For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].

1st John 5:4 AMP

Good Morning!

Happy Friday! As we go into this weekend, please take some time to work on your goals for the year. Do not let the setbacks of the past discourage you from going into the future God has for you. As we have covered the last few days, God has victory for you.

I remember, years ago, we would sing a song in church and at camp meeting about victory. A line of the song was, “No matter what the weapon is, I want you to know that I win.” No matter the challenge in front of you, Jesus has made you a champion. As Romans 8:37 reminds us, we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us. On top of that, 1 Corinthians 15:57 says that God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and 2nd Corinthians 2:14 says that God always causes us to triumph.

It’s time to work on your 2024 goals and go forward. Do not let the challenges of the past or current situations, keep you from dreaming big and going into the future God has for you. In concluding today’s newsletter, I want to share with you another portion of Victory: A 10-day devotional to help you start your weekend with a victorious mentality.

Victory is a gift. The Scripture clearly tells us that God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Gifts given to us from God through Jesus are manifestations of the grace of God in our lives. You do not work for a gift; if you did work for it, it would no longer be a gift, but a wage. Since victory is a gift, we have to shift our focus from trying to earn victory to receiving victory. How do we receive gifts from God? Ephesians 2:8 sheds light on how we receive gifts from God. Ephesians 2:8 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

We receive gifts from God through faith. When you think of the word, “through” I want you to imagine a door. This door leads you to a room with your dream car. The dream car is fully loaded, fully decked out, your favorite color, everything you could imagine about a car. Do you have the picture in your mind? The only way to get the car is to go through the door. What is more valuable, the door or the car? Although the door is vitally important, it is not more valuable than the car. The door may be worth a few hundred dollars, but a dream car can easily be priced in the range of six figures. Grace is more valuable than faith, but the only way you receive grace is through faith. We were saved by grace through faith; this is the way we are to live, “grace through faith.” Knowing this, how do we receive victory? Through faith. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. One of the reasons I wrote this devotional is to help you grow your faith in understanding that God wants you to experience victory in your everyday life.

Victory is a gift, but you still must fight the good fight of faith. Very often, God gives us the victory on the battlefields of life. Don’t just wait for victory to fall from the sky. Work on your 2024 goals, do what God has instructed you to do, take Spirit-led steps forward in faith, and watch how situations will turn in your favor. It’s not the time to give up. This is the time to win and win big!

In today’s Faith in the Morning podcast devotional, I share how you can unplug your spiritual ears and hear from God with greater clarity. God wants to lead you forward today. Hearing from God is critically key to experiencing the life He has for us. Stream today’s Faith in the Morning , grow in understanding and encouragement in how God leads you, and know that something good is going to happen to you today!

In 2021, I preached a seven message series on Victory. (Stream it here.) This series led to the Victory: A Ten Day Devotional that I shared today. God really does have victory planned for you. Don’t give up now. You are a champion! Have a victorious day!

Don’t Miss This 👇🏾

Here’s a song that’s been ministering to me:  This less than three minute clip by my friend Philip Renner is life giving! Stream it, be encouraged, and enter into worship with him. I had a chance to hang out with him this week and he let me know there is a version of this song on Apple Music. You can stream it here.

Do you have a question or topic that you would like to see covered in Faith in the Morning? Click here and let us know!

God has gifted you! Have you discovered your gifts? In future emails, I am going to share about how the gifts God has given you will enable you to be the light of world in very unique way. Each of us has grace gifts that help us fulfill our call. One of the ways God reveals His goodness and light is through your giftings. Do you know your gift? Take this test and discover giftings that God has given you.

Here’s what book of the Bible I’m reading: A new year is a great time to start a new Bible reading plan. Would you read through Proverbs with me this month? There’s 31 chapters. Read a chapter aloud each day this month.

Have you filled out our New Year survey?  We are taking our Faith in the Morning newsletter to the next level this year! We want to hear from you as we move forward. Take two minutes and fill out the survey. Thank you for you for filling out our survey!

Do you know someone who needs to read today’s email? Please forward this to them so that they can be encouraged by God’s wonderful love and goodness for them.

Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe to the Faith in the Morning newsletter to receive daily encouragement in your inbox!