Victory in Jesus

I wonder if anyone else ever feels this way. Sometimes I get a little discouraged. Sometimes I feel like the whole world is a New England Patriot and I am just a Miami Dolphin. (And I’m not talking about the ’72 Dolphins!)

My apologies to those of you out there who are not fans of professional football.

Sometimes I feel like I am in a battle and the score is Discouragement – 21 and Kevin – 0. And Discouragement has the ball on the 3 yard line. But then I read I something like:

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 15:57 NCV

or:

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.

I John 5:4 NCV

We have just come through the season that celebrates the long awaited Messiah. The score was Roman Empire – 35 and Jewish People – 3 (to keep using my football metaphor.) Yet Scriptures like the ones above point to ward a time when we have ultimate victory over discouragement, sin, death and hell. We overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist made that proclamation and promise a central theme in his ministry. Just re-read Matthew 3:11 and other Gospel accounts of John’s ministry.

So the score can be misleading. 21 – 0 doesn’t tell the whole story. The game is far from over. Satan must have thought it was a blow-out that Thursday and Friday before Easter!

I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.

I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow'r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and bro't
To me the victory.

I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold
Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing,
And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I'll sing up there
The song of victory.

O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.

Victory in Jesus by E.M Bartlett