Victory247

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  Romans 10:15 (NIV)

We all like to hear ‘good news’. “We are having pizza tonight instead of brussel sprouts”, “school is cancelled due to snow, go ahead and sleep in”, “we got the results back from the doctor and it is nothing serious”.

How about if we heard something completely unexpected? For instance, “An older gentleman stopped by and paid all your bills for the month. He also paid off your credit card debt and all your loans, including your home mortgage”.

Actually, the good news of paying off all our debt is exactly what Jesus did for us. We can’t earn heaven or a full life with God because of our debt of sin; wrongful actions, words and thoughts.

We can have ‘beautiful feet’ if we become the bearer of this ‘good news’. Use “Start the Victory” atop victory247.org, send them the “Rescued” video found under the “Share with Friends” tab. Or simply tell them that Jesus has helped you and can do the same for them.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for canceling my debt when I placed my faith in Christ. Give me the heart to tell others. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”   Romans 8:35 (NIV)

The good news is that this question implies that if we place our faith in Christ (see “Start the Victory atop victory247.org), we can not be separated from God or His loving care. The tough news is that this verse also implies that God doesn’t necessarily prevent hard times from coming into our lives.

The famous poem, “Footprints in the Sand”, we have seen so often that it can lose its impact. But read it again “for the first time”…

-One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you.”

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, carry me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”  Romans 8:32 (NIV)

God seems to be letting us know in this verse to think about what extremes He went through for us. He gave up even His own Son, Jesus, so that we could connect with Him.

So now He is saying that He doesn’t want to stop there. He wants to continue to bless, fulfill and mold us as we lean on Him more and more.

We can’t earn anymore of His love and acceptance, because we have it all already!

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank you that You want to give us ‘all things’. Show me how to receive them and sort through what I really don’t need. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!”    1 Chronicles 16:34 (AMP)

Many of us have experienced a coach, boss, teacher, relative or friend that was not ‘good’. They were out to deceive, manipulate and use whatever and whoever they can to acquire selfish gain. There’s no way they could be trusted for our well-being.

I have seen basketball coaches destroy youngsters’ confidence and desire to play. Those are the coaches who intimidate and publicly embarrass their players to make sure everyone knows it’s not that coach’s fault, and that they are above having to respect others.

In contrast, God is ‘good’. He is looking out for us, listening, not using us as pons, patient, forgiving, working for us, completely worthy of our trust.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I give thanks to You for being ‘good’ and wanting the best for me. Also, thank You that I can depend and rest in You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him”  Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Interesting to note that this verse doesn’t state that all things are ‘good’, but God can work all things ‘for the good’.

As I watched my 4 children grow up, they all went through the “brat” stage. “I want what I want, when I want it!”, seemed to be the toddler motto. Then maturity starts to kick in as they learn to cope with disappointment, punishments, restrictions on desired junk foods, TV, bed times… If left up to them, life would be one big, all night, Captain Crunch fest in front of video games.

Believe me, a healthy bedtime or nutritious meal did not feel like a ‘good thing’.

Many times we become “spiritual brats”. When life doesn’t go our way, we don’t ask God what He is trying to teach us. We tend to run to Him and tell Him to just fix it. Also, our prayer times can be a daily Christmas list of wants, instead of requests to change and mature us. We get angry and frustrated because “I want what I want, when I want it”.

He does want to hear and meet our requested desires. But much more importantly, He wants to mature us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I know You can work all things for my good. Make me and mold me into the blessed and fulfilled person I long to be. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory”  Romans 8:17 (NLT)

When I hear of the the word, ‘heir’, I think of inheriting a bunch of money when a parent or relative passes away (not always the case, yet fun to imagine).

With God we can look to inherit way more than cash. Our Father is the owner of everything. And our co-heir, Jesus, is the one who died to get us this major inheritance; heaven, Holy Spirit, abundant life…

I will never forget the day that the 1980 US hockey team shocked the world by upsetting the seemingly invincible Russians. They even made a movie out of it aptly titled, “Miracle”.  I watched the game on tape delay with most of the country. But I had some extreme inside info that 99.9% of the watchers did not know. I new the outcome.

I watched that game with no stress, no throwing my shoe at the TV, no yelling at the refs, and especially, no fear of defeat. It was relaxed enjoyment and exhilaration throughout the game.  I knew we would win, and it was all going to work out in the end.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, let the fact that I will win in the end drastically effect how I approach my job, people, family and tough times. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“…the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father”  Romans 8:15 (NIV)

When we accept Christ (see “Start the Victory” atop victory247.org) the Holy Spirit comes into us. Then, as this verse points out, we are ‘adopted’ by God as one of His children. The second part of the verse drives home the type of relationship that we are adopted into.

I remember watching a famous movie, “The Sound of Music”. At the beginning, the father, Captain Von Trapp was very proper with his house full of children. He wasn’t mean to them, just strict and distant. Then he meets free spirited Maria (I had the biggest crush on the young Julie Andrews for years because of this role).

Predictable, yet classic, the stuffy love striken Captain melts into a soft hearted and very relational “daddy”.

The word ‘Abba’ means just that; daddy.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank you that You want to be close to me. Help me to talk to You and learn from You as a child to a loving ‘daddy’. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“If people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace”  Romans 8:6 (New Century Version)

As we go throughout our day there seems to be a voice going on inside of our heads. It is referred to as our “thought life”. Within that thinking is what I like to call “self talk”.

Most people don’t give much thought able their thought life (wow, wrap your mind around that one), they just let it happen.

The challenge in this verse is to think quick prayers and snap out of bad thinking patterns of self pity, complaining, hate or even sexual lust. We can “self talk” ourselves into destructive living. Or we can, as often as possible, ask God to get our thoughts back on track. Then the result is ‘life and peace’!

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, make me aware of my thought life. Remind me to depend on You for good self talk, and to be talking to You inside my thoughts. I want the ‘life and peace’ You are offering. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”  Romans 6:23 (NIV)

A ‘wage’ is the pay or result we get from our efforts. So, if we live a life with no regard for our wrongful actions and words, ‘sin’, then we earn a life of decaying character and separation from God, ‘death’.

In contrast, the next part of this verse has nothing to do with our efforts or performance. A true ‘gift’ can’t be earned or deserved. Think about it! God wants to hand us ‘eternal life’ by placing our trust in what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Eternal life isn’t just a length of life, heaven after we die. It is also a quality of life right now. If we hand over our life to Him, He will keep handing us fulfillment and blessing.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for the ‘gift’ of eternal life. Help me to sin less and continually hand my concerns, desires and life direction over to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires”   Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Making right choices in today’s culture can be difficult. “If it feels good, do it”, seems to be the accepted approach to life.

We have two major issues we need to battle against. First, our own ‘desires’ to please ourselves in spite of what is right and honorable. Secondly, most people can think you are weird for not “just going for it”.

There was a strong Christian professor that tells how he saw a bumper sticker that stated; “If it feels good, do it”. Because he has seen many people hurt and ruined by living out that philosophy, he so badly wanted to ram into that car. When the person gets out of the car and asks, “What did you do that for”? He would to say, “Because it felt good”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to fight bad desires and peer pressure so to make the choices that lead to Your blessings and fulfillment. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.