overcome

"God doesn't give us overcoming life: He gives us life to overcome." -Oswald Chambers

At first I read that and really didn't get that.. but it's almost as if God said, "read that again." So, I read it again.. it was almost as if the light bulb clicked on, the smack on the head, the DUH moment had occurred. God never gave us overcoming life.. how our world is today is our own fault. When God let Adam and Eve stay in the garden, He gave them one rule: do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (genesis 2:17) and what did they manage up doing!? eating from it! but by God's grace, He sent His Son, Jesus, to give us life to overcome.

It makes me think of the song, OVERCOME..
"and we will overcome, by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony. Everyone, overcome."
That song makes me think of Kaydee Mann every time I think of that song, because she would sing it oh-so-wonderfully at Zion. :)

Also, it reminds me of Revelations 12:11, "They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."
How sick is that? "they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." Something I think ever follower of Christ should live by. I want to try my best to live by that. To not love my life so much, so much that I'm not even afraid of death, by preaching and proclaiming Jesus and what He has brought to each and every one of us.

I know that many have heard my mom say, "the King is WILD about you!!" and God really is. I want to add to that too that God is rooting for us. I sometimes imagine while I'm doing stuff, especially the small things in life, that God is up in heaven with a flag, hat, and has that huge foam finger that says #1, and is rooting for me. Why? because He loves me! I know, that it's easy to look back on the negative that we've done in our lives. But God has seen that too and STILL loves us! I rememeber Pastor Paul saying, "God see's you at the worst and still thinks the best of you." and it's true. Satan is the only one who pinpoints the negative in each of us and tears us down. While God see's that and says, "it's ok. I'll take care of it." but, we have to let Him take care of it. It might not be easy, but He can do it far better than we can for ourselves.

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it make. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: by no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward -- to Jesus. I'm off and running and I'm not turning back.
-- Philippians 3:12-14 MSG

"i'm off and running,
and i'm not turning back."