WEDNESDAYS WEEKLY WORD...victory

Today I am also over at LACED WITH GRACE...CLICK HERE to read "The Gift"!

IN ANY KIND OF CONTEST, TO WIN YOU MUST HAVE A PLAN. Right before a football or basketball game, sportscasters often times will visit the coaches to find out what their game plan is. Coaches know beforehand the plan of action is to keep the ball out of a certain star players hands, so his players must double or triple team him. It does not matter what kind of sport is being played, the way to victory is sticking to the plan.

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers about their personal victories and asked the following question: "If you could be assured one victory in the coming year, what would it be?" The top 3 responses were:

1. 35% of those voting said they would like to have "victory" over the battle of the bulge or in other words they want to lose weight!

2. 21% voted and said they would like to win the heart of a rebellious child.

3. 14% of the readers said they would like to gain control of their finances.

How can the new year bring victory to these that voted in the poll this week? Paul gives some great advice to us as well as to the Christians of Colossae:

COLOSSIANS 2:6,7 "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, (7) rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

Paul basically is telling the Christians at Colossae to "stick with the game plan."

Paul is wanting to be sure that false philosophy did not pull the Christians away from God's plan and cause them to lose their victory. Walking worthy of the Lord means sticking with what you are taught. Sticking with God's game plan will give victory over 3 kinds of defeat: 1. false teaching, 2. sin and death, and 3. evil spiritual powers.

VICTORY OVER FALSE TEACHING
When you are in battle, the enemy may take some of your soldiers captive. Do you remember not too long ago the story of Jessica Lynch? The soldier taken captive from Iraq. Paul warns us that deceit is a common way that soldiers are taken captive.

"Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ." -APOSTLE PAUL

Jessica Lynch was captured when her vehicle was ambushed after making a wrong turn. This is just the kind of thing that false teachers can do to Christians. They ambush you at a time of confusion.

VICTORY OVER SIN and DEATH
ROMANS 5:12 "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned."

ROMANS 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death."

Scripture clearly links sin to death. But there is victory over death through Jesus Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:56,57 "Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

What victory can be more important than victory over sin and death? Apart from Christ, victory over sin and death CANNOT happen. This is why false teaching that removes our focus of faith away from Christ is very, very dangerous. It will rob us of this important victory over death.

VICTORY OVER POWERS and AUTHORITIES
COLOSSIANS 2:15 "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him."

The authorities that Paul is speaking of are not human authorities. Paul was writing about the spiritual rulers and authorities. Or more plainly said, the spirits and demons who oppose God. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again - these powers were defeated and publicly disgraced.

The victory for us today is knowing that there is no power in our universe, not physical nor spiritual that can rob us of our victory in Jesus Christ.

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (ROMANS 8:38,39)

OUR VICTORY IS SECURE!

WHAT IS YOUR

GAME PLAN FOR VICTORY?

No victory can be won if we only know the strategy - we must act upon our plan. I am studying the book of Colossians in the Bible and this devotion is a reflection of what Paul is teaching me. It is my prayer that all of us will guard our hearts and not be taken in by false teachings. One way to be alert and recognize false teachings is to know what Gods Word says. We must read and study His Word! Join me in studying the book of Colossians and together we will know the game plan and have victory in Jesus!!




THIS WEEK'S YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL: please take time to vote in this weeks poll. It is located on the side bar of the blog and asks, "what would people most likely judge you for?" Thanks for voting. YOUR OPINION MATTERS!!