Victory Temple Chantilly's Podcast Home Of The Free

"You will be strong and free of fear." Job
11:15 NLT
When you ignore the warning signs, chronic stress can take a toll on your body. So what are some of the signals? Well for starters, your stomach churns at any form of disagreement. When you can't find an outlet for pent-up frustration, you resort to overeating, smoking, drinking, drugs, and generally abusing your body. You isolate yourself, which affects your loved ones.
Debora M. Coty writes about what she terms the "Three Fs: outward fussing, inward fuming, and chronic fatigue." She jokes, " knew it was time to address my stress issues when my growl grew louder than the dogs, and my family tactfully suggested I get a rabies shot." However, it's the signs you don't see that can do the most damage. Cortisol, a hormone our bodies release in the grasp of stress, adds to out-of-control feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness. And studies verify that over time, stress raises your blood pressure, contributes to migraines and tension headaches, and results in the plaque that leads to heart disease. Chronic stress has been observed to increase cardiovascular risk by almost 50 percent! Not to mention documented connections to alcoholism, anxiety attacks, asthma, cancer, colds, depression, flu, insomnia, obesity, strokes, and ulcers. And those uncontrolled crying spells you encounter when you're exhausted are no coincidence. Stress lowers estrogen levels, which can activate emotional outbursts. If this describes you, take action!
Rearrange your priorities, slow down, start taking control of your life, and turn to God.
When you "prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer...You will be strong and free of fear" (vv. 13, 15 NLT).
Support the show
Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me." Jn 16:33 NLT
Stress is like kryptonite (Superman's nemesis), and it's out to knock off your cape and diminish you to a heap of trembling, useless mush. What should you do? (1)
Immerse your exhaustion. Try a bubble bath.
Even simply standing in the shower can assist in washing away fatigue and reviving your breathless body tissues and brain cells. Feel the moment and focus on the water's invigorating sensory contribution to your skin; allow it to spread resilience to your spirit. You say, "That doesn't sound very spiritual." Job's friend Zophar would disagree with you. Listen to what he told Job: "You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away" (Job
11:16 NLT). (2) Request help! Allocate responsibilities and chores. When everyone does their portion, no one is left depleted.
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble" (Ecc 4:9-10 NLT). (3) Release perfectionism. Nobody is perfect but Jesus, and you're not Him. Let some things go. Tomorrow, give up a few more. Over time, those chores will stop nagging at you, and you will truly feel the stress in the pit of your stomach disintegrate.
You will never be totally free from stress, but you can learn to cope with it and conquer it.
Jesus said, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" Jn
16:33 NLT).
Support the show
Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

"But the Lord was with Joseph." Ge 39:21
To reach his destiny, Joseph went through betrayal, temptation, slander, and wrongful imprisonment. But he came out on top. Here is what Joseph recognized that you need to recognize too: (1) God knows what you're going through, and He cares. There is a key phrase found five different times in the story of Joseph: "But the Lord was with Joseph." Even when everything was going wrong, Joseph never doubted that God was with him.
(2) You have been given freedom of choice.
God gives you freedom to choose how you will react to your circumstances: faith or doubt, joy or despair, patience, or impatience, etc.
When you choose to ignore what's right, God won't force His will on you. Sometimes we bring problems on ourselves and then blame God. We say, "It must be God's will," as if God gets pleasure out of planning our mistakes and miseries! The truth of the matter is that God's will isn't always carried out. Yes, He has a plan for our lives, but He has also given us free will. And because He has also given others free will, their mistakes and decisions can hurt us as well. (3) God is in control of the final outcome. He can take every negative circumstance in your life today and turn it around for your good. In the end, Joseph could say, "You meant it for harm, but God meant it for good" (See Ge 50:20). And while God was working to bring good out of his situation, Joseph had to keep trusting Him, even though at the time he did not understand what was happening -and you must do that too.
Support the show
Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

"Get ready to cross...into the land." Jos 1:2 NIV
The words for you today are (1) Get ready. For forty years, Joshua had served Moses and been mentored by him; now he was ready to lead Israel into the promised land. This raises the all-important question: Are you ready for the success you seek? The frustrating thing about preparation is sometimes it takes more time than the event you're preparing for. Are you self-disciplined? Are you up to date on your career or calling? Do you have the right relationships in place? Is your homelife in order? Do you have strong character? As the old saying goes, "You can claim to be surprised once; after that, you're unprepared!" One author writes: "Talented people are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts. Character prevents that. Talented people may feel superior and expect special privileges. Character helps them to know better. Talented people are praised for what others see them build. Character builds what's inside them. Talented people have the potential to be difference makers. Character makes a difference in them. Talented people are often a gift to the world. Character protects that gift." (2) Go! God told Joshua, "I will give you every place where you set your foot" (v. 3 NIV). Don't be like Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland who asked the Cheshire-Cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where-" said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat. To succeed, you must do the right things, moment by moment, day by day, following through with them in a consistent way.
Support the show
Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

"The eyes of man are never satisfied." Pr 27:20 NKJV
When you're controlled by materialism. The flawed philosophy behind materialism is "more, more, more!" And it's the result of "eye trouble." The Bible says, "The eyes of man are never satisfied." It's okay to want a nice home, a reliable car, and financial security-and God will provide those things when you're a good steward of what He has already entrusted you with. But when you want more than you need or more than what's required to fulfill His will, the Bible calls it vanity. The word could be defined as being empty, hollow, or without purpose. Solomon writes, "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity" (Ecc 5:10 NKJV). So before you ask God for prosperity, ask Him to reveal your life's purpose because they're directly linked.
Jesus said, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Lk 12:15). God uses a different "able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work... Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and. your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2Co 9:8, 10-11 NIV). Is God willing to bless you financially? Yes, but only when you are willing to be a conduit and a distributor of His blessings.
Support the show
Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

"I have blotted out. your transgressions, and..your sins." Isa 44:22 NKJV
When you have a hard time forgiving yourself.
There is only one unpardonable sin named in the Bible (See Luke 12:10). And as a believer, you probably haven't committed it, so God will forgive you for everything else. However, when God says He forgives you and you refuse to forgive yourself, it's like opting to stay in prison after the judge has expunged your record and set you free. And worse, you're committing the sin of pride. How come? Because when God forgives you and you refuse to forgive yourself, you're putting your opinion above His. If you're having trouble forgiving yourself, stand on God's Word: "I...am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins" (Isa 43:25 NKJV). "1 have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and. your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you" (Isa 44:22 NKJV).
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and...will abundantly pardon" (Isa 55:7
NKJV). 'Never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,' says the Lord" (Eze 16:63 NKJV). "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1Jn 1:9). "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Ro 8:1 NKJV). Are you
"in Christ Jesus?" Then rejoice; you no longer need to struggle under the weight of condemnation. God has totally forgiven you, so forgive yourself and move on.
Support the show
Changing Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!