Victory Vida

God has called us to open our hearts, homes and lives to love others and inspire them to know Jesus. And our testimonies are more powerful than we know! We are living examples of God’s goodness and we can share that goodness with others. We shouldn’t keep it to ourselves! In part five of our Open Doors series, be empowered to share your story for God’s glory.

It’s not always easy to build relationships with people whose lifestyles aren’t like ours. How do we love our neighbors when all we see are differences? Jesus engaged the culture of His day with love, grace and the truth of the gospel. He invites us to do the same—to live in a way that glorifies God and open our lives to connect with others so we may inspire them to want to know Jesus for themselves. We’re breaking down what that looks like in part four of our Open Doors series!

Mark 12:30-31 (ESV) 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” I Peter 4:8-10 (NIV)8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Hospitality is not about the CONDITION of your HOUSE, but the POSTURE of your HEART People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.  -Maya Angelou 1 Timothy 3:2 (ESV)2 Therefore an overseer[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, How do we have a hospitable heart? Create moments wh

God has given us the assignment to love the people around us so they might know the love of God through us. He tells us specifically, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What does that look like? Join us as we continue exploring one of God’s greatest commands in part two of our Open Doors series!

What does God mean when He says that He wants us to bear fruit in our lives? The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of His presence within us. When we yield to the leadership and counsel of the Holy Spirit, He shapes our character to be like Christ’s. When we make Him the center and source of our lives, the world will experience the fullness of His goodness through us. As long as we are living, fruit is being produced. While the fruit of our flesh and the ways of this world will waste away, the fruit of the Spirit is life-giving and everlasting. Which one is growing in you?

The Holy Spirit is God WITH us and IN us. Even more than that, the Father wants to empower us by His Spirit to do the same works that Jesus did in the earth! But how? We can only fulfill the mission of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let us position our hearts to receive the very power and boldness Christ had to minister to a world that so desperately needs Him.

On the night before He went to the cross, Jesus gathered the disciples to share that He was going to prepare a place for them. In their worry and sadness as they realized Jesus was going to die, He assured them that His leaving would be better for them. If Jesus didn’t leave, the friend, our helper, wouldn’t be able to come. That night, He promised that the Holy Spirit was on His way. So, who is the Holy Spirit? We’re so glad you asked. Join us for part one of our series!

As followers of Jesus, every single one of us is called to ministry. God’s mission for our lives is that we would be disciples who make disciples. When we live with this purpose in mind, using all we have for God’s glory, we come fully alive! All that Jesus asks of us is to walk with Him—that wherever we are on our journey, we focus on taking one step forward. He promises to stay by our side along the way!

God loves us so much that He sent His son to restore our relationship with Him. We are all lost children who needed our older brother to reconcile us back to our Father. Jesus paid the debt that we all owed! He is the only way to draw near to God and the full representation of His love for us. We are never too late or too far to come back home to our Good Father through the Good Son.

Did you know God created you just so He could love you? You are fully accepted as you are! He is for you and is faithful to welcome you into His arms no matter what. The Father doesn’t need or require anything from you… Rather than striving and trying to be lovable, He invites you to live from the place of already BEING loved!

In His love, God calls us His children! We don’t have to try to earn His acceptance. The truth is, we never could even if we tried. You are a child of God, created to experience the Father’s love in a personal, intimate way. You are chosen and accepted just as you are… And nothing will ever change that! All you have to do is believe and freely receive. Will you?