He Gives Us the Victory
1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks
be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
My Experience, Strength & Hope
When I wrote this, it was the
end of a great and victorious week for me. I am so excited to share my
testimony with you. God is a good God and He has been so good to me. The week
was a challenging one. It started off with symptoms in my body. I had to keep
stating out loud that “By Jesus’ stripes I am healed.” I put faith in His word
and thanked Him that it was already done. I didn’t look at the symptoms – I
looked at His promises.
That morning, as I went outside
to walk our sweet puppy, I looked up and discovered a beautiful rainbow. Every
time I see the rainbow, I am reminded that God keeps His promises. That week He
certainly did for me! He has told us in His word that He gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. I have seen this promise come to pass in my
life. I need to give away what I have received so freely and wonderfully from our God and King.
I was tempted several times
with food that particular week, but as the Lord taught me through those
circumstances to watch and pray, I came out on top of the enemy’s devices. The
devil even tried to set me up for the upcoming Sunday when Denny and I would go out to eat after church. He put
the thought in my mind, “Why don’t you make that a splurge meal?” I grabbed a
hold of that thought and took it to the Lord. I said to the Lord that I really
didn’t think that thought was coming from Him.
As I got into my shower (the
Lord can speak to us anywhere, LOL!) He reminded me that not only was this a
set up, but that I had previously planned to have one day a month where I eat
other than my normal diet, but it is a planned thing, not a result of the
tempter’s suggestion. Now many months later, as I review this message before it
goes to print I have a new revelation to insert. Watch this because it is very
pivotal to your success overall.
When we plan any type of a
‘binge’ meal, we are committing sin because it is covetoueness which is
idolotyr and it is setting us up for a fall. I used to think it was OK to plan
a monthlky ‘treat meal’, however, the Lord has since shown me that this is not
good. He wants to be able to lead us in what we eat and when no matter where we
are sat. At home or away, we need to be prepared to eat according to our
healthy plan of eating. This will keep us on a sure footing.
That day I woke early, at 5:00
am. I exercised at 5:30 and then took my shower. I was done in time to fix
breakfast and spend time with my husband, and I felt great! I was right on
track with my exercises all week. The Lord showed me in my time of prayer to
count it all joy when we fall into various trials. The testing of our faith
will produce patience. Once this happens, we will be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing. Hallelujah!
I was so blessed when He showed me this as I came to the end of a
victorious week in Christ Jesus, my Lord. The Father showed me that every week
can be just like this, taking it one day at a time. After all, that is the only
way we can live this life, isn’t it? Just one day at a time. I don’t have to
think about tomorrow, or deal with its issues until it gets here.
I only need to live in today and be 100% in the moment I am in. In so
doing, I can benefit from every single part of my day without carrying baggage
from the past, or trying to bring in tomorrow’s cargo and try to carry it today
when I don’t even know what it is yet. That’s victory! That’s what Jesus died
and rose again to give us. Hallelujah!
Friend, I believe I am supposed to share this with you so that you also
can see the word of God and a testimony of practical, lived out examples of how
it works from day to day. Anyone who has struggled with addiction in the past
knows how important it is to stay close to a strong source for help each day.
Well my friend, our Savior is right here, ready, willing and able to come to
our aid. We have Holy Spirit and His written word- they travel together. When
we need something, all we do have to ask. Then we have to receive. And lastly,
we have to do our part. Without those three components working together, we
will fail. For me, failure is NOT an option – how about you?
We are in a race in this life. Anyone who is in Christ has already been given the victory. It’s a
done deal. The only thing left in the equation is for us to reach out and
receive it by faith. May you be blessed and encouraged as you continue to fight
the good fight of faith and allow Your Savior to lead you to Your victory. It’s
yours. It’s there. Its finished! Now receive it in Jesus name.
Scriptures from This Message…
2
Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and
in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Luke 4:1-8
And Jesus being full of the Holy
Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being
forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when
they were ended, he afterward hungered.
And the devil said unto him, If
thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus
answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto
him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him, All this power
will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to
whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be
thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it
is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Peter
1:5-9 (AMPC)
For this very reason, adding your diligence
[to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising
your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in
[exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence), and in [exercising]
knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop]
steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness
[develop] godliness (piety), and in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly
affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
For as these qualities are yours and increasingly
abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the
[full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed
One). For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually]
shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious
[to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins.
Let’s
look at the word DILIGENCE, noun [Latin , to love earnestly; to choose.]
WEBSTERS 1828 Dictionary; Steady application in business of any kind; constant
effort to accomplish what is undertaken; exertion of body or mind without
unnecessary delay or sloth; due attention; industry; assiduity.
James 1:2-8, 12
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and
entire, wanting nothing.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a
wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think
that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.A double minded man is unstable in
all his ways.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.
Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for
your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body,
what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than
raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap,
nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one
cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe
the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven,
shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall
we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Points
to Ponder:
·
We have
already been given the victory through Jesus.
·
We have
to reach out and receive God’s promises by faith.
·
We must
continue daily to fight the good fight of faith.
·
We must
live in the moment we are in. If we are always thinking about our past, we
cannot see our future. If we are always thinking about tomorrow, we are missing
our today. Be where you are!
· Write down
your thoughts about this lesson and how you can make positive changes this
coming week. You’ve got the victory in Him!
If you would like to join our weekly call, please send an email to the following:
The3rdJohn2Program@yahoo.com
Be blessed!
Hanny Stearns
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