VL - Issue 43- April 22

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE Be Strong and Courageous If you’d like to partner with our magazine to deliver God’s hope and to impact the lives of incarcerated men and women, visit victoriouslivingmagazine.com. Every dollar you give sends a copy of our magazine into a prison. Each magazine impacts many lives for years to come. V ictorious Living maintains a constant theme of hope and victory. This magazine is all about sharing personal testimonies of how God helps people overcome incredible odds and hardship. The life stories of our contributors prove that there is no situation too dark for God’s hope to illuminate and no life too far gone that God’s love can’t restore it. While creating the content for this issue, I realized how important courage is in the life of a Christ-follower. Even from the start, it requires courage to believe that the God of the universe loves us and desires an intimate relationship. Receiving the simplicity of the Gospel as presented in John 3:16 requires us to look past fearful questions like: “What if God fails me? What if I fail Him? What if people reject me?” In fact, believers need courage just to live in daily surrender to the Lord. Surrendering the controls of our lives makes us feel vulnerable. Google’s English dictionary defines courage as “the ability to do something that frightens one,” as well as “strength in the face of pain or grief.” The Bible talks a lot about being strong and courageous, and that’s because God knew that every day, we’d face frightening circumstances and larger-than-life giants. In John 16:33, He even said we could expect to experience painful, against-all-odds encounters. I’ve read that there are over 365 fearnot commands in the Bible. That’s one for every day of the year! The Lord knew we would have to choose every day to either succumb to fear or to trust Him. How thankful I am that we don’t have to drum up courage in our own strength. Second Timothy 1:7 tells us that God gives us a spirit of power and a sound mind to overcome fear and other paralyzing emotions. God Himself offers His mighty power to help us stand firm (Ephesians 6:10). As a professional athlete, I often faced fear. In the 35 years I competed as a water skier, I can’t recall a time that my heart wasn’t racing before I stepped off the dock and slid into the water. It was a mental battle each time to corral the fear and replace it with more positive thoughts. But in all those years, I never let fear keep me on the dock. I knew if I stayed on the dock of comfort and perceived safety, I’d never stand atop that world-championship podium. Likewise, we won’t experience the victorious life God has prepared for us if we let fear keep us from God. It’s a daily decision to corral fear and replace it with God’s truth (2 Corinthians 10:5). Every time God has invited me to trust and follow Him, I have been scared to death! Just like when I stepped off the water- ski dock, my heart races and my knees knock. I never feel qualified to do what God is asking me to do, and I rarely have answers before I take that first step, but the more I focus on the One calling me off the dock, the faster fear loses its grip on me. Considering God’s past faithfulness and remembering that He is with me wherever I go gets me off the dock quicker. And when I remember that He loves me, that He is bringing provision, that He is more powerful than every enemy, and that He will never abandon me—I actually find myself excited about jumping into the deep. If you need courage today, ask the Lord to help you lay aside your fear so that you can accept Him into your life. He will help you step out in obedience and let go of the controls. You’ll be glad you did. Remember: God does not give you a spirit of fear. Satan does. Don’t let Satan keep you from experiencing the love of God and the goodness of His plans. Kristi Overton Johnson Publisher & Executive Director PHOTO BY JOMARYS LEON-LORENZO 6 Issue 02 / 2022 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
Through the stories of Victorious Living, men and women behind bars meet the God of another chance. Testimonial: Christina This magazine has impacted my family. One of my daughters struggles with addiction. I asked the Lord to rescue her, even if it meant she might go to jail. God answered my prayer, and my daughter went to jail. There, a copy of VL magazine made its way into her hands, and she began to read stories about people like her whose lives had been changed. It just so happened, my story was in that issue. Upon reading my story about how Jesus Christ had transformed my life, it became more personal to her. My daughter shared my story with her friends and asked me to send her a Bible. Soon she was requesting Bibles and subscriptions of VL magazine for her friends. God used VL to start a conversation between my daughter and me about the Good News of Jesus. A seed has been planted in her heart about how much the Lord loves her. She has seen firsthand how a person’s life can change when they choose Him. She says it gives her and her friends hope for their future. Have you considered using VL to share with others the Good News that Jesus saves? It’s a great tool to use daily as you interact with others. VL’s stories have a unique power for reaching people’s hearts in very personal ways. SPONSOR A PRISON IN YOUR STATE AND IMPACT LIVES TODAY. Visit victoriouslivingmagazine.com. VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM Issue 02 / 2022 7
Page 1 and 2: REAL PEOPLE | REAL STORIES | REAL H
Page 3 and 4: ISSUE 2, APRIL 2022 Be of good cour
Page 5: ISSUE 2, APRIL 2022 CONTENTS 8 24 2
Page 9 and 10: TRANSFORMED LIVES God’s Faithfuln
Page 11 and 12: PHOTOS COURTESY OF MYPILLOW I had a
Page 13 and 14: PHOTOS COURTESY OF MYPILLOW bragged
Page 15 and 16: TRANSFORMED LIVES As they should ha
Page 17 and 18: PHOTO BY GERI SIMPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY
Page 19 and 20: invited anyone who wanted to receiv
Page 21 and 22: PHOTO BY ASHCROFT STUDIO PHOTOGRAPH
Page 23 and 24: stuck, Melisha!” His words helped
Page 25 and 26: STEPPING FORWARD DON’T GIVE UP! B
Page 27 and 28: PHOTO BY OPENDOOR CHURCH All I coul
Page 29 and 30: STEPPING FORWARD Trust God, Even Wh
Page 31 and 32: could see that God was at work as m
Page 33 and 34: GOING DEEPER: Be Courageous On page

VL - Issue 43- April 22

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