Lord, how have I allowed myself to ever-so-subtly slip into a negative mind set? A place I don’t desire to be, nor that honors You?

I’ve allowed myself to practice more my version of the truth rather than Truth itself. I have rehearsed more self-pity than the Gospel. The predictable result is that I am teary lately and bothered by things I would not ordinarily be bothered by. I need to, want to, shift my eyes and my heart from me to Thee.

Right after writing the above meditation in my journal, I opened “The Seeking Heart” by Fenelon. The pen was dropped where I left off weeks or even months ago in the pages titled: “Help for Discouragement and Depression.” I smiled to myself. Then I read these words: “Love God and stay still before Him. You would rather punish yourself, and stir up commotion, than forget yourself and look to God. Mourning your weakness will not make you better. It will only contribute to a good case of self-pity. The slightest glance toward God will calm you far more.”

Once again, I smiled to myself. How gracious is God to lead me to a book I haven’t picked up in weeks to speak words that my heart needed to hear this very day.

Have you experienced the subtle slip lately? Perhaps you like me, need to take that slightest glance toward God…and then another….and another until we are not glancing but gazing at our Savior.

Diane

Everywhere we look today there are people, “Christian people,” struggling with the problems of living life. Maybe you’re one of those people whose life is greatly impacted by someone who is or has been caught in the strangling grip of some life-dominating behavior.

So, the question is, “What does responding biblically mean?” How are we, as Christians, to think about these things? With all my heart, I believe that God’s Word alone is sufficient to meet any and every challenge we face. His Word – spoken or written – has the power to change lives today!

My hope today is to encourage you with the fact that there is a “how.” God has a way for all of us to do this!

Of all the things, the tools we have been given, I believe there are three which are of utmost importance: faith, God’s Word, and prayer.

Without faith we know it is impossible to please God and therefore impossible to do anything He may call us to do in dealing with our sin, or anyone else’s. Faith will lead us to prayer. In prayer we will dialog with God. We will talk to Him. And then we’ll listen for Him to talk to us. When He speaks, we then have His Word as the measuring tool for all that we think we hear.

The Holy Spirit will provide every ounce of strength, power, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and creativity necessary for us to know how to respond biblically in all of life’s situations and conflicts.

In 2 Corinthians 1, the Apostle Paul pens the following words to encourage the church at Corinth and to encourage us today. I share them so you may know that every Victory Call we write to you we write in faith. Each one of us goes through our own battles and it is through Christ in us that we are all enabled to demonstrate grace above and beyond our own doing.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble, with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Dear sisters, as much as we’d like to think that Christmas is a happy time for all, a time where there is no conflict or strife, the simple truth is that for many of us this time of year is sad, depressing and filled with pain.

So, let’s purpose to do two things this season:
1. Remember to keep the main thing the main thing and choose to respond to all situations in a manner pleasing to the Lord, no matter how tempted you maybe to do otherwise.
2. Be aware of the people around you who may be suffering, alone and silent. Reach out to them and give them Jesus, the Christ in Christmas.

Stephanie

“Only imperfection is bothered by the imperfect.”1

I have been thinking about this quote for 2 days. To me it stands alone as a Victory Call, but I’m sure I’d get comments about its brevity.

“Only imperfection is bothered by the imperfect.”2

Really. Stop and think about it. Why do the idiosyncrasies and foibles of other people irritate me so? Because I, too, am imperfect. It is the imperfection in me that is so bothered by the imperfection of others.

Think about the last conflict you had with a friend or family member or perhaps a disagreement with a co-worker. Don’t we often get irritated because we think we are right and they are wrong? We act like we are perfect and they are imperfect. Now, we don’t SAY that, but we ACT like it is true. Consider those thoughts racing around inside your head that others may never hear. In our minds don’t we often build our case against their imperfection? We build ourselves up as the blameless one or at least the most blameless one, more blameless than the other person.

“Only imperfection is bothered by the imperfect.”3

The fact that we are bothered by the imperfections of others is just further evidence that we ourselves are imperfect.

Won’t you ponder this quote: “Only imperfection is bothered by the imperfect.”4 Perhaps we will see conflict in a whole new light.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Diane

1 The Seeking Heart by Fenelon, pg. 149
2 IBID
3 IBID
4 IBID

“I know God has forgiven me, but I simply can’t forgive myself.” Have you heard statements similar to that? Have you made statements similar to that? I imagine we have all committed an act that requires God’s forgiveness….and ours. Have you ever said to yourself, “I can’t believe I did that”? I have dealt with many people who have committed a sin they simply can’t let go of. They know God has forgiven them, but they are still carrying around the burden of what they did. So what do we do to free ourselves? I had a conversation with God a few years ago, and I will share it with you.

Forgive me, Lord.
I have sinned.
I’ve confessed this before,
But here I am again.
You are forgiven, dear one.
I heard your confession years ago.But Lord, it was such a terrible sin,
I just can’t seem to let go.
Stand here at the cross with Me.
Here your deeds were paid for.
Forgive yourself and see.
I will remember your sin no more.
Walk away from the cross with Me.
Your sins are forgiven.
You are free!

For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

MWH

OK – quick. What flowers do you associate with Easter? If you’re like me, the answer is lilies. How about Christmas? If your answer is like mine, it’s poinsettias.

I recently took a bus trip to Longwood Gardens to enjoy the Christmas flowers and lighting displays. I have been to the Gardens a number of times in all seasons, but the Christmas colors and lights always give me real pleasure and joy. On this particular day I was remarking to a friend of mine that the arrangements were unusual in that the gardeners had placed various types of flowers, not usually associated with Christmas, in with all of the evergreens and poinsettias. We saw daisies and narcissus, for instance, and beautiful white lilies.

And then it struck me. The message of Christmas and the resurrection were presented right there together for all of us to behold. The flowers we most associate with the Christmas season are those beautiful scarlet poinsettias. They become the precursor of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for us, the shedding of his red blood on our behalf. And in the same flower bed with the red poinsettias, there were planted snow white lilies – that flower we most associate with the season of Easter as we focus on the resurrection. Those pure white lilies which symbolize our sinless and spotless state before God because of Jesus’ death and His victorious resurrection.

Come now, and reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18).

Now I don’t have any idea how the decision was reached to plant the lilies and poinsettias together. Maybe the gardener or designer of the plantings was a Christian and was thinking of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection when he made his choice. Maybe he just liked the color and arrangement together. I’ll probably never know that. But what I DO know is that our Master Designer knew exactly what He was doing when He set out the plan for our salvation. The incarnation and the atonement have an inescapable relationship to each other. So each Christmas season from now on, I will remember those flowers together and thank God once again that He provides these demonstrations to remind us of His great love for us.

Lynn Randall

Oh, I know – immediately you were thinking of those wrinkles on our faces as we age. What I am referring to is the wrinkles in our clothes, the ones we iron out or in (as the case may be). I am amazed at the number of people I know that don’t even own an iron. I’m envious.

It has occurred to me numerous times as I iron that the wrinkles I accidently iron in are a lot more difficult to iron out. A single mis-swipe of the iron creates a wrinkle that is very difficult to get rid of. It takes significant steam and attention to make the surface smooth again.

It’s not unlike sin.

Did you ever notice how easy it is to start a bad habit or sinful pattern? It doesn’t take much effort at all. But try to break that habit or sin pattern and it will take significant “effort” to overcome it.

Perhaps, like me, you have been aware at times in your life when you stood at the edge of a cliff, tempted to do something that may seem the least painful choice at the moment but once that last step is taken, the free fall into that pattern of choice ensues.

Let me give you a few examples from my own life 15-20 years ago.

I distinctly remember the evening I could have slid into the devastation of bulimic purging had I given in to the tempation to rid myself of the calories I had injested.

I remember the weekend I could have started down the road to agoraphobic isolation and ended up unwilling to leave my home had I not chosen to purpose to go out even when I didn’t want to.

Perhaps you can identify with these or similar examples or maybe something more subtle like getting immersed in a soap opera or televsion program that you know is not filling your mind with good and godly things, or maybe the time you gave yourself permission to give full vent to your anger and now your anger is gaining ground in your life.

What wrinkles have you accidently ironed into your life that now you are working to smooth out?

Daily we make choices. We need to make the godly choice, the holy choice, the obedient choice rather than the least painful choice. It often takes just once to begin the insidious decline.

Praise God that daily, by His Spirit, He empowers us to walk, to run away from the lure to destruction and to walk in victory.

Diane

You know what they are: Taste, Smell, Hear, See, and Touch. We learn all about them as kids in school, but how much do you think about them on a regular basis as you interact with the world? God gave us our senses as our Creator and I have to believe that there is a reason for each one. Recently, I have been challenged by my brother to interact with the world I’m in using all 5 of my senses. He would write me about an event and tell me about it through the five senses. I have started a Bible study on each of them to see how they were used in Scripture. I’ll begin this devotional with the sense of TOUCH.

Touch: This is the way we physically interact with the world. It is in touch that we fully experience our lives. Christ did not have to heal through touch, but everyone believed that it was necessary to touch or fully interact with Christ to receive healing (Matt 14:36). David in the Psalms asks God to come down and touch the earth (Psalms 144:5). After His death and prior to his ascension, Christ told them not to touch him because he was not physical at that point in time (John 20:17).

How are you interacting with your world? Are you really experiencing it? How about your relationship with God – are you truly letting Him “touch” your life? Or are you experiencing life from a distance?

Do you know the song, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand”? The story goes that an old violin was worthless until the creator/maker came up and began to play it most magnificently. It was then that the violin had value and worth beyond measure.

Are you letting Him touch you? Are you touching the world recognizing it as His handiwork? Or, are you running through life missing what is really there?

ONE Warning… God clearly tells us in Scripture that in the process of our lives touching the world, that we are to “not touch” evil (Isaiah 52:11; 2 Cor. 6:17). God wants us to fully experience all good things that He bestows, but avoid those things that Satan lures us with that appear to be good. Remember the garden? God gives us so much… and warns us against some things…

Question… Can you walk daily experiencing the world, but not touching those things God warns us against? I think sometimes my struggle is that I take for granted many experiences that God wants me to enjoy so I miss out on the greater experience. On the other hand – I’m too easily tempted to want to experience that which God calls me not to.

Challenge… Daily walk truly letting the good things of God and His creation fully touch you. For instance, the feel of the leaves in the fall, the softness of the breeze on your cheek, the coolness of the air as the seasons change, the smoothness of your blankets as you sleep, and maybe the hardness of the ground as it begins to freeze for the winter. There is also the touch of a hand, the warmth or squeeze of a hug and the coolness or warmth of lips with a kiss.

Lynne Jahns

Genesis 2:2 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

For six days God created the heavens, the earth, plants, animals and finally He created man and from the man…woman. All this in six days! No wonder God rested on the seventh day….but wait …was God tired? How could that be? If He was tired wouldn’t that mean there was something lacking in God?

It wasn’t that God was “exhausted” because He worked too much…God’s rest didn’t mean He was inactive. God ceased “creating.” He had created everything that He had intended to create. And when He observed all that He had created, He called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). God’s “rest” was only that His work of creation was complete. God then began the work of sustaining all that He had created. At the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God’s work of redemption began (John 3:16).

In these days in which we live, there is only one new thing that is created and only one way to create it. That new creation is any man, woman or child who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

God has provided the way for you and me to become a totally new creation when we accept His Son Jesus as the Lord of our lives. Who I was no longer exists; today I am a child of the King. My eternal life began the day I asked Jesus into my heart. I am a new creation!

God no longer “creates” new creations…He has provided the Gift…Jesus…the means…and all we have to do is accept it and our lives are forever transformed for eternity!

What an awesome Gift given to us over 2000 years ago. That Gift came wrapped in a bundle, and has never gone out of date or expired. Every year at Christmas time we are reminded of the Gift and the promise of new life it holds. It is a gift we can share with others any time of year, not just December 25th. But do we? This year let’s take the Gift of Jesus out from under the tree and share it 365 days a year.

MaryAnn

MaryAnn and John Kiernan have been married for 35 years, have 2 grown/married sons and are the proud grandparents of three grandsons. She serves at America’s Keswick as a Biblical Counselor and also as Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy. Her life verse is Romans 8:28.

Paul’s opening verse to the Christians in Colosse are words of prayer. Often I hear of, and I also experience, the difficulties of developing and maintaining a consistent prayer life. There are many methods that are taught but to keep it simple we should remember that we are not about religion, but about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Relationships are maintained by communication. We have all kinds of ways to communicate – phone, email, face book, etc. – but if we are not actually using the tools and communicating, relationships suffer. The same would be true of our relationship with Christ. In Colossians 1:1-12 Paul gives us a great lesson on prayer. We learn from these verses how to pray for ourselves and for others as well. Take a moment to read these verses and see what instructions are given on how and what to pray for.

We can pray for grace and peace (Colossians 1:2). Pray always with thanks (1:3). Do not cease to pray (1:19). Walk worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit and increasing in knowledge (1:10). Strengthened with all might, for all patience and longsuffering with joy (1:11). Giving thanks to the Father (1:12). What wonderful instructions for prayer! As we pray, these are wonderful portions of Scripture to follow.

“Most Christians receive great joy as they talk to the Father. But have you ever thought that prayer pleases God? The Lord wants to hear from His children. Though He already knows our thoughts and desire, God loves for us to voice our hearts to Him. One prescription for spiritual wellness is prayer. Believers cannot grow in their faith without communicating with God. Prayer is an essential ingredient for spiritual growth. Jesus Himself commanded us to pray, but He didn’t ask us to pray without teaching us how.” *

If you have begun to care for your spiritual wellness, communication with Jesus is essential. Beware of blocked arteries that squeeze out communication. Prayer is what will keep the arteries of your communication with Jesus open and healthy.

Kathy Withers

*Rhonda H. Kelley- A Women’s Guide to Spiritual Wellness, pg 16

Kathy Withers serves in the Development Department at America’s Keswick. She is married to Dave and has two adult children, Michael and Kerri.

** If you received “Sheer Grace” as yesterday’s email, duplicating Tuesday’s, please check the website for the intended Victory Call.

OK – we all go through it. There comes that period during the first couple of weeks in December (or even later for the “last minute” folks – and you all know who you are) when we are in search of the “perfect gift” – you know the one that when you see it you go “that is just perfect for____________.”

I started thinking about this over the weekend while flipping through a ladies’ magazine (Good Housekeeping – although apparently reading it faithfully for many years has certainly not fulfilled its title in MY house – but that is another story). There was an article about a mother who was “frantic” to find the perfect gift for her daughter – a three-story, condo dollhouse. And as happens at this time of year, it was sold out – everywhere. The e-Bay price was twice the store price, etc., etc. Her upset was that her daughter wasn’t going to get her perfect gift.

And I found myself saying right out loud, “The perfect gift has already been given, and it doesn’t cost you retail or double on e-Bay.” You see, Jesus Christ is that perfect gift. He fills EVERY longing, EVERY need, EVERY desire – even the ones we don’t even know we have. NO gift was, is or ever will be more perfect than His greatest gift to us – His life for our sins. And if that weren’t enough, He continues to bless, cheer, encourage, heal, bring joy and peace and the list goes on and on. All of the things that the world thinks is important, holds dear and searches for year after year – it is already part of the same package.

So, as you begin to stress out or become anxious about disappointing someone this Christmas because you can’t find the perfect gift, remind yourself that you do have the perfect gift to give – share the story of that blessed night over 2000 years ago when Christ came to earth as the perfect gift to each of us who will say “Thank you for your gift to me. I receive it with all my heart.”

Eph. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…

Lynn Randall