Tag Archives: victory

August 16, 2013 · 8:12 AM

Your Tomorrow is Coming

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My wife made some comments last night about how the book of Judges ended. I decided to open it up and read there today because it has been a while since I’ve dug through that book. I started in chapter 20 and found something I know I’ve read before, but now have a new perspective on. The story she was referring to was there. An Israelite had been traveling through the country and was in Benjamin’s territory. The men of the city came to them, raped his wife and killed her. He let the other 11 tribes know what happened and they came to his defense.

When the city and tribe of Benjamin wouldn’t give up the men who did this, the other 11 tribes sent word for their armies to come to the city to deal with it. Around 400,000 warriors showed up. They prayed and asked God which tribe should be out front in the attack. God responded with Judah. They went to attack and lost. They came back to God and asked, “Should we attack them again?” God replied, “Yes! Attack them.”

The next day, they went to battle again and got whipped. They came back weeping and crying. They fasted the rest of the day and asked God one more time if they should attack or should they call it quits. God said, “Attack! Tomorrow I’ll give you victory.” They went out the next day just as before. The army of Benjamin came out full force to attack, but this time was different. The army of the 11 tribes was victorious to the point they almost wiped out the entire tribe of Benjamin.

What I saw was that God gave them the go ahead to go into battle and they lost. Twice. They were in the will of God, there was no sin in the camp and they still lost. They didn’t just lose. They were humiliated. Their army of 400,000 was beaten twice by an army of less than 30,000. Plus, they had God on their side telling them to attack and to go into battle. When they went to God each night, He didn’t give them a reason that they lost. He just told them to go attack again. I’m sure their faith was shaken by the third day when they approached the battlefield.

Just because we’re in God’s will it doesn’t mean we won’t suffer loss. Even if we have God’s exact words to do something, we may not get the result we thought we were going to get. He may not tell us why we are suffering in the place He told us to go. We may feel humiliated about our circumstances and wonder what other people are saying. Doubt can come in and say, “Are you sure you heard God? Why did God bring me to this place just to let me be defeated?” Guard your mind against those thoughts and do what the army did each night.

They returned to the presence of God day after day. They continued to listen to His voice. They still followed His directions even though it had meant loss before. They also entered into a fast to ask for His favor. Then God said, “Tomorrow I’ll give you victory.” I don’t know when your “tomorrow” is, but I do know if you’ll keep trusting and obeying what God says, tomorrow will come. Victory will be yours. This time of loss will end and you will once again be restored and bring restoration to others.

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July 15, 2013 · 8:39 AM

Your Victory Has Been Won

We sang a song at church yesterday by Planetshakers. The words are still ringing in my mind this morning. It says, “Hallelujah! You have won the victory. Hallelujah! You have won it all for me.” As we sang it yesterday, I began to wonder, “How many Christians out there need a victory that has already been won for them?” Think about that for a minute. The victory many of us are looking for has already been won. Why do we still walk around defeated?

I see so many Christians who walk around with a defeated attitude. They aren’t walking in the victory that they are supposed to. Everything is doom and gloom. Nothing is going their way. They hang their head down and drudge along. They’ve allowed a culture of defeat to come reign in their life. That is not the life God intended Christians to live. That is not how someone who has had the war won for them should act.

Yes, we go through battles, trials and struggles. We aren’t going to be victorious in every one of them. We may even lose a lot in a row. Don’t confuse losing battles with losing the war. Battles are what we fight through to get to the end of the war. If you knew you were going to win the war in the end, wouldn’t you keep on fighting no matter how bad things looked now?

The person who has never lost a battle has not learned as much as those who have. It’s in our losses and failures that we find better ways to strategize and to grow. It’s in our losses that we get the determination to get back up. Proverbs 24:16 says, “The godly may fall seven times, but they will get up again.” It doesn’t say the godly won’t fall. We will. It’s part of life. It’s part of growth. Its part of what makes us who we are.

When I’m going through a time of multiple defeats, I hang on to Romans 8:37: Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours (mine) through Christ who loves us (me). I change it a little to personalize it. I make it my own promise from God. You should too. If you’re feeling defeated today, read that scripture again. Out loud. Proclaim it. Louder! Overwhelming victory is yours through Christ who loves you. You are not defeated. You are victorious in Jesus’ name.

You don’t have to walk around with your head down. You don’t have to keep your head down just because you’ve failed or lost a few battles. The war has already been won by Jesus. No matter how bad things get, keep that in mind. You can and will survive this and will be victorious in the end. Walk in victory today through Christ because He has won the victory for you. Hold your head up, child of God. You are victorious.

Click here to listen to that Planetshakers’ song on YouTube.

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April 17, 2013 · 8:35 AM

Spiritual Apnea

One of the things you may not know about me is that I have sleep apnea. What happens is that when my body is at rest, the air pressure outside my body is greater than on the inside causing me to not only snore, but also can deprive my brain of oxygen. To fix the problem, I sleep with a CPAP machine and mask that pushes air into me. The machine creates a positive air pressure in me so that the pressure inside is greater than the pressure outside.

You and I walk in a world that is constantly trying to force us and to shape us into its mold. We are pressured from every side to compromise, to give in or up and to conform to its ways. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It’s a clear command that we are to resist the pressures that are on the outside.

Sometimes the outside pressure is stronger than our inside pressure to resist. When we give in to those pressures, our spirit is deprived of the things it needs to stay strong and healthy. We start to exhibit the side effects of spiritual apnea. We fall asleep spiritually, our prayers cease to have the power they once had, our faith begins to wane. We eventually allow this to be the norm for our spiritual life. There is no growth only maintenance.

The good news is that God has given each of us His Holy Spirit to create a positive pressure in us to combat the external pressures of this world. Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” God has given us the power, ability, efficiency and might to combat the pressures that come against us. Just like I have that CPAP machine, if I don’t use it, it’s wont help me create a positive pressure inside. We can be guilty of having the Holy Spirit and not using the power He has given us to have a positive pressure.

II Corinthians 4:7-8 tells us, “This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side, but we are not crushed.” The power and pressure God has given us will not allow us to be crushed by this world. His desire is not to just equalize the pressure between our inside and the world, but to create a greater power and pressure in us that extends into the world. We are not to maintain, but to advance. We are to conquer.

Romans 8 says that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. God wants you to walk in victory today. We were not made to be defeated. Quit living like you’ve been defeated today because that’s not who you are in Christ. Change your mindset, access the power of the Holy Spirit that is dwelling in you and go create positive change today in your world. You have the power and ability according to what we read. Now walk in faith believing in the victory God has given you.

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March 25, 2013 · 8:26 AM

Holy Week

I wasn’t raised to really celebrate Holy Week. In fact, I probably didn’t know it was called “Holy Week” until about a decade ago. We always celebrated Palm Sunday and Easter, but never did anything to celebrate Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. As we celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday, I got to thinking about how this week in Jesus’ life is a lot like many of ours. It’s one more proof that He understands our joys and our pains.

If you are unfamiliar with the story, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. As he entered the city, the people began to lay palm leaves on the road and they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of The Lord. Hosanna in the highest!” It was a parade for a Messiah from a people who thought He was there to deliver them from Roman rule.

He wasn’t there to deliver them from a temporary ruler. He was there to deliver them eternally from sin. They didn’t understand His true purpose. He wasn’t there to be lifted up as a magistrate so all would bow. He was there to be lifted up as a sacrifice for our sins. His purpose was to go there to die and He knew it riding in there that day. I often see pictures and adaptations of Him smiling and waving, but I wonder if that’s accurate. The day before, His face was set like a stone to go to Jerusalem. He was determined to complete His mission.

Somewhere between Sunday and Thursday the crowds turned on Him. The ones who had been yelling “Hosanna” now were yelling “Crucify Him!” Have you ever had life do that to you? One day you were on top of the world. Everything seemed to be going right and then, out of no where, it smacks you down? You’re left with questions, not answers. The ones who were your friends now act like your enemies. Your mind tries to process the information, but it doesn’t add up. “What just happened,” it tries to reason.

Jesus understands those thoughts and doubts. Even though He was determined, He still struggled with the pain and thought of what was going on. His human nature was very much alive. We don’t read about Satan tempting Him here, but you better believe he was working double time on Jesus’ mind during this week. Jesus understands what it’s like to have those closest to you turn their back on you and not even acknowledge that they know you. The difference is He loved them anyway.

Even though they turned on Him, He refused to turn on them. He came here so that we would have forgiveness of our sins. He came to show us that we can still overcome when the world turns its back on us. We can have victory because He was victorious. As you go through this week, don’t just let it be another normal week. Take time this week to read and think through what Jesus went through for you. Be amazed at the pain He endured to show you love and to bring you home. This is Holy Week. This is why He came.

I’m curious to know how others around the world celebrate this week. Let me know how you celebrate it in the comments section below.

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March 22, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Training for Godliness (Pt 5)

This week, I’m doing a series on training for Godliness. Many Christians don’t look at the life they lead as a marathon and therefore don’t train their spirit to handle struggles that come. These lessons will provide you with the tools you need to keep your spirit strengthened for a lifetime. Our core scripture I Timothy 4:8. It says, “Physical Training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. (NLT)”

Links to previous parts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Training

Once you can do everything that we discussed this week, it’s time to really start training. Training is about pushing yourself beyond your limits. Jesse Owens, the Olympic sprinter, talked about how he learned to push beyond the pain. We must too. We can’t let life’s pains stop us from our training and running our race. We can’t let other people’s faults interrupt us from reaching our goal. It’s time to start really putting our faith into practice daily. Each day I ask God to allow me to be His hands and feet to at least one person. I ask that He would use me to speak His words to someone.

Training is hard work. Hebrews 12:2 in the Message says, “It means we better get on with it. Strip down, start running – and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – He could put up with anything.” Start running and never stop. Keep your mind on things above and look to what awaits those who finish the race.

Keep your mind on the prize. Paul said it like this in Philippians 3:14, “Friends, now don’t get me wrong; by no means do I consider myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus.” Just like in a marathon, you need to keep your mind on your goal of completing the race and hearing Jesus say, “Well done.” Hebrews 12:1 says that there is a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on! We aren’t alone in this race. We have others who are out there to help us complete it. Find a running buddy and challenge each other daily to keep going further than you ever thought possible.

Conclusion

There are many similarities in training for a marathon and training for godliness. Both require mental strength and endurance. One is for temporary gain and the other is for eternal gain. Set your mind on the things that are above and remember that this world is not our home. We should be working towards our eternal home. Spend time each day working on getting there. Philippians 2:12 says, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation.” Keep working. Keep pushing. Don’t let set backs discourage you. You are not running this race alone. You’re in it to win it!

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March 7, 2013 · 7:06 AM

Jehovah Nissi

Most of us are familiar with the story in Exodus 17 where the Israelites went out to fight the Amalekites. Moses went up on a hill to watch the battle. When he raised his arms, Israel prevailed. When his arms grew weak from being raised and they fell, Israel began to lose. Aaron and Hur went up the hill, had Moses sit on a rock and propped his hands up. The Bible says that Israel mowed down the Amalekites that day. Moses then built an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my banner.

Banners aren’t something we use much anymore. But all through history they have been used. If you think about the national anthem for the United States. It was written during a battle. If you listen to the words of it, when night fell, our flag was raised up which meant we were winning the battle. The writer was a prisoner in a ship and he was trying to see if it was still flying. The dawn’s early light was not bright enough to see it. He relied on the rockets red glare to light it up and give proof that it was still there.

The flag, or banner, represented hope in the battle. It let you know in all the confusion of war with the bombs bursting, the lights flashing and smoke rising that we were being victorious. Hope in a battle is huge. People need it to keep fighting when they can’t see the end result. When the banner went down in a battle, people lost hope and the will to fight. What Moses did was create a banner that represented victory and that The Lord was helping them. It gave hope.

You may be fighting a battle right now. It could be personal, spiritual, financial, relational or any type. In it your vision is limited. Your focus has become short sighted. You may even feel like a prisoner in that battle like Francis Scott Key was who wrote the U.S. national anthem. Even as a prisoner of war, he saw our banner and had hope. So much hope that he penned a moving song that is known world wide.

If you’re lacking hope today, raise your hands and praise God. Surrender the battle to Him. He is your victory. He is your strength. Don’t get caught up in the smoke and confusion of the battle. Look for the banner that represents your victory today. It’s still there, you just need to see it. The dawn will break soon and the light of the Son will shine again. Don’t give up. The Lord is your banner of victory. He is Jehovah Nissi.

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February 21, 2013 · 9:23 AM

Truth or Consequences

Do you have what it takes to do what’s right when everyone is telling you to do otherwise? We all face choices like this in our lives. For some the consequences are higher than for others. Would you be willing to lose your job over doing what God told you versus what’s politically correct? Would you be willing to risk your life? Would you be willing to go to jail? The choices I’m presenting are faced by Christians all over the world every single day.

It’s nothing new. We just don’t hear about it on the news. I personally know people who would lose their lives if caught for doing what God asked them to do. The choice is, “Do I value myself greater than God’s Word?” If you value what God says above anything else, you’re willing to take that risk. You still aren’t guaranteed security just because you do what’s right. What is guaranteed is favor with God, which should be valued higher than favor with man.

In I Kings 22, King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat teamed up to go to war to retake one of King Ahab’s cities. King Ahab sent for his prophets to tell him whether he’d be victorious. The 400 prophets spoke in unison to the king and said he’d be victorious. Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet from The Lord here?” Ahab said there was one, but he always prophesied against him. Jehoshaphat said that they should hear from him too. So they sent a messenger to get him.

Here’s where it gets interesting. In verse 13, the messenger gets to Micaiah and says, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure to agree with them and promise success.” The Bible doesn’t say, but I’m sure he was instructed by someone above him to relay that message. The message came through loud and clear, “It will be bad for you if you don’t do what’s politically correct. Agree with all the others or else (My version).”

Micaiah had a choice to make. He could choose to bow to the pressure of what the rest of the “prophets” were saying or he could seek God for himself to see what God said. He chose to have a little fun. When Ahab asked him, he said, “Go ahead. An easy victory. God’s gift to the king (MSG).” King Ahab knew he wasn’t telling the truth and demanded it from him. So he told him that not only would he be defeated, but he would also be killed in the battle.

One of the men with King Ahab walked up and punched him in the face (look it up if you don’t believe me). The king then ordered that he be arrested and to only be given bread and water until he returned from battle safely. King Ahab was killed that day as the prophet had spoken. The bible doesn’t say what happened to Micaiah, but even if he spent the rest of his life in jail, he knew that it was more important to obey God than man.

What choices are you facing today? Are they opposed to God? Is it more popular to go with the public opinion? Ultimately what matters is your obedience to what God says. While its easier to follow the crowd or to do what others deem as acceptable, God’s Word is the standard for our lives. Here’s what Jesus said, “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you. (John 15:18, 19 MSG)” Where do you stand?

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February 21, 2013 · 8:43 AM

Truth or Consequences

Do you have what it takes to do what’s right when everyone is telling you to do otherwise? We all face choices like this in our lives. For some the consequences are higher than for others. Would you be willing to lose your job over doing what God told you versus what’s politically correct? Would you be willing to risk your life? Would you be willing to go to jail? The choices I’m presenting are faced by Christians all over the world every single day.

It’s nothing new. We just don’t hear about it on the news. I personally know people who would lose their lives if caught for doing what God asked them to do. The choice is, “Do I value myself greater than God’s Word?” If you value what God says above anything else, you’re willing to take that risk. You still aren’t guaranteed security just because you do what’s right. What is guaranteed is favor with God, which should be valued higher than favor with man.

In I Kings 22, King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat teamed up to go to war to retake one if King Ahab’s cities. King Ahab sent for his prophets to tell him whether he’d be victorious. The 400 prophets spoke in unison to the king and said he’d be victorious. Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet from The Lord here?” Ahab said there was one, but he always prophesied against him. Jehoshaphat said that they should hear from him too. So they sent a messenger to get him.

Here’s where it gets interesting. In verse 13, the messenger gets to Micaiah and says, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure to agree with them and promise success.” The Bible doesn’t say, but I’m sure he was instructed by someone above him to relay that message. The message came through loud and clear, “It will be bad for you if you don’t do what’s politically correct. Agree with all the others or else (My version).”

Micaiah had a choice to make. He could choose to bow to the pressure of what the rest of the “prophets” were saying or he could seek God for himself to see what God said. He chose to have a little fun. When Ahab asked him, he said, “Go ahead. An easy victory. God’s gift to the king (MSG).” King Ahab knew he wasn’t telling the truth and demanded it from him. So he told him that not only would he be defeated, but he would also be killed in the battle.

One of the men with King Ahab walked up and punched him in the face (look it up if you don’t believe me). The king then ordered that he be arrested and to only be given bread and water until he returned from battle safely. King Ahab was killed that day as the prophet had spoken. The bible doesn’t say what happened to Micaiah, but even if he spent the rest of his life in jail, he knew that it was more important to obey God than man.

What choices are you facing today? Are they opposed to God? Is it more popular to go with the public opinion? Ultimately what matters is your obedience to what God says. While its easier to follow the crowd or to do what others deem as acceptable, God’s Word is the standard for our lives. Here’s what Jesus said, “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you. (John 15:18, 19 MSG)” Where do you stand?

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January 16, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Victory of the Mind

I was reading Romans chapters 7 and 8 this morning. In Romans 7, Paul is very transparent with us. He shares the struggles he faced in wrestling with sin in his life. I always like to think of Paul as a super Christian. The man wrote most of the New Testament in the Bible. But here in chapter 7, he is sharing the inner struggle we all face. It is summed up in verses 19 and 21 that say, “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway… I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.”

Does that sound like you? I know it sums me up perfectly. We all struggle with sin because our sin nature still lives in us. We all succumb to it when it rears its head in our lives. In verse 24, Paul used the word “dominate” to describe what his sinful nature was doing to him. It isn’t until we get to chapter 8 until he tells us how to overcome. One of the first paths to victory he mentions is in verse 6. It says, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

That leads me to the question, “How do I stop my mind from being controlled by my sinful nature and start letting it be controlled by the Spirit?” I think it starts with what you choose to put in your mind. What movies, TV shows, books and magazines are you looking at? Are they things that cause you to think about sin? Then you need to watch or read something else so that those seeds won’t be planted in your mind. Controlling what goes in will help control your actions. Switch to watching or reading something more wholesome. Plant good, godly things in your mind.

The next thing you can do is take control over those thoughts. Don’t entertain the thoughts that walk you down the path to sin. II Corinthians 10:5 tells us to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” If that thought doesn’t belong, take it captive and cast it out. Last week my pastor said when those thoughts enter his head, he says out loud, “You have no right to invade my mind.” That’s how you take it captive and cast it out.

Lastly, we need to have the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus.” We can have the mind of Christ. It’s not easy to get or maintain. It takes a conscious effort to ask for it and then maintain it by thinking good things. Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. If your thoughts don’t line up with these, take them captive when they come in and then consciously force yourself to think on these things.

The battle of the mind isn’t easy. We’ll fight it our entire lives until we are made perfect. Just because we have the sinful nature living in us doesn’t mean we have to be dominated by. We can have victory. These are three things I have found to help me win the battles. I’m curious to know what ways you have found victory in the battle of the mind. Leave me a comment as to what you’ve found and let’s help each other win.

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January 11, 2013 · 8:18 AM

From Defeat to Victory

I used to worry a lot. There were things going on in my life that I couldn’t control. Things were happening faster than I could react to them. That worry lead to stress. That stress then lead to high blood pressure. My doctor put me on blood pressure meds, but they didn’t work. I’m thinking she probably should have put me on anxiety meds. I’m glad she didn’t because medicine wasn’t the answer I needed. My answer came through a friend who wasn’t scared to say something.

She asked me some questions that got me to thinking. She asked, “Are the things that are happening to you a surprise to God? Is God worried about them? Or is He still on His throne and in control?” Well I knew the answers to those questions, but didn’t want to say it. They did make me think about how I was looking at things. I had gotten so caught up in the problems and things popping up in my life that I allowed God to be taken out of the equation.

I don’t think I’m alone in this. I think many of us get caught up in our daily life and the problems that catch us unaware. We allow them to consume us to the point that it dominates how and what we think. When that happens to us, it’s easy to make our problems bigger than the God we serve. It doesn’t happen over night either. It comes from a constant bombardment of things that attack us. It’s a war technique that is happening to you.

Think back to Desert Storm. Our initial operations there had a code name of “Shock and Awe”. Most war plans, game plans and plans of attack begin with some type of shock and awe. They do it because if you aren’t expecting it, it will throw you off course, force you to make poor decisions and it gives the attacker the upper hand. It is designed to break your will and to keep you from fighting back. Submission is its goal.

I had submitted to the things that were coming at me faster than I could handle. I left the fundamentals that I had been taught. Once I did that, I began to be defeated. Defeat is the ultimate goal of our attacker. Once we are defeated, we are no longer a threat. Defeat breeds worry and depression which are cyclical and keep you from fighting. They take our mind out of the war that is going on and eventually remove the thought that God still cares and is our path to victory.

My friends questions caused me to put God back in the equation. When God is added in to the battles in your life, victories are multiplied. God cares deeply about where you are. He is not unaware of the things that are plaguing your mind right now. He is silently waiting for you to remember Him and to get back to the fundamentals which are praying and reading His Word. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If you need a faith boost this morning, get into God’s Word. Read it out loud. Speak the promises of God and reclaim your mind. Victory is at stake.

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