Friday, July 1, 2011

31 Days of Victory:{Day 2} Gaining Perspective

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,”
A.W. Tozer – The Knowledge of the Holy

The first and most important step toward victory is to examine our concept of God. Why? {I’m glad you asked… hehe.} To put it plainly, God is the source of our victory. Every major decision we make, every response to adversity, every fruit that we bear, or lack there of, is a direct reflection of our belief about God. I’m sad to say that most of us have landed a far cry away from the truth about who God actually is. We might express how high and mighty He is as we sing along in worship service, but we often live as if we don't believe the very words flowing from our mouths. 

Many people in church say things like, “The battle belongs to the Lord.” Or, “In the name of Jesus, we have the victory.” But most people have never experienced peace that passes understanding in the face of adversity. The more common response is panic, fear, anger, or discouragement. I believe the problem lies in our perspective. If we don’t understand the reality of God’s sovereignty [His supreme and unrestricted power], His indescribable love, and His willingness to help us, those churchy words will be interpreted as nothing but empty promises. How can we rely on, or place faith in, a perception of God that has been deflated by our earthly ideas? In that case, our natural response is to default to our own feeble strength; but that road will never lead us to victory in the end. To find the root of our spiritual frustrations we have to grab our shovels and start digging out the unreliable fables about our creator that we've collected over the years. It's a dirty job, but it has to be done. 

In one of my favorite books, The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer puts it like this:

“Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God.” He goes on to say, "Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them." 

It’s imperative that we identify any falsehoods rolling around in our brain about God because lies breed more lies and will affect every aspect of our daily lives. Deception is the enemy's greatest tool and buying into even the slightest misconceptions about God will trump our quest for victory.
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Discovering the truth about God will be a lifelong process. If you sense your perspective needs to be realigned with truth, don't be discouraged. God promises to give wisdom to anyone who asks for it. He would be pleased to answer your earnest prayer for a greater understanding of His nature. As you begin your search for insight, I would suggest reviewing the names of God by clicking here. His names reveal so much about His attributes. When you're done reading this post, I *highly recommend* {you like my emphasis? :)} that you check out this incredible 3 minute video. It will help you see just how big God is in relation to our short-lived trials and you'll be amazed that a God this big cares so deeply about the details of your life {click here for video}. Also,  in an attempt to help you sit in the dirt and start digging up your own hidden beliefs, I’d like to suggest three book options.

1) The Bible- by God Himself.

2) The Knowledge of the Holy- by A.W. Tozer {an inspiring classic on the nature of God}

3) The Christian Atheist, Believing in God But Living as if He Doesn’t Exist- by Craig Groeschel. {A great, easy to read book}

HERE COMES THE EXCITING PART...
If you need a Bible, please contact me, or comment on this blog and I will send you one for free. If you’re interested in getting a copy of The Knowledge of the Holy or The Christian Atheist, comment on this post to enter to win a FREE copy. A winner will be randomly selected for each of the books. Be sure to mention which book you’d like win. If you already have these books, enter anyway so you can give them to a friend. The winners will be announced on Friday, July 8th. 

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Pray and ask God to reveal to you any falsehoods you've been believing about Him. Ask Him to give you the proper perspective through His divine revelation. As a reminder, write down the things you feel He is revealing to you as you seek Him. {P.S. video.}

Victoriously,

Monique Zackery

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16 comments:

  1. Girl, this blog is so timely for me. I love how God knows exactly what we need to hear, when we need to hear it. I've gotta get my perspective straight on a bunch of things (for example...my latest blog. :P).
    When I am focusing on God, everything else just seems so much less important, because I know that He's ultimately in control!
    Love you and so glad you're sharing what the Lord's been teaching you! Yay for using your voice!

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  2. Amen Alexis! God does know exactly what we need, when we need it! I love you too!!! And thanks for reading. :)

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  3. Love the blog & this entry! I would love to win/read either one of the books.

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  4. Hi Sydney! Thanks for stopping by and for entering to win!!!

    Blessings! xoxo

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  5. Way to let Him use you friend! I love your honesty and I know many people will be set free through the power of your testimony! I am ging to check out that Groeshel book!

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  6. Awesome Monique. Taking Jazzlyn to Girl Talk has also been a ministry for me too through you! The Knowledge of the Holy sounds very interesting. Love the blog!

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  7. Thank you Lonnie! And yes, you should check out that book. It's so practical. I'll enter you into the drawing for it. :)

    Trudy, it blesses my heart so much to know that you were blessed by the Girl Talk ministry. :) Thanks for entering to with The Knowledge of the Holy! May He reveal himself to you in mighty ways in the days to come. :) xoxo

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  8. Hey Monique! This blog is SO amazing :D. I can't wait for the rest of the month! I can already tell that God is going to reveal some awesome stuff to me (and everyone else) through you! I think it's so cool that you're doing this and I'll be praying for you to keep your heart open to hear what God has in store for the rest of the 31 days of victory.
    (p.s. I want the Christian Atheist book! It looks really interesting.)

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  9. "To find the root of our spiritual frustrations we have to grab our shovels and start digging out the unreliable fables about our creator that we've collected over the years." -- LOVE IT!

    Excellent post. And, the two books you mentioned are so very good!

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  10. Oh Peyton! I love you so much, sweet girl! I'm glad that you're joining me for victory this month! Thanks for the prayers, girl. They mean so much to me.

    Michelle, thanks for the encouragement!! xoxo

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  11. well said! I love the challenege...as believers we need to always be aware of our prespectives and beliefs...the enemy is sneeky and is always looking to worm his way in.

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  12. Monique, I'm loving this blog Girl. And I'm digging (no pun intended) the same quote Michelle mentions above. The imagery brought the concept alive for me! Awesome...

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  13. Thanks Sheryl. So true! That devil is a stinker! But I love the fact that when we put God in the proper perspective we realize that the devil is small enough to fit under our feet!! haha.

    Carla, haha. I giggled at your pun even though you didn't intend it. :) Thanks for stopping in today. Love you ladies! xoxo

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  14. Monique -I am catching up on my reading...and this totally blesses me. I have to be honest...I keep going back to the A.W. Tozer quote...and it has me thinking...when I think about God and how I am always trying to fit him in a nice, small, little box....sigh...I have so much to learn..and there is so much about me that needs to be changed. Thank you for writing this...I needed this today.

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  15. Monique, your blogs have so much to digest! I love it! Wow, thanks for your inspired insight! I am so blessed and learning so much! I would love the Christian Atheist book. Thank you so much for your blog!

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  16. Erica, I'm in the same boat as you, girl. Just barely am I coming to a place of seeing that God is bigger than my box, which of course was the inspiration for this post. Anyway, I'm so grateful that God spoke to your heart through this. xoxo

    Susie, thank you for stopping by! I'm praying for you as we go through this month. I love to witness God speaking to the hearts of His children. What a blessing! You've been added to the drawing for Christian Atheist. :)

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"Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." - Proverbs 16:24