Author: Bob Nichols

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Conversation with God

“If Jesus needed to pray, I need to pray.”

Jesus was given to us by God to not only be our salvation, but to also be our example of a the life that God wants us to live. Pray is a key part of that life. Prayer at it most basic level is communication with God and Him communicating with us. Jesus knew it was important to spend time in communion with His Father.

 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Matthew 14:23

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. Matthew 26:36

Jesus spoke about prayer to His disciples and to those who listened to His teaching. His parables included references to prayer.

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Luke 18:1

Paul continued the teaching showing us that we should always be in prayer and that there are different kinds of prayer.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:18

Clearly prayer is important to God and should be important to us.

Victory Action

Today I set aside time to spend with God in prayer. I will have a conversation (talk AND listen) with my Father in Heaven. I will also be aware of His presence and fellowship with Him throughout the day.

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Count the Cost

“Finishing is more important than starting.”

 

28For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?  29Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,  30Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Luke 14:28-30

6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 1:6

 

Victory Action

I will “count the cost” and make a firm commitment before starting a project, and work diligently unto the Lord while allowing Him to work in me until its completion.

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Faith Without Works is Dead

“God does not bless laziness.  God rewards diligence.”

 

14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?  15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,  16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

James 2:14-17

 Victory Action

I will do all I can do in the natural and yet choose to believe God’s Word over every circumstance.

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Sign the Check

“Jesus has given us a blank check.  All we need to do is sign it.”

 

23And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.  24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

John 16:23-24

  Victory Action

I don’t have to live on “Poverty Lane” or “Barely Get By Street.”  When I want something in line with God’s Word I’ll sign my “blank check” on “Abundant Blessing Blvd.” by asking the Father in Jesus’ name.

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No Replacement for Basics

“Nothing takes the place of prayer and eye contact with your Bible.”

 

9Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  10With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. –Psalm 119:9-10

 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. –Psalm 119:105

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. – Psalm 5:3

We have so much information available to us today! You can watch, listen to and read about the Word of God. But the thing about relationship is spending time with the author of the book. The best way to do that is to read your Bible for yourself and spend time in prayer communicating with God and letting Him communicate with you. There is a reason it is called a PERSONAL relationship. Books, discussions with other believers, and listening to others teach and preach are all beneficial to spiritual growth.  However, the depth of your personal relationship with God depends on the time you spend regularly with Him in prayer and in His Word.

Victory Action

I will set aside time every day to spend time in the Bible and prayer to grow my personal relationship with God.

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Just Be Faithful

“Regardless of talents, anyone can be faithful.”

There is an old saying, “Dress thyself and show up!” Those words describe how easy it is to be faithful. Faithfulness is not based on skills. Even the most skilled person can be lazy. So it is not about skill set – it is about action. It is a heart thing. It is doing what you know to do with a desire for excellence. It is about consistency. It is about being the person that God can use and promote.

For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another. – Psalm 75:6-7

Faithfulness gives God something to work with!

So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers. – Deuteronomy 30:9

Our faithfulness to use our gifts and talents will cause God’s faithfulness to be seen in our lives.

Victory Action

God’s promotion is based on faithfulness, not on how many talents I have.  I will use what I have faithfully.

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Only God

“Don’t expect your companion (or anyone else) to be what only God can be to you.”

 

 21Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.  22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:21-22

 

Victory Action

There is a certain quality of relationship that I can experience only with God, so I will expect Him, and not others, to meet the kind of need that only He can fulfill.

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Enjoy Life Don’t Just Endure It

“God wants us to enjoy, not endure our marriages and lives.”

1 Peter 3:7-12 (J.B. Phillips New Testament)

7 Similarly, you husbands should try to understand the wives you live with, honouring them as physically weaker yet equally heirs with you of the grace of eternal life. If you don’t do this, you will find it impossible to pray properly.

Be good to each other—and to all men

8-12 To sum up, you should all be of one mind living like brothers with true love and sympathy for each other, generous and courteous at all times. Never pay back a bad turn with a bad turn or an insult with another insult, but on the contrary pay back with good. For this is your calling—to do good and one day to inherit all the goodness of God. For: ‘He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile: let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil’.

While endurance is an important characteristic when it refers to longevity, other times it has a negative connotation. We tend to just “endure” life’s tougher challenges because we have lost our power to resist and persevere. We just try to “get through” that long line at the DMV, or that holiday dinner with our loud uncle whoever. We cannot find joy in the situation. But that was never God’s plan for us! He is a good Father. He has good, enjoyable things for us. The scripture quoted above gives us some keys for enjoying, not just enduring. But here is the thing, The Word of God tells us to be generous and courteous AT ALL TIMES! What? How will that help the situation? It may not change the circumstances, but you will find that it will change you. Because when we obey God, we have His full backing in the situation. God will use the opportunity to change us from the inside out. Just think about it, the scripture says that if we do good, it will give us access to ALL of God’s goodness. Sounds like a good trade to me! Peter points out earlier in the passage that by not doing good when we can, we will not even be able to pray correctly. Wow! I guess this stuff is pretty important so maybe we should try it!

Victory Action

Effective relationships are foundational to an enjoyable life.  As I respect and walk in love toward others, I love life as I see good days.

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Obedience is Success

“Success is obeying God; do not measure success by others.”

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” – Joshua 1:8

God’s measuring stick is Jesus. The beauty of this is when we accept Jesus as our savior we become like Him. When God looks at us, He sees Jesus. He sees us through the filter of the blood of Jesus and the work He did on the cross for our salvation. Jesus was very successful! He did the will of the Father. He accomplished what God sent Him to do. He was obedient even unto death.

Jesus is to be our example in all things. If His success came through knowing the will of God and obeying His instructions then that should be our pattern too. That should be the only pattern. I am only interested in pleasing God, not people. When we compare ourselves or allow others to compare us to anyone or anything other than Jesus, we live on a lower level.

The problem with comparing ourselves to others is that we live on a level that can only be accomplished by natural means. When we walk in obedience to God we have access to His power to accomplish His will in our lives. God’s will for your life may be completely different than the person you are comparing yourself to so the comparison is invalid from the start. Just stop it!

Besides, obeying God has great benefits! Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says, “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:  2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.“

When you obey God you put the responsibility for your success in God’s hands – right where it should be!

Victory Action

I will not compare my success with others.  Instead, I will obey God, the source of my success.