Tag: AlwaysTriumph

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Walk Free

How many steps do you think you’ll take on this last day of 2023?

For several years I wore a Fitbit and it was a constant reminder that I wasn’t getting enough steps.

Physical accomplishments are important because they help us stay strong and healthy, we all know that. But do we give the same recognition to our spiritual growth and activity?

“Training your body helps you in some ways. But devotion to God helps you in every way. It brings you blessings in this life and in the future life too.” I Timothy 4:8 ERV

This morning part of my Bible reading took me to Romans 6. Have I mentioned that I love the book of Romans? (Spend some time reading & studying this book.) The Romans prided themselves in being forward thinkers and specimens of physical strength. The Roman soldiers were highly trained and disciplined.

Now that they were coming to faith in Christ Paul’s letter was like a training manual for them spiritually.

“We know that our old life, our old sinful self, was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so the power of sin that held us was destroyed. Sin is no longer our boss. 7 When a man is dead, he is free from the power of sin. 8 And if we have died with Christ, we believe we will live with Him also. 9 We know that Christ was raised from the dead. He will never die again. Death has no more power over Him. 10 He died once but now lives. He died to break the power of sin, and the life He now lives is for God. 11 You must do the same thing! Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But now you have new life because of Jesus Christ our Lord. You are living this new life for God.

12 So do not let sin have power over your body here on earth. You must not obey the body and let it do what it wants to do. 13 Do not give any part of your body for sinful use. Instead, give yourself to God as a living person who has been raised from the dead. Give every part of your body to God to do what is right. 14 Sin must not have power over you. You are not living by the Law. You have life because of God’s loving-favor.” Romans 6:6-14 NLV

“Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin.” “ Sin must not have power over you. You are not living by the Law. You have life because of God’s loving-favor.“

When we have new life in Christ, we die to our old life and become a whole new being.

“ For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun.” II Corinthians 5:17 NLV

Consider this. A dead body, a corpse has no power of its own. It has to be carried from place to place and can be manipulated by the one holding it. The only real power it has is to stink as it decays.

Our old life, our life before Christ is dead. One translation says it has passed away and all things become new.

If you have been struggling with a fear, an emotion, a habit that has been holding you back turn it over to God and let Him show you the victory that He has provided.

“Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. 6 With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ERV

Take the first step, trust the Lord completely and then walk free into the New Year.

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Defeat the Giant

Yesterday we talked about impatience. How did you do? Did you sail through your day, willing to wait, with a good attitude or did you hit the road block of unexpected delays and disruptions?

I can say that my morning was pretty much interruption free but that doesn’t require much patience. In the afternoon, I felt more hurried and pressed to get things done and done NOW. I know I wasn’t as patient as I should have been.

When those obstacles or disruptions come our way we need to face things head on like a little shepherd boy with a giant. Am I comparing impatience to Goliath? You bet!

Impatience is a giant of an emotion and just like Goliath, impatience has brothers – anger, criticism, strife and rude behavior.

While the Israelite army was standing on a hillside trying to avoid conflict with the Philistines, Golaith would walk out and taunt them daily. There was no victory, no peace. What was a needed was a confrontation – a confrontation wrapped in prayer and the power of God.

You see, when David went to meet Goliath he picked up 5 stones. This was not a backup measure in case he missed with the first one. No! If that had been the case he would have been dead. It was an offensive tactic, he wanted to be armed to take out the whole family.

So let me ask – what giants are you facing today? Have you been avoiding them? Choosing to go another direction? There will come a time that you must face the giants but not in your own strength. God will be there to lead you into battle victoriously – you must simply trust in Him.

” David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said bad things about him. 46 Today the Lord will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel. 47 All the people gathered here will know that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the Lord, and he will help us defeat all of you.” I Samuel 17:45-47 ERV

Follow His lead and claim victory today!

“I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 ERV

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What’s That Annoying Sound?

Roaring lion or barking Chihuahua, which one is the devil dressed like today?

“6 Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. 7 God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. 8 Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack.” I Peter 5:6-8 CEV

Satan comes as a roaring lion. He isn’t a lion but he does a good job imitating one. He roars and the intense sound can shake us to our core. His roar sounds different to all of us. To some the roar is cancer, to others it’s divorce or financial devastation. It can be death of a loved one or loss of a job. That awful roar is intended to paralyze us with fear.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:57-58 NKJV

Roaring Lion conquered but now for the Chihuahua.

Years ago, we were holding a Camp Meeting at a ranch in Northern Arizona. When we arrived at the ranch, our friends weren’t home and we were greeted by their little dog that lived under the porch. He came out with the most ferocious bark he could muster. As I took a step toward him, he ran back under the porch.

This was a scene that repeated itself a number of times over the next 20 minutes. Finally, frustrated I scolded him and told him to hush. He ran back and stayed under the porch until his owners came.

I heard the Holy Spirit speak to my heart. He said, you know that little dog is a good example of the devil. He’ll yip and bark and annoy but he can’t win. The victory has been given to you through Christ Jesus! Don’t let him distract you from what you were called to do.

Annoying little distractions.

Currently, we are doing some site improvements and we have a list of things that need to be done. The list seems endless and there is an order, some things can’t be done ahead of others.

Yap, yap, yap. I hear that little Chihuahua of distractions barking and trying to frustrate Dave and me.

This morning I’m stomping my foot and sending the adversary running. God knows every detail and step that we need to take and I’m not going to be distracted, worried or frustrated by the enemy’s yapping!

“I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

Listen. The roaring and yapping have stopped. What you hear now is the sound of victory!

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ALWAYS

You’ve heard the old expression “Practice What You Preach”; well, I’ve had that opportunity many times. Sharing thoughts about peace and how keeping our minds STAYED on the Lord is the only real way to a life in peace.

To me, it is one of the most important seeds from God’s word that I can plant in my life.

Like many of you, I’ve had the invitation to attend a big old pity party. The guest list is small – me, myself and I plus my thoughts. When trying to figure out where all these thoughts come from, we should realize we need to take action against them. The source of these thoughts is our enemy and the one who would like to rob our peace.

The Apostle Paul gives us instruction on recognizing our enemy and he tells us how to fight him.

“Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11 Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. 12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world.” Ephesians 6:10-12 CEV

“For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 CEV

I love the part in this verse that says “taking every thought captive to obey Christ”!

Those thoughts of self-pity aren’t in line with God’s kind of thinking and so they have to go. I’d love to say that victory is instantaneous, but it probably won’t be. However, each time those thoughts try to come back, we should shift our focus and keep our mind stayed on God and His amazing love. Peace will return. When we stay focused the peace stays…just like He said it would.

Years ago, our oldest granddaughter came to visit. It was just her and I for almost two weeks. We had a great time together. One Sunday morning we were watching a pastor on tv. He was preaching a message on victory in Christ.

“ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 ERV

Always leads us in victory!

Fear likes to hold us captive – there are so many what ifs and unknowns. But Christ leads us to victory and gives us peace. For many years my granddaughter and I have just written the word “Always” in some of our communications. We both know it describes the message we want to convey.

Today I share it with you, may you ALWAYS have victory and stay in the peace of God.

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Rough Roads

We had a great time taking the family to the Polar Express in Williams on Tuesday. It was one of those “memory makers” that we, grandparents, hope to make with our grandchildren.

We had hoped for some snow so the kids could also make their first snowballs and possibly a snowman. When we woke yesterday morning the cars in the parking lot at the hotel had a nice little covering of snow. What we didn’t realize was that the road which led to home was snow packed.

Making snowballs in the parking lot was fun for them. They giggled as they made their slushy projectiles, lobbing them at their mother and siblings. All the while Pappy and their Dad were making plans on how to navigate the roads.

The weather and road apps didn’t give us the full story. We talk with the hotel desk clerk, and she said her managers had come from Flagstaff and they didn’t report any problems, so we loaded the kids in their car, we got in the truck and headed out.

The first several miles were fine. Driving slower than normal but nothing too concerning. And then – well the roads got worse, no ice but snow packed ruts narrowed to one lane and it was very slow going. It was that way for the next hundred miles. (The picture was taken when the roads got better.)

As we reached the lower elevations the snow turned to rain and the roads were open again. Our daughter text me saying, “This is why I’m glad we no longer live in the snow”. Amen to that.

Those roads reminded me of a Scripture.

“A voice is calling, ‘Make the way ready for the Lord in the desert. Make the road in the desert straight for our God. 4 Every valley will be lifted up and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the bad places will be made smooth. 5 Then the shining-greatness of the Lord will be seen. All flesh together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’” Isaiah 40:3-5 NLV

These are the words of prophecy that were given about the ministry of Jesus.

When life seems to be full of twists and turns, rough and rocky places, we can depend on the Lord to make the bad places smooth. The power of God in our lives will make crooked places straight; turn struggles into strength and battles into triumph.

Keep going even though the path narrows and the way seems constricted. It may be a difficult road to navigate but when we keep your eyes on Him we will see the path clear and His shining-greatness will be revealed.

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Commander-in-Chief

Some of you may wonder how the Bible connects to our everyday life and traditions. I hope that as you have become a regular reader of my morning blogs you are seeing more clearly how God’s word can bring a clearer focus to all we do.

Today, we focus on saying thank you to our soldiers, men and women, who have given of their lives to protect our country, our freedom and our well-being. We are all so grateful for their sacrifices.

“My heart is with the commanders of Israel, with those who volunteered for war.
Praise the Lord!” Judges 5:9 NLT

Every one of us who champion the name Christian are also called to be soldiers for the Lord. We aren’t drafted but we voluntarily enlist to serve.

The service of a good soldier requires discipline, dedication and selflessness. A soldier does what their commanding officer says without question or complaint. A good soldier goes where they are assigned and does what they are told. They drill constantly while preparing for service and are disciplined in every area – eating, sleeping, uniform and tactics.

“Put up with your share of hardship as a loyal soldier in Christ’s army. Remember: 1) That no soldier on active service gets himself entangled in business, or he will not please his commanding officer. 2) A man who enters an athletic contest wins no prize unless he keeps the rules laid down. 3) Only the man who works on the land has the right to the first share of its produce. Consider these three illustrations of mine and the Lord will help you to understand all that I mean.” II Timothy 2:3-7 Phillips

As soldiers, it’s our duty to know the commanding officer and follow His orders for our day. It’s also important to realize the training He puts us through is for our best; to see that we are prepared for battle, able to come through it as the victors and that we protect those around us. The Commanding Officer has the welfare of His soldiers at heart and His goal is to see them prepared to the best of His ability.

It’s the same with our loving heavenly Father!

“ Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11  Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. 12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities…13 So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6:10-13 CEV

As we say thank you to our veterans today, remember we have also enlisted in service.

We follow the lead of our Commander. We are training to serve and protect those believers and unbelievers around us who aren’t ready to take on the enemy. Young David faced his Goliath with a sling, but he knew it wasn’t his strength or skill.

“All these people gathered here may know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” I Samuel 17:47 NLV

We all must learn to trust our Command-in-Chief. I’m grateful I’m not in this battle alone. The battle belongs to the Lord!

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Call to Battle

I was reading about King David this morning. The account in II Samuel 21 is long past his days of youth when he defeated Goliath but here he is leading the Israelites in battle against the Philistines again.

David had grown weary in the fight and the Philistines knew it. A warrior had come to destroy him but King David’s aide defended him and destroyed the enemy. The Israelites were victorious, and the Philistines were once defeated once again.

Do you feel like King David? Have you grown weary in the battle?

I don’t know why Christians think that we won’t have troubles or battles. We do and we will. But our battles aren’t against flesh and blood, they are against the spiritual evil and darkness that has so much influence in our world.

“We live in this world, but we don’t act like its people 4 or fight our battles with the weapons of this world. Instead, we use God’s power that can destroy fortresses. We destroy arguments 5 and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people’s thoughts and make them obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 CEV

We fight against thoughts and arguments that take hold of people’s thinking, leading them away from obedience to Christ. The weapons we used are given to us by God and don’t conform to man’s way of thinking.

“Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11  Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. 12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. 13 So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm.

14  Be ready! Let the truth be like a belt around your waist, and let God’s justice protect you like armor. 15  Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. 16 Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17  Let God’s saving power be like a helmet, and for a sword use God’s message that comes from the Spirit.

18 Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people.” Ephesians 5:10-18 CEV

Young David said he battled Goliath not with sword and spear but with the name of the Lord. Joshua went to battle in the power of the Lord. We also go to battle in the same way.

“ So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm.” vs 13

Each piece of armor listed in the verses above, truth, the gospel of peace, salvation, righteousness, faith, sword of the Spirit, are all found in God’s word. He gives them freely to each of us to use.

When we grow weary, like David did, we pray for strength and the Lord will provide that too. The armor that God gives us prepares us for battle and assures us ultimate victory!

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What We Can’t See

Knowing that God is in control and that He is working things out even/especially when you can’t see what’s going on is a great place of peace and comfort.

“God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way” by Don Moen

The words of this song ring true in so many of our life’s circumstances. Like the words of this song, the Apostle Paul gave us an instruction filled with hope and promise.

“ Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us.” II Corinthians 5:7 NLV

The Lord delivered Noah in the flood, David from Goliath, Daniel from the lions, Joseph in Egypt, Paul in prison, the thief on the cross and He won’t quit on us!

“Great blessings belong to those who are tempted and remain faithful! After they have proved their faith, God will give them the reward of eternal life. God promised this to all people who love him. 13 Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. 14 You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. 15 Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death.

16 My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this. 17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.” James 1:12-18 ERV

Sometimes we get things backwards. Sometimes we say God is testing me or putting me through this trial to see what I’m made of. God doesn’t do that. When the trials, tests and temptations come they come from our own making or the influence of Satan in the world. God steps in to give us the strength to win the battle.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 NLT

The Lord rewards us when we seek Him. Afterall, He is the One with all the answers. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift.

“We thank God for the power Christ has given us. He leads us and makes us win in everything. He speaks through us wherever we go. The Good News is like a sweet smell to those who hear it.” II Corinthians 2:14 NLV

Our Father will lead us into victory. Thank Him for all the good and perfect gifts that He has provided. He’s working even when we don’t see what He’s doing.

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Encourage the Brave

I found this saying attributed to Alexander the Great and thought it was worth sharing. “An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep”.

God has placed within us all a spirit of boldness; sometimes we just need someone to encourage us.

Let’s look at three words. Courage, En courage, Dis courage.

Courage: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to push through it.

En-courage: to make (someone) more determined, hopeful, or confident.

In the Bible the words strength or encourage are used interchangeably.

Discourage. to make (someone) less determined, hopeful, or confident.

When we become discouraged, we lose the ability to persevere and withstand difficulty. I want to encourage you in who you are today in Christ. Don’t let the enemy or the circumstances you are facing discourage you.

“You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. 7 Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful. 8 Don’t let anyone fool you by using senseless arguments. These arguments may sound wise, but they are only human teachings. They come from the powers of this world and not from Christ. 9 God lives fully in Christ. 10 And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority.” Colossians 2:6-10 CEV

Be strong, be grateful. Don’t listen to senseless arguments that discredit God. The power of God rests in Christ and since we are in Christ. As believers God makes His power available to us. He has made us free!

“You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.” Colossians 2:13-15 ERV

Christ won the victory for us! Be encouraged with that today.

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Annoying Circumstances

There are little circumstances that can cause big annoyances. Let me explain.

We have been dealing with a refrigerator issue for about a month now. The freezer stays at a constant -2 degrees, however, the refrigerator won’t cool below 44 degrees. This isn’t a big problem for most of the items but things like milk, mayonnaise and eggs get a little too warm.

The manufacturer of our RV has been great. First, they sent us some “trouble shooting” guidelines. Perfect. We followed them step by step. Everything checked out. Next instruction was call a mobile tech. Check. He came and assessed the issue. Sent pictures, written explanations and waited. We received another more detailed check list from the manufacturer’s of the refrigerator. Really???

Notice, I am now getting annoyed. Emails are being exchanged a couple of times a day. Had one arrive yesterday morning at 5 am my time. I responded immediately. As Dave and I were talking, trying to keep our blood pressure down, the phone rang. It was the RV manufacturer. The rep on the other end was very sympathetic and knew our need to have a working refrigerator in place before we leave in three weeks for the mountains. She listened to our frustration and assured me she was on it.

Within two hours she sent another email. A new refrigerator is on the way. It will be there in four business days.

Big sigh and a “thank you Jesus”!

Each day that we have been dealing with this Dave has been saying, “I will not let this spoil our summer. We’ll work it through one way or another. We just need it fixed and God knows that”.

Truly, He did. He knows all the little things that come about to steal our joy and when we trust Him he will bring us through with a proper attitude.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 NLT

“The Lord is your God. He is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God. He is the amazing and powerful fighter. To him everyone is the same… 21 He is the one you should praise. He is your God. He has done great and amazing things for you. You have seen them with your own eyes.” Deuteronomy 10:17-21 ERV

Will we have annoyances? Yes. Will we face circumstances that are frustrating? Yes. Do we have to give in to them? No.

If we trust Him, our Father will guide us through each situation. He is the amazing and powerful fighter. He will be the one to defend and protect. When we keep our focus on Him and His ability we will have joyful victory over annoying circumstances.

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