More than a Conqueror

We need to thank the Lord that He has given us power, in the Holy Spirit, to overcome adversity, discouragement, and every spiritual attack that besets us, and to take our eyes off our past defeats and look to His love and the power of His resurrection available to us today. Remember today we are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us..” Romans 8:37

In this passage of scripture, Paul is not here referring to just his own victory over the problems he personally faced in life. He said WE are more than conquerors. Each one of us as believers can be more than conquerors, regardless of the battle or circumstances we face in life. We can have the same testimony and experience of victory as Paul. This conquering power – the ability to overcome, defeat, and control – comes not by our own ability but through the grace and power of the one that loved us. As we rely fully on Jesus Christ, we too can experience this supreme victory in our daily lives.

God does not want us to come through the battles so worn and beaten up that we can’t enjoy the victory. Thank the Lord, we can come out of the battles just like the scripture says: MORE THAN CONQUERORS. We can face the trials of the day with praise in heart in knowing that we can and will overcome.

Today see yourself coming against all the difficulties that you are having. See Jesus right there with you giving you the strength, courage and skills to overcome all your foes. Feel the joy of victory. Sense the confidence in knowing that with Jesus you are more than a conqueror. Let the peace and joy from knowing that God loves you and helps you in your hardest time, fill your heart. Proclaim out loud, “I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus!”

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Help in a whisper

How quickly we forget—when the wilderness feels too dark, too hard, too long. When we’re challenged with the season of uncertainty and the process of being made stronger so we can fight the giants ahead. There are times when we forget how hard shame-filled living is, and we’re tempted to yearn for what was familiar—to go back to our old ways. So we yield to the pressure.

We decide it’s time to open a bottle when an unforeseen disappointment surprises us, rather than call that person who’s willingly committed to helping us stay on course. Or we answer that call we know we shouldn’t and say yes to going out with the abusive boyfriend one more time—even when all of the warning lights are flashing on the dashboard of our hearts. Or we grow tired of the discipline of believing what God’s Word says we are over the lies of mean people who have always said, “You’re just a loser, and you’ll always be a loser.”

No matter how bad our past, it’s always easier to default to our old behaviors than keep forging new ones. So many of us struggle with the same temptations. But there is no drive-through breakthrough. We all must go through the wilderness to get to freedom so we are strong enough to defeat the giants who fuel our shame.

Jesus died to secure our freedom—freedom from sin, freedom from death, freedom to live once again as Adam and Eve lived in the garden—unashamed, having daily fellowship with our loving Creator and each other. In heaven we will fully enjoy that ultimate freedom. But we don’t have to wait to walk in freedom; Jesus offers us freedom from sin’s slavery now.

Jesus came not only for us to drop our shame-filled life, but also to lead us into a shame-free life. Free to walk into the fullness of every promise that He has for our lives. Free to be who He made us to be. Free to do all that He created us to do.

Lord, I’m strong but I’m tired. I need your hand in my circumstances.  I no longer want to control it all! Help me be strong in You!

God is the only One who can Guide us!

God is looking for us to put our hope and trust in Him today, ALL day long, not just tomorrow or when we are in need of Him. He’s challenging us to see all the moments of our lives as being filled with meaning. Each moment is filled with the presence of God, but sometimes we are so stuck on vision and dreams that we skim right by them. I encourage you to start your days differently. Start each day by praying, asking God to give you a clear understanding of each moment. It’s okay to still plan and dream about the future, of course, but concentrate more on each moment, as well!

“Show me the right path O Lord, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me. for you are the God who saves me, All day long I put my hope in you.” ~~Psalm 25:4-5

God is the only one who can guide us. We must seek His guidance and direction in all things. In other words when we need guidance in our lives we should say God show me Your way in how I should approach this. Too often we we want to take our approach to how we should handle a situation and then want God to fix our mess. Doesn’t that just seem a little backwards? Now granted we may get in situations and need His help, but first and foremost we need to be seeking His guidance, His directions.

I encourage you let the Lord be your guide in all that you do. He will never lead you astray and will always be with you every step of the way. Be encouraged to know even when the journey gets rough that He will provide comfort even in those times. In fact I love how the Apostle Paul put it the joy we can even find in our suffering( Colossians 1:24 ). Not that we look forward to getting hurt, but that we endure for Christ’s sake. This pain is for God’s glory despite how difficult it may seem, it works for our good. Once again my brothers and sisters be encouraged and seek God for His guidance.

 

Scripture/Devotional

Scripture/Devotional.

Devotional

The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins.~~Psalm 34:18

In God’s economy, you must go down into the valley of grief before you can scale the heights of spiritual glory. You must become tired and weary of living alone before you seek and find the fellowship of Christ. You must come to the end of self before you begin to live. The mourning of inadequacy is a weeping that catches the attention of God. The Bible says, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” The happiest day of my life was when I realized that my own ability, my own goodness, and my own morality was insufficient in the sight of God; and I publicly and openly acknowledged my need of Christ. I am not exaggerating when I say that my mourning was turned to joy, and my sighing into singing.

In the valleys I have been drawn closer to You, my God and Comforter.

Devotional

The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins.~~Psalm 34:18

In God’s economy, you must go down into the valley of grief before you can scale the heights of spiritual glory. You must become tired and weary of living alone before you seek and find the fellowship of Christ. You must come to the end of self before you begin to live. The mourning of inadequacy is a weeping that catches the attention of God. The Bible says, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” The happiest day of my life was when I realized that my own ability, my own goodness, and my own morality was insufficient in the sight of God; and I publicly and openly acknowledged my need of Christ. I am not exaggerating when I say that my mourning was turned to joy, and my sighing into singing.

 

In the valleys I have been drawn closer to You, my God and Comforter.

Rest safely in the Arms of Jesus

Do you Need Rest from the Burdens that you are Carrying?

“Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Do you ever feel like the world is crashing down around you? Like, if one more thing goes wrong you will collapse under the weight of it all? Where you are so stressed out, it just seemed like everything was going wrong. It really wasn’t, but it sure did feel like it was. This is a reminder that you are suppose to look to Him when you are weary, but with everything that was going on, it just seemed like you couldn’t. Does this make sense?

Have you ever felt that way or is that how you’re feeling at this moment? Where it seems like your life is all planned out for you and you don’t feel like you can live up to expectations. Or maybe it’s something different, but equally as weighty. It doesn’t matter what it is, Jesus calls us to come to Him when we are weary and burdened. We shouldn’t wait until it feels like we have the time, we need to make the time.

Just take a few moments to pray, or open your Bible and read His Word. As soon you do this and take that time today, as soon as you turn to Christ you will feel so much better. You see, when we take that time to come to Him, He gives us rest. He lifts the weight off of our shoulders, and reminds us that it really is in His hands and that we need to trust Him. That doesn’t mean that everything will be downhill from there, it just reminds us that no matter how many bad things happen, He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So do you feel weary or burdened at this moment? Are you trying to handle it all on your own, or are you going to Jesus to get rest from the world? When you feel weary or burdened, like you just can’t keep going, go to Jesus. Take a moment to pray, or step back from life for a moment and open your Bible. Bring it to Him He will comfort and guide you. He will give you rest. Right now, in the midst of that worry or issue or concern, the God of the universe is asking you to turn it over to Him. Let Him work it out in His timing and His perfect way.

Difficulities in Life

Many of you are facing difficulties in your life today. Unexplained problems. Circumstances that seem to be out of hand. Pressures that are becoming intolerable. Now is the very time to make your faith real. Look to God and ask Him to strengthen you, to encourage you, to give you peace. He knows how to make the heavy burdens lighter, the crooked path straight. Don’t become weak when the difficult times come, be strengthened by them. Let them be times of testing, and honing, and sharpening your faith.

I love you and care about you. I realize that life can be difficult. I also realize that in those difficult times, we can grow in our faith, we can learn to depend on God, we can become real people of faith. Let the difficult times help you to know God in a deeper, more intimate way. Learn to trust the Truth that He is on His throne in control of all things. Take to heart His promise that He will not give you more than you can bear. Learn how to walk through the storms of life victoriously. Be comforted that He will never leave you, never forsake you, never let you down.

For those of you who are in need of a miracle, know I will be praying for you today. Whatever you are facing, never forget this truth. God is on His throne and God is in Control!!!

Beacon of light

Be the beacon of light that shines in the darkness of this world!~Feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, love your enemies, encourage one another, trust the Lord with all your heart, love your neighbor as yourself, die to self, live for Jesus! Remember what Jesus said to do, and do it!!!! Don’t sit down anymore, but Stand Up and Stand Firm! Go out and make disciples! Bring joy in their hearts ~ the Joy of Jesus!

Winning the Battle over Afflictions!

I want to encourage you to read all of Psalm 34 as it’s theme is that God pays attention to those who call on Him and praise Him, but when reading  Psalm 34 today, verse 19  stood out to me. We often wish we could escape troubles – the pain of grief, loss, sorrow, and failure or even the small daily frustrations that constantly wear us down. God promises to be “close to the brokenhearted” and to be our source of power, courage, and wisdom, helping us through our problem.  Sometimes he chooses to deliver us from those problems.  When trouble strikes, don’t feel frustrated with God. Instead, admit that you need God’s help and thank him for being by your side.

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” Psalms 34:19

David is writing this Psalm as a form of worship to the Lord. David calls others to experience the goodness of the Lord in verse 8 when he says; “Taste and see that the Lord is good, how blessed is the man that takes refuge in Him!” Even among all of the wonderful praise that David gives the Lord in this Psalm, he still acknowledges that there are things that give him trouble. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous…” shows that David is aware of all of the things that are constantly present in this world that try to steal the joy of the Lord.

If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that there are times when small insignificant things steal our joy and pull us away from the Lord. It has been said before that admitting that there is a problem is the first step in overcoming the problem. David is admitting that there are constant problems in the world that cause us pain, distress and suffering. When we realize that these things exist in our lives, the solution to overcoming these things is much clearer. David’s solution is found in the second half of verse 19. “But the Lord delivers him out of all of them” shows that a true reliance on God’s power is the only way to fight against our afflictions. The things that cause pain, distress, and suffering will always be present in our world. The good news is that the solution will also always be present, and His name is Jesus Christ.

So what does this mean for you and I today? This Psalm tells me that I have a chance to win the battle over my afflictions. My own strength is worthless against the things that cause me pain, distress and suffering, but the strength of my Savior is powerful enough to remove any of the things that seek to cause me harm. As you go through your day today, pray that the Lord will make your afflictions known and deliver you from each and every one of them.

Remember that even when you feel weak, the Lord’s strength is still as mighty and powerful as it has ever been.