Out of control

Sometimes, life can feel like it is spiraling out of control. Compounded trouble can place extreme weight on our shoulders and before we know it, our lives have shifted from trying to actualize our vision to simply trying to figure out how to deal with the massive weight we carry from day to day. Many people have given up on thriving; it can feel overwhelming enough just to try to survive. Let me give you four strategies for getting a handle on this chaos so that you can refocus towards your pursuit of destiny:

1. Choose your battles wisely.

Only engage in battles that are worth fighting. These are the battles that will help you in the war. If winning a battle doesn't help you get closer to your destiny, it isn't worth fighting. Many times we work hard to prove a point and once proven, we find it doesn't really matter anyway. This is a waste of energy and effort. It is important for you to learn how to do what you can and it is equally important that you don't try to do what you can't. There are battles to fight (fight the good fight of faith) and there are battles that you don't have to fight (stand still and see the salvation of the Lord) - choose wisely!

2. Avoid isolation.

As I have experienced myself go through stressful situations and as I have coached others through stressful situations, it has become very clear that it can be dangerous to isolate yourself when dealing with stress. While, it sometimes feels that this is the thing to do and sometimes you don't want to burden others with your problems, the bible is clear in teaching us that we're not islands. Isolation is a breeding ground for out-of-control thoughts which lead to nonproductive actions. If you have a positive support system (church, family, friends, etc.), let your support system provide support. If you don't have a positive support system, pray for and seek a church family and/or a group of positive people doing positive things with which to spend your time.

3. Posture yourself for your future.

Develop a worldview of being future-facing. Spending too much time dwelling on your past can be counterproductive. In the same way, focusing on the stress and pain presently facing you can be a negative practice. I challenge you to always ask yourself: "What have I learned from what I've been through that could help me now?" and "How can I recover and grow from what I'm facing right now and use it to advance to my future?" Everything you're going through and everything you have gone through will develop something in you that you will need later. All things work together for the good of them who love the Lord - so, focus forward; your future will be better because of your experience.

4. In order to gain control, you must lose control.

If your situation seems out of control, perhaps that is because the wrong person has the controls (in case you're wondering, that wrong person is you). There's an incredible peace to be gained by giving your problems to God. We are instructed to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us. Your situation will remain out-of-control as long as you are trying to control it - when you give your pain, your worry, your anxiety, your stress to God, your situation will feel and become better. Let go and let God have His way!

Submitted by: Pastor Razel Jones

Progress Report

In my school days, I remember receiving assessments in the middle of a semester to let me know how I was doing in classes. These progress reports gave an indication of what my next moves needed to be in order to achieve success in the rest of the semester. The word "progress" is defined as forward movement toward a destination. Today, it is my hope that you are making progress towards being who God says you are. Your destination (destiny) is the place your movement must be aimed towards. 

What movements have you recently made in your life? Are those movements taking you forward or backwards? Progress begins with honest self-reflection. Today, I encourage you to look over the recent moves you have made in your life and genuinely examine if your movement is taking you closer to or further away from the destination that God is calling you to. 

We all spend a lot of time hoping for progress, but oftentimes progress can seem to be elusive. Have you ever been in a season in your life where it felt like you had made no forward movement towards your destination for quite some time? 

Progress really is not as hard to attain as we sometimes make it out to be. The etymology of the word progress breaks the definition of the word down to pro (forward) and gressus (to step). It is from the Latin "progressus" which simply means to step forward. I believe many of us are often off the mark with our self examination and we mislabel ourselves as individuals who are making no progress because we have not arrived at our destiny. This is likely to be an inaccurate analysis. It is easy to lose site of the progress you have made by focusing on the distance you still have left to go towards your destination. Your progress is not about your arrival at destiny - it is about your stepping forward towards destiny. In fact, that's what the whole of salvation and right living is about - stepping forward towards destiny. It is a process of progress.

As you examine yourself, you must diagnose if your recent movement has taken you closer to destiny or not. Does that relationship take you closer to or further from destiny? Does that decision carry you in the right or wrong direction? Is that choice bringing you one step closer to or one step further away from your destiny? If you are not moving closer to destiny, there is a simple solution - just take a step forward! If you feel you're not making progress, it's crucial that you determine what you are going to do about it. 

Tonight, I spoke with one of our church leaders and I asked the question, "are you making progress?" The answer was, "some". I continued investigating and we discovered that for this leader, she would feel progressive if three things happened. One of those things was to get up earlier in the morning. She immediately set an alarm for earlier and instantaneously - BOOM! - she made progress. It was as simple as that - she took a step forward - not a sprint - not a flight; she didn't even exactly reach the destination by doing what the goal was but, she took a step forward. This is a change in how we grade ourselves; this is a change in how we measure our progress. If we assess ourselves based on the true definition of the word, "progress" rather than our idealized image of the meaning of the word, we would win more; we would be less discouraged, and make much more progress.

Finally, once you make progress, study your success. What did you do right? What worked? Once you discover the patterns of your success, apply them again and continue your success - keep progressing - keep stepping forward all the way to your destination. I heard Andy Stanley say, we typically don't study our own success. We study our failure and other people's success, but not our own success. If we would learn to pay attention to what we do right, we would perpetuate our success rather than our failure. 

Today, as you assess your progress towards destiny, I encourage you to pay attention to what is right about you, instead of only focusing on what is wrong with you. My prayer for you is that you take steps forward all the way to your destiny. Don't discount the progress you are making towards your destination. 

Philippians 3:16New Living Translation (NLT)

16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.  

Handling the Father's business

Luke 2:49-50New King James Version (NKJV)

49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

The past two years have been a flurry of activity for me. I enrolled in an intense MBA program hoping to gain business skills that would benefit our church as well as myself personally. After about a half a year in the program, we welcomed our first child, Kayden, to the world. In the midst of all of that, I received a promotion at work that came with more duties. In addition, I had the joy of preparing and/or performing marriages or vow renewals for around 10 couples. All in all it has been a wild ride and there have been times during the journey that I haven't been able to be fully present at Victory Life.

I just want to take this time to say, thank you for sticking with the ministry and the vision during this transitional time. I strongly feel that we are now on the verge of a great breakthrough for the ministry and the sacrifice we have all made over the past two years is about to be rewarded. 

I have come away from the program with new tools to apply to the ministry that will assist us on the business management side and will help facilitate the actualization of the vision that is set before us. 

We are going to do ministry business better. We will continue to grow in our understanding of the needs of the various market segments in our target markets and we will strengthen our activity fits and make sure that the activity fits are aligned with the vision, mission, and BHAG of the ministry. It makes many uncomfortable, but the truth of the matter is that church is business; it is the Father's business. I want to encourage those on board with the vision of Victory Life to be about the Father's business; commit to serving the Lord through the ministry in excellence and be on-point with your ministry activities. I appreciate all that each of you do to actualize the vision of Victory Life. Let's be about the Father's business together!

Baptism - what & why is it?

BAPTISM

In just a few hours, we will have our 3rd Baptism service as a church family. August 3 at Hemlock Park in Big Rapids, in the Muskegon River at 10:45 a.m.

Why is it important? 

Baptism is an outward expression/sign of an inward truth for the believer. Baptism demonstrates to the world that you are serious about your connection to Christ. Through baptism, we connect with Christ in his life, death, burial and resurrection. The old you is left in the water as your sins were cast into the sea of forgetfulness, and the new you emerges from the water! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Baptism is defined as: 

• a ceremonial immersion in water as an initiatory rite or sacrament of the Christian church.
• an action of initiation, dedication, etc. 
• a purifying experience. 

Here are some scriptures to think about concerning Baptism:

• Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

• Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
• Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

3 distinct methods/names to be baptized in, in each of these scriptures: 1. in the name of Jesus Christ 2. in the name of the Lord 3. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

More importantly, many results are listed after the baptism:

• Forgiveness of sins
• Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit
• Being with the Lord/Waiting on the Lord
• Observing the Word of the Lord
• Dwelling with the Lord always

Some additional results include:

• Connection with the body of Christ everywhere
• Renewal
• Cleansing
• Fresh start!

We have 3 candidates who have signed up for Baptism this Sunday. Feel free to join us at the Baptism service to celebrate with these as they experience one of the greatest days of their lives!