Issue 2 | 2023

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE The Power of Yes Would you like to partner with our magazine to deliver God’s hope and to impact the lives of incarcerated men and women? Your gift enables us to send this magazine into prisons around the nation. Each magazine impacts many lives for years to come. To help, visit victoriouslivingmagazine.com. The letter began, “Kristi, I’m sorry for any harm I caused your ministry.” It was from Bill, a friend I hadn’t seen or even thought about for several years. And he was writing to me from prison. Bill had been a professional boat driver on the water-ski and wakeboard tour, and I was a competitor. We’d met at a lakeside church service where Bill shared how God had saved his life. I even included his faith testimony in our ministry’s materials. Then Bill was arrested and sent to prison. I, like many in our sport, dissociated from him. I stopped using those materials that contained his testimony and looked for better ways to protect the ministry. I got busy doing God’s business and soon completely forgot about Bill. He was out of sight and out of mind. Ironically, in my quest for damage control, I never considered God’s heart concerning Bill or what being busy with God’s business might look like to Him. If I had, I would have seen alternatives, like drawing closer to Bill instead of running from him. Jesus always went after the ones who’d lost their way (Luke 15:3–7). I would have remembered Bill during his incarceration, reached out to him, and visited him like Hebrews 13:3 and Matthew 25:34–36 command. I would have encouraged my brother in Christ instead of abandoning him. But I didn’t. My only concerns were protecting the ministry...and myself. When I received his letter, Bill was halfway through his sentence. He told me about prison life and how God was helping him survive. And he invited me to visit. The idea intrigued me, and I prayed about Bill’s invitation. I also talked to my husband, Tim. It was an interesting conversation. “Hey, honey. Can I go visit another man in prison?” Thank God for a godly husband who could see the bigger picture. It’s been almost a decade since I walked into that Miami Federal Prison reception room. On August 17, 2013, God downloaded His love for the incarcerated into my heart and showed me a place where He wanted me to minister. The God of another chance gave me another opportunity to remember the prisoner. I’m grateful for His grace. I’m glad I didn’t miss the opportunity that time. Saying yes to God changed my life, and it brought you and me together! That simple visit led to Victorious Living’s prison outreach, which includes this bilingual magazine. Since 2013, over a million inmates have heard the Gospel of Jesus through these pages, tens of thousands of inmates have been discipled through correspondence and digital broadcasts, and our team has provided inmates and their family members pastoral care and reentry support. To God be the glory. Have you considered the power of saying yes? One yes leads to another, and that leads to another, and so on. (Of course, that also means one no stops the chain effect.) Because Bill said yes to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to write to me, I was given a unique opportunity to say yes myself, and then others were allowed to say yes. Some became ministry partners while others shared their stories publicly here. And many have accepted Jesus as their Savior. Is God inviting you to say yes today? Whether to a deeper relationship or a new ministry, please don’t refuse His invitation. That can feel scary, risky, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable. I know. Maybe you feel unqualified, unable, unequipped, or unprepared. It’s okay. All God needs is your willingness—your yes. He’ll take care of the rest. There are a million copies of Victorious Living circulating in prisons nationwide to prove it. May God put His blessing on your yes today! Kristi Overton Johnson Publisher & Executive Director PHOTO BY GERI SIMPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY 6 Issue 02 / 2023 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
Through the stories of Victorious Living, men and women behind bars meet the God of another chance. Testimony of Victorious Living Impact: Calvin McLeod PHOTO BY DAZ PHOTOS I became a part of the Victorious Living family in 2015 behind the gates of Avon Park Correctional Institution. I came across your magazine and reached out to the correspondence team for fellowship. In the same year, my son died in a car accident. Hearing that my son had died was devasting and especially difficult to learn from behind prison walls. But God used Victorious Living magazine, its correspondence team, and personal visits by Kristi to our facility to keep me encouraged. The stories in VLMag and letters from the VL correspondence team delivered joy, peace, and everlasting hope in my time of need. There was so much love and compassion in every handwritten note and hope in every article. The ministry team walked this difficult journey with me and ministered to my heart. I often shared my letters and VL magazine with my brothers there, and many of them reached out to the ministry too. God used my difficult situation for His glory and to deliver hope to others. I am a free man today and living a victorious life in Christ. I even have a thriving car detailing business through which I tell others about God’s goodness. My love for this ministry will never be forgotten. Victorious Living was an anchor for my soul while I was in prison, and it still is today. SPONSOR A PRISON IN YOUR STATE AND IMPACT LIVES TODAY. VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM Visit victoriouslivingmagazine.com. Issue 02 / 2023 7
Page 1 and 2: REAL PEOPLE | REAL STORIES | REAL H
Page 3 and 4: ISSUE 2, APRIL 2023 “All these bl
Page 5: ISSUE 2, APRIL 2023 CONTENTS STEPPI
Page 9 and 10: STEPPING FORWARD GOD’S PERFECT GI
Page 11 and 12: TRANSFORMED LIVES Right: Leaving he
Page 13 and 14: I couldn’t move past this verse.
Page 15 and 16: STEPPING FORWARD TIME FOR AN EYE EX
Page 17 and 18: PHOTO BY GERI SIMPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY
Page 19 and 20: a vengeance. I’d learned much ove
Page 21 and 22: STEPPING FORWARD Let Your Revelatio
Page 23 and 24: Phoenix, Arizona. I would need ever
Page 25 and 26: STEPPING FORWARD fulfill his purpos
Page 27 and 28: for every step. In fact, God told M
Page 29 and 30: TRANSFORMED LIVES I ENVISION IT AS
Page 31 and 32: In North Carolina, I continued to a
Page 33 and 34: WANT TO KNOW JESUS? “Come to me,

Issue 2 | 2023

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