Victory247

“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts”   Philippians 3:15

I was trying to cancel the last day of a 4 day hotel reservation as soon as I realized I only needed 3 days. Well, the booking service that I went through would only allow me to drop that last day for a larger fee than the price of the room. I calmly debated why they should make an exception to their policy due to the fact that I use their service all the time.

They would not budge. I really wanted to say some very harsh things to them, but choose to end the phone call. My flesh felt unsatisfied because I didn’t rip into them. But my deep inside “peace” was still in tact. I arrived to the hotel and the guy at the check in desk realized I only needed 3 days and mentioned that he will talk to the outside booking service for me and try to get me out of it. He eventually did pull through for me. I’m sure that service company wouldn’t have been so willing if I would have “vented” on them.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to walk in “peace” with You and with those around me, so that I can have Your inner peace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“I urge you to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among unbelievers that they may see your good deeds and glorify God” 1 Peter 2:11-12

Today’s verse alludes to sinful (wrongful actions, thoughts, and words) desires as something we shouldn’t take lightly. They “WAR” against our souls. These desires usually aren’t thought through, but are reactions or impulses. The urge to yell at someone who annoys us, the urge to gossip about someone we are competing with, the urge to watch a show with way too much skin exposed, to buy that ultra-sized snickers bar at the gas station, to watch too much TV instead of quality time with key people and God, to buy more at the mall then our budget permits, urges to hate, use, or lie to others…

It is worth going to war with sinful desires. It is a show of faith in God. It opens us up to His strength and strong character to flow in us. Our sinful desires are traps of impulses that give short term satisfaction, yet long term inner-erosion. We will lose battles, but reentering the war, and not giving up, is worth it.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld talks about the Swiss having an interesting army. “Five hundred years without a war. Pretty impressive. Also pretty lucky for them. Ever see that little Swiss Army knife they have to fight with? Not much of a weapon there. Corkscrews. Bottle openers. Come on, buddy, let’s go. You get past me, the guy in back of me, he’s got a spoon. Back off. I’ve got the toe clippers right here.”

Unlike the Swiss, we have some pretty powerful and effective weapons at our disposal in God. He wants us to keep asking for His strength to fight those battles, and to continue to confess and start over when we fail.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, keep convincing me that entering the war against our wrongful desires is worth it. Give me the power to win, and the humility to confess and start over when I lose. Thank You for the blessings that will follow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“…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 2016 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.

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

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. This is where we see the real truth about ourselves, bringing 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)

“Got worry?” To worry means to allow something to revolve in your mind over and over again. God doesn’t want us to live worried or anxious about anything. He knows that worry steals our inner peace and joy. It affects every area of our life. We’ve all heard the saying, “Don’t worry yourself sick?” That’s because worrying affects our physical body. It affects our sleep. For the athlete, worry hinders performance. The good news is that God has promised that we can have victory over worry. It starts by making the choice to trust Him with our concerns by admitting our issues, and handing them over to Him. When we cast our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), He will give us His peace.
We can decide today to allow God to help us battle worry in our lives. Then choose to feed our faith and fill your minds with God’s promises that we learn in the bible, talking to faith-filled friends, and through sermons, devotionals, and teachings. This will drive out worry and fill our hearts with faith and expectancy; and we’ll be empowered to move forward into the life of blessing He has in store for us!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father, today I choose to hand over to You and Your help with worry in my life. I choose to feed my faith by thinking about and studying Your teachings. 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 a trust in God as fulfilled individuals.

All of us have garbage in our lives that prevents us in being completely fulfilled. When we walk with God as Moses did, we will experience difficult times. Through these times 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.