Walking In Victory
Wow, I can’t believe we’ve arrived at the last post in this series. Well...the last planned post. I may go back and add something every now and then. I wanted to say some things about our salvation. Our salvation is a journey. We know that our final destination is Heaven. The journey, or our Christian walk, is everything that happens from the time we get saved to the time we arrive in Heaven. When thinking about our Christian walk, keep in mind the old saying, “GIGO: Gold In, Gold Out” and “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. The results we see in our lives are directly impacted by what we put into our journey. If we treat prayer, praise, worship, and Bible study as gold, meaning we treasure them, we will see great and powerful victories. If we treat them as garbage, meaning we neglect them, then we’ll see little to no victory. Our salvation is secure because of Jesus Christ. He’s our foundation. What and how we build on that foundation is up to us.
We’re not alone on our journey. We have fellowship with God and each other. God wants us to be victorious. He loves us and wants good for us.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
God is for us. God is not our enemy. Satan is.
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Prayer
Prayer is the most powerful gift and tool we have. Prayer is not difficult, complicated, burdensome, or useless. Prayer is a privilege. We don’t have to pray every day. We get to pray every day. We can pray to our Heavenly Father anytime, anywhere, anyway. We can pray for strength, for guidance, for wisdom, for help. We can pray prayers of praise, thanksgiving, worship. Prayer is the way we communicate with God! God never sleeps. We can talk to Him anytime we want to or need to.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Praise and Worship
Praise and Worship are just as important as prayer. Praise is telling God who He is. Worship is telling God what He means to you:
“God, you are mighty, holy, and righteous” - praise
“God, I adore you” - worship
Praising God strengthens us. It reminds us of who God is, what He’s done, and what He is capable of. Worshipping God brings us into a closer relationship with Him. Worship (true worship) opens our hearts wide before God. It allows us to grow bigger spiritually and gives God room to grow on the inside of us.
Study the Bible To Grow Not To Stay Saved
Here’s a thought to keep in mind going forward. We couldn’t save ourselves. God saved us. We can’t keep ourselves saved. God keeps us. Anything we do, whether it is praying, going to church, helping those in need, or studying the Bible, must be done in the right spirit. Don’t think that by doing any of those things we somehow now deserve our salvation or the grace and mercy God shows us. That’s not how it works. We have to believe. That’s our part. Faith.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Study the Bible to grow in the Lord. The Bible tells us what happened in the past, why some things are happening now, and what things are going to happen in the future. We can see God’s character in the Bible. We see God’s great love and mercy, His passion, and yes, even His wrath. God speaks to us in a few different ways, but one of the greatest ways He talks to us is through the Bible.
Baptism of the Holy Ghost
Is the Baptism of the Holy Ghost real? Yes, it is very real. Is it required to be saved? Absolutely not.
Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The Baptism of the Holy Ghost fills us up with the Holy Spirit. When we’re full of the Holy Spirit, we are strong, powerful, and on fire for God. It is not a requirement for salvation, but it helps us to be victorious while living. If you’re curious about this, please reach out to me. I’ll be happy to discuss it further.
M.O.V.E.
(My Own Victories Expected)
When we read about all the awesome miracles that occurred in the Bible, our faith grows. We get incredibly encouraged when we hear someone give an amazing testimony about what God did for them in their life. That’s powerful. We can’t stop there, though. We have to get to the place where we believe and see victory in our own lives. God spoke to me years ago about this. I plan to do an entire post about this, but for now, just know that God wants to MOVE in our life just like he does in others. God wants us to have our own victories that we can share with others to encourage them. We can’t rely on someone else’s testimony to keep ourselves built up. We have to exercise our own faith to see our own victories.
This concludes the “I’m Saved...Now What?” series for now. It’s my prayer that this has helped, blessed, or encouraged you in some way. If you haven’t read all the posts in this series, I encourage you to do so. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. I’ve had such a great time writing these. What would you like to see next? I’d love your feedback. What type of study are you interested in?
Keep On Keepin’ On For Jesus!
Ann Thomas
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