You Are an Overcomer

There were fifteen seconds left in the gold medal match in the wrestling super heavyweight division. The wrestler from Georgia was up by three points against the wrestler from the United States. It looked like the match was over, but the wrestler from the United States pulled off two quick moves in the final seconds and ended up winning the match by one point. He overcame a big deficit to defeat his opponent in a short amount of time. Did you know that you are an overcomer?

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:4‬

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

John tells us that we who are born of God are overcomers. If you have put your faith in Jesus and been born-again, dying to the old self and becoming a new creation, you have everything in you to overcome the world. Most believers don’t know this. They are fighting against the spiritual forces in the dark world with their own resources when Jesus has put inside of them everything necessary for victory. What is that resource? Your faith.

Let Everything that has Breath Praise the Lord

One of the things that COVID has halted is travel. In 2020, I planned to go back to Malawi, Africa, and see our friends at Kondanani Village. I am not sure when I will be able to make it back, which breaks my heart. It’s is a beautiful land with wonderful people who love to worship the Lord. When I read Psalm 150, I think of them. They embody, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭150:1, 6

“Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

The Book of Psalms finishes as it rightly should, declaring praises to God. The Psalmist encourages everyone that has breath praise the Lord everywhere they go and with everything they have. Your life as a believer is to be filled with praising God. Some say it is practice for what we will be doing in heaven, and while that may be true, it is not the main reason we praise the Lord. You let up your voices to praise Him because of who He is and what He has done for you. Like spring water that gushes out of the ground, so should your praise flow out of your mouth.

The Lord Takes Pleasure in You

Did you know that the Lord takes pleasure in you? You are wonderfully made in His image, and He loves watching you as you grow in your faith. He’s not sitting on some high mountain looking down upon you, waiting till you do something wrong. That is the image of some gods, like Greek mythology, but your Heavenly Father is very fond of you. Go about your day with the assurance that He finds pleasure in you.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭149:4

“For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.”

The Psalmist knew how to construct his words in a way that reaches his reader’s hearts. For a nation like Israel, which had a history of disappointing and angering God, they needed to hear that the Almighty God takes pleasure in His people. God is steadfast in His love and won’t be swayed by a misstep or a season of rebellion. His love for you remains even when you forsake Him. Do you feel like you have disappointed Him with how your life has turned out? Take heart. If you are one of His children, He still loves you.

Anointed for the Work of the Ministry

One of the most solemn events in the church is when a pastor is ordained for the work of the ministry. There is a notable presence of the Holy Spirit when one who God calls steps forward and is anointed for the work of the ministry. Many come to celebrate and affirm what God is doing. That is the case with the first ministers called Aaron and his sons.

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭8:23

“And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.”

At the ordination ceremony for Aaron and his sons to become priests, Moses killed a ram. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the ram to symbolize the transfer of their sins onto the sacrificial animal. Then after killing the ram, Moses took blood and put it on the ear lobe, right thumb, and big toe of the right foot. All of these places are symbolic. The ear lobe represents hearing from the Lord, the right thumb symbolizes the work the priests will do, and the toe was everywhere they would set their foot. God wanted every area to be covered by the blood, so they remember the anointing on them to do the work that God had set them apart to do.

Practice What is Right

On the first day of football practice of every season Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, would take a football and look at his players and say, Gentlemen, this is a football.” It seems silly to say to professional football players, but he was making a point. Practice was critical, and he wanted them to take it seriously. As Christian, we are to practice what is right.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:7

“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous.”

John kept following Jesus very simple. Say you love Jesus, but you don’t love your brother? You don’t love Jesus. Did you blow it and stumble into sin? Confess your sins and be forgiven. People were making discipleship more difficult than it should’ve been way back in John’s day. Now he tells the church not to be deceived. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous. If you have been made righteous by your faith in Jesus, then your life will manifest righteous deeds.

Owe Nothing But Love

Has anybody ever lent you something like a book and told you it would change your life? What usually happens is that it goes to the bottom of my pile of books I am reading or in a pile, I will never read. The problem is that the person will constantly ask me what I think of the book. Then they ask for it back, and I usually can’t find it. It is better to owe nothing but love to people. ‭‭

Romans‬ ‭13:8‬

“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”

Things get weird when we borrow from others, especially those who are close to us. There is a cloud hanging over your relationship even if the lender is totally fine with you. Paul encourages us to owe nothing but love. Everything else will bring grief and could cause serious damage. Obviously, there are times where you are in a bind, and someone is willing to help out, but for the most part, you should avoid borrowing anything except your father in laws tools because that is expected and approved by God.

The Light We Need

You can never have enough light in my book—overhead lights, table lamps, and even lights that illuminate the background. I like to see what I am doing. My wife doesn’t agree with me. I will often turn the lights in, and then she will come in and turn half of them off. Not sure we…

Call Upon Jesus

Are you someone who is afraid of the dark? When you have to venture into a place where you cannot see do you call out to those with you? The Psalmist addresses the issues of being lost. He assures us that the Lord is near. All we have to do is to call upon Jesus.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145:18-19

“The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.”

The Lord never leaves your side. You may not sense His presence or feel like He is there, but He is. You don’t realize He is close because you are focused on other things and calling out to other people. God will not interrupt us unless it is essential but patiently waits. The Psalmist tells us that all we need to do is call upon Him, and He will answer. There is one catch. You have to call to Him in truth. That means you sincerely want Him to act in your situation and not just bail you out. God knows your intent.

Renew Your Mind

The mind is one of your strongest muscles. Its learning capacity is untapped. As a human, you have a choice of what you want to put into those memory banks. That can be a challenge living in today’s world, where you are being bombarded with ungodly images. Paul shows you a way to renew your mind and, in the process, transform your life.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2

“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.”

A lot of Christians are more interested in the destiny that God has for them than they do the discipline required to reach that destiny. In verse one of Romans 12, Paul tells us that our greatest form of worship is to be a “living sacrifice.” That means we sacrifice our wants and desires to be a servant to whatever Jesus needs of us. He continues in verse two by telling us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we won’t be conformed to this world.

God is Patient With You

If you were put in your parents’ place and had to raise you, would you be more patient than your parents or less? The answer would probably be less in most cases. That’s because you know your inner-self and what your intentions are. God is patient with you even though he knows your thoughts and motives.

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:9

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

Peter shows you three ways that God is patient with you. First, He knows the best timing to fulfill his promises. While you may think God is slow in working in your life, God sees it as giving you what you need when you need it. Most people act like impatient children and want everything now. God isn’t swayed by our whims but patiently waits until the time is right. Trust Him during this process.