Today is a beautiful day here in Atlana. The sun is shining, there is a pleasant breeze flowing through the atmosphere and most of all I am alive and well to engage in the various activities today will offer. Life is good.
I was reading the 11, 12 & 13th chapters of Job in my devotional time. I remember thinking “Lord why am I reading this book.” Now if I was not obedient to His Sovereignty over my life I would have missed this blessing I am about to tell you of. It pays to LET GOD LEAD. A daily surrendered heart to the finished work @ Calvary keeps God in the leadership position. It also keeps me engaged in a conqueror lifestyle.
Job’s life exemplifies the value of a consistent presence of HOPE. He lost everything -wife, kids, job, home, good health, friends etc. – with no prior warning. It just happened to him, one loss after another. To make matters worse, he had 3 associates coming to him with various ideologies that supposed the idea they knew why Job’s life fell apart. Throughout all of the hardships Job encountered, he maintained an attitude of HOPE and EXPECTANCY.
Now that seems pretty significant to me. I can understand the devastating blows life can hit you with. That can be severe in nature. Job is the prime example of how to ACCEPT WHAT GOD ALLOWS. You see ACCEPTANCE is the answer to all my problems. We have a glaring lesson in the book of Job that supports the thought. All of the loss Job sustained WAS ALLOWED BY GOD. There was a bigger picture available for us to understand. Job’s losses were directly related to a Spiritual lesson between God and the enemy. Job, his wife and children, all of Job’s associates mentioned in the book only had an awareness for what they could see – A LIMITED PERSPECTIVE AT BEST. Yet Job had the willingness to TRUST God in his uncertainty. Why? JOB KNEW GOD IS SOVEREIGN. I think this is why he did not beat the hell out of those accusers. I know the thought must have crossed his mind 🙂
This is a lesson that continues to fuel my own climate for a HOPEFUL outlook day by day. It’s not always easy but it truly does work when you work it.
How do Christians experience revival? What happens in them that causes such a need? I was presented these questions in a conversation yesterday. The first question’s answer is “faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The second question’s answer is “sin.” We are all born in need of spiritual rebirth. Spiritual revival occurs through faith.
The first question requires some personal identification to our “REVIVAL” experiences. I know what it is to be an ACTIVE participant in sin which directly supports a spirit in need of revival. Sin separates us from God eternally. Salvation revives our spirits and attaches us to the Holy Spirit. This attachment is a Divine characteristic of Christianity. ACTIVE participation in Christianity keeps the spirit revived in three ways:
The condition of our spirits is well-maintained when these three ACTivities are in place in our weekly routines. Revival denotes a need for a “life source” to infuse its life into lifelessness. When it is done properly, revival works. Otherwise, the lifelessness continues and the need for revival gradually becomes eliminated by death. Spiritual revival is solely dependent on Spiritual Life.
The second question reminds me to review the Psalmist’s situation in Psalms 85. This chapter, worth reading, gives us clarity on what happens when sin and disobedience to God’s Word are at hand. But it is REALLY important to notice the element of HOPE in God for restoration. That is key. Hopelessness is a subtle foe. It is a derivative of a sinful lifestyle.
The Old Testament Israelites were notorious for getting deliverance from God and then falling away from God and into the ways active sin. The natural human condition is to run away from God. Adam and Eve depict this in Genesis 3:8. New Testament Jews revoked the opportunity to develop faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Therefore, their spiritual revival has not been established and they are waiting for their human, earthly promise of the millennial Kingdom to be instituted by the coming Messiah aka Jesus Christ. There is a Divine divide between the Heavenly promises and the Earthly promises that is necessary to apply to Psalm 85.
I know a man who taught me a valuable life-lesson that is based in hope. At the time he shared this with me I was 27 and clueless. I had my own idea of how life was supposed to be and I was working hard to realize my dreams. I was living well but I was always caught up in some type of chaos I was creating due to my inability to find the joy in the journey. My friend must have realized this and shared this lesson with me.
He had been a mail carrier for the USPS for decades. It brought financial security and marital stability along with a lifestyle that was envied by his family. He described his experience as what he thought were “the best years of his life.” His circumstances changed when he became ill. He lost his job and all of the financial security. He became unemployable and homeless. He found himself alone, needy and hopeless. After a major hospitalization caused by his apparent demise brought about by his “seemingly hopeless case of mind and body,” he heard, through a series of interactions with people who survived the same problem that was killing him, there is a solution. He stayed the course of a particular treatment plan wherein he found a constant presence of hope within. His life gradually began to change for the better. He became employable again but he dealt with serious blemishes in his history that deterred many potential employers from hiring him. Frustration ensued but willingness prevailed. A training program with the regional transit authority yielded him favorable results and he once again had work. He found unspeakable joy day after day as he struggled to establish himself again. He gained a new life that was exponentially better than “the best years of his life.” His joy still remains to this day as he is living better than ever in the second half of his life.
As I reflect on this life-lesson I am blessed today to realize that I now understand the value of his story that never abandoned my memory and I have used it to generate hope in my own hopelessness. God is always present. His realized presence provides an unlimited source of hope to carry us through life situations with a constant spirit of joy that positively affects our lives and the lives of others. As long as we are willing to show-up for life each day, we can live through any circumstance that materializes victoriously. This is a virtuous reality based in an Conqueror lifestyle. THE JOY IS IN THE JOURNEY!
Growing up I heard this classic Roberta Martin song “I Have Hope.” In addition to hearing it from the choir on Sunday mornings, I can recall the 33 playing on the record player ringing out the lyrics from the speakers in our living room on Aspen Place, Columbia Ave and Pennington Ave:
“I have hope, I have hope when trouble comes my way
I have hope, I have hope since Jesus has come to stay
I have hope, oh yes when things are not well with me
I have hope, it’s a beutiful hope and it sets me free
If your distressed , Jesus says come unto me. If your depresed I know he’ll give you liberty
Time may find you at the end of your line, but keep the faith its not too late the Lord will be on time.
I have hope, I have hope when darkness fills the sky
I have hope, I have hope since Jesus is ever nigh
I have hope, oh yes through dangers I can not see
I have hope its a beautiful hope that sets me free.”
http://www.last.fm/listen/artist/Roberta%2BMartin/similarartists is a link to this genre of music that features the Roberta Martin classics.
It was written in 1968 but the melody and message is timeless. Hope is a life principle that fuels my daily pace. It puts pep in my step and glide in my stride. Most of all it keeps a smile on my face that springs from true joy in my heart. The goodness of God is constantly present. Thank you Lord for saving me at Calvary. It gives me Hope, a beautiful Hope that sets me free one day at a time.
I remember years ago I went to the Rotary Youth Leadership Conference and throughout that week I attended a series of seminars that educated me on how to be an effective leader. One of the seminars that I attended was called “Breaking Through Your Fears”. The speaker gave a presentation.When he finished he asked us to do something a little strange. The instruction was to pair up with one someone next to us and prepare to learn how to break through a wooden board. I remember thinking “I signed up for seminar not a Martial Arts Class.This cat must be out of his mind!”
Most of us were intimidated by the task at hand. We felt that it would take great strength to break through a solid wooden board. All kinds of questions and doubts arose in our minds. I remember whispering to my partner, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to do it!” “What will I do if I break a finger or fracture my hand?”
We really didn’t have a choice in the matter. The entire group was required to at least try. The instructor spent the first few minutes teaching us the proper technique for hitting the board. Once we got that down pat, it was time to give it a shot. My partner went first. I held the board and she broke right through it on the first try. The first time I hit the board it didn’t break. The instructor was standing there, and he said, “That’s o.k.Try again, but this time I want you to look through the board”. He said, “Don’t look at it, look through it and visualize your hand going through it.” What he told me sounded a little weird. I was still a teenager and I lacked maturity and wisdom in this area.
Nevertheless, I listened to what he said and I hit the board a second time. I broke that board in pieces. But I didn’t realize until later in life that what the instructor taught me that day was a very valuable lesson. I learned not to focus on an obstacle. In order to get through the obstacle I have to excercise faith to “Look Through It, to Get Through It.”
You have to see yourself on the other side of it. He also taught me that it’s not always about strength, but it’s about vision. When you run out of Strength, it’s Vision that keeps your hopes and dreams alive. The vision is a result of faith. Even though everything around you may look dim, it is faith in God that will allow you to see a ray of hope. Fear is only an obstacle. Faith is how breakthroughs begin.
That’s what you are wearing? Really??? You can’t be serious? What do you mean by that? How are you going to do…….? Do you know what you’re doing? These are some open-ended questions that I can either ask myself, someone else or they can be asked of me. The theme of all of these questions, and many others,is they all come from our soul. They are genuine responses to core issues that are apparent to the presenter of the question. The issue is evident because of particular actions that are obviously in need of questioning. Why?
Honesty is an important character trait that affects all our lives. When used properly it produces hope, faith, courage, integrity, willingness, humility, love, forgiveness, discipline, awareness and service to others. Effective service is when you do something from the goodness of your heart – NSA(no strings attached) These spiritual principles are God-inspired traits we all must experience as time goes on.
Lunaria or “honesty plants” give us defined characteristics that can really help us see the beauty in honesty. The caption under the plant below details how I can make the correlation to my own honesty.
Seeds of truth are the source of my intrinsic values that germinate honesty. When I was a child I received those seeds from my parental guidance, my elders and my experiences in the church. Fundamentally, each group had two key reference points – The Bible and the world. The experiences that I had, the lessons that I heard and learned growing up were “seeds” that were sown into my core which began to germinate into absolute truth which I base my thoughts, ideas, beliefs and goals on. John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
When the lunaria seeds are planted it is important not to cover them with too much soil. This is true about “the truth” in our hearts. Sin can do to our hearts what soil can do to the seeds, that is impede upon the growth process. David said in Psalm 119:11 ” Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Daily reading and meditation on the Word of God is essential to the manifestation of truth in our hearts. We live in a world where all kinds of distractions from the truth of God’s Word exist.
Once truth is at work in our lives the affects are many. It is regenerated repeatedly due to all of the seeds it produces in our lives and the lives of others. If you deposit God’s Word into a child’s life in the first two years on a consistent basis it has the power to manifest for the remaining years of his/her life. It can be grown in any kind of heart, under virtually any adverse condition and without a constant source of light. THIS IS MY STORY!!!! Proverbs 22:6 reads “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. “
For many years I heard the scriptures. As a child I read them and even studied them. As a teen and young adult I began to share them with others. In my marriage and parenting I shared them even more and I found out about the personal attachment I had to them which was growing even when I was unaware of the growth they caused. All of my references to truth were systematically developing my character trait – honesty.
I always knew when I was being honest and when I was lying. The choice to allow truth to be the litmus test for my decisions and subsequent actions was learned behavior. Who was the teacher? God. What was the classroom? Life. Do I always make the choice? No. However, I see that there is a heightened awareness of my progress in this area.
I try to keep this really simple. When I am allowing honesty to work in my life it allows me to get some amazing results. The other 11 principles are the beginning of my reality that I like the affects of a lifestyle based in honesty. The more I experience the benefits of honesty the more I am willing to incorporate it into my daily activities. Christianity is the central component of my life that affords me the liberty to realize just how magnificent honesty is. Every day I experience the truth of the Word of God faithfully revealing new mercies, faithfulness, grace and power.
2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
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I watch my television shows and there are constant advertisements to make you want to shop for something – clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, electronics and even food. It’s everywhere. This time of year has become so severely commercialized that we as a nation have lost touch with its current financial structure. Devastation presides throughout the Eastern seaboard. Citizens are hungry, cold, destitute and overwhelmed with loss. The nation is in unprecedented debt, homelessness and poverty are at record highs, unemployment is ravaging the homes of Americans who are splitting up for various reasons – drugs/violence/pursuit of individual career opportunities/crime/suicide – and it goes on and on. Yet, Madison Avenue is doing a great work at pushing product. People are shopping in droves.
Not all people. There are many people that are not able to even begin to understand how they are going to make it through the day. Whether their dilemma is of a socioeconomic origin or not, what is a fact in this great nation is this: people are loosing everyday during this holiday season. How do you appeal to them during this huge commercial event that is sweeping our nation? Do you just ignore the fact that they exist? Do you count your blessings, focus on your “haves” and forget about the “have nots”? Or, do you do anything and everything that you can to make a difference within the lives of this large sect of Americans. I pray that you are in agreement with the latter.
Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Psalms 24:1 The LORD owns the earth and all it contains,
the world and all who live in it.
The essence of reality in these scriptures is that EVERYTHING you can put your hands on or get your hands on is HIS. Working a good job, managing a thriving business or incurring a comfortable lifestyle is possible because of Him. Too many people get that twisted.
Humans put stock in the idea that you have gains because of who you are. You’ve been deceived. You are who you are ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GRACE OF GOD. What makes you any different than the man that is confined to a wheelchair/the woman that is addicted to drugs and living on the streets/the child who is homeless, hungry and alone? GOD’S GRACE. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from the Father above.”(James 1.17)
If you want to experience maximum gains that are ETERNAL it begins with a decision.Mar 8:34 Following Jesus
Then Jesus called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.
Mar 8:36 For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?
Mar 8:37 What can a person give in exchange for his life?
Mar 8:38 For if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Conquerors make a difference in the lives’ of others any way that they can. Loss is gain.
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Being more than conquerors is a spiritual principle that keeps you hopeful on a daily basis. It requires continuous action. Faith is the action Conquerors use daily. With all of the issues we deal with today – economic uncertainty for one – discouragement, by way of distraction, is a design to disrupt faith. Dismay breads fear. It is extremely common for me to walk through the course of any given day and get overwhelmed by some situation that is not going the way I expected it to. Any circumstance with designs to overtake my faith and replace it with fear becomes an opportunity for new faith to develop.
 Here in Atlanta the traffic can create varying results. Anger, stress, rage and distraction are in the forefront for me. Using MARTA does have its advantages. When I have left home two hours earlier to get to my destination on time and I have to encounter “a parking lot” on the interstate, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. No matter how much I try to control the outcome and be efficient, I am forced to STOP! It is in this state of “stop” that being more than conquerors begins to minister to me. The traffic, i.e. hindrance to get where I THINK I need to be at the time I THINK I need to be there, is an opportunity to reaffirm who I am in Christ and my real purpose through allowing His Sovereign will to “be” the driving force in and over my life. Can you relate? I must remember that I am “more than a conqueror through Him that loved us” by any means necessary. I can live victoriously, not arrogantly. Victorious living is derived from my spiritual condition and my spiritual position; arrogance is directly linked to my ego. Biblical truth keeps my ego in check and it keeps me sane. We can actively engage in ALL that we do as “more than conquerors.” God has given us this infinite gift – JESUS CHRIST our LORD. The scriptures will continue to serve you as a source of encouragement in these perilous times we live in. I have created this site to actually assist you. Keeping my commitment to defining the “conqueror lifestyle” is a goal that God has given me and I will share it with you in various ways through Conqueror Ministries. This work is getting done one person at a time, one day at a time. Your support by regular use of ConquerorShots and your personal willingness to learn to live a conqueror lifestyle will serve others as well as you.
I am excited about hearing from you and learning how this principle works in your life as well. Tell your friends, acquaintances and loved ones to join in. Together we can stay in the race.
Endeavor with me to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
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ConquerorShots 