Day 339 - Living The Dream

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"Victor living isn’t about us GETTING what we think would be best for us to live the good life we chase so relentlessly in this life. The victor’s life is about LIVING the dream. Not our dream, but God’s dream."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 227.

I have a friend who, when asked "How are you?" always says, "Living The Dream!" How about you? Are you living the dream?

There are days when the life of my dreams is nothing short of a nightmare. Those are the days when I wonder what I did to deserve the badness that might be victimizing me at that time. It is when I think my life is a nightmare that victim thinking can really take hold of my life.

It is so easy to see life in such a negative light when bad things are happening to us. It is hard to see any goodness that we have when our circumstances aren't turning out quite the way we wanted them to. Fact is, there is plenty of good in any person's life, even in some of the worst times of life.

It is when we expect a good life because of who we think we are that victim thinking can really works its way into our lives. This is especially the case when we think that our walk with God guarantees goodness to be what He always provides.

There are so many of us followers of Christ that have a warped view of what God's goodness is to look like in our lives. We have tied God's goodness to everything being good as we would define that word. It is just like when we make victor living all about experiencing victory in our lives. If victory is the only definition of what a victor's life is to look like, none of us can ever expect to be victors all the time. Fact is we win some and we lose some. If victory is the hallmark of being a victor then when we lose victor isn't something we can ever claim. Apply that line of thinking to God's goodness and you see the problem with making His goodness be all about you receiving what you want all the time.

What we have to remember is that the word good is such a relative term. I have family members who think that good is eating fish for breakfast. I have to tell you that the thought of fish, especially for breakfast is the furthest thing from good I could ever imagine. Using a word like good to describe food can cause disagreement due to the fact that our tastes are so different. The same goes for the word good when we use our lives as the primary focus for what good is suppose to look like.

What God sees as good might look to be the absolute worse thing we could ever imagine. It was "good" for Abraham to have to wait over 100 years to see his first child born. It was "good" for Joseph to be sold into slavery by his brothers. It was good that David would be viciously pursued by King Saul. It was "good" that Paul went blind at the sight of God. It was "good" for Jesus to die on the cross.

Each of these key Biblical events weren't all that good to the individual. Fact is, however, that the goodness that you and I enjoy in our walk with God might not have happened were it not for these terrible events happening to each of these people. What one person saw as bad was seen as good when viewed from God's perspective. God sees life in such a different way than we do. Sometimes that view makes the bad times we face part of a good plan for all of God's creation.

That fact doesn't make it any easier to deal with the victimizing feelings that come at us when bad times hit. That's why we have to be so careful not to tie things like victory or our definition of what good is suppose to be to who we are in the eyes of this God that made us. When we do tie our thinking to who we are, God looks to be a pretty big victimizer. This makes our walk with Him be fueled by victim thinking on our part.

So, what's a person to do when it comes to what good might mean in our lives? I think today's reading sheds some light on the answer to this question. It says...

You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. Acts 10:36-38 (NIV)

Two times the word good is used here. The first time it is used to describe the Gospel. The news of Jesus is called "good news." That's what Gospel means - "good news." Think about that for a moment. What we see as good news - the death of Jesus Christ - is called "GOOD" news. Could it be that some of the victimizing things that are happening to you right now is going to be seen as something good for someone else down the road? I know that isn't enough to make what you are going through OK at the moment. It wasn't OK for Jesus when He hung on that cross either.

The second time the word good is used in today's reading describes the work Jesus did while he walked this earth. It says the good He did came as he healed all those under the power of the devil. This is more than just making the blind see and the lame walk. The power of the devil is something we need to see as being pervasive in our world. It is just as much behind the blindness and handicaps Jesus healed as it is behind the badness happening to you right now. The goodness being referred to here isn't just being taken out of the badness that is happening. God's goodness is the fact that Satan just can't win.

That's what the good news of Jesus is all about. That's why good can be seen in the terrible times that come against us. God's good news is that Satan just can't win in our lives. Though it looks like he is way ahead at times, the race isn't over. Satan is doomed. That means he can't keep us down. God's good news is that we are victors no matter how much victory seems to be missing in our lives.

It is when we stop demanding that God's goodness be what we want for our lives that victor living takes on a power unlike anything victory can ever bring. Satan is confounded by the fact that we continue to worship this God in spite of how Satan makes all the badness that happens in this world look like it came from the hands of God. It is when the don't buckle under the weight of the badness in our lives to give up our victor status that the goodness of God can be seen even in the badness that comes our way.

Even when your life feels like a nightmare, God's dream is hard at work in your life. Don't give up on who you are. You aren't defined by the victimizing events in your life.  Believing you are is the epitome of victim thinking. It is good that God calls you His child. It is good that you will not be defeated by Satan's attacks. It is good that you are representing a goodness that this world is hungry for. Stand strong in who you are. Let your victor status make the life you live today a dream straight from the heavenly realm. 

Day 338 - What’s In A Name?

Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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What does your name mean? Ever give any thought to the spiritual implications of your name? God has! You weren’t given the name you have by accident. God is part of every detail of your life. Why wouldn’t He be part of something as profound as our name?

For those of who are parents, naming our kids was a big deal. I can remember with both of our children, struggling over what their name should be.  I have to be honest, I don’t think we put a whole lot of spiritual thought into the naming our kids. It is my believe, however, that the names we gave them are exactly what God wanted them to have. The same goes for you and for me.

 Our names have meaning way beyond what we might be able to look up on the Internet.  God sees a meeting to our name that goes beyond what any person might be able to turn up. Meaning has implications far beyond the life that we live right now.  I may be over spiritualizing this point, but bear with me just a second. I believe that our names have kingdom size consequences. I believe our names speak into who God sees us to be. Though we may not be able to fully understand the depth and breath of what our names mean right at this moment, I believe our names have significant meaning.

 As you read the Bible you will see many instances where God changes the name of the those He interacted with. Abram became Abraham. Simon became Peter. Saul became Paul. God often chose a name or changed a name in order to depict what he was doing through their lives.  In every case, what God was demonstrating was the fact that we are a reflection of him in everything we do - right down to the very descriptor of who we are. The same goes for this day and age is well. Everything we do, all that we are, even the name that is on our birth certificate has a meaning as far as God is concerned.

I hope that gives you a sense of confidence like never before. You were purpose! Even your name speaks of that purpose. God's hand is on every detail of your life. Nothing is been overlooked.  Every breath you take is filled with the promise of God‘s purpose for you in this world.

I know the world has done a really good job of robbing us of the feeling that we will ever be purposed. It is so easy to feel unworthy and without destiny. Circumstances of life can come at us in ways that make it easy to think that we just don’t belong.  I hope today that feeling of being disconnected is replaced by the fact that even your very name speaks of connection through purpose and destiny. God has made a way for you! God has spoken into who you are. Your identity is that of a victor. As His child you were purposed and destined to see the hand of God move throuugh your life.

Not only are we purposed and destined in this life. our names have eternal implications as well. Today’s Bible reading is filled with an amazing promise for the future of our identity.  Check out today’s reading with me now.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17 (NIV)

 There is a white stone in Heaven waiting for you and for me. That stone has a name engraved on it. We will be the only ones, other than God, that will understand what that name means. When we see that name, I can't help but to believe so much of this life will just make sense. The ups and downs of this life will all be explained by that one word etched on a white stone waiting for us in Heaven. The opportunities that will come from that point on will all be based on the fact that our identity will be so completely spelled out by that name on that white stone.

If that is the case, why aren't we given that name now? Wouldn't life be so much easier to deal with if we completely knew our identity like we will sometime in the future? You bet it would be easier. Maybe that is why God is waiting. This isn't our home. Maybe He is saving the best for last. Maybe the lessons we learn by catching glimpses of our God-given identity here on earth will pay big dividends for all eternity in Heaven. Maybe our need to trust God with our identity is what God needs us to do right now. Whatever the reason God has for us not knowing that name now, I know that reason is a good and right one.

I have a feeling that name on that stone is inside us right at this moment. I can almost see the stone in my hand if I stop and think through identity with God. It isn't that God is keeping us from knowing - it is more that we just aren't ready to know completely what we will know one day in the not too distant future. In the meantime, I think that we just know. I believe Simon always knew that He was Peter. I believe Saul always knew He would become a Paul. I don't think they realized that God Himself would rename them in the way that He did. I don't think that they had any inkling of the ramifications of what their name change would have on their lives and on the world itself.

I do think that they had a feeling things were to be different. Don't you feel that way too? Don't you feel like there is more than what you are part of right now? I believe that feeling is God in us! I believe the BIGNESS of God is straining to get out of us as we experience those feelings of more in our live.

It isn't that we are failing God by that bigness not showing itself as fully as we would like. It is that the time isn't right. If God needed me to know that name on that white stone right here and now, don't you think He would give it to me? In the meantime, I'm to act on what I know about the identity God has given me. I'm to be the best me I can possibly be and let the chips fall where they may in my life.

That's the power of identity when we let who we are drive what we do. The results just don't matter. When we let who God sees us to be lead the way, the world can't help but to be changed by God's influence that flows through us. It is when we get caught up in trying to make happen things that bolster an identity we think we are to have that victim thinking takes over in our lives.

Do all the research you want on what your name means. Dig into how that meaning is being played out in your life. Let God lead you into a more complete understanding of how who He says you are is to impact the world around you. But, don't go too far down that path without God's leading. You don't have the white stone in your hand yet. You won't fully understand the power of your identity until the time set by the Father.

Let you identity as God's Child be enough for you today. Don't strive for more - it is a waste of time. God's timing is perfect. God's plan is good. Be all you were called to be as you let the power of who you are be what makes what you do impact all you come into contact with today.

Day 337 - Unmistakably His

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God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NLT)

There is a truth in today's reading that we need to grasp so that we don't overstep our bounds as the victors God has made us to be. In the middle of today's reading are these words, "Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies." I believe so many of us are burned out because we have failed to apply this amazing command from God's word.

When I first read this sentence, I immediately jumped to the fact that God has all the energy and strength in the world. If that be the case, then shouldn't I? There's where mistakes start to happen. Our reading today isn't saying that we will have all God's strength and energy. It says to do whatever we have been gifted with when it comes to the strength and energy that He gives.

If he gives you the strength to do what you do for five minutes, then give just five minutes of effort. It is as we go beyond what God gives that we get ourselves in trouble. This is just as true when it comes to the strength and energy we need to get a job done.

Wow, I just saw something very troubling that slipped in the words I just shared. I completely set myself up for failure with my last sentence. I ended my sentence with "...to get the job done." I'm starting to realize that God isn't all that concerned with us getting the job done. He is concerned with us relating to Him as we endeavor to do things at His leading. If God wants us to finish the job, He will give us the strength and energy to do so. Many times, the strength and energy that He gives was never meant to get a job done. When we fail to compete what we start, we can feel so dejected and unworthy. That's how victim thinking creeps into our lives. Having the wrong goal in mind makes life something that God never intended it to be for us to experience.

We are way to quick to take an assignment from God and blow it into proportions that just don't make sense. It is no wonder there are so many tired and haggard Christian workers out there. Whatever God assigns us to do, He gives just enough strength and energy to do that job. I'm starting to believe that that soul tired feeling so many of us have experienced has come as a result of us going beyond what God has provided. It is when we have to muster up our own strength and energy to get the job done that burn out is a real possibility. When we get to that place of burn out, we are so easily drawn into victim thinking ways.

I know what many of you are thinking right now. If I don't do what I'm killing myself to do right now, who will? You are absolutely right. Who will? Maybe you aren't to be the one? Maybe God has other plans for you - plans you are delaying by draining all the strength and energy He has given you for that other project. Sure, the job might not get done. Is that really your problem? Aren't you suppose to be the obedient child following your Father in what He is doing through your life? If you don't have the strength or energy to do what you have done in the past, maybe God is pointing you towards something different. As for getting the job done, isn't it really up to God to get it done anyway?

I'm in no way advocating any of us cutting and running at the first sign of tiredness. The work God has given us is not easy. It requires strength and energy. Today's reading reminds me that He is to provide that strength and energy. It is when we are constantly on edge. It is when we feel like we are about to unravel day in and day out that we might need to take time and consider what God is doing in our lives at this moment.

It isn't that we failed if we have run out of strength and energy. It is that we have gone beyond the supply that the Father knew we needed. Do you trust Him in being the supplier? If not, hang on because that bone tired feeling is bound to be something you are going to experience time and time again in your life. Don't blame God! He gave you exactly what you needed. His supply was perfect. Your demand is what is offsetting the equation when it comes to how you feel in this world.

It is like the Manna God gave to the Israelites in the desert. They could pick up as much as they wanted to but the excess beyond what they needed for that day spoiled by the next morning. He wants us to trust His provision. That is so hard in this world, especially when it comes to being a success at what we put our hands to. That is the case because we tend to let what we do be the basis for who we are. That's a failed strategy that we allow in our lives way too often.

What we do has nothing to do with who we are. If you are running low on strength and energy to complete what you are working on right now, it's time to turn to God. Seek Him. Seek His guidance. See if you have gone beyond where He wanted you to go. Be willing to make changes so that His supply will, once again, match your demand.

You will get a lot done in your life today. Don't let what you get done go beyond the strength and energy God provides. If you do, your victor status could easily be traded for victim thinking. Let God give you exactly what you need to make what happens in your life today something that is unmistakably His!

Day 336 - Setting Us Free

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"Depending on the offense, forgiveness might need to be done time and time again until we feel the gates of that prison open and we can start to enjoy the freedom we are offering to ourselves."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 212.

One of the most common misconceptions about forgiveness is that it only takes one time to make forgiveness work in our lives. Sure, there those lucky people who seem to be able to simply put hurtful things behind them in one fell swoop. Believe me, that's the exception not the rule.

So many of us give up on the process of forgiveness before the process comes to an end. That's right, forgiveness is a process. Why it can't always be a once and done kind of thing I just don't know. The reality is that forgiveness often takes time. The time that forgiveness takes requires that we forgive over and over again. God isn't judging how quickly we go through the process when it comes to forgiveness. He is looking for people who are willing to do what it takes to taste the freedom forgiveness offers.

I don't know if you know this or not, but peace can't coexist with bitterness that comes from resentment. Want proof of that fact? Close your eyes and think of the face of the last person who offended you so badly. How do you feel when you see that person's face? If you are like me, there is a tenseness inside that just wants to explode into anger. This reaction is just from imagining someone's face! Imagine what would happen if you had to deal with this offender in person!

That feeling is what I believe can be attributed to lack of peace. You see, that person who's face made your blood boil has a control on you. That control has come through resentment and maybe even bitterness. As long as that is allowed to linger, peace can never be something you can count on.

The antidote needed when bitterness and resentment chases away your peace is forgiveness. We need copious doses of forgiveness in our lives to cut off the roots of bitterness that threaten to choke out the peace God has for us. Like I said earlier, it is the lucky person who can forgive once and be done with it. It does happen, but I haven't found that to be the case in my life as of yet.

I'm one of those who has to forgive over and over again. There are times where I am saying over and over again, in my head, "I forgive you, I forgive you!" I say it until I feel my peace coming back again and then I say it again.

I want peace more than I want to hold a grudge against that jerk that offended me. Being offended does nothing but drive that peace from my life. I use to want to hold a grudge. I use to want to retaliate in ways that would hurt my offender the way they had hurt me. Now I just want peace.

Sure I entertain the thoughts of holding a grudge or getting even. When I'm stuck in that kind of victim thinking, I remember the prison I'm about to lock myself up in. Offense, resentment, bitterness are all jail cells of our own making. The offender doesn't hold the power that comes with the peace of freedom. We do. That power is exercised when we choose to forgive. Stepping completely into the light of that freedom often takes concerted and repeated times of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not only required when others offend us, there is someone else we need to forgive in order to step into the peace God has for our lives. One of the most important people we need to forgive is ourselves. That's right. We need to offer ourselves the grace of forgiveness before peace can really come our way.

Maybe it is the decisions that you made to get you to where you are right now in life. Maybe is was the hurtful words you said to a loved one a long time ago. Maybe is was how selfish you have been with those you love deeply. Maybe it is your failure to be present for those who look up to you. Whatever it is, we have done and said, as well as having not done and not said, there is a lot in our lives that we need to forgive ourselves of.

How do you forgive yourself? It is just like forgiving someone else. You simply say, "I forgive you." You might want to stand in front of a mirror and look yourself in the eye as you say these words. You will probably need to say them over and over again.

Check out today's Bible reading with me now.

Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Luke 6:37-38 (MSG)

It is obvious today's reading is talking about us acting a certain way towards others who might have offended us. I'd like to look at today's reading in first person. In other words, I want you to consider what today's reading is saying with regards to how you treat yourself.

God is saying through Luke that we shouldn't pick on ourselves. We aren't to get all up in arms about our failures. We aren't to criticize our faults. When you are down, that's not the time to be hard on yourself. We are to be easy on ourselves. We are to give ourselves some slack. That's the bonus and blessing God has done for us - shouldn't we also extend ourselves that same courtesy?

That's what forgiveness does when we forgive ourselves. We open the door to the blessing of peace. We let ourselves free to enjoy the peace God has made available for us. Holding onto the hurts that we have caused our self does nothing but make peace that much harder to connect with in the world where we live.

God is a god of forgiveness. He is a God of second chance. We were created in His image. We too, should be a people of forgiveness and second chance. This is particularly the case when it comes to ourselves. I wish I was as good at forgiveness as God is. Maybe I will be some day. In the meantime, all I can do is practice, practice and practice. The more I forgive, the more I think peace will be a part of the victor lifestyle God has laid out before me.

Take time today to forgive. Do it over and over again. Start with your self and go from there. Don't worry if you don't believe you have forgiven at first. The more you forgive, the more you might actually believe you have completely forgiven. It doesn't really matter if you believe or not. Taking steps to forgive gets you into a position where God can bless you with peace. Make forgiveness be something that unleashes the riches of heaven in your life today.

Day 335 - Shame

Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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I just finished listened to another amazing presentation on Abundant Living by Ken Baugh. I highly recommend you listen to his entire talk by referring back to the text of this podcast and linking to his YouTube channel there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6vWCNK0xDE&feature=em-uploademail

Ken spoke on a topic that, I believe holds the key to victor living. Shame is a killer when it comes to our ability to live like the victor God made us to be.

Shame is such an affront to who we are. Where guilt comes at us as a result of what we do, shame threatens to change who we are in ways that cause long term damage to our psyche.

Shame can be such a challenge to recognize in our lives. For many of us, shame has played such a critical role in our life that it is considered healthy and welcomed. That's a terrible place for us to remain. We just can't be all we want to be in this world when we are being driven by shame.

Defining shame can be a challenge at times. I love how simple Ken made it when it comes to identifying shame in my life. Ken said that we can open the door to dealing with shame by filling in the blank in the following sentence.

"I am NOT (blank) enough."

What would you fill in the blank with. In other words, what areas of your life do you feel lacking. Maybe you would say you are not pretty enough. Maybe you have been taught you are not smart enough. Maybe you have been conditioned to think you are not successful enough. Maybe you have resigned to think you are not a good enough parent.

The one word in this short sentence that Ken gave to help us identify potential areas where shame resides that really makes shame possible is the word enough. It isn't all that shame based to say, "I am not pretty." Shame threatens to work its roots in our life when the word enough is added to that statement.

Enough implies that others are more pretty than yourself. Enough makes us believe that the good things that might be happening to others are a result of their being better than we are in any number of areas. Though others may be prettier than us, shame gets us to believe that we are unworthy of the good life that person has simply because we are lacking in something we think they have more of. It is when we see ourselves unworthy that shame takes hold in ways that make victim thinking so possible in our lives.

Comparison is always a stumbling block to those of us trying to live the victors God sees us to be. When we compare our lives to the lives of others, then try to come up with answers as to what we are missing that might be keeping us from having the life they have, shame takes hold in a big way. Often what we think we need to get the life others have just isn't something we have control over. Stay in that place of feeling helpless to make our lives more and victim thinking will take hold in victimizing ways.

Ken pointed out that we react to shame in two ways. Our behavior reflects the shame in our lives through fear and/or blame. Shame can drive us to fear the world and what we are doing in this world. It can make us fear who God says we are, when that identity doesn't rise to the level we want when compared to others. Shame can make fear be a motivating factor to isolate in self destructive ways. Isolation can happen as we withdraw to wallow in our own self loathing or we push everyone out of the way so we can make happen what we want in our lives. Fear can be the motivation behind the most lazy of us in this world and the most driven as well.

Fear is one method of dealing with shame. The other way we deal with shame is to blame others for how we are. Shame can make us lash out in anger driven fits that work to drive people away. It is so much easier to blame others for how we are than to take responsibility for getting shame out of our lives. The more we project the feelings driven by shame on others, the more alone we become. Fear and blame make life a lonely existence for those of us caught in the trap of shame.

I love today's Bible reading. It deals with shame and points out some truths that we need to know to live like the victors we all want to be. It says...

Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. Isaiah 61:7 (ESV)

I love the promises in today's Word. A double portion, everlasting joy and rejoicing - promises that are the foundation of victor living. Amazing thing is, that I believe this foundation can be had even when the world is trying to shame us in victimizing ways. Victory doesn't have to be the epitome of double portion. Joy and rejoicing doesn't always have to accompany victory. The more we realize that victory isn't the cornerstone of victor living, the less power shame will have in our lives.

Isaiah shoots straight with us in this verse. He calls our situation - the challenging times that might be bringing a sense of shame into our lives - our lot! Sometimes that's how life is. It is a lot! It's a lot to deal with. It's a lot to comprehend. It is a lot to tolerate. It takes a lot to thrive when so many things come at us in ways they do from time to time.

The promise from today's reading is that things can be different. Instead of "OUR" shame, a double portion of God's goodness is promised. Don't take this to mean that all will instantly turn out OK. What this is saying is that God's presence is always there. His presence is what we need to find joy in. Rejoicing is possible when we realize that God hasn't left us. Circumstances can be such shame making events when we think that we aren't "enough" of whatever to deserve God to be part of our lives.

The bad times you face in this life aren't proof that you don't measure up. God doesn't see you as lacking. He sees you as His Child. He isn't allowing bad times to come to get you to increase some element of your character so as to be a better representative of Him. He is with you in the bad times so that the light of Heaven can shine through you in some pretty dark times.

Take time today to consider what areas of life you feel you are falling short in. Then consider, maybe those thoughts are based in shame. That shame is harming your identity. All you do is to be empowered by who you are. If shame is changing who you are, you are going to fall short in what you do. Let God's presence remind you that shame has no place in who you are. You are a victor. Let that fact overwhelm the feelings of shame that threaten make what you do today fall short of what God has planed for you.

Day 334 - Making Dreams Happen

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"If those dreams and your destiny are there at God’s placement, like I think they are in my life, then look at your identity and destiny the way God sees them, from heaven down not from earth up."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 197.

Dreams - they can be part of what drives us forward or holds us back. Dreams, and the lack thereof, are a powerful force when it comes to living this life as the victor God calls us to be.

What dreams do you have? Do you dream of having more stuff? Do you dream of a better life? Do you dream of peace and contentment? Do you dream of making a difference with your life? These are the things that make or break us when it comes to thriving in this life of ours. How we view our dreams often makes the difference when it comes to victor living and victim thinking.

When viewed through the lens of victim thinking, dreams can take on a power that drives us to places we were never meant to go. It is when we connect our dreams to who we are that victim thinking takes over in ways that make victims of those around us. It isn't that our dreams are wrong. It is when we find that our dreams aren't turning out quite the way we thought they would that we can do and say things that tend to hurt those closest to us.

I believe that dreams originate from God Himself. I think He is the one that puts the dreams we have in our hearts and in our heads. That's why it is so challenging to who we are when dreams don't happen quite the way we thought they would. It isn't that God has failed us when our dreams don't happen when or how we intended. It is the fact that we have held on to our own expectations as to how dreams are to happen that makes failure such a victim making proposition when it comes to dreams.

The actual meaning of any particular dream in our lives, heck even the timing of that dream is up for interpretation if it came from God. We are so quick to demand God meet our view of what that dream means and to respond to that dream in our timing. Anything short of our expectations makes us react in victim thinking ways. If dreams are from God like I believe them to be, then isn't it kind of silly for us to be disappointed and discouraged when dreams don't turn out quite how we expected them to?

That's the problem with living a life as a victor when expectations are involved. Expectations make it ever so difficult to see things from a perspective that makes sense in this crazy world. Viewing something heavenly from the perspective of our lives looking up to heaven turns dreams into nightmares when our dreams don't turn out like we thought they would. It is only when we view dreams from God's perspective, from heaven looking down, do we stand the best chance of weathering the storms that comes against our dreams from time to time in this life.

This doesn't mean that we aren't to have expectations. Expectations are a sweetness of life that God doesn't expect us to do without. Victors are learning that we have to hold our expectations loosely. What we might think a dream is to look like could be exactly the opposite of what God intended. Victors realize that God's intentions are meant to trump our expectations, even when that means dreams turn into something we never intended.

It is when we are driven by identity as far as dreams are concerned that we tend to do and say things to make trouble for those around us. The dreams God gives don't make us who we are. We are who God says we are. Dreams are to be empowered by our identity. Dreams were never meant to be what makes identity be what we want it to be. When we get this backwards we tend to flounder in victim thinking in ways that make victims of those all around us.

Such was the case with a couple from the Old Testament. Abraham and Sarah always dreamed of having a family. I believe that dream was put there by God. In fact, God came to Abraham and Sarah and told them they would be the parents of a great nation. Years turned into decades and still no child. The dream of being a Father of a great nation was an identity that was too much for poor Abraham to wait and see happen. Finally at the ripe old age of 100, Abraham and Sarah cook up a scheme to make their dreams come to reality. Abraham ends up sleeping with one of Sarah's servants and gets her pregnant. Ishmael is born as Abraham's first son. Then the dream turns into a nightmare.

Sarah becomes jealous of Ismael's mother. Abraham is caught between his wife and the mother of His beloved child. Taking things into his own hands to make his God-given dreams happen stirred up a hornet's nest that continues, even today. Then the miracle happens. Isaac is born of Sarah. Jealousy really takes over and fuels victim thinking. Sarah demands Ismael be sent away. Abraham actually sentences Ismael and his mother to death as he leaves them in the desert to die. What God intended to be a beautiful dream for Abraham and Sarah turns into a nightmare of life by this couple trying to make their dreams happen in their own way and in their own timing.

Ismael is the father of the Arab world. Isaac is the father of the Jewish world. The long seated animosity between two sons threatens the very peace of the entire world today. The dream for peace we all want in our lives is threatened by the fact that a couple took a God-given dream and tried to make it happen using their own expectations as their guide.

The same happens to us all when we take God's dreams and try to make them happen in our lives. We turn something beautiful into something ugly. Exercising our control makes our dreams into something God never intended. Though we might be delayed in receiving what we think God's dreams actually mean in our life, it is always better to receive what God intended rather than what we expect.

Our reading today makes it possible for us to view dreams and the timing of those dreams in a different light. It says...

Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. 2 Peter 3:8-9 (MSG)

It is obvious to me that God gives us the dreams that make life worth living. It is just as obvious to me that when we box God in with our expectations as to what those dreams are to look like that disappointment will make victim thinking that much more likely in our lives. If your dreams aren't happening in the way or the timing you expected, take today's reading to heart. Maybe it is because God's plan required that your dreams be delayed. Maybe the way you want your dreams to happen are more a reflection of your naturally selfish ways. He isn't holding back on your dreams because He wants to teach you not to be selfish. He is holding back because it isn't the right time for that dream to come to fulfillment because of a plan that is so much bigger than our individual life.

Dream big dreams for your life today. Just don't let those dreams be tied to who you are in ways God never intended. May the dreams you have for your life line up exactly with what God says and the timing He wants. When they don't - don't give up on your dreams. They are there because God wants them to be there. Trust Him, not your ability to make your dreams come about. Then get moving and watch how God works to make your dreams happen in your life today.

Day 333 - Truth & Lies Part 2

Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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Yesterday we took a close look at the truth and how it plays a role in our Victim-Based Society. Today we will drill down on how lies work to make victim thinking more of a part of our lives.

As we discussed yesterday, we need to know the truth. Truth needs to be our guiding light. Truth based on anything other than love will be something that works to divide and cause victims all around us.

We also saw that when we look solely to truth for the basis of identity, others that challenge that truth will be viewed in a way that makes love powerless. When truth is the foundation for identity, we are forced to defend that truth in ways that can make victims of those around us. When it comes to truth there are two points that we need to grasp in order to make truth all it is suppose to be in our lives.

The first point is that truth is something we should be willing to die for. Truth that isn't powerful enough for us to be willing to lose all we are over isn't worth being a part of our lives. The second point is similar to the first. Truth shouldn't be something we'd be willing to kill for. Defending our truth in ways to cause harm to others is a truth that is dangerous. This doesn't mean that we should never fight for what we believe. It does mean that we should be extremely careful of our actions when truth is the reason for division in our world.

The seemingly opposite of truth are lies. Lies come against the truth in ways that make the truth hard to hold onto. A convincing lies is one that has some element of truth to it. This fact is what victors need to realize when it comes to dealing with truth and lies in their lives.

We will rarely fall for a lie that is completely out of the blue. The lies that tend to trip us up are ones that take an element of our foundational truth and twist it in ways that convince us that the lie is believable. Victors need to be able to parse the truth from the multitude of lies that come our way. Where truths tend to be the foundation for who we are, lies tend to make us doubt who we are. Ignoring the truth hidden in a lie makes it so that we resist change. Focusing our attention on the lies drive us change in ways that just don't make sense.

Where the issue of truth and lies really come into play is when we are offended by what someone says about us. For the vast majority of the unkind words used against us, there is an element of truth that we need to pay attention to in order for our victor status to have the power we need in this world. We are far too quick to let offense blind us to the truth and retaliate against the lies when we are offended by what someone says about us.

I once saw Orson Wells on a talk show when I was young. Mr. Wells was a brilliant man. He was being interviewed by Merv Griffin and another guest on that show made a joke about Orson's weight. Mr. Wells was a large man at that time of his life. Merv truned to Orson and asked him what he thought of the comment that was made about how overweight he was. Mr Wells said something like the following; "The gentlemen is absolutely correct in saying I am fat. Unfortunately, he is ignorant and tomorrow I am going on a diet." This statement is a perfect example of dealing with the truth and rejecting the lies when offensive things are said about us. Let me explain that a bit.

You see, Mr. Wells faced the truth head on. He was fat! I can't say that any other way. Mr Wells knew he was over weight. He wasn't offended by that comment. That comment was true. Additionally, Mr Wells knew he had control over that situation. Going on a diet was a choice he had to change the truth that was so plainly obvious for all to see. What was inferred by this comment was that Mr Wells somehow stupid because of his size. The lie was that his weight reflected on his intellect. Orson Wells made it clear that day it is easier to change your weight than to change your mental capabilities. By facing the truth and rejecting the lie, Mr Wells turned an offensive comment into another proof of the genius this man was created to be.

We too need to be able to take the truths of what are being said about us and reject the lies that are being inferred. Offense makes it so easy to simply reject the person instead of rejecting the lies. We need to be able to learn from the truth that is being hidden in the lies and brush off the sting of the untruths that come against us. Being offended by lies is a waste of time for those of us trying to live a victor's lifestyle.

Victim thinking can't help but to happen when we simply react to hurtful words by being offended. I'm learning that, even the most hateful speech against me might contain an element of truth that might make victor living that much more possible in my life. It is when I simply discount the person for what they said, or how they said what they said, that I end up losing as much as the offender in my life.

When it comes to truth and lies, we need to have a footing from which to discern which is which. That' footing is identity in my opinion. Check out today's Bible reading with me now.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,  in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. Colossians 2:2-5 (NIV)

It sure would be nice if all the people we had to contend with were Paul's in our life. Paul authored this letter to the Colossians. He did so to encourage and unite them in the love of Christ. He had some difficult things to say to them. The truth he was presenting was done in a manner as to enable them to be able to discern the truth and reject the lies that were threatening to take them off track. It was as the Colossians were forgetting who they were that the world's lies looked like truth in a way that made it a possibility for them to get into areas they just didn't need to go.

The same can be said for our lives as well. It is as we fail to recognize who we are that what this world says about us can be either so offensive or life changing. As I said earlier, offense makes it impossible to learn from the truth of the situation. It is when we believe the lie that we make changes in our lives that make identity so hard to trust and understand.

Believing a lie that makes us want to change our ways is a terrible thing for those looking to live this life as a victor to do. When we make changes to who we are based on wrong information about ourselves, we create an altered identity that just can't be supported in the long run. It is so easy to become lost in this world when we let lies lead us to change how we let our God given identity empower what we do. Trying to change who God sees us to be is such a victim making proposition. That's why knowing the truth and rejecting the lies is paramount for those looking to trade victim thinking for victor living.

The reality is that we are not all that great at recognizing truth in the lies that come our way. It is just as true that we aren't all that adept at being able to reject the lies that come against us. We are more likely to accept the lies and reject the truth. That's a strategy that has victim thinking all over it. How do we change that strategy in our lives?

Here's what I'm finding I need to do. When I feel offended, I need to ask myself, what element of truth might there be in the hurtful words coming against me? This usually takes time for me to do. I need to cool off when I'm offended by what someone says. It is in that cooling off time that I need to allow the reality that some truth might be there that I need to apply in my life. Even if what was said was only 1% true, I need to own 100% of that 1% and reject the rest in my life.

That's what I mean when I say that those living like victors need to accept the truth and reject the lies in their life. We need to be better at recognizing truth and rejecting lies. We get better with practice.

Take time today to ask your self what is true and what are lies when you feel the world coming against you in potentially victimizing way. Own the truth and reject the lies. In doing so, you will be more of the victor God sees you to be. Let the power of the truth overwhelm the sting of the lies that you might face in your life today.

Day 332 - Truth & Lies Part 1

Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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Victor living hinges on dealing with the truth and rejecting lies that come our way. Sadly, it is difficult to separate the two in some situations that we come against. I happen to believe that the vast majority of the situations that have driven our society into such a Victim-Based frenzy is the fact that we are all too willing to accept the lie and reject the truth of any given situation.

People are so scared of the truth. Scared, that is, unless the truth happens to align with what that person happens to believe is correct. Society has degenerated to the point where truth has become so relative. Truth is what you feel is correct. Hold a truth that differs from mine and relationship becomes a causality. The polarization of relationships into groups of those who agree with my truth is a place where horrific victimization opportunities abound. It is so easy to let hate and evil be a part of my actions when whatever I hold as truth is so closely tied to who I am.

That's why there is so much divisiveness in our world today. We don't know who we are. We are using our believes and the resulting truths from those beliefs to be what forms the basis of identity. Come against that truth and you are directly assaulting who I am. When identity is threatened it is so easy to make victims of those all around us.

This principal is just as true if we use religion as the basis of who we are. If you see your identity steeped in what it means to be a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, it is so easy to allow radical thinking to take hold in victimizing ways. Same goes if the foundation of your identity is based on your sexual orientation, your ethnic background, your socioeconomic standing, your political affiliation, or any other worldly identifier. If you look to this world for the basis of who you are those who aren't like you are going to come against your understanding of truth in ways that will cause division and ultimately victimization.

It all comes down to right and wrong. If I hold the belief that my thinking is right and yours is wrong, we now have a situation where victim thinking can take hold. If my belief is a cornerstone to who I see myself as being, then our disagreement just can't be tolerated. I have to be proven right and you must be proven wrong. Can't you hear the potential for victimization in that last statement? Our current political and social environment is a prime example of what I'm talking about here. There is a level of hatred and animosity in our world today that is actually celebrated, as long as you are on the right side of the truth that some hold so dear.

School shootings, racial discord, churches being burned, abortion clinics being bombed, beheadings, and a host of other atrocities have their roots in the radical believe that one truth is worth killing for over another. If acts of violence are the result when truths are too closely tied to who we are, the potential fixes to these issues that plague society are just as divisive. Often times the division that comes when trying to find answers to the victim making problems of society cause just a many victims as does the horrific things one person does to another in the name of truth.

We need to know what the truth is. Sometimes, the truth hurts. Often the truth makes us dig in deep into who we are in ways we really don't want to do. What I am finding is that truth has to be something we are extremely committed to but not something that we use to define who we are. That even is the case with the information I'm presenting in these podcasts. Truth is, that truth is something we have to believe in but shouldn't be willing to divide over and make victims in defense of that truth. That's a lot easier said than done.

The truth that has made a difference for me is that my identity is becoming more and more based on what God says about me. This is a truth that I hold very closely to who I am. I am not willing to divide over this truth. If you find a truth that works for you when it comes to identity and that truth is open to disagreement and inclusion, then I want to have a deep and meaningful conversation over that truth. I may not agree with you to the point of wanting to change my truth, but I desperately want to connect with others who are just as passionate about unity through identity. It is when we can come together in a way that accepts who we each are that unity has the power to make amazing things happen in our world.

Problem is that we are too invested in our own truths. We promote them in ways that make it hard for others to have differing views. We segregate ourselves in ways where our truth becomes more and more evident. When all we hear is the virtues of our own truth, other believes seems more and more intolerable. Self segregation is such a victim thinker's way of living life. Having to be proven right and taking steps to make relationships be part of that proof makes it so easy to make victims of those who find themselves outside of our own little circles.

So, what's a person to do with truth? Is all truth to be accepted and promoted? Is my truth to be subjugated to someone else's truth? Am I suppose to not hold my truth up in a way that makes a difference in this world? What's the truth about how I'm to handle truth in the world today? I think today's Bible reading really says it all.

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18 (ESV)

Truth not based on love isn't a truth that is worth anything as far as I can tell from our reading today. We are to love in truth. I think that answers all the questions surrounding how to handle truth in our everyday life. Love has to be the foundation from which truth is built. If love is missing, the truth that we hold so dear is doomed to failure at the first sign of trouble. The foundation of love makes what gets built on truth something that can stand the test of time. 

That's why the horrible things that have been done and are being done in the name of whatever God you hold as being truth is such an affront to that God you revere. I happen to believe that all expressions of what someone calls a God is something that is suppose to be based on love. If your God isn't based on love, why would you want that kind of truth to be a part of what you work to spread in this world? Even that last statement can be taken in an offensive way if your idea of love differs from mine. What I hope is that we can come together over our differences rather than being divided by them. 

Truth is a difficult topic for us in today's age. The divisions are so great today that I'm afraid truth based on love is something that we might not be able to get back to in the short term. It is when we stop and take an honest look at where we are that maybe things will change. How good for our society has our vigorous defense of the truths we hold so dear been? How much has love been sacrificed for the truth we are so willing to die for? How much damage has our truth caused another people and how much victim thinking has our truth unleashed in our world today? 

Victors have to be willing to look closely at their own truths and hold them loosely when it comes to the truths others have about their lives. We have to let love be the guide to how we interact with opposing views of what truth is and let unity be the driving force behind how we defend our own ideals. I'm not saying that you should compromise your view of truth. What I'm saying is that we need to be willing to let our truth guide us in a love based strategy that brings us together not pushes us apart. 

Tomorrow we will take a look at how lies play a role in how truth impacts our identity. Let your truth guide you. Let it be part of the what makes you do what you feel called to do today. But, make love be the foundation for that truth you use to make your actions be all they can be in your world today. 

Day 331 - The Freedom of Opportunity

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"'Get to' living is a radical means of throwing off the bondage with which victim thinking saddles us. 'Get to' living makes it more possible to live like victors, even when life doesn’t deal us a victorious hand."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 183.

If there is one single thing that has helped me to live like the victor God sees me as it is the transition from obligation to opportunity. It is how I am choosing to view the arduous tasks that come my way that is making the peace I so want for my life be more attainable. As I step into a lifestyle that allows me to see I have choice in all I do that victor living is something I can believe in more and more.

I'm sure you aren't this way at all, but when challenges come my way, I can react pretty badly. I really don't like it when I don't get my way. When obstacles arise that make my comfortable life somewhat of a challenge, I can react in some pretty self destructive ways. This attitude also spills into everyday tasks that don't turn out the way I'd like them to. Let me give you a pretty simple example.

I recently discovered that a set of sprinklers at my house weren't working. This discovery was made during a particularly busy time in my life. My list of "to-do's" at this time was pretty long and, frankly pretty overwhelming. Having my sprinkler system act up just wasn't part of my planning process. Due to the damage to the area this part of the system was suppose to be watering, this problem pushed all my other to-do's down the list a bit.

As I started troubleshooting the problem, I discovered that it appeared to be a break in the line under the front wakway of my house. Honestly, the problem couldn't have been in a more difficult place for me to fix. One Saturday I decided to roll up my sleeves and tackle this project. Six hours later I was wasn't any closer to making the sprinklers work than I was when I woke up that morning. Here's where victim thinking really started to creep in because of the words "Have To."

When I finally decided to stop working on this project for the day, I was pretty dejected. I consider myself a pretty competent person when it comes to figuring out how to get things working. This stupid sprinkler system was threatening to prove that, when it comes to competency, maybe I'm not all that I thought I was. To me, this is a direct affront to who I am. Anytime identity gets challenged by what we do, victim thinking is sure to follow.

For about an hour after I quit working on the sprinklers, I felt pretty victimized. I had wasted the entire day - time I desperately needed to do other things on my to-do list. My thoughts spiraled out of control. All I could think was "I have go get this sprinkler system working." What I was really thinking was, "If I don't get this thing working, people I love will think less of me." My reputation was tied to this project. My relationships were linked to getting the job done. When I put myself in that position, failure is so much more of a crushing event than it is suppose to be.

I literally had to take some time and get my head on right. I had to go back to what I have been presenting in these podcasts and let the truth God has shown me be my guiding light. My reputation doesn't hinge on getting a sprinkler system working. My relationships aren't hanging in the balance of whether I succeed at this, or any other project on my to-do list. My "have to" thinking was placing me in a bondage God and any one else who loves me had no intention for me to experience.

After going over all this, I started to see how much I loved the challenge this broken sprinkler was tossing at me. I started to realize that the process of doing this fix is what I really enjoy. I really like taking a problem and working the problem to find a solution. Though I didn't succeed at getting the sprinklers working this day, I can come back to it and give it another try. I realized that I "Get to" do this project. That way of thinking freed me up to take on the rest of my day with an attitude that didn't do damage to me and to those around me.

Even the worst of our failures can be "get to" opportunities. Even the most horrific of life events can present chances for our identities to shine. It is when we get stuck at carrying the heavy burden of obligation that can come with challenges that we face that we can let victim thinking take over in our lives.

Our reading contrasts what "have to" and "get to" living does in our lives. Check it out with me now.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (ESV)

See the contrasting views of how we can see the things that come against us in today's reading. I was crushed, in despair, felt forsaken and feeling like I was destroyed by a failed attempt at fixing a sprinkler system. The fact that I was in a position where I "have to" fix that sprinkler made these thoughts almost ruin my day and effect my actions toward others. 

The fact was I was afflicted, I was even a little bit persecuted, perplexed and maybe even a little struck down. Failure to get done what we thought we were going to accomplish does this to us. It is when we put the added pressure of "have to" thinking on top of the fact that we failed that victim thinking can do its worst in our lives. 

Thinking of tasks on my to do list with a "get to" attitude doesn't mean I won't ever be afflicted, persecuted, perplexed or struck down. It just means that when those feelings come, I'm not as apt to jump thinking that I'm the victim of being crushed, forsaken, destroyed and stuck in despair. Victim thinking takes a difficult station and turns it into the impossible. I can be afflicted, persecuted, perplexed and/or struck down and still be the victor God sees me to be if I can see the things coming against me as potential for God to work through me in ways I just understand see at the moment. That's what viewing our challenges as "Get to" opportunities does for us. It has the potential to set us free from the thinking that what we do has anything to do with who we are. 

Challenges will always come our way. Those challenges never come at the perfect time. They will upset our best laid plans and make us feel like we just can't cope or don't measure up. It is during those times that we need to know who we are and let that identity carry us into the darkness with a light straight from Heaven itself. 

The bad times we face don't define us. God does. His definition of who we are transcends how successful we are at making things happen here on earth. That is the basis for living this live as a victor when, even broken sprinkler systems seem to be saying we are nothing more than a victim of this life. 

Take on your day knowing that there will be times where you will face a decision in how you view what comes your way. Are you going to take on your day with the obligation laced attitude the comes with "have to"? Or, are you going to make the best of the opportunities to let your identity shine in the darkness of "get to" tasks that will surprise you today. Let the power of who you are be what makes taking on the challenges you face something that God uses to make your victor status even more relevant in all you do today. 

Day 330 - Stay or Go

Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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I am currently reading a book that contains simple prayers to start my day. It's called "One Minute Prayers For Men" - Harvest House Publishers. The last line of today's prayer really struck me. It said, "I want to experience Your will, Lord, not the trappings of another person’s path."

This is such an important statement for those of us fighting to stay out of the victim thinking ways that have plagued us in the past. Comparing our lives to the life of another is such a crippling strategy when it comes to who we are. I am so quick to look at what another person is doing and find fault in who God has made me to be. When I read today's prayer, I was struck with the difference between living out God's will and wanting to live life like what another person is experiencing.

I realize how that last paragraph could be confusing. Let me give you and example of what I'm talking about. I have a couple friends who are nothing short of amazing. They are kind. They are so spiritually connected. They love the Lord in obvious ways. To top it all off they spend a significant amount of each year ministering in China.

When I look at their lives and compare my friends to the life I have, here's what goes through my head. When it comes to kindness, I'm really moving in the right direction. I still have a long way to go but I feel that this is an area of my life where I see God making a big difference in how I approach others that He brings into my sphere of influence. I get a gold star for kindness. As for being spiritually connected, I also feel like God has taught me so much over the years in this area. I don't know if I earn a gold star in this area or not, but I'm not self condemning when it comes to how being spiritually connected works in my life right now. As for loving God, I believe this is one of the areas where God has really done some miracles in my life. This part of my journey has been such a wonderful experience for me. The last area of my friend's life is where I feel I fall short.

Watching this couple give up so much to go and be a part of what God is doing in China is such a double edged sword for me. On one hand, I'm amazed at them for their ability to listen to God and respond to what He is doing through them. On the other hand, I'm brought to a place where I think less of who I am. I have next to no drive at all to travel long distances to minister in foreign lands. What is wrong with me? If God is all about saving the world, how could I be so off base and not be drawn to doing what my friends do and make foreign missions a priority in my life?

This is a prime example of being driven by the "trappings of another person's life" mentioned in the prayer I read this morning. It is so easy to look at another person's life and find fault in ours when we don't consider God's will for each of us.

It is clearly God's will that this couple be drawn to China. When I sit back and consider my life, it is clearly God's will that I not go to China. Both my friends and me need to be open to considering how God's will might change in the future and respond accordingly. God might just as easily call me to the mission field just like He could change my friends' calling and keep them at home. It isn't that either of us is doing anything wrong. It is when we look at each other's lives and try to make sense of who we are that we set ourselves up for failure.

I'm not missing God's view of identity by staying home unless I'm rejecting God's specific call for my life to be a part of foreign missions. I have been made for what God is doing right here in my own back yard. Thinking I am less for not going to China is exactly what Satan wants me to do. He wants me to think that my God given identity can't be trusted. He wants me to think God's will is something that is not all that critical in my life. It is when we look at what others are doing as motivation for allowing our identities to come alive that we step into situations where victim thinking threatens to limit our ability to impact this world in ways we were created for.

God has me part of a work here in California that is just as important as what is happening in China. God wants me here just as he wants my friends in China. If I think my identity is somehow lessened by my being here I might be tempted to take action in ways that makes the work God has for me here to not get done. I'm seeing so many of us having less and less impact because we think we are somehow less in God's eyes because we don't do as much as others around us.

It is never about how much a person does when it comes to God seeing us for who we are. It is always about God's will when it comes to identity. The quantity, and even the quality, of what we do has not bearing to God. It is our willingness to obey that impresses God. Experiencing God's will trumps being like someone else. Another person's path can never do for us what living in the place of God's will does when it comes to being able to live this life like the victors God sees us to be.

I love how today's reading makes the point about basking in who we are.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Galatians 6:4-5 (MSG)

I have been given a work to do where I live. My friends have been given a work to do in China. One isn't more important than the other. One isn't valued more by God than the other. Our identities are empowered when we bow to the will of God rather than the drive to be like someone else. Our reading today says that all we are responsible to do is to do our very best with what God has given us to do.

God is concerned for who we are as individuals. Trying to be like someone else is such a slap in the face of this God that paid such a high price for us to be who we are. My jealous feelings for my friends do nothing but make me feel bad. Thinking that these friends are better than me could actually drive a wedge in our relationship. It is when we sense God's will and then respond as fully as we can in that will that our identity comes alive in ways that are truly amazing.

Fact is that we will always look at the lives of others and have feelings that aren't all that constructive when it comes to identity. What I'm trying to do now with those feelings is to let God sort them out for me. I do this when I take those feelings to God. I'm learning a greater trust in hearing from God as I take the things that frustrate me to Him and let His tender direction change how my identity works to make change in this world.

What's God's will for your life? There's a question for the ages. All I know is that, first and foremost, God's will is for me to relate to Him. The more I relate to Him, the more the doing in my life lines up with what God is doing in the world. That might mean that I am destined to get on a plane for China one day. It could also mean that I will never leave California when it comes to ministry. Until God leads otherwise, I am to relate to Him in the here and now. Making my relationship with God a priority has made me better able to serve him right where I'm at without the feelings of inadequacy overwhelming me like they have in the past.

You are purposed by God. That purpose might take you to the far ends of the earth. That purpose might be just as complete right were you are now. Trust God. He will make it clear what you are to do. If you have the draw to get up and get going - do it! If you feel you are exactly where you are suppose to be don't let what others are doing make you miss God's will for your life. Let God's plan for your life be all you need to make who you are change your world today.

Day 329 - This Moment

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"I believe that this convergence is a moment-by-moment thing. If I were to come up with a process for convergence then convergence wouldn’t be the focus ― the process would be. Humans are such a process-focused species."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 170.

Moment by moment. I believe this is the key to living like the victors God made us to be. It is when we live in the past or fret about the future that our ability to be exactly what God sees us as becomes something we really do need to worry about. The here and now is all we have the ability to completely deal with. It is as we interpret our here and now through the lens of the past or worry about how the here and now will propel us towards the future we want that victim thinking is so easily entertained in our lives.

A group of friends and I were talking about the power of living in the moment this past week. As we were discussing how difficult it is to just be in every moment of this life, I saw one of the guys grab his phone and start sending a text. A few seconds later each of our phones buzzed as a test was received. As we all have been trained to do, we ignored the amazing things happening at that moment and chose to let the text we all received divert our attention. What we saw was something that I have gone back to time and time again.

My friend was the one that sent us all that text. It was a picture of a man wearing a watch. At the top of the picture was the headline that read, "World's Most Accurate Watch." As we looked closer at the watch, we saw a digital time piece on a man's wrist with the word "NOW" displayed on the face of the watch. The most accurate watch shows the most important time we need to be concerned with - NOW.

Time plays a critical role in victor living. It is when we live in the time that is this moment that we stand the best chance of making victor living happen in our lives. Victim thinking happens as we look at time from the perspective of it being wasted in the past or too short in the future. Both the past and the future are impossible to control. It is in this moment that we have the chance to exercise the control over our lives we desperately want.

Why is living in the moment so important for our victor status? Because God says so. Check out today's reading with me now.

Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

God is pretty clear on timing in this verse. He starts today's reading with a command. He wants us to forget the things of the past. He's not saying to forget the lessons learned from our past. What He is saying here is to forget those things that make us feel like we just don't measure up. Learn from the regrets of the past but don't let those regrets make us feel like He somehow doesn't care for us. What we have done isn't the basis for who God sees us to be. Don't let the past be more than it is suppose to be in your life.

Then God says one important word needed for us to be victors in this life of ours. God tells us to, "See!" He wants us to open our eyes. He wants us to see what He sees. He wants us to see what He is doing. Notice He doesn't say what he WILL do! No, he commands us to see what He is doing right here and right now. It is this moment that has the power for change in our lives. Change has nothing to do with what has happened or will happen. Things can be different in our lives if we can see the power of the here and now.

Of course, everything that is happening now will build to something in the future. That's just a natural course of action in this world we call home. It is when we are so focused on the future that we miss the miracle of this moment. When that happens, the power of the here and now makes our future that much harder to make happen.

If the Bible weren't enough to get us to focus on the here and now, listen to some classical authors expound on the subject.

Henry David Thoreau said, “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”

Walt Whitman said, “Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour.”

Emily Dickinson said, "Forever is composed of nows.”

Now is your time. This is your place. Allowing all the times in the past that you have fallen short to be what guides you is a fools errand. Taking time to worry about what will come makes time lose its power and punch. Now is all we have. This is where we can most clearly see who we are and who this God is in our lives. God gets misinterpreted by trying to see Him in our past. God just can't be seen in our future. This is the only place we can see and experience this God that calls us His Child.

When you feel the usual pangs of guilt from the past or the all too familiar feeling of anxiety about the future, maybe it is time to just stop and enjoy the moment. Acknowledge the pangs of guilt and/or the feeling of anxiety and then breath God in deeply. It is this moment that He has made you for. Good news is that He will be there in the next as well. Let Him into this moment with you. Then do what today's reading admonishes us to do. See! Open your eyes and let them see the amazing things that are springing up right now all around who you are in God's eyes.

Day 328 - Habits

Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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Oswald Chambers, in his work, My Utmost For His Highest, said this about habits.

"When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them." May 12th devotional

Habits, like just about everything else we have control of in this world, work like a double edged sword. On one hand, habits are necessary so that we can make progress in whatever the habit focuses us towards. On the other, habits can turn into ritual. Ritual almost always leads to stagnation and death. Victim thinking is rooted in the stagnate state some of us are stuck in when it comes to ritual that has results from certain habits in our lives.

Victor living happens as habits take us to places of growth that we could have never gone had not we put in the effort for change. Chambers tells us that, with habits, at first we are fully aware of them in our lives. That's not a bad thing. What makes us aware is the fact that habits make change something very noticeable. That can be a good thing.

It's like when we decide that it is time to lose some weight. When we institute a habit of eating differently we often notice immediate change. The result of losing weight as the habit is formed makes it easy to see the cause and effect relationship between the habit and what we want to happen. Unfortunately most of us never let habit move to the next level of integration in our lives.

It is when we are fully immersed in the actions surrounding a habit that we become unaware that the habit is there in our lives. Where we are fully aware of the habit at first, it is when the habit becomes fully integrated into who we are that that habit unleashes a power in our lives like nothing we could have ever hoped before.

Chambers calls this time a "spontaneous expression of our lives". When a habit is fully integrated into our lives, we don't have to think about making that habit happen. It is a part of our lives as naturally as breathing. That's how spiritual habits are suppose to be in the life of a victor.

Our spiritual life is negatively impacted in two ways when it comes to habits. First of all, many of us fail to establish habits that help us fight off the effects of victim thinking. Whether it be church attendance, bible reading, prayer, worship, fellowship or any number of disciplines, without taking deliberate steps toward making these things happen in our lives, we will never benefit from what God promises that these disciplines can do for His Children. Failing to institute a godly habit is what keeps many of us trapped in victim thinking.

Just as bad as failing to institute a godly habit in the life of a victor is the fact that we allow the world to shortchange that habit when it comes to being fully integrated in our lives. For so many of us, we have instituted habits surrounding any number of Christian disciplines but those habits are nothing more than tradition.

Chambers says this about habits that aren't allowed to fully integrate in our lives. "Your god may be your little Christian habit— the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day." Way too many of us have many gods (with a little g) in our lives. Some of these gods are, on the surface, things that appear to be really good for us. Bible reading, prayer, worship and any other Christian discipline can become an idol that blocks our vision of the God (with a capital G) that made us. It is when we turn to idols to help us find and maintain who we are that victim thinking takes a hold in our lives. Habits become idols in our life when we don't allow them to become part of who we are.

How do we know if habits are becoming idols in our lives? Chambers has it right when he says one word makes the difference between habits that are good for us and habits that are drawing us away from God. The word that makes all the difference is, Love. Check out what he says about the role of love when it comes to habits. "Love means that there are no visible habits— that your habits are so immersed in the Lord that you practice them without realizing it."

It's like this. Let's say that you decide that you want to get closer to this God of yours. Maybe you have been hearing at church how important a daily Bible reading plan is when it comes to drawing closer to God. You decide that you are going to set aside time every morning to read God's word and let Him show you how to draw near. At first, it takes a lot of effort and attention to make this habit have impact in your life. Cool thing is that it doesn't take long to see benefits of making this habit part of your life. Now we are at a point of making victim thinking or victor living happen in our lives.

If you doggedly stick to this Bible reading plan for no other reason than just making the habit stick, trouble is going to happen. God isn't interested in getting you into a plan to gain knowledge about Him. He wants you to take action to discover His love for you. Reading about Him doesn't develop love. Taking time to be with God is what makes it possible to experience love in a way where habits become so integrated in our lives that they become that spontaneous expression Chambers says they should be. Sometimes we need to stop doing the habit so that the result of what the habit was there for in the first place can be seen. The habit of Bible reading isn't the goal. The result of seeing, feeling and reflecting God's love is what any spiritual discipline should be all about.

Our Bible reading today really puts habits into the proper perspective when it comes to love. Check it out with me now.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)

Tongues, prophecy, knowledge and faith are nothing without love. These are some of the most powerful attributes of our walk with God, but without love they are clanging cymbals. We gain nothing from them and we are nothing as a result of having them part of our lives. Oh, but when these habits of Christian discipline are under-girded by love, they produce a sweet melody. We gain so much from their being a part of our lives. They truly make us something to behold. Love has a power to make habit change us and change the world.

So, what's a person looking to live like a victor to do? Here's my suggestion. Take a look at your life and see what God might be saying about the habits you need to institute and get integrated in your life. Some of the things you are doing right now might need to be changed in a way to let love integrate them deeper into your life. Other areas, God might lovingly show you how a new habit will help you see His love more completely.

Either way, let God's love be what makes what you do have the power God wants it to have in your life. Don't do for doing sake. Do because He loves you. Then watch as your doing changes your live in ways that make victor living more of a possibility in your life today.

Day 327 - The Archer and The Arrow

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"God so craves relationship with a being that He created who would choose Him that He has staked His reputation on us to use the power of choice for His good no matter what kind of bad comes our way. Absolutely reckless, wild and wonderfully filled with love is this relationship in which we have the chance to partake!"

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 146.

Reckless and wild. That's what God's plan for salvation of this world is really all about. Why is it reckless and wild? Because He is banking on you and me to live in the fullness of who He says we are. Anything less than this and God's plan for salvation falls completely apart.

I have heard hundreds of sermons that push the notion that salvation of those lost in this world is up to us. In a sense, it is. What I'm starting to realize is that the action that preachers are getting us ready for is exactly what makes it possible for us to fall into victim thinking. God's plan of salvation might hinge on us taking action, but I think we are being told to move out in ways that just aren't that effective.

I happen to believe that if each and every follower of God were to act in a way that demonstrated who God sees us to be, the world couldn't help but to be attracted to God. Way too much time is being wasted doing in hopes that our actions will make identity evident to those we come into contact with. In other words, hitting the streets to evangelize is often used as a method of proving that we are followers of this God that loves us. It's like we believe the more we do in the area of sharing Jesus, the better we will look to those God wants to save. Maybe this strategy worked in the past, but I just don't think it is working all that well in today's age.

I do believe that God is serious about people getting to know Him. I also believe that we have taken that fact and developed an action plan that we hope will make who we are something God can get behind. That is utterly backwards when it comes to how I see God working in the world today. Whether it be at our jobs, with our family, or any with any role we play in this world, using action to make identity happen is what allows victim thinking to take over in victimizing ways.

Action is critical to any plan working in this world. Things don't happen by just sitting by and watching the wind blow. We have made action the focus when it comes to God's plan coming to fruition. God sees it differently. God wants action to be empowered by identity. It is when we know who we are that what we do takes on a power we could never muster up on our own accord.

When we know who we are, we exude a confidence that is hard to ignore. When we rely on actions to prove who we are, success in what we do makes confidence turn to arrogance. The world loves confidence and hates arrogance. I think God feels the same way as the world does. Arrogance divides and separates. Confidence has the ability to draw together in ways that makes God's plan more readily attainable.

When we know who we are our circumstances just don't impact us quite like they did when we were working to make an identity happen. Standing on the solid footing of a God given identity makes it possible to weather storms in a way that people admire and are drawn to. Standing on that same solid footing of identity makes it possible for times of plenty to be seen in a way that is just as attractive as when we weather the storms that come against us. Identity is the key. We had better know who we are. We need to be walking in the power of that identity in all that we do or victim thinking will eventually be the result.

The way God sees you has nothing to do with your talents and abilities. Your relative success in life sheds no light on who you are in God's eyes. The potential you have in who you see yourself to be means nothing to this God that made you. God wants one, and only one thing from you. He wants you! He wants to relate to you. He wants you to choose to love Him. You are obedient as you live in the knowledge of who you are to this God that loves you. Action that isn't from this place of obedience isn't an obedience that will have the kinds of impact God is banking on from you and from me.

Read with me now today's Bible verse.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5 (ESV)

We are God's Children. Jesus died to give us a standing before God. That standing is just like God's son. We are sons and daughters of the King. As I pondered what God wanted me to take away from our reading today, I felt like God wanted me to read this verse from His perspective. I have always seen this verse as being about us and the children we have. God wanted me to apply today's words as though He is the parent and we are the children. 

This made me realize the significance God places on the position of being His Child. The very first line of the Psalm we read today says that children are a heritage. The word used in the original language of the Bible for heritage has to do with inheritance. God sees us as something of value that will be passed on when the time is right. We don't earn an inheritance. An inheritance is granted. Working to receive what God wants to freely give is such a victim making proposition. 

Our reading also says children are a reward. We need to stop and be in awe of the fact that God sees you and me as a reward. That's a reality that is so very difficult for me to comprehend. Why would God see me as a reward? What have I done to reward God with my actions? The answer to that question is NOTHING! None of us have done anything, nor will we ever do anything that would make us a reward to Him. The mere fact we are His children makes it reward enough for this God that loves us. We need to be living from this place of confidence or all our actions will be hindered when it comes to effectiveness. 

God loves His children. He wants a quiver full of them. Just like a quiver filled with arrows, each one is selected for a purpose that only the archer knows. The arrow doesn't tell the archer what to aim at. All the arrow does is be an arrow. At just the right moment the arrow is turned loose and if the archer is any good, it hits its target dead on.

Action isn't what will make God's plan happen. It is as we let God be god in our lives that who we are takes on a power that can't be matched by our actions in this world. Isn't it time to stop telling the archer how to do His job? Isn't it time to be drawn back and released toward the target the archer has determined? Isn't it time to know who you are and let that knowledge empower what you do in your life today?

Day 326 - Don't Throw It Away

Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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Check out today's Bible reading with me now.

So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way. Hebrews 10:35-36, 39 (MSG)

I have always admired people who have perseverance. Sometimes I wonder if I have this quality in my life as fully as I should. This world can make it so easy to just cut and run when the going gets tough. This is especially the case when victim thinking is in control of our lives.

I have found that there is a fine line between being obsessed over the completion of something we are part of and using common sense with regards to when is the right time to just move on. There are people in this world who just can't give up no matter what. That's a great quality to have in many situations. In some areas of life, that quality is borderline sick. Being obsessed with getting the job done might be the very thing that makes you a victimizer in the lives of those who love you. Having an obsession to get things done, when tied to something we believe impacts our identity, is nothing more than victim thinking ruling the roost.

Unfortunately, judging when obsession has moved into the danger area is difficult to do until damage occurs. It is usually after we have caused other people harm by our focused actions at getting something done that we wake up to the fact we have gone too far. Today, I'd like to use our Bible reading to help us figure out how to make perseverance be what God wants it to be in the life of a victor.

Perseverance is defined as applying the quality of "steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success". That's a pretty broad definition. No wonder perseverance can be a strength and a weakness in our lives. If we use perseverance in the wrong way we are prone to damaging those closest to us in ways we never intended. Let's look at perseverance from God's perspective and see what we can learn about victor living.

One thing I notice immediately about what God sees when He talks about perseverance is the fact that He doesn't really care about the relative worldly success that we may have in areas where we have to persevere. So many of us think of perseverance as a trait we need that, when applied properly, will make the good things of this life possible. Some actually use the Bible to back them up on this line of thinking.

Paul talks about athletic events and the perseverance required to "win the race." The winning Paul is alluding to isn't being on top. It isn't getting all we want out of life. Paul is talking about making it through this life and stepping into the next with a relationship with this God that has made a difference in our world. Thinking that perseverance is a tool we can use to get what we want is what makes victim thinking possible in our lives.

When God talks about perseverance, He is talking about letting faith help us stay the course. It is about not giving up on who God says we are. It is about not giving up on God. Odds are that things will come our way that will make us want to give up on God's call in our lives. It is during those times that God doesn't want us to give up on Him. Give up on the things you do, but never give up on who you are. Though we may be forced to give up on what we are doing because of bad times, we aren't to give up on who we are no matter how good or bad our life is at this moment.

That's what our reading today is emphatically presenting. The second line says, "You were sure of yourselves then." Paul is talking about a time when the audience first believed in Jesus. That was such a sweet time for these new believers. They had just come into contact with who they really were through their savior. Because of Jesus, they could see that their identity was rooted in the fact that the All-Mighty God called them His child.

Then the bad times hit. Ridicule, Rejection and Persecution came at them in ways that made them doubt the power behind an identity bought and paid for by God Himself. Paul reminds his audience that, nothing has changed. In other words, the bad times don't mean a thing when it comes to who you are. You are just as much God's Child in the good times as you are in the bad. That truth is to be the basis of the faith we need to persevere in our lives today.

When I wondered earlier whether I had the quality of perseverance in my life, I was thinking about this trait with regards to what I have been able to accomplish. I often think about those times of failure in my life that might have been different had I hung on for just a bit longer. This is a victim thinker's way of looking at life. Regret filled living is what makes doubts as to who we are come alive in identity crushing ways. God hates when I use perseverance, or the seemingly lack thereof, as proof that I am less than what He says I am.

God doesn't look at whether I get the job done or not as a measure of who I am. He wants me to let who I am be the power behind what I do in this life of mine. I'm not to let perseverance be a tool to bring guilt into my life. I'm to persevere in letting what God says about me be the confidence needed to take one more step where God is leading. It is when I give up on who I am that failure becomes that much more difficult to deal with.

What are you about to give up on today? This isn't a message to make you keep doing what you have been doing all along. In fact, I recommend you do something different. Stop and take the time today to let God show you how you are to persevere. I know for a fact, that He is much more concerned with you persevering in who you are than in what you are doing, if you are connecting the success to your actions to your identity.

Don't throw it all away by giving up on who God says you are. Let perseverance be applied by having faith in who you are. That's where the power to make happen all God wants for your life comes from. God has a promised completion in mind for those areas where your identity needs to be seen in your life. Walk with a confidence in the knowledge of who you are and be obsessed with seeing your identity play out fully in your life today.