VL - Issue 40 - July 2021

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our next step would be, but we knew God would walk with us. When you step out in faith to follow the Lord’s leading, the devil increases his feverish attacks against you. In my case, Satan tried to convince me that no one would ever trust me again. He wanted me to believe that I hadn’t changed at all and that I would continue to fail. I decided it was time to ignore Satan and trust God. It was the dawning of a new millennium, I had a good job, and we had been so blessed by the Lord that we’d even been able to put back money. Working for someone else had been keeping me from having enough time to do the things that the Lord was calling me to do. After careful discussion and prayer, Fredia and I purchased the equipment to start our own computer repair business. I have been self-employed ever since, and praise God, we are debt free. Being self-employed means I can set my own hours. That has allowed me to be happily involved in a lot of ministries. I am now an ordained minister as well as the Jim’s time behind bars has made him deeply sensitive to the needs of others who are incarcerated. God took my willingness to surrender to His plan and used all the trash from my past to get a message of hope to the world. director of evangelism for my Southern Baptist association. We started a ministry in the local jail; I worked with Prison Fellowship as a volunteer director for their project, Operation Starting Line; I’ve been involved with Good News Jail and Prison Ministry as a local board member for the chaplain at the jail; and have been a featured speaker for the Bill Glass Behind the Walls outreach in hundreds of prisons around the country. The Lord is faithful. He has kept His Word, and He continues to work in me to do His will. I will never forget the feelings of utter hopelessness and loneliness that I tried so desperately to fill with the things of the world. Knowing that others are just as lost as I was without Christ in their lives compels me to keep sharing the marvelous things He has done in my life. The greatest lesson God has taught me is that He provides for those He calls. There are many ways that He provides, but the most interesting method so far has been through other people. When the economy slowed in 2009, the Lord led me to a group of men and women who helped me start Fly Right, Inc. Our name comes from the old saying, “You’d better straighten up and fly right, or you’re going to end up in prison.” Well, add that to the fact that God has given me the ability to fly radio-control aircraft in a way that attracts a crowd, and there you have it, the name for the ministry, Fly Right, Inc. To date, our company has provided ministry services to prisons and schools across eight states, including a federal correctional institution. At the schools, we were blessed to be part of three different suicide interventions; it was God’s perfect timing. You see, we have the students fill out cards with their names and ask them if they need help with any serious situations. Three young ladies told us they were considering taking their lives, and we were able to alert the proper authorities and intervene in their situations. God took my willingness to surrender to His plan and used all the trash from my past to get a message of hope to the world. He is continuing to work with me as Fly Right grows. It seems like every time I turn around, He uses us to make a difference. Do you want God in your life? Do you want to make a difference? Do you need to straighten up and fly right? Then I encourage you to get serious about your relationship with the Lord. When you do, He will begin a work in you that He will complete. And it will amaze you (Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 3:20). Just because you messed up and society threw you away doesn’t mean that God cannot or will not use you. Seriously, all you have to do is be sincere with Him. Surrender your life completely to Him and seek His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). His Word promises that if you do that, He will supply your every need according to the riches of His glory (Philippians 4:19). JIM HARRIS uses his story and his passion for Christ to help others know the God who saved and set him free. To contact Jim or Fly Right Ministry, email info@flyright.org or write to Fly Right Ministry, PO Box 1023, Meridian, MS 39302-1023. 28 Issue 03 / 2021 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
STEPPING FORWARD God’s Provision: Always Perfect, Always On Time BY KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON PHOTO BY R.J. ROSER IT WAS AUGUST 17, 2013, WHEN GOD REVEALED to me His heart for the incarcerated and His desire that I would minister behind prison walls. I was visiting a friend named Bill in federal prison at the time. Two weeks later, the Lord confirmed His desire and opened doors for Victorious Living to be distributed in Florida prisons. I had already been publishing Victorious Living for two years when this opportunity came. And it suddenly occurred to me that maybe this was why God wanted me to do this magazine. I was in awe and thanked God when I sent that first list of 34 Florida prison facilities to the printer for distribution. But I have to admit that as I sent that list, I placed a mental checkmark next to “minister to the incarcerated” and went on my way. I was doing what He asked. But then, about two months later, God revealed another layer of prison ministry that He wanted to carry out through Victorious Living. It happened when I noticed a pile of mail on my desk. A closer look revealed that the letters were from inmates. I was shocked that they were writing to me. Some people wanted a pen pal, while others wanted to know more about the God of hope. I’ll be honest—I began to feel a little uneasy as the letters kept coming. That uneasiness soon turned to panic. As a people-pleaser, I didn’t want to let anyone down. I realized that each letter represented a life. It had been written by someone that God cared about, and they deserved a timely and heartfelt response. But there was no possible way I could answer every letter. The performer in me was wrestling with this situation too. But then I remembered that the Lord had led me to prison ministry. He had opened the door for Victorious Living, and He had known the inmates would write. This was nothing I had planned. And since nothing catches God off guard, He must have a plan. Peace replaced panic as I shifted my eyes from my inabilities and looked to the Lord. As Philippians 4:6–8 teaches, I told God what I needed and thanked Him for His answer in advance. And boy, did He exceed my expectations. First, the Lord showed me that I was to write and send devotional letters to everyone who wrote to me. It would be a way to respond while carrying out our mission to encourage, equip, and empower people to live victorious lives for Christ. But these wouldn’t be individual, personal letters. I couldn’t do all that. So God met my needs through a precious woman named Linda Cubbedge. I had met Linda at a women’s event where I was the guest speaker. It turns out, God had been preparing Linda for those letters for years. He clearly confirmed to both of us that she was to be part of Victorious Living’s prison outreach. That was 2014. Since then, Linda has read and prayed over tens of thousands of letters as our Director of Prison Correspondence Outreach. She’s made sure that each person has received a proper response from our trained and loving team of nationally based volunteers. Further, Linda developed procedures and launched writing events for us called “Shine Bright and Write.” I was so afraid of failure in those early days. I was focused on my inabilities—lack of time, words, and physical resources. But God wasn’t looking for my abilities; He was looking for my trust. God had already prepared everything and everyone needed to fulfill every aspect of this ministry with love and excellence (Philippians 4:19). And He continues to perfectly provide for Victorious Living and our inmate family. Recently, Mrs. Linda announced that she will be passing her torch of light and hope to those God has now positioned to carry it forward. As she moves into retirement, I will remain forever grateful to God for sending me His gift of Linda—a mighty woman of faith whose kindness, compassion, and steadfast love has helped many, including me, grow more dependent on God. Linda, on behalf of myself, our Victorious Living incarcerated family, and the correspondence team, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can hear the Lord saying to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON encourages and equips people for victory through her writings, speaking engagements, and prison ministry. To learn more, go to kojministries.org. Linda Cubbedge-Smith, Kristi, and Jack Murphy worked together faithfully to minister to the incarcerated. VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM Issue 03 / 2021 29
Page 1 and 2: REAL PEOPLE | REAL STORIES | REAL H
Page 3 and 4: ISSUE 3, JULY 2021 Humble yourselve
Page 5 and 6: ISSUE 3, JULY 2021 CONTENTS 8 9 15
Page 7 and 8: Through the stories of Victorious L
Page 9 and 10: STEPPING FORWARD God’s weapon of
Page 11 and 12: TRANSFORMED LIVES 300 articles and
Page 13 and 14: God has blessed me greatly, but ple
Page 15 and 16: STEPPING FORWARD The Importance of
Page 17 and 18: PHOTO BY TOM ROWE erything else I h
Page 19 and 20: STEPPING FORWARD hastily open the d
Page 21 and 22: One day, a coworker invited me to c
Page 23 and 24: BY NOAH VIEKE PHOTO BY SALT ON MY L
Page 25 and 26: STEPPING FORWARD Embrace Your Purpo
Page 27: there. My life became a witness to
Page 31 and 32: TRANSFORMED LIVES ESCAPING EGYPT BY
Page 33 and 34: GOING DEEPER: Christ Can Make the D

VL - Issue 40 - July 2021

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