In Christ Always A Winner

We had the privilege to watch our 12-year-old grandson’s football team have a win last evening. We were ecstatic of course. He and his team were quite excited. He walked out of the locker room with a huge smile on his face. Nothing like a win to bolster their egos.

Oh beloved, did you know? Have you heard? In Christ you are always a winner. The scoreboard of life may not relay that message every time. But because of the unique relationship with the Lord through Christ, you can’t lose. Your ego may be deflated at times. But the joy on the inside that is always there can’t help but bless you. You’re not playing in a game of numbers. You are walking into the arena of life as a player who lives for the applause of One.

Yes, you will have troubles. But they aren’t the deciding factor in your game. Yes, you will meet stiff opposition. But that’s not going to keep you from competing for the prize of the high calling in Christ. When things aren’t perfect, you are still being perfected in Christ. When words are hurled at you, when people walk away, when the lies break your heart – there’s no concession for you. You are standing tall, holding your ground and gaining new strength through every battle. It’s your right as a believer to live for Christ and win, win, win!

God loves you and He’s for you. Congratulation s are already being sung over you in the heavenlies. Cheered on by a cloud of witnesses, you can run to the Father and ask for more wisdom, power and love. And you can rely on Holy Spirit to give you the victory for each battle belongs to the Lord!

2 Chronicles 20:15 and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.’”

Romans 8:37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Extreme Adventure With Christ

We watched a couple of episodes of a National Geographic series last night. Well, Danny watched and I glanced. The reason being they were extreme sports adventures. Skiers, mountain climbers sand kayakers – all in their extreme element. One guy had a heart attack while high in the Himalayan mountains. One guy drowned while kayaking vertical rapids. And one gal fell while attempting a vertical ski down a thousand food drop off a mountain.

Oh beloved, life is an extreme adventure. Each of the men who defied death and experienced the worst lived to tell about it. Their story ended well. They had victory. But they all had to push through their present troubles to get to the end. The drowning victim was brought back by heroic efforts, the climber was helped off the mountain and helicoptered to a hospital. The skier went on to do other things.

You can know that your victory is in your story. Maybe you’re not there yet. But an unexceptional life is not your gift. Addiction is not your friend. Defeat doesn’t define you. God’s plan is success. And even in the worst-case scenarios of life, God is bringing you up and out. Rise up, keep moving forward, and pursue His life for you. There is no joy for the one who gives up. There is no crown for the timid or fearful. Your past may have had death written all over it. But your day with the Lord today has life written instead!

God loves you and He is for you. Always! Grab hold of His unchanging hand and allow Him to give you fortitude for life and joy for living today as your gift from Him!

Mark 8:35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.

Psalm 37:4-5 Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this.

New Vision And Clarity

My newest glasses got so scratched. Much quicker than any other pair I’ve had. So I went back to wearing the last pair I had. We were discussing glasses with friends and I asked Danny if he knew where the newest pair was. He promptly got them from the cabinet and I put them on for comparison. I was shocked. The new pair, even with the scratch in my line of vision, was so much better. The clarity was crisp and clear. No wonder I had been squinting and struggling to see!

Oh beloved, an older pair of glasses compared to a newer pair may not seem much different. But when you go back to the old pair, you will find out. And so, too, we need the new vision for this new day. God says look to the Lord and His strength. Enjoy the blessings of His wonders. But put on the new for this day. You need clarity and precision to see what the Lord is doing today! Refreshment and restoration come as you learn to put on the new. Don’t worry about what is going wrong in the earth, instead focus on what God is doing in the earth today! Align yourself with Him and be His eyes for the Gospel as you walk and live and play. This as you go ministry is yours to be the blessing you are called to be. If God meant you to have poor vision, He would have said so! You aren’t destined to hide away in the blur until Christ returns. You are destined to speak the oracles of God to everyone you meet!

God loves you and He is for you. Run to Him this morning and ask Him to examine you for anything that He deems unnecessary now. Receive His new assignment and put it on. Don’t look back. Rejoice that you are here for His purpose as you walk clearly aligned with His Spirit for these last days!

Psalm 105:4 Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is one who keeps the Law.

God Cares About You

When I was a little girl I thought God cared about everything. From the doll I wanted for Christmas to the horrendous ear aches I experienced – I asked Him for help with everything. And He provided the answer, sometimes quickly sometimes later. Now God is giving me new victories, answers to prayer, through the health program I am living in. In fact, there are lots of victories I am experiencing – answers to prayer! From health issues to strength issues and more. This is amazing! So amazing I could list a whole page of Non-Scale Victories that are such a gift from God!

Oh beloved, have you heard, did you know? God will supply ALL your needs according to His riches in glory! He isn’t swayed by diagnoses, doctor’s opinions, friend’s ideas or your mind’s tricks. He is so loving and kind that He gives us richly all things to enjoy! He holds nothing back from His children. There are times He calls us to obedience and there are times He calls us to the unprecedented. Yet always He calls us in love. You don’t have to wonder if God loves you ever again. All His blessings are miraculous and available. You are living in the miraculous – just because you are His! Stop comparing yourself to what you used to believe and start standing in what God says!

God loves you and He is for you. Always! He isn’t a Father who walks away, takes back His gifts or moves out of your life. So go to Him this morning and ask Him for help. He is more than willing to guide you into your best life, fulfill your deepest heart dreams and take you out of any pit and place you in heavenly places with Him!

Psalm 104:33-34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord!

Ephesians 3:19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

I Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.

Hebrews 31:21 May He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him. All glory to Him forever and ever! Amen.

The Secret Of Joy

One of my favorite photos of my mother shows her smiling hugely and holding out the ends of her robe. What isn’t discernable in the photo is that she was actually in the hospital, having succumbed to TB. So there really wasn’t much to smile or be joyful about. It was one of her most sorrowful times, especially since she had a small child at the time, my brother, and she hated being away from him. Yet she knew the secret of joy – embrace it and live in it.

Oh beloved, this morning as you wake up you have a choice. You can live under the circumstances or you can live in the joy of the Lord. Whatever you embrace it will show. And it will give you weakness or strength. The joy you have in the hard times will become the wisdom you have in the good times. God is not at all unaware of your circumstances. But He is larger, bigger and higher than that. And as you focus on Him, you will find your circumstances are no longer boss over you. My mother had more hardships to live through in her future that she couldn’t know about at the time. Being joyful is not a guarantee of no more pain or troubles, but it will give you beauty for ashes, strength for fear, hope for despair and more.

God loves you and He is for you. Wherever you are, whatever you are going through. Rejoice in the Lord always. Run to Him and give Him the glory, hand Him your sorrows and ask Him for healing, deliverance and mercy. He never forsakes His children and He loves pouring out His best on them!

I Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Isaiah 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.