victory – ThrivingBranch

Speak to Your Mountain

January 16, 2022December 5, 2021Leave a Comment

When faced with a problem, the typical Christian can react in a few different ways:

With extreme passivity — “everything is God’s will; he’ll help if he wants to”
With self-abasement, doubt — “Why is this happening? Am I being punished?”
With anger and resentment — “How could God do this to me! This is bogus!”
While all of these positions look at the problem from a slightly different angle, they all produce the same result; these ideas immobilize you.

Think about it; if you believe that absolutely everything is God’s will, then you will never resist anything, because all of it is his will. So when spiritual forces attack, you’ll just roll over and accept it because, hey, it’s God’s will.

Similarly, if you believe that negative situations are God’s punishment for some wrong you’ve committed, then you still will not resist, because you deserve what is happening… it’s your punishment after all. So you’ll just suffer through the pain.

And the third idea is even more straightforward. You just directly accuse God of causing the problem.

All of these ideas keep you in a mental and spiritual box— never able to move forward, because moving forward requires the power of God. But if you see God as the source of your suffering or somehow complicit in it, then there’s no reason to even ask him for help!

Looking at things this way can seem rather hopeless; but all is not as it appears. The scriptures show us a different perspective; one not of hopeless reassignment to loss, but one of strength, power, and victory.

Rest for Your Soul

October 31, 2021September 29, 2021Leave a Comment

Last week, we explored what it means to abide in Christ, and we saw some powerful truths regarding His sacrifice for us and how it changes our position from sin to righteousness, and our nature from sinner to king priest in His kingdom and family.

During that study, something caught my attention which caused me to meditate on it more— specifically in Hebrews 4:10 which refers to ceasing from our own works, as God did from His.

It’s one thing to speak about ceasing from your own work or effort, and spiritually-speaking, we know that we should cease from our effort, though we find it challenging to fully rest in what Christ has accomplished.

I know this challenge quite well, I’ve been there, I’m familiar with the struggle; and so today I want to continue from where we paused last week. As we continue to explore abiding in Christ, with the details given to us in scripture, and I believe that as we study this together today, it will release a burden that has secretly been on the hearts of many who have been finding it difficult to rest in Christ.

Did God Give You Promises or Facts?

October 17, 2021September 14, 2021Leave a Comment

If you’ve spent any time in the more charismatic sections of Christianity, you’ve likely heard about the promises of God. The promises are something that Christians often meditate on, recite, and think about. There are books and devotionals dedicated to the promises, and they can give a lot of comfort.

But what exactly is a promise in the biblical aspect? By asking this question, I’m aiming primarily at the time-frame in view. When we typically think of a promise, we envision something that is going to happen, but hasn’t happened yet. The time-frame may seem like a small detail, but it can have large implications.

Today we will explore what it means to have a biblical promise versus a biblical fact, and how a seemingly subtle difference can significantly influence our perspective of what we have in Christ.

The Key to Powerful Belief (part 2)

February 28, 2021December 20, 2020Leave a Comment

Welcome back to the second part of our study on belief. In part one, we began looking at some of the challenges that we often face when it comes to believing, and the prophetic report of Isaiah, outlining the sacrifice of Jesus, and the redemption that He brought.

Today we will continue this discussion by seeing more of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us, and how to allow Him to increase our faith and belief as we look directly at Him.

Why Perspectives Matter (part 1)

February 7, 2021February 7, 2021Leave a Comment

Perspectives are important. The way that we look at things and the angle in which we see them shapes our view, our thoughts, and our feelings. The most important perspective that anyone could ever have, is their perspective of God, and His gospel. The way that we see things can influence the position that we take or the steps that we make.

We touched on this a little bit about a month ago as part of another subject, but this topic is crucial enough that it warrants its own study. Our perspectives specifically of God, His Gospel, and our position in Christ Jesus can literally make or break us.

So today we are going to explore our perspectives regarding Jesus and His gospel, because the scriptures are not silent on this subject; in-fact, proper perspectives are quite important – let’s find out why.

God’s Mercy and Grace (part 1)

November 15, 2020August 25, 2020Leave a Comment

Mercy and grace, two wonderful gifts that Jesus has given to us. His mercy and grace are always available to us, and they are always active; never dormant or stale. Yet oftentimes we find ourselves feeling as though God’s mercy has somehow left us. Sometimes we think that His grace has abandoned us in the midst of a crisis. I understand those thoughts and feelings, and I’ve felt them myself many times before. I know that it can be very disconcerting, frightening and even depressing; again I have experienced all of that.

But is it actually true that God’s mercy has left us? Is it true that God’s grace has abandoned us? It can be difficult to even confront that thought, because on the one hand, we are uncomfortable even contemplating it. Yet even so, no problem of any significance is ever solved by ignoring it. We can and should approach the problem directly, and we shouldn’t be fearful about it. For if we do indeed believe as we proclaim that “God is good all the time”, then whatever answer we find, we can be certain that it will be good and beneficial for us.

So today I’d like to have a discussion about the mercy and grace of God, and perhaps tackle some of the more palpable aspects of it, both negative and positive.

Faith is the Key to Miracles

September 20, 2020April 22, 2020Leave a Comment

Do you need a miracle today? Would you like to see more miracles in your life? Whether it’s physical, emotional, financial or spiritual, there is a single channel and avenue by which miracles come: faith. Faith is the key that unlocks the power of God in your life. And ironically it is largely ignored in favor of trying to obtain miracles by performance and works.

So today we are going to have a discussion regarding faith and miracles. Because miracles can still very much happen, and the scriptures tell us how. So let’s get started!

Jesus Has Slain Your Goliath

May 3, 2020October 27, 2019Leave a Comment

One of the most famous stories in the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. It’s a story that is often taught to children in order to teach them about courage and belief in God.

Yet after Sunday school is over and we mature into adulthood, we often don’t hear much about David and Goliath anymore. Now why is that? Do we think that we have fully explored this story and extracted all of the truth out of it, in our Sunday school classes when we were children?

There’s a lot more to this story than an encouragement for children (or adults) to face their fears… but in-fact, as with the rest of the Bible, Jesus can be seen in it.

What I am excited to share with you today, is how the famous story of David and Goliath, actually shows us a wonderful picture of Jesus and His finished work for you. Buckle up, because this is going to be an amazing ride!

Live in the Power of the Spirit (Part 1)

May 7, 2017October 13, 2016Leave a Comment

One of the most overlooked areas in the life of a believer is the area of power. It is often not even mentioned in sermons, nor is it brought up in connection with the Holy Spirit. In some Christian circles it is considered wrong to think of ourselves as having any power at all, and others that it it is possible to operate in power, but only once-in-a-while when God feels like it – and therefore it is not reliable or consistent. All of these different ideas and opinions on the power of the Spirit have given rise to generations of believers who are quite literally living in defeat and confusion, and feeling helpless against the advances of the enemy in their life.

In this study today, we will be examining the truth of what the scripture says regarding the power of the Holy Spirit, and specifically the power that Jesus came to give us. It is important to see that it is not wrong to look at these things; in-fact they were written down for us precisely so that we would know and understand them. And by seeing the truth directly from scripture, we can start living in the power which Jesus paid for us to have.

Jesus Is Your Answer

April 9, 2017December 9, 2017Leave a Comment

It’s considered cliché these days to say Jesus is the answer. People upon hearing the phrase will typically react with an eye-roll, or say “Yeah, I know, but…” – as if to admit that they do not really believe that He is the answer at all. Believers continue to search for new truths, new ideas, new philosophies and theologies every day because they are still searching for answers. They are searching for something more, as if Jesus was not enough, and in the eyes of many, He secretly isn’t enough.

Now it’s okay to admit feeling that way. It’s okay to admit thinking that… because the honest admission that sometimes we feel or think that Jesus isn’t enough is a starting-point upon which to build the true Gospel foundation of Jesus Christ. I’ve watched many professing believers over the years, who were too afraid to make that admission, live their entire lives searching for answers, going from this thing to that thing, attending every conference they come across, reading every book, laboring in all kinds of works – so busy, yet still not finding their answer, because in all of their busy-ness, they have missed Jesus… never even truly realizing that He is the One and Only Answer that they need. Today, we will be taking a look at how Jesus is our true answer, and saying that will no longer be an empty cliché.