In the midst of all our striving, the author of Psalm 15 asks the hard, unspoken question we all want to know: How do we get on God’s guest list? The best part is the answer that follows:

Do the right thing. 

There is no doubt that the amount of methods and checklists we have put together to get to God is enough to drive a person crazy. Just this morning I got a couple of emails highlighting a study or book that would help me draw closer to God. But the simplicity found here in God’s word is much more fascinating!

It can be easy today to get caught up in the next thing or the latest trend. But as you desire to draw close and be used by God, let me encourage you with a simple phrase: Do the right thing. It brings a smile to His face

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. (Jeremiah 18:4 NIV84)

It’s quite interesting that in this example given to Jeremiah the potter takes the extra time and effort to continue working with the clay. I’m sure he had plenty of other materials to work with, so why not toss it?

Instead he carefully forms it again.

In fact it says “as seemed best”. That means he had the BEST plan for it in mind!

I don’t know where you are at in life or what you’ve been through, but I’m so thankful for the care that our potter takes with us knowing that He has the best in mind for us no matter our history!

The struggle of a football team to win every game fades when in comparison to the inner struggles that we all face- to trust a God we can’t see and believe a faith we don’t always understand. Matthew 15:19 boils it down as it says “out of the heart” and lists off the variety of things that we all strive to have victory over. Today can you say that your heart is truly ‘undefeated’ in battle?

Unlike a game or a team you can go UNDEFEATED!

In Romans 8:1-3 it says “And in that body (Jesus) God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” Not only can we have victory through Jesus’ life/death/resurrection, but we can truly be undefeated. As it says in Psalms 73:26:

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

Today I want to encourage you to go to the one who is and will always be Undefeated, because in Him you will truly find the victory you need!

A woman was Christmas shopping with her children. After many hours of pressing through the crowds, looking at rows upon rows of clothes, shelves of toys and everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing her children asking for every toy they saw, as children naturally do, she was exhausted, beleaguered, and drained. So like being the last ones to get on a rescue helicopter to evacuate out of a war zone, she and her children finally made it to the elevator.

 As the elevator doors opened and she sighed heavily, as it too was crowded, she pushed her way into the car dragging her two kids and all the bags of stuff with her. As the doors closed, looking up at the numbers, she sighed in a not so low tone of voice, “Whoever started all this Christmas stuff should be strung up and shot.” Her children didn’t understand her comments. They were having fun. Then from the back of the elevator, came a quiet calm voice that said, “He already was. He was crucified.”

For the rest of the trip down in the elevator you could have heard a pin drop. That one sentence for a moment seemed to put everything into perspective.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season. The overwhelming pressure of shopping for that special something for that special someone, making sure not to leave anyone out or forgotten, or the busyness to go to every party, or of hosting a gala of a party inviting everyone and omitting no one, or of going to the Christmas office parties, school concerts, church banquets and concerts, and tasting all the holiday foods and treats, on top of that writing out and mailing all those Christmas cards. Is it any wonder why the month of December goes by so fast and we’re so exhausted by the time Christmas actually arrives that most adults struggle to relax and enjoy it? The busyness of the holiday season wears away the simple beauty of it.

 Bear in mind the One who started all this Christmas stuff also came into a busy and overcrowded world, and spent most of his life walking among the crowds of people. He too had people make all sorts of demands of him, his time, efforts and energies. He too paid a great price for the greatest gift ever given. And even his eventual death on the Cross didn’t please everyone. So Jesus knows how you feel when you’re tired and exhausted and when people don’t appreciate all you do for them.

In the busyness of this Christmas season don’t forget who started all this Christmas stuff and why; “Peace on Earth and good will to all mankind” giving Jesus Christ to the world is God’s way of saying, “Merry Christmas.”

Merry Christmas from the folks here at Victory International Fellowship

One of the most important parts of keeping your promises is not the what you thought you conveyed, but the expectation you created. When I say, “I’ll be right there”, what I may mean by “right there” may not be what is understood by “right there”. Communication 101.

We can only guard the expectations we allow ourselves to formulate. Our expectations may lead us to believe a promise is not kept when in reality; our understanding was simply in error. The Apostle Peter addressed this in his second letter. 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness…” The Apostle Peter is addressing the promise of the Lord’s return. He will return to be sure, but in His patience we must trust. His promise to return was clear, the timing of His return was not.

How then shall we live? When we get together with friends, we make preparations. Where will we go? What will we do? Most importantly, what will we eat? Preparations may include preparing our home, the clothes we wear and even the freshness of our breath. The Apostle Peter admonishes us to take seriously the soon arrival of our Lord Jesus, to keep a proper perspective of this world and to live a life which exemplifies the character of Christ.

How will His soon return affect your decision making today? Today is a gift of His patience, giving opportunity for everyone to come to repentance. The choice is yours, make it count for eternity!

The passion of the young man was evident as he took his place in line. Just a moment earlier there had a been a stirring message filled with visions of glory and full throated exclamations of allegiance from thousands of youth. Their voices seemed to move the very foundation of the building as they cried in unison.

Under a shrouded night sky he milled with the group as they moved back to their hotel. There was an expectation, no, even more so, a promise and assurance of life at a greater level. A striving for a purpose no one could replace or take from them.

…to die is gain.

And yet the future wasn’t safer or clearer. The unknowns still rose up on both sides. What would people say to him? How would they react? Could he really live out what he had said he would? How would life change for him?

But with the unknowns came a known that was supreme and lit up his future like a sunrise. The God who knew his name had called him and would never, ever let him fall. And one thought fueled the joy burning inside:

Life verses even more life! I can’t lose. Philippians 1:21

It seems that in a world that is ever changing, all we see around us is just a rerun. When the knowledge that someone else has faced our struggles and situations really hits us, we realize we know the One who has been through it all. In fact John 1:1-3 shows us how Jesus had his hand in creating EVERYTHING! We’re talking about the ‘original’ inventor.

So then we come to the time when life gets crazy and trust runs thin. For many of us it’s the point where we say It feels like you don’t love me, God, so I don’t feel like loving you. But let me encourage you to adopt the theme of the writer of Lamentations who was having the worst time ever (skin wasting away, broken bones, pulverized kidneys and such)- Lamentations 3:21-26

“The Lord is my portion-I’m sticking with God!”

Take for instance the scripture in Psalms 150 where it says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Most days, weeks, months and years of our lives, we skate right by this scripture not appreciating the meaning or ability to do it until we can no longer do it, such as people with Emphysema, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Pulmonary Embolisms. These disorders and medical conditions hinder and constrict people from breathing properly and easily and can include people who would like to raise their voices in praising God but simply can’t because they literally can’t breath deep enough and don’t have enough breath. These respiratory obstructive disorders make living Psalms 150 much, much harder to do than the rest of us who can breathe normally.

Also, this scripture skates right by us most days, weeks, months and years of our lives because we don’t live in restrictive countries and places that oppose Christianity and forbid the teaching and practicing thereof, to the point of imprisonment, torture or death.

We have freedoms that most of us take for granted most days, weeks, months and years of our lives.

It seems to me that if we’re healthy and living in a country that allows our expression of praise to The Lord, then every day of our lives should be spent practicing the praises of our God. And before the crowds cheer someone kicking a ball through the uprights or crossing the goal line into the end zone, churches on Sundays and Saturday nights should sound like huge stadiums, filled with people cheering The Lord our God with loud, lavished and long praises for who He is and what He’s already done for us.

If you love where you live and appreciate the ability to breathe, then let everything that has breath praise The Lord.