We had a rousing sermon at church today. "Victory in Jesus" will be the Boise Vineyard's theme in 2010. This really resonated with me because God took me into my own study on the true meaning of victory for a Christian in 2003-2004 which then led me to write The Victory Club. Then the Lord and I explored "victory" again in 2006 when it was my word for the year.
Pastor Tri's message (Victory in Jesus) came down to three things we need in order to live a victorious life:
- A choice of faith — choose Jesus; choose to go all out for God; choose not to stay in the calm backwaters but to get right out into the deep current of God's river and be swept along by the Holy Spirit.
- A choice of attitude — Eeyore won't cut it in the kingdom of God; we must live in a state of thanksgiving.
- A choice for action — Join the battle; gird yourself; serve the Lord with your life.
As I was making sermon notes (yes, I always take notes; I remember better that way), God spoke to my heart about writing down three things I'm thankful for every day this year. I don't want to be an Eeyore, expecting the worst, fearing the storms. I want to live in victory, rejoicing in the blessings of God. So here are my three things I'm thankful for today:
- I'm thankful to God for my family, immediate and extended. I'm especially thankful for my mom who raised me on her own after the death of my dad (I was just a few months old) and for my two daughters who are my pride and joy.
- I'm thankful to God for Poppet, my noisy, hyper Papillon who is curled up beside my hip as I write this post. Who can resist the unconditional love of man's best friend?
- I'm thankful to God for the freedom to read the Bible wherever and whenever and in whatever translation I choose. May I never take that freedom from government control for granted.
How about you? Care to name three things you're thankful for today?
~robin
PS If you'd like to join me for my year of intentional thanksgiving, please see the link in the navigation bar beneath the header of this blog. It will take you to my new Thanksgiving Journal. Or simply click here. You can also subscribe to the Thanksgiving blog's feed if you want to make sure you don't miss any posts.
