Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "Why do I think God hates religion? It is because religion, in its worst form, makes us victims." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 83. When we are stuck in victim thinking, we are in a kind of captivity that God hates. It is when the evil of this world does things to us that makes us believe that we will always be victims that we are bound up in ways that makes it nearly impossible to live out the destiny God has prepared for us to live. Religion can be just as binding as any evil Satan might use to get us off track. Religion imposes rules and regulations with the hope that we can work our way into who God wants us to be. Jesus spoke harshly against such religion. Why? Because Jesus came to set us free. He paid a high price for that freedom. Anything, including religion, that threatens to put us back into bondage is something all Heaven will war against. God is serious about our freedom. He wants us to live our life as a victor in as free a manner as possible. Check out what God says about freedom in our reading from today. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8 (NIV) The wording from our reading today really makes me stop and think. Hollow and deceptive philosophy is what threatens our freedom. Human tradition is what gets in the way of the life Christ wants for us. Religion can be filled with philosophy and tradition that might be getting us off track. How do we know if our freedom is in jeopardy? It is when rules and regulations based on traditional interpretation of what God wants from us overrides the love and acceptance we are to have for one another that red flags should be seen. God isn’t about rules and regulations. He is about love. That love doesn’t happen as a result of letting tradition or philosophy dictate our worship style. That love happens as we enter into a symbiotic relationship with each other and with God Himself. Religion can’t do that if religion is based on dos and don’ts. That’s why Jesus spoke so strongly against religion. Religion binds. Love frees. Our reading today has the answer to all this mess. The answer is Jesus. By relying on Him, religion becomes what God wants it to be – a safe place where people can be set free. Anything short of that is something that God detests. We should as well. Drop all the rules. Crush the regulations. This doesn’t mean become lawless. That’s just foolish. What this means is don’t let rules and regulations be the basis from which you find identity. Let rules and regulations be the tool they were meant to be. Making rules and regulations the foundation of anything is such a damaging and captive making endeavor. If you are a victor you were meant to be free. Don’t let anything bind you up when it comes to who you are. Yes you will be in positions where freedom will seem so restrictive. Circumstances aren’t the judge of who you are. They shouldn’t be the judge of your freedom either. Let the fact that God loves you be all the proof you need to live as the victor He is calling out in your life today.

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "The reality is that our efforts to be righteous will always, always fall short. There are times when we will find ourselves in a position of failing. Our righteousness is never as good as God’s righteousness for our lives." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 60. If you don’t believe that last line I quoted from my book, then check out today’s Bible reading with me now. As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:10 (ESV) Our righteousness will never be as good as God’s. If that weren’t enough, our reading today makes it clear that none of us are righteous! The quicker we get those thoughts into our heads, the faster we will be able to get victim thinking under control in our lives. It is when we believe that we can do things in order to prove something good about ourselves that victim thinking waits to pounce on all we do. It isn’t that we are a bunch of slouches that can’t do anything right. Nothing could be further from the truth. What makes our efforts something that we just can rely on when it comes to identity is the fact that we aren’t perfect. It is when we fail to live up to some standard we have set for ourselves that victim thinking can start to take control. Righteousness is really all about being perfect. Do you think you will ever be able to fall into that category? If you do think that way, good luck with that! Perfection just isn’t in the cards for us on this side of Heaven. That’s why relying on our actions to prove our identity is such a failed strategy. Without perfection, our actions can never be all they need to be to make who we are have lasting meaning. Glen Cook, in his book, “Dreams of Steel” makes this important point about righteousness - “More evil gets done in the name of righteousness than any other way.” This is a profound statement. More victims have been made by victors trying to “do” in order to “be” when it comes to proving righteousness in their lives. It is when the victor is driven to do things in order to establish and maintain an identity that those around them get victimized in ways God never intended. By now, I hope you realize that I’m not saying that victors are to do nothing. What a waste of God-sized talent if we chose to just sit by and watch the world go by. No, do all you want. Just don’t let your doing be tied to who you are. Some of what you put your hand to will succeed in ways that make you feel like a victor. What you have to hold on to is the fact that even if your doing fails miserably, you still are a victor in God’s eyes. I think God is desperate for us to see our lives the way He does. He doesn’t see us as useless and undesirable because of our imperfection. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross He doesn’t even take our imperfection into account. He sees us as perfect because Jesus was perfect. I hope that fact is as freeing to you as it is to me. When we are driven by the pressure to perform at a perfect level, we will do and say things that will cause victims all around us. That’s the evil Glen Cook is talking about that happens in the name of righteousness. If you want to live this life as the victor God sees you to be, that has to stop. It stops when you begin living your life the way God sees your life. As God’s Child you are perfect. As God’s Child you are a victor. As God’s Child you are righteous. With this in mind, go and let your victor status change the world around you today.

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "When we are offended, we begin to create rules in our lives. We institute generalized regulations about people who remind us of the one who offended us in the first place." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 211. Think of the last person who really offended you. Can you see their face? How does it make you feel to think about this person? If you are like me, the mere thought of the person who last offended me makes me kind of angry. I even get a bit of a sick feeling in my stomach when that person comes to mind. Sad thing is that if we fail to deal with those feelings properly, they will drive us to do things in this life God never intended for us to take part in. I said in my quote above that offense can make us institute rules regarding people who remind of those who have offended us. Certain nationalities, races, genders, occupations, roles, and even religions can become off limits when offense is allowed to linger in the life of the victor. If we fail to deal with the effects of offense for long periods of time, the world in which we are allowed to function gets smaller and smaller. When this happens, our impact on this world diminishes as well. Take a look at what the Bible says about offense. The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don’t go together. 1 John 3:15 (MSG) John says that the way we know we have been transformed by God Himself is by the characteristic of love. He says that transformation is the result when we show love for our brothers and sisters. Who are our brothers and sisters? I hate to tell you this but everyone is your brother and sister. Even that person that last offended you so badly is a brother or sister. You have been transformed when you are able to love that person just as fully as you can love someone who has treated you kindly. Look, I’m in no way saying you have to have a deep and profound relationship with someone who has offended you. Some people are down right dangerous and need to be avoided. I don’t for a minute believe God is saying that we are to put ourselves in harms way and let dangerous people take advantage of us. At the same time, I do believe God is saying we are to love those people. How are we to do that? I believe the place love begins is forgiveness. It is when we forgive those who have offended us that we are showing a love that is nothing short of Heavenly. Remember, forgiveness isn’t saying what the person did is alright. It isn’t saying that you have to be best buddies with the offender. Forgiveness isn’t even saying you have to forget what they did. Forgiveness is all about bringing freedom to you, not giving the person who hurt you a pass. The more we forgive, the more the love John is talking about happens in our lives. Transformation happens as we learn to love through the lessons of forgiveness. Our reading from John makes an interesting connection between love and death. He says, “Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead!” Those are pretty strong words. I don’t think John is talking about physical death. I think he is taking about a death that happens inside when love isn’t what God intends it to be in our lives.  It is when we fail to forgive that love dries up, and I believe John’s words about death become more real than we might want them to be. Do you want to feel dead or alive in all you get to do today? If you want to feel alive, then love. You love as you start forgiving all those in your life who have offended you. The power you need to live out your victor status comes as you are transformed

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** “My mistake wasn’t in thinking that God is going to use me for something BIG. It was in limiting God to these 80 or so years I have here on earth to make that BIG happen.” As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 195. Do you know how long eternity is? It is a really long time. When it comes to time and the understanding of what time means, perspective is such a critical thing to have. My son-in-law was born and raised in the UK. He has helped me see the importance of perspective when it comes to time. I often see the look on his face when I say some structure in our state is old. I once asked him what that smile meant when I was pointing out some antiquity to him. He said, that compared to structures in the UK, the age of everything in the US is nothing short of young. He is so right. Old to one person is something quite different than to another. Anything, like age, that relies on time has to be discussed from a consistent framework or the discussion won’t make any sense. That is just as true when the life span of a person is taken into account. I believe much of the thinking that has made us into a Victim-Based Society stems from the fact that we view time from the perspective of our time here on earth. Eighty or so years is but a drop in the bucket when it comes to eternity. Yet, we live this life thinking that we have such a short time to get so much done. That kind of thinking drives us to actions that threaten to make victims all around us. Our Bible reading today paints a powerful picture of eternity. More importantly, take a look at the role of identity when it comes to forever. May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed! Psalm 72:17 (ESV) Psalm 17 is a chapter written by Solomon. Solomon is said to be the wisest man to have ever lived. He is writing this Psalm as a blessing on the King of Israel. This is a position he will hold before his time on earth is done. In this chapter of the Bible, Solomon paints a picture of entreaty when it comes to the reign and the name of the king. It is an allusion to the reign and name of our King – God Himself. I don’t think Solomon is overstepping his bounds when he asks God to bless the King with staying power. I believe Solomon is showing us how we are to live when it comes to time. Solomon is working from an eternal perspective when it comes to blessing. I think we are to do the same. I found a quote from Rick Warren that highlights my point. Pastor Rick says; "When you live in the light of eternity, your values change." There is so much truth in that statement. If we view our purpose, and the time we have to make that purpose happen, in light of our earthly existence, our values are going to be such that victimization can’t help but to be the result. When we view purpose from an eternal perspective, our values work to make victors of all we come into contact with on this journey called life. When we think that we have but a hand full of decades to live out our destiny, we can become driven. Relationships can take a back seat. The needs of loved ones become distractions to a purpose that makes those needs pale by comparison. It is so easy to step on and over people when we think that time is short to make purpose happen. When we view the time we have to make purpose happen from an eternal perspective, things change. Distractions become opportunities to serve. Purpose takes on an entirely different meaning when eternity is how we view the time we have to make that purpose happen. When eternity is what drives our view of time, even our failures take on a power that just can’t happen when we feel pressed for time to get life moving like we think it should

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "People who choose to live lives rooted in the fact that they are everything to God are dangerous to be around. These are the people who allow arrogance to come into their lives and control how they relate to others around them." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 168. It can be so easy to take on an attitude that we mean everything to this God that loves us. The mere fact that He would go to such great lengths to make a way for us to commune with Him is a convincing proof of this fact. Problem is that it can be so easy to let pride take over in victimizing ways when we allow the belief that we mean everything to God control our lives. Take a look at our reading from the Book of Proverbs. It says… A proud and haughty man - 'Scoffer' is his name; He acts with arrogant pride. Proverbs 21:24 (NKJV) Acting with arrogant pride is such a self-destructive way to live. Worse than that, arrogant pride has driven people to do things in the name of God that has created victims throughout the centuries. You don’t have to go any further back than the Crusades as an example of the evil done in the name of God due to a belief that one group was better positioned to receive God’s love than was another. It isn’t that God wants us to go through life thinking that we must earn His love. That’s the epitome of victim thinking. It isn’t that we mean something to this God that causes us problems. It is what we do to others as a result of how we view our position before our God that can be the issue. When we see our standing before God as something more than someone else’s, troubles are about to happen. This happens as we rely on our actions to prove what a good choice God made in selecting us to be the focus of His love. Allowing the thought that we are who we are in God’s eyes because of how well we obey Him is such a victim making proposition. Our reading today says that people who apply arrogant thinking in their lives are named “Scoffers.” At first, I wasn’t sure what God was trying to get across with this identity for the arrogant. Then it hit me, if my identity is that of a scoffer, then God must scoff at me and my actions. When one scoffs at another, the scoffer doesn’t take the scofee seriously. I have to tell you, I don’t want God scoffing at me! Arrogant actions based on my thinking too much of my position before this God opens the door the possibility of my life not being taken all that seriously by this God that made me. When we act with arrogant pride we are acting exactly the opposite of how God acts. God acts out of love and justice. Arrogant pride so easily negates God’s love in ways that make justice almost impossible in our lives. I have found that arrogant pride comes from a very familiar place – identity. It is when we have our identity tied to things that just don’t rise to the level of importance to our God that arrogance can sneak into our lives. The victim thinker who applies arrogant based strategies is doomed to live in a place where scoffing is a real possibility. I want something different for my life. I want to know that all I’m tasked to do in my life has meaning and power. I want to know that my God is viewing my life in a way where love and justice will be maximized in all I do. I want to have a perspective of live that creates victors and consoles victims. I want to be like my Father in Heaven and let love be the power behind all I do. I can only do this with the proper view of my standing before this God that made me. The fact that you are God’s Child affords you a lot of privileges this world just doesn’t understand. Don’t misapply those privileges in victimizing ways. Know you are loved beyond all you can imagine. Don’t let that fact take you to places where yo

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "Do you realize that in Heaven you and I will have the ability to choose? You may be asking, 'So what’s the big deal about that?' You have to understand that choice is a really big deal. God is banking His entire plan for all creation on our choosing Him." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 145. You’ve been there, I’m sure. There’s no time left on the clock and you have but one chance to score the winning points. No matter what sport you played, that moment is one you don’t soon forget. For some of us that moment is filled with great memories as victory was ours. For others of us, our falling short feels like a defining moment in our lives at times. It may be hard to believe but God knows that feeling of looming victory and impending defeat as well as we do. Crazy thing is that our choices play a big role in that victory or defeat. That’s a wild thing to consider as far as I’m concerned. You see, God has given us a power that I don’t believe we really have a great appreciation of. The power of choice is something that is so easy to take for granted. This is especially the case when the number of choices we have are more than we really deserve. The thing is, is that we really are like our Father in Heaven. He too has choice. Why wouldn’t we be blessed with the power of choice when our creator enjoys that power as well? Check out how today’s Bible reading highlights choice from God’s perspective. How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Ephesians 1:4-6 (MSG) God chose us! Wow, it doesn’t get much better than that. The most powerful force we will ever know, decided long before you and I ever came along to lavish His love on us. He could have chose to love anything else He created. But, He chose to love us. I think we all need to stop a minute and let that sink in. God chose to love you and me. I have to be honest with you. I haven’t given God many reasons to chose to love me. I have done things that could be classified as literally spitting in the face of my Heavenly Father. Haven’t you done the same? Why would God choose to love us in spite of our failing love for Him? I really don’t have a good answer for that question. I hope to be able to ask Him that question one day when I see Him face to face. Not only has God chose to love us, He chose to adopt us into His family. We stand complete as brothers and sisters to Jesus Himself! I hope that too amazes you. It should. Again, we have done nothing and, frankly will never be able to do anything that will earn us this right to be called Children of the Most High God. I could go on and on about how amazing it is that God chose you and that He chose me. But, for today’s presentation, I want to focus on the power we have been given with this thing called choice. When we choose to love our God we are unleashing a power comparable to that God has in His life. Satan is doing all he can to make it so that we will chose to let our love lie dormant in our world. He makes the evil of this world do things in the hopes that we will think that God’s love isn’t for us. That evil can get us to a place where we can actually choose to turn our backs on this God that chose us. It is when we are trapped in victim thinking ways that choices take on a power that typically causes victims al

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "Grace is the key for us all. Victors realize that even on their best day they deserved hell. The fact that they have been saved is so amazing that they want to give. Generosity pours out of them in God empowered ways that I believe has the potential to change the world." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 132. Want to change the world? Get in touch with what grace really means in your life. I believe that the kind of generosity that has the potential to change the world springs out of the realization that we are nothing without God's grace in control of our lives. It is when we think that grace is something that it isn't that generosity becomes a failed strategy in the lives of victim thinkers. Today, I'd like to do something a little bit different. So much has been written on the subject of grace, I'd like to draw from some of the wisdom out there to help us see our need for grace. I think that most of us want to be part of making a difference in this world. I have come to believe that, left to my own efforts, I won't even be able to come close to making that happen. I need something more. I believe that more is God's Grace. Let's see what others think of this amazing quality victors have driving them in all they do. C. JoyBell  says; "It's not the law of religion nor the principles of morality that define our highways and pathways to God; only by the Grace of God are we led and drawn, to God. It is His grace that conquers a multitude of flaws and in that grace, there is only favor. Favor is not achieved; favor is received." It is not what we do, either religious or secular, that makes us who we are. God's grace makes up for all our shortfalls. Victors realize how far short they fall. Grace takes that shortfall and makes it a battering ram in a world filled with victim making principals. Matt Chandler, in his book The Explicit Gospel, says; "Without a heart transformed by the grace of Christ, we just continue to manage external and internal darkness." It is when we think we can do all we need to make the demons that haunt us both within and without that victim thinking really happens. We just aren't able to make the kinds of transformation needed in our lives to be who God sees us to be. It is when we let His grace change us from the inside out that real impact can be seen. R. Alan Woods, from his work called Apologia: A Collection of Christian Essays, says; "God has certainly not called us to throw our brains out the window as an appropriate response to His Grace". Surrender doesn't mean that we are to become robots. God needs us to use our brains to let the transforming power of grace to flow into a hurting world. It is when we team up with God's purpose that grace can turn our generosity into a tool that will change the world. Paul David Tripp, wrote a book called New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional. He says some things about grace that need no commentary. Listen to his thoughts on the subject. "This is what grace does. It rescues us from our spiritual blindness. It releases us from our bondage to our rationalism and materialism. Grace gives us the faith to be utterly assured of what we cannot see. It frees us from refusing to believe in anything we cannot experience with our physical senses. But grace does more. It connects us to the invisible One in an eternal love relationship that fills us with joy we have never known before and gives us rest of heart that we would have though impossible. And that grace is still rescuing us, because we still tend to forget what is important, real, and true. We still tend to look to the physical world for our comfort. We still fail to remember in given moments that we really do have a heavenly Father. Grace has done

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "I believe that victim thinking can happen when we work hard to become qualified only to find that the qualification we worked so hard to acquire doesn’t guarantee the level of prosperity our worldly identities crave so completely." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 116. It is so frustrating to work hard at becoming qualified at something only to find that, that qualification doesn't do what we thought it would when it comes to who we want the world to see us as. Identity based on qualification just can't do what we need, on a consistent basis, to keep victim thinking at bay. We just can't do enough to make who we want to be seen as happen in a way that our souls find completely satisfying. That fact makes it so hard to live like the victor we were made to be.  Those prone to victim thinking hold on to the belief that the answer to their identity issues can be found in that next thing they are drawn to be involved in. For some, it is the next degree. For others, it is that next job. Still others think that next child will make everything right. All those nexts in life do little but use time and resources in ways that don't do what we want them to. There is a better way.  Unfortunately, the essence of that better way comes with a word we have been conditioned to hate. To stop the treadmill we all have found ourselves on we have to choose surrender. It is when we give up trying to do so much in order to be what God says we are that victor living can really happen. Why do we hate the word surrender? I think it has to do with the fact that humans need to be in control.  In many ways, surrender and control are polar opposites. It is so easy to turn to things we think we can control when seeking an identity that works in this world. That's why we fall for the trick of thinking that more and more qualification will set us up to be where we want to be. It is an exercise in control to turn to qualification in order to establish identity. Whether it be a degree, a trade, a kid, another job, these and just about everything else we do is filled with opportunity to exhibit our control.  I think that is why turning to God is so hard to do for so many of us at times. God can't be controlled. He can't be manipulated to give us what we want. What He gives is all we get. That's such a discouraging fact to those stuck in that place of trying to be more by doing more. For the victor, the fact that God can't be changed is such a comforting and freeing reality.  I have spent so much of my life trying to put into place plans I have thought would make me feel like the victor I know I am deep down inside. Control becomes a desperate strategy as we look to victory to prove our status as a victor. The less victory we experience the harder we work to get ourselves in a place of qualification that might make more victory come our way. God sees things so differently. Check out what our Bible reading says on the subject of qualification and identity. You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you. John 15:16 (MSG) God has chosen each and every one of us. He didn't pick us because we are qualified. He picked us because He loves us. We don't have to get ready for the purpose He has made for our lives. He chose us because we can't get prepared enough to be all He knows us to be. It is when we surrender to the fact that we have been chosen to be victors that working for victory starts to take a back seat in our lives. This doesn't mean that we won't have dreams for more in our lives. We aren't to walk around this life settling for second best. H

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "It might just be that the fact that we didn’t receive what we needed was because it was so much more important in God’s Plan for salvation for us to feel the pain of less stuff so that the world could feel the pleasure of more of Him." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 95. I recently met with a friend who just returned from a three month ministry trip to China. I sat in amazement as I listened to the stories he and his wife told of their adventures sharing the Father's Love in such a different place than what we are use to here. I've come to believe that my friends and those called to minister in places that aren't as open and free as here, fully get the quote I opened up with today.  There are way to many Christians in the US that just don't believe that God would ever allow bad things to happen in their good life. Way too many sermons have been preached that tickle our ears in a way that make us think we, somehow, deserve the good life we have been blessed with. Most of the rest of the world just doesn't believe like we do when it comes to God and the life that they have been given. It is when we think that God owes us a good life that victim thinking can really take hold in victim making ways.  Scriptures, like our reading today, are so foreign to many of us. Check out what God has to say about a good life for the believer.  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 1 Peter 4:12-14 (ESV) "Don't be surprised..." by the trials that will come your way. This isn't an "if" statement, it is a "when" reality. Challenges are going to come our way. I don't for a minute believe that God causes all the evil behind the badness that happens in this world. I do believe that God will use that badness to make His plan for salvation happen in the world around us. Sometimes that means our desire for a good life takes a back seat to God's plan. Those are the times victim thinking can really slip in if we aren't grounded in who we are in this God's eyes.  Satan would like for us to think that God is mad at us. He wants us to believe that His Goodness can't be trusted. That strategy is so easy to implement when we think that following Jesus means our life will always be good and easy. Satan loves it when victors think that their status depends on God giving them the kinds of victories that make life good and acceptable. Satan is desperate to make us think God is a victimizer and we are the victims of His attention.  Bad news is that Satan's strategy works really well for those of us who are blessed to be able to worship God any way we want. I find it totally amazing that Satan has a really difficult time making this strategy work in places where the Church is persecuted so badly. It is when we are given the power of choice, like we have in this country, that victim thinking is so easy to allow into our lives.  I think that's why our nation has become such a Victim-Based Society. The vast number of choices we have has made it so easy to think that goodness is to be expected. No wonder we feel like victims when bad things come our way. Those who have been blessed to walk as Jesus did, find it so much more difficult to let victim thinking rule in their lives.  It is time we all live more like Jesus. He didn't go out of his way looking for challenges but wasn't crushed when challenges came along. Jesus knew that God's light shines brigh

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file. ********** "Any time we allow the roles we are given to shape our identity then the need for success comes into play. If our roles are working well we feel good about who we are. God forbid the results of our roles should be less than what we (or others) expect." As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 78. If we were able to live this life without having to worry about success, I don't think victim thinking would play the role it does in society today. We worry about succeeding for so many different reasons. Some of us worry that if we don't succeed we won't be viewed in a manner that our fragile egos require. Others of us use success a a symbol that brings the kind of status needed to overcome the doubts that plague us all. Then there are those who make success all about beating out everyone else so that they are number one. Whatever the reason for success, the worry about success drives so much of the victim thinking tragedies that the world faces today.  Success, like so many other things we gravitate to in our world has so much to do with identity. We want people to see us in a certain light. Success is an amazingly good strategy when it comes to shining the light we want on our lives. It is good, that is, until it doesn't work so well. It is when success doesn't come as we expect or in the timing we require that this well worn way to identity fails us all.  God never intended for success to be the foundation of who we are. He knew that this world would make success something that we couldn't depend on when it comes to our identity needs. Success isn't a bad thing. It is just that this characteristic in a person's life can't be trusted to make us who we want to be seen as. It is when we let success be a tool rather than a foundation that the world seems to work in ways that let us better understand our victor status.  When we are in a place where we are driven to worry about success it is so easy to find ourselves in places where God is so hard to see. Why is that? I think today's Bible reading sheds a little light on that subject. Our reading says... Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV) I'm amazed at that last line. It is as though Matthew was making fun of us for the fact that we can't even add a single hour to our lives. Life and death are a piece of cake to God. Adding and subtracting time isn't a big deal to Him. It sure is to us! God is saying through Matthew that if we can't even do something as simple as turning back the clock in our lives, why would we ever worry about the trappings of success? It is like food, clothing, money, status - they are all such simple things to this God or ours. If there were a ranking of difficult tasks, changing time would be toward the top of the list while provision would be way down the list. Matthew is trying to get us to realize that, with God anything is possible. For that reason, shouldn't we trust Him for the things we think we need in this life? It is when the things we think we need in this life are used for purposes of identity building that trouble really starts to happen. If we think we are something less because we don't have the best clothes, the most food or the right amount of success, God's heart breaks for us in ways I'm not sure we fully understand. He wants us to know who we are so that the ravages of this world don't get us to do