Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”- Joshua 24:15
Insight- As we continue on our journey of what it means to live victoriously, let’s finish the list of simple things we can incorporate into our lives and our mindset to make this desire a reality. As we mentioned yesterday, the base requirement that it all starts with is proper alignment. A simple formula I use is God is 1st, family is 2nd, and everything else is 3rd. This helps get our foundation set and it helps us to prioritize things the right way, which leads to us being able to live victoriously more easily. We talked yesterday about how Acts 20:35 and Mark 10:45 get us in alignment with Jesus’s heart and make us think about things in a radically different way than how unbelievers would think. It is better to give than receive and it is better to serve than to be served are antithetical to how the world views living victoriously. But as we said yesterday, the Kingdom of God is always upside-down compared to what the world values.
With that being said, here is a continuation of the list we began to build yesterday:
1.People are desperate for the truth to be spoken to them right now amidst the chaos and confusion that is swirling all around. The Gospel is the truth that people are searching for.It is the story of God’s love and redemption plan for them.
2.Be merciful more than judgemental. James 2:13 says “mercy triumphs over judgement.” More importantly, mercy is a positive reaction while judgement drains energy.
3.Live outside your comfort zone- real growth happens here. The same principle applies to building muscles, it takes work and pain to get the gain. When we get stretched in life and we are called outside of our comfort zone, we grow in all areas, but especially in our faith.
4. Don’t put too much hope in things that you can lose. You can never lose your salvation once you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. However, the value of your assets goes up and down your entire life, so we must learn not to cling too tight to those things which can be lost. This has been an especially tough challenge in my faith walk, where I have sought a feeling of ‘control’ in my life based on my net worth, but God has been working on me to not equate my net worth to my self worth. We are all precious and of incalculable value to God.
5. See miracles that are all around you every day and be in awe of them. Hummingbirds dancing in the air are amazing; A Caterpillar turning into a Butterfly is an amazing metamorphosis; getting what you prayed for is amazing. So take time to thank God each day for the miracles all around you both big and small. By noticing them, you will become happier.
6. Ask yourself about all things and relationships that you allow in your life one simple question: Is this an energy boost or an energy drain? Go for the boosts and refrain from the drains. Conflict drains you, helping others boosts you.
7.Avoid COMPARISON! The word itself warns us when we a compare-I-sin. Social media is a hot bed for comparison and it is destructive because people compare themselves many times to a false narrative of how other people want you to view their lives. But here’s the truth: No one has it all together and everyone has deep struggles that we know nothing about.
8. When things are tough, it is ok to admit you are not ok. It is ok to ask for help. In fact, it can be very healthy to admit when we are not ok. What is denied cannot be healed, so bring it into the light. We all need help and support from friends or professionals at various times in our life and it is ok to admit this.
9. Realize how much you need other people and value those special relationships. God does not expect us to go through this world alone. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
10. We all need endurance to run the race of life. It truly is not a sprint but a marathon.As long as we keep learning and keep growing, even our biggest mistakes can become big assets. Use every experience you encounter to learn and to love more deeply.
Consider praying on these points and then start to incorporate them into your life daily. The results will come quickly if you implement them on a consistent basis.Victorious living will soon follow!
Prayer: Father God, we all need you more than ever before. We admit that sometimes we are not ok, and that this life gets very hard. Please help us to recalibrate by focusing on You, and all that is right in the world, and away from all the evil and division and chaos caused by the enemy. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. Amen!
0 Comments