Are you experiencing victorious living? Is your life filled with purpose, love, joy, and peace? Do you have hope for your future? Forgiveness for your past? Strength for your tomorrow? Right now you might be thinking, “Are you kidding me? Joy, peace, purpose? Worth, strength, forgiveness? I’ll never have those things! Look at where I am! Look at what I’ve been through. Look at what I’ve done. Look at what has been done to me.” Friend, right now, no matter what your past or present, all of these things can be yours. You can have peace that passes all understanding, joy in the midst of hardship, love and acceptance despite your failures, forgiveness, and a fresh start. Your life can have purpose. It doesn’t matter if you are sitting in a mansion or in a jail cell or somewhere in between, a victorious life can be yours TodaY! How? Through a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. If you do not currently have a relationship with God, begin one right now. Romans 10:8–10 nkjv explains how: “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” As you accept what Christ has done for you and put your faith in Him alone for salvation, you are then free to have a relationship with God and experience His peace, power, presence, and love. You don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love and forgiveness. It’s yours for the asking! After you’ve received this free gift of salvation, guess what? You are then able to step into the life of victory Christ died to give you—an abundant life of peace, joy, worth, love, and purpose. As you grow in your relationship with Him through studying and applying the Word of God and by trusting Him, these things are released in your daily life. Will you pray with me right now and receive all that God intends for you? Dear Lord, I confess that I am a sinner in need of salvation. I thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to save me from my sins. Thank You that He laid down His life for me so that I could have a new life in Him. I receive, by faith, this forgiveness of sin. I now give my life, my past, and my future to You. Guide my steps and speak to my heart, Lord. Amen HEART OF TEXAS | from page 24 ____________________ God is faithful to forgive me of all unrighteousness, but He won’t choose righteousness for me. That’s my job. And all this—“It’s too hard; I can’t; I’m powerless”—thinking does is enable me to continue on a negative path. Truth is, I can do or be whoever the heck I want. You can too. Any voice that says something different is a lie. Everything that comes against me is sent to wreak havoc, but it only possesses the strength I give it. I’m well rehearsed in the art of making excuses. I fed that monster until he got so strong he kicked my rump. Took a sure-nuf beat-down. But when God said to me, “You don’t have to feel like this ever again,” I made a choice to trust Him. Not just for eternity, but for today. I recognized that He’d been there all along and that every other false promise I’d believed was producing the exact opposite. The enemy said, “Selling drugs will give you authority and respect.” Until someone has a better product at a better price. “Being high will make you free.” Until the cell doors pop for 4 a.m. chow call. “Sleeping with men gives you significance.” Until somebody cuter, younger, or just different comes along. “You can get away with…” “No one will notice…” and on and on. Lies, lies, and more lies. Today, I fight back. It’s become automatic, familiar, and comfortable. On occasion, the old lies scream at the top of their lungs, but with that same determination that had me walking six miles at 6 a.m. to find more dope, I yell back. So long and so strong with such conviction that they have no choice but to shut the heck up. And when they do, I celebrate. It’s the best rush ever. The more lies I squash, the more truth comes to light. The closer I get, the easier the steps feel. The more I enjoy my freedom, the freer I become. You couldn’t drag me back there if you tried. No matter how difficult this life gets, it can’t compare to that garbage I used to live in. Now I’m hopeful, excited, and filled with contentment. Best of all, I wake up with a killer buzz that keeps me pulsing throughout the day. Sweet! I can think of a few choice words to describe what that old life’s about, but this is a Christian magazine, and that’s not who I am anymore. I’m fully dedicated to what God says is true. That’s what works. In my heart, I’ve purposed to remain aware of the fact that the all-powerful God of the universe is insanely in love with me. All of me. All the time. We all have flaws. Some are easier to identify than others. Yet God loves us and is ready to free us from whatever enslaves us—flaws and all. This process requires our submission, but that’s no problem once we realize rebellion is overrated. God has a phenomenal plan for each of us. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of settling for my way. I’m going for God’s plan. �� kojministries.org Issue 2 2017 25
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