I have started posting videos on YouTube for men all around the world. This is the latest installment. God uses the opening of the video to display how perseverance works in my life. It is my hope that this ministry will sow seeds of inspiration to anyone who is recovering from the storms of life. My goal is to empower men to stand in the truth of God’s Word and in the hope of God’s plan being revealed in their lives. The Conqueror Lifestyle is changing lives!
After much time spent on releasing our second book “Qualities of a Conqueror Vol. 1” and experiencing real change personally, the Lord God Almighty beckoned me to write here. God willing ConquerorShots will regularly coincide with our “#TellUrSelf tweets.” Ultimately you will experience spiritual delicacies to enhance your experience living the Conqueror Lifestyle. Our goal is to make it easier for you to get familiar with our Christian brand through our books, ConquerorShots, upcoming workshops and teaching materials and more all to enhance your walk with God through Christ Jesus one day at a time.
Psalm 136:26 NET BIBLE Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loyal love endures! If you have never read this chapter we suggest you do so and make it a regular reading for your personal gratitude prayers. Giving thanks, i.e. gratitude, is a necessary daily experience children of God, MTaCs, practice. We learn that in giving thanks we find the production of the fruit of the Spirit manifesting in amazing circumstances. God, who created the Heavens and the Earth, you and I and everything we appreciate while we are living day by day, is worthy of our daily gratitude because of His loyal love. The NET Bible uses the word loyal so perfectly here. No matter what we do, or do not do, in the way of service to God and others, God’s love for us NEVER changes! He is the most loyal love I have ever known.
When we put emphasis on gratitude for the material, human accomplishments – education, money, success, children, spouses, careers, houses, land, cars, boats, vacations et al – we are subject to the evil of deception and confusion as we focus on the Earthly rather than the Heavenly. This is where the application of “Humble Thanks” is best realized. When you are in spiritual acceptance of your NEED for a Savior, and Jesus Christ is REAL to you, you willingly humble your human nature under the authority of God.
Wenceslas Hollar – The kneeling sinner (Photo credit: Wikipedia) A Depiction of Humble Thanks to God
By regular confession of sins, transgressions, iniquity, guilt,shame and fear before Him in prayer and thanksgiving for the simplest of blessings you come to realize through your need for His providence, you will humble yourself under God’s mighty hand for His continual protection and power in your life and the lives of others. The air you breath, the blood running warm in your veins, the activity of your limbs and your mind being sane and at peace become blessings of enormous praiseworthiness.
In humble thanks to God’s loyal love which endures through any and all human conditions, your gratitude will always be acceptable to God and it will reflect His love off of you into many other lives, situations, circumstances and conditions here on Earth. Heaven is our home but the Earth is our training ground. Be humble before God as your realize your spiritual training. Every scripture in Psalm 136 KJVends with “His mercy endureth for ever” to emphasize that all of the human accomplishments acknowledged in the list exist because of the eternal endurance of God’s faithful, goodness and kindness towards His children. Give humble thanks daily and create your own list – IT WORKS!
The celebrity lifestyle includes destructive behaviors. It alarms us all when we hear of a celebrity who has been pronounced dead after a short lived life fueled with the excesses of drugs, alcohol, sex and the phenomenon of “more” naturally. There are many people who are in position throughout the music, film, television, comedy and sports entertainment industries, all of whom are there strictly to provide the celebrity with “more” destructive devices. These “yes people” provide the means for more opportunities to spin out of control and ultimately follow in the footsteps of legendary performers like Billy Holiday, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Len Bias, Michael Carl Blaze, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Chris Farley, John Belushi and countless others both well known and unknown. Celebrities are so much more prone to the excesses to offset the absolute nature of insanity induced by a life absorbed in the abuse of alcohol and drugs. When will we – as a regenerated people – stand for what is right and oppose such tragedies?
Today is a day when such a stand is possible. Justin Bieber is not alone in his quest to “have a good time.” No! However, because of his recent arrest at 4am in Miami, Florida after allegedly being under the influence of drugs and alcohol and operating a Lamborghini in a drag racing scenario, his actions are enough to initiate all of the help opportunities we can as Christians. Christians are in no way perfect. Yes, my book “A Conqueror In Training” intimately portrays the level of imperfection we experience in our Christian walk. But what we are not, when we are living the Conqueror Lifestyle, is “conquered by sin.” Justin’s behavior and his recent arrest are all examples of how he is in the grips of the origins of being overtaken by drugs and alcohol. People who are conquered by sin manifest this spiritual condition through the excesses of drugs, alcohol, sex and music. The history of the entertainment business, including the sports world, is such that we as Americans know how prevalent these behaviors are and yet they continue on year after year. Dr. Drew has even taken the syndrome to the television medium to publicly portray all of the negative proclivities by which human beings can realize their affinity to self destruct. Justin is conquered by sin. One of the ways being conquered by sin becomes possible is when various worldly tactics are employed exposing the innocent to their natural phenomenon of “more” – no matter how talented or smart one may be.
The Conqueror Lifestyle will safeguard you from self destruction
The problem is this: talent is a human condition that is used as a form of capitalization. Capitalism promotes wealth. Wealth promotes the love of money. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Evil is released into the lives of these unsuspecting, innocent, unsupervised youth and early adults as they travel up the “ladder of success” at a diabolical rate of speed and velocity. Ultimately they are consumed by the distractions of the world and all its vices and become overwhelmed with the cares of life. The downward spiral ensues and there is no where else to end up – with all the riches, fame, notoriety and increased opportunities to be of service to others – but 6 feet under.
How devastated were you when you heard of the death of Michael Jackson? Justin Bieber is on the same path. The Conqueror Lifestyle is available to you Justin to help you realize all that God designed you to be if you would by faith try this way of life. This lifestyle promotes experiencing the phenomenon of “more” spiritually. However, if anyone else is interested in helping Justin, or anyone else, by getting help through what we do here at Conqueror Ministries we will do all we can to be of service to you to help anyone develop and maintain the Conqueror Lifestyle. It is an antidote to a life conquered by sin.
1.Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
Self-service kiosk (Photo credit: melitroncorp)
Self service is a common part of human services that we realize throughout the course of every day. Whether it is at the ATM, airport, gas station, supermarket, workplace, etc., there is always some type of self service facility where you can serve yourself. It has become the basic standard of service that we as Americans have come to expect. It is a simple, time and cost effective service tool which provides us with a new level of independence. You can go, choose what you want and quickly keep it moving. It’s that simple!
The key to spiritual self-service is the acceptance of Christ’s unconditional service to humans, through His birth, life, Earthly ministry, death and resurrection, thereby establishing and fulfilling a Divine plan of redemption through the forgiveness of sin. His Service to us At the Cross was unconditional work because He was born to provide us with the means of spiritual salvation that we all can benefit from Eternally. Whether we choose to believe in Him or not, His service to us is forever established. When we surrender our bodies to our Heavenly Father because we need forgiveness of our sins on a daily basis, we begin the process of spiritual self-service. True holiness is realized through your own personal identity with your need for forgiveness. Spiritual self-service is that simple!!
There is Spiritual power of unknown proportions available to you when you are willing to present your body to God on a daily basis, totally surrendered to His Sovereignty over your life. His Power is revealed in your walk, your talk and your manner of life. Through every opportunity that makes up your day, you can experience the spiritual freedom of the conqueror lifestyle. You see, when you choose to start your day, or in some cases re-start your day, by surrendering yourself under God’s authority, you are securing His leadership over every aspect of your day. However, if you go through your day without this simple, spiritual self-service, you are living a life that is solely reliant on your own abilities. Every idea, desire, motive and goal is born out of a spirit that is quenched by a soul that is sickened by unconfessed sin. Your body becomes a host for evil rather than God’s goodness. Unconfessed sin is a breeding ground for a swarm of complications that are designed to continue to distract you from His goodness as the world’s appeal demands your attention.
Your life can greatly benefit from the simple, spiritual self-service of surrendering to the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ daily. The reasonable service begins with a mindset to pray without ceasing, having a thankful heart and mind willing to submit your body, mind i.e soul and spirit to Him all reliant on His will for your life from day to day. A healthy prayer life and daily attachment to His Word completes the simple, spiritual process. It is a simple process that can humbly begin every time you wake up from rest you are blessed to realize. It gets you going spiritually!
Find out how I was trained to realize the importance of this self-service model in my new book “A Conqueror In Training“
Psalm 121:1 A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. Ps 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Ps 121:3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Ps 121:4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Ps 121:5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. Ps 121:6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. Ps 121:7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. Ps 121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
My awakening was greeted with the severest of pain. I have learned to live with it from day to day. Yet this morning, like so many others, it began with the horror of stillness summoning the acuity of my spirit. The stabbing, burning suffering in my flesh upon awakening is more consistent in the last year. There is literally nothing immediate about the relief process naturally. It can happen at the most inconvenient moments and with no apparent reason.
Hopefully, you will read my new book, “A Conqueror In Training” over the holiday season and discover how I came to realize the “Conqueror Lifestyle.” In fact, I pray you will want your friends and loved ones to have the blessed experience of reading it as well through your gift giving via ebooks. When you have read it, the message of this post will resonate in your spirits more brightly. His training has effectively taught me to “pray 1st.” Today, and everyday I start out in prayer 1st helps me to continue to stay in the race and run on some more. Doing this has proven His Sovereignty over my life from situation to situation, experience to experience, outcome after outcome ultimately revealing that “Prayer Changes Things.”
Billie Holiday penned the song “Good Morning Heartache” while wrestling with her reality of pain and heartache experienced every morning when she needed another “fix.” Her addiction to heroin was breaking her spiritually as her body required the drug more and more. Over time it destroyed her talent and took her life in death far too young.
English: Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New York. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The imagery contained in this powerful recording demonstrates a heart overcome with brokenness and unwilling to “pray without ceasing.” I Thess. 5:17. When you are caught up in your flesh and your spirit is conquered by sin, you will do everything humanly possible to discover change which can only come through the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Pain is painful. God allows pain for the purpose of perfecting His will in us. A personal identity to Jesus’ suffering on the Cross is where this truth begins.Thanks be unto God for the mighty power of His Spirit at work which manifests and maintains the Conqueror Lifestyle in me from day to day. You too can come to know the Conqueror Lifestyle God has just for you. When you pray 1st, you call His power into the situation immediately. Humanity ceases and Divinity commences in spiritually defining ways to demonstrate His power in us. And He will do, what no other power, can do.
ConquerorShots 