Welcome to the Victory Blog

Do you really believe that the evidence of your healing is in your faith? When we need to be healed, we expect God to do something about it, but He’s looking for us to do our part too, and that is, He expects us to use our faith for that healing.

While Jesus is the Radical Healer, how radical are we in our faith to be healed? How do you move from saying you believe God to actually being fully convinced about His power to absolutely heal you?

One way to build up a radical faith for healing is to understand some of the reasons we fall prey to sickness and disease —  ways like un-confessed sin, worry, stress, anxiety, fear, poor stewardship of our bodies…. If we can take authority in these areas of our lives, we can begin to remove hindrances that keep us bound.

Journey into the life of Jesus Christ as the Radical Healer, and get a deeper understanding of the benefits that apply directly to you. Listen to the full message here.

Each month the Wednesday night Lawrenceville Ladies small group and the Thursday Night Single Young Women’s small group purpose to be doers of the Word of God. It is our desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus and serve. A life scripture for our groups is Mathew 25:37-40: “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

As you probably guessed, when we go out to serve, it is always “us” that really gets the blessing. On a beautiful Saturday in October, we joined the 7 Bridges Ministry and delivered lunches and prayed for men, women and children living under the bridges of Atlanta. To our sheer delight we did not know that we would meet about 50 other members of Victory with the same heart’s desire! The day started by meeting at the K-Mart on Cleveland Avenue at noon,  having praise and worship, delivering sack lunches and ending the day about 4pm. We were a “good tired” but ready to go home to take hot showers and decide what we wanted to eat for dinner. As we turned to go, the Holy Spirit reminded us that the people we were leaving were at home. They probably wouldn’t get to have a hot shower or randomly choose what they wanted to eat. Also, there was the fact that every day isn’t warm and sunny. It was very humbling.

Before we left that day, the house Mom for 60 women and 35 children for the homeless shelter (called The Garden) at 7 Bridges shared her testimony with us. She was standing there barefoot because she gave her shoes to someone who didn’t have any. She shared with us the need for coats, socks, gloves and blankets as winter was approaching.

Both small groups agreed this was another way we could give. For the next two weeks, we shopped at local department stores as well as in our own closets. It was such a blessing to be able to give more than 50 bags of clothing and toiletries.

On a Sunday afternoon we delivered the clothes and had the opportunity to serve dinner and fellowship with the ladies. This was an amazing experience for all of us. It helped us to understand that these were lovely women and that all it takes is one circumstance that could lead to homelessness. Thank God for The Garden. This shelter preaches Jesus to the attendees three times a day! They are allowed to stay at the shelter until they have found other accommodations. It is an awesome place.

What really blesses me as the facilitator of these small groups is that each month we participate in different outreaches. A few of the places the groups have served are City of Refuge, Meals on wheels, Hands on Atlanta, 7 Bridges, Gilgal Inc, Cafe 256, and Stand up for Children, and they all touch us in different ways. Many of our group members end up going back to the places we’ve visited, saying it is where God called them to be and that they are thankful the small group played a role in helping them find their place.

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We want to hear about what God has done in and through you at Victory. Whether long or short, complex or simple, your story is worth hearing, and there are others who need to hear it. Won’t you please consider sharing your story with us? If you’re willing to do so, please click the Share Your Story quicklink above, write your story, upload a nice photo (if you can) and click submit. It’s that simple. Now, don’t be shy. God’s given you a story for a reason! Share it today!

When you become a Christian, you have to change the way you think. You can no longer operate the same as you did before you knew Christ. You are called to something higher. You are destined for more. You are supposed to be radical.

Jesus was a radical thinker. He saw the turbulence of righteous persecution as something to be revered. He called us to forsake all relationships to be His disciple, including those that we hold so dear – our mothers, fathers, children, brothers and sisters. He explicitly warns against covetous living aimed at gaining and storing possessions for our own selfish ambitions. Jesus is pure uncompromising, and holy and undoubtedly demands the same from us. The darkness of this world cannot be justified. The mediocre pursuit after Christ is no longer tolerable. At this point, it should be all or nothing because if we are going to live for Christ then we can no longer conform to society. We need an extreme transformation.

How do we become radical in our thoughts? We have to be willing to put Christ and His call for our lives before and above anything that this world has to offer.

This is the first of The Radical series, and I invite you to join in as we discover how to be radical in our pursuit of Christ. Listen here to get more.

I have been meaning to write this letter for awhile. I am grateful to be a member of Victory World Church where I learn and grow with true doctrine teaching of Jesus Christ.

I participated in the Freedom debt reduction partnership and I pledged in joy with my church, giving it all in full as I had planned to give. It’s so amazing what has happened with my personal debts – it’s a miracle!

I had a past bill from Gwinnett Medical Hospital a little over or close to $5,000. I was unemployed, but I had walked in a blessing to receive cancellation of my debts through a program that considers my situation a hardship. They paid and removed the entire debt off my credit and mailed me the documentation with the 0 balance!

Oh, our God is faithful and mighty. I give God all the glory, and may the Lord bless and prosper Victory in all she does! Amen.

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We want to hear about what God has done in and through you at Victory. Whether long or short, complex or simple, your story is worth hearing, and there are others who need to hear it. Won’t you please consider sharing your story with us? If you’re willing to do so, please click the Share Your Story quicklink above, write your story, upload a nice photo (if you can) and click submit. It’s that simple. Now, don’t be shy. God’s given you a story for a reason! Share it today!

In the middle of everyday busy schedules, career tracks, family responsibilities and more, God calls His disciplined followers to a life of higher purpose. What does that mean for you? What do you have that could change the world? I believe many of us think too small about the gifts, talents and resources God has given us. See yourself differently today. God gifted you with something that could make a difference somehow in the lives of others, and He wants you to get busy using it for His glory.

That’s how disciples live – they understand that they were created with a God-given purpose and they intentionally pursue discovering and fulfilling it. A disciple lives a missional life.

How do we become that person? When you’re able to answer several key questions in life, you can settle in better on what God wants you to do. And once you get there, He doesn’t expect you to be lukewarm about it.

This is the last part of the 10 Qualities of a Disciple series. I encourage you to meditate on all of them, especially this final one about your purpose in life. If you truly want to become more like Jesus, then you will live a missional life filled with hunger, faithfulness and passion. Listen here to get more.

As brief as possible, this is how God worked in my life.  In December 2007, my roommate was brutally murdered.  I’m a homebody, but God told me to get dressed, and go to the Job Get Together at a co-worker’s home.  I got up, dressed and went.  About 15 minutes before my return, my friend was shot numerous times at point blank range by his best friend, who was mentally ill. Then on that Monday he kills his own fiancée’ at her job.  I know for a fact that I would have been murdered also if I would have stayed home.

Moving forward, I got a great position with British Airways as a Sales Coordinator.  The enemy wasn’t done with me at all.  I went to a seminar in Jacksonville and came down with a virus which left me bed ridden for 6 weeks.  My doctors told me that I was totally unable to work any longer.  Then, in the summer of July 2008, my brother dies at the age of 53.  One year later in Aug 2009, my older brother dies at the age of 55. He was my best friend.  After my first brother’s passing, I became a recluse, and I didn’t want any dealings with anyone.  And after my best friend dies, I was a wreck.  Then, after crying myself silly and into a nosebleed, I looked out the window and I heard God tell me, “You have a friend.”  I fell to my knees and told Him I needed Him, and loved Him, and to please help me with this unbearable hurt that I have.  After an hour and a half of talking to my Savior, I called Victory to see if they had anything going on that evening, and they did.

At the time it was CORE, and I was one of the first inside that evening.  I ran into an old friend and co-worker from IBM, and she told me about “Your Final Destination.” I went with her, suffered through a major panic attack, and she held my hand, and told me, “you’ll be fine.” And I was. I was so impressed and happy to be there. It was the best feeling I had in years.  That night, I seriously gave myself to Jesus.  And I was in the next New Member’s class in November 2009. God starts working with the utmost quickness!  I was baptized for the first time on January 31, 2010 and was nervous, but so happy!  People were hugging me in the lobby…total strangers. What an indescribable feeling!  An old tennis buddy, Bishop Thompson, and I were talking, and I was excited to tell him I had joined a church. He told me he and his family were members also.  He said he was an usher, and asked would I like to be one too.  I was more than happy to serve our Lord.  God is never done with you….

While serving an Easter Service, I ran into a lady that I met a year ago.  She was a member and served on a few ministries also.  Little did I know I was talking to my future wife!  We went through Ancient Paths, and even “Dream Marriage.”  We joined a Small Group, and look forward to serving together in any direction the Lord leads us.

My life has changed 360, and I will tell anyone that I meet, where I attend Church, how much I’ve learned there, and the people that I’ve met and how much they mean to me.  I’ve always had a kind and loving heart…but the enemy took it from me. God was there, waiting to give it back.

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We want to hear about what God has done in and through you at Victory. Whether long or short, complex or simple, your story is worth hearing, and there are others who need to hear it. Won’t you please consider sharing your story with us? If you’re willing to do so, please click the Share Your Story quicklink above, write your story, upload a nice photo (if you can) and click submit. It’s that simple. Now, don’t be shy. God’s given you a story for a reason! Share it today!

This week we’re talking about family, and what it takes to make yours a healthy one. Even if your family is not what you want it to be, it can still be healthy, which is what God expects from a disciple. If we say we’re striving to be more like Jesus, we are to be reflections of Him in every area of our lives.

Whether we think we’ve got it down or not, most of us need a clear picture of what a healthy family actually looks like. There are 3 top features I‘ve outlined that give us a good idea of how we can move in that direction, as well as several ways we often operate that aren’t so good. Make a distinction and decide to get your family healthy today. Listen here for a deeper understanding.

On September 22^nd, 2010, I was surrounded by my fellow Fusionites, and as we were singing, dancing, praising and worshipping, all I could think about was the tremendous pain I was in instead of focusing on my love and adoration for the Lord. My knees were aching underneath the two braces that I regularly wore for support and I couldn’t wait to sit
down for the message and pop four Advil (which was a normal dosage for me at this point). I had been dealing with chronic knee pain and injuries for 10 years. Injury after injury, aggravation after aggravation, I hobbled around at 22 years old. I couldn’t wear the high heels that I loved so much and the constant pain kept me from consistently being involved in any athletic activity that I enjoyed. I stood on my feet for 9 hours a day at work and on this particular evening I couldn’t wait for praise and worship to end so that I could sit down.

As the music ended and I was just about to reach for my Advil, Pastor Johnson Bowie called out to anyone who needed healing; clearly this was my chance. Instead of popping pills, I closed my eyes and raised my hand to be prayed over. I felt so many hands on me that night, it was overwhelming. I wept as I called on Jesus to take the pain away – it had become unbearable.

Once we were seated I chose not to take any medicine and let the healing power of Jesus take over; I wanted to see if it really worked. Growing up in the Catholic church I was never exposed to this kind of prayer or healing and I was a little skeptical.

After that night I NEVER put on my knee braces again. Throughout the following weeks, the chronic aches and pain seemed to dissipate and I began exercising without crying myself to sleep afterwards. I started wearing my heels again, and eventually I could bear to stand for hours at work without popping pain medication like candy.

Today, September 22, 2011, is the anniversary of the miraculous healing that has significantly improved my quality of life and allowed me to do things that my body hadn’t allowed me to do in a decade. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and awe for everything the Lord has done in my life, but this definitely tops the charts! He took away what no doctor or physical therapist could. I thought I was doomed to a life filled with struggle and pain and I was terrified at what condition my knees would be in later on in my life. I praise God everyday that I am able to stand up from my bed and walk, run, jump, dance and climb with the restoration He has blessed me with. He answered what seemed to be an impossible prayer and I am forever marked with UNDOUBTING faith in His healing power. It’s real. It’s possible. It can happen right now!

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We want to hear about what God has done in and through you at Victory. Whether long or short, complex or simple, your story is worth hearing, and there are others who need to hear it. Won’t you please consider sharing your story with us? If you’re willing to do so, please click the Share Your Story quicklink above, write your story, upload a nice photo (if you can) and click submit. It’s that simple. Now, don’t be shy. God’s given you a story for a reason! Share it today!

Today there are a lot of Christians living to be successful. But those on a true path to becoming more like Jesus are living to be significant. When you put yourself aside to really engage in the life of someone else who is lacking, struggling or hurting in any way, you’re not only giving to that person, but you’re giving to God. That’s significant. How are you doing with that?

Most of us need to de-program ourselves from the all-about-me influence of the world.  A disciple of Christ goes against that consistently and lives to make a difference in other people’s lives. What does it take to genuinely get us to a “What’s mine is yours, and I’m going to share it” mentality?  Value Transformation. What does that look like? Listen to this weekend’s message about being socially purposeful and responsible.

Anyone can feel for others in need, but it’s not enough. God requires action.

“Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:2-4 NKJ)