Welcome to the Victory Blog

Colleen and I just got back from a two-week sabbatical in the Caribbean. While it was really nice, it’s great to be back. We miss our church a lot whenever we’re gone. We truly love being with you. And that reminds me, how much more must God love being with us since He was willing to lay aside the glory and riches of Heaven, humbling Himself to be born as a lowly babe in a stable? He did that, and faced the horrors of the Cross years later, just to be with us and to give us the opportunity to know Him. In that, He revealed Himself in Christ Jesus as Emmanuel: God With Us!

When I think about the concept of God with us, it blows my mind. How amazing is it that THE Creator of the universe is right here with us…in our midst…not far away or distant?! We can know Him, and the more we get to know Him, the more we discover that He’s a truly amazing God who longs to restore to each of us three major things that we all lack without Him:

Peace, Hope & Joy

Today, I’m focusing on Hope. Many people don’t understand why hope is so important, so powerful, or even what it is. Many confuse it with wishing. But that’s not hope. Hope is a future grounded in the present reality that God is faithful. It is knowing that God is faithful, no matter how much trouble we’re facing in life. Without a doubt, we all come into times when our hope is tested. In those times, we have to ask ourselves whether we’re we seeing the future through the lens of what our culture or the world says, or through what God’s Word says. If we’re looking at our circumstances through any other lens than God’s Word, we’re going to start losing hope. And when that happens, we get discouraged, give up and then get in trouble. Losing hope opens the door for the enemy to get control of our lives.

Jesus (Emmanuel) came to give us a new life of hope and an amazing future. His hope strengthens us on the inside. It has a power to it by the Holy Spirit that will take us through every difficulty in our lives. This strength comes through knowing that:

1. God is for us. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose… What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:28 & 31 NKJ)
2. God is in us. Have you ever thought about the fact that God lives IN people? He does this in the form of the Holy Spirit. We often forget that God is living inside of us…we think we’re all alone…but the truth is that He’s still there, and He’s greater than anything that’s coming against us.
3. God is with us. Sometimes, things come against us that cause us to really question whether this is true or not. But Jesus came to earth to relate with us – to experience what we experience. He knows what we’re going through. When we face trials, difficult times, He’s right there with us, giving us hope to get through.

Hope also motivates us on the outside, changing us into different people, and causing us to want to make a difference in the lives of others. Don’t you think this world needs more hope? Imagine what it would be like if we all laid hold of the Hope that we have through Emmanuel: God With Us?!

(Listen to, watch or download the entire message here.)