact my thinking. I want that true fulfillment that only You can bring. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

The wording ‘Do your best‘ seems to be telling us that we aren’t expected to be perfect, just going in that direction. I know for me it’s almost like two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back…

One thing that helps me “go in that direction” and  grow closer to God, is reading the bible and continually trying figure out how it’s suppose to work in my daily life. ‘The word of truth’ referred to in today’s verse is mainly contained in the writings of the bible. But what is meant by ‘handling it’?…

One day a student brought mercury to school, which is very dangerous and illegal. I’m pretty sure this kid knew that. The school is suppose to evacuate. I guess mercury, if ‘handled’ and touched with bare hands can absorb into the bloodstream as a fatal poison.

In the same way, handling the ‘word of truth’ by reading, pondering, studying, and figuring how to apply it, will absorb into the bloodstream of our character, and flow into our hearts.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, prod me to handle Your Words more and more. Penetrate Your truths into my heart and soul. Thank You for the blessings that will result. 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 call “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 wreckless behavior of fighting, stealing, drugs, and truancy could lead to the State Penn.

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 they show them 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 abilities instead of doing graffiti.

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.

“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 He 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.

“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him”  Nahum 1:7 (NIV)

Nahum was a prophet, preacher of truth, back in the Old Testament days. His name means “comfort, consolation”, which is symbolic of the message he proclaimed. His intent was to comfort and console the afflicted people of Judah.

There are many times when we need to be comforted. Times that we need to regroup and get a good perspective on the struggles we are going through.

Realizing that God is good and worthy of our trust makes it easier to go to Him in prayer. Better than a caring and close friend, we can allow Him to console us. To talk through our hardships. It may not be an instant fix, but if we continually place our tough situations or difficult circumstances at His feet, we will find refuge.

Being honest and very specific in talking with anyone, makes the relationship more intimate and meaningful. It’s the same with God, be honest and specific, and convinced that He really cares.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I give You my hardships and difficult isssues. Comfort and console me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.