Pum-pum. Pum-pum.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Pum-pum.

Pum-pum.

The Chicken Heart was getting closer…

Forty-one years ago, I sat in my brothers’ room, the lights turned out and the record player playing Bill Cosby’s “Chicken Heart.” My oldest brother Perry orchestrated the event. He was home from college and ushered his younger siblings into his room to entertain and scare us. For me, it did both. Mostly it scared me, but it was the kind of fear that ended with a laugh.

Last weekend, I took a picture of Bill Cosby as he walked past me to go up to the stage to speak at the Success 2012 conference held here in Denver.  My grin spread across my face, hurting my cheeks and my eyes misted up in joy. It was just cool. SO cool to see this man who’d brought me such joy years ago in a room in Van Horn, Texas as well as through the years watching him on TV.

He spoke about success and I took notes. Basically his message was simply, “Get Up and DO SOMETHING!”

I am a shameless name dropper, so let me tell you that I was star struck to sit and listen to Susy Orman, Michael J. Fox, Larry King, Steve Forbes and John Walsh, among others. All tried to motivate us to succeed through inspiring talks.

But the biggest moment for me was a surprise. On noon of the first day, the emcee announced that in their surveys they’d discovered that folks wanted more spirituality. So leave if you want, he told us, but the next speaker will speak on spirituality.

Dr. Lance Wallnau came to the stage. I hadn’t heard of this guy, but I wanted to hear what the term “spirituality” meant to him. He only spoke for maybe 25 minutes, but I was blown away. God spoke to me and my heart went…you got it…pum-pum…pum-pum.

One of his best quotes:  “When you put your focus on what is coming against you, you won’t win. But when you put your focus on what is coming through you, you can defeat anything.”

He went on to talk about Jesus and the Spirit of God as the ultimate power to come through you. He described a scene from the movie “Gladiator.” The two women I was with didn’t know the reference, but being married to John Iobst, well, I knew exactly what he was talking about. The moment Maximus reveals his identity in the gladiator ring. It’s a powerful scene. The movie is brutal and the bad guy is HORRIBLE, but otherwise it’s a great movie with a strong message about knowing who you are.

Dr. Wallnau’s point was that Maximus didn’t focus on the chariots coming into the ring, outnumbering him and the other gladiators. He didn’t focus on what seemed to be an obviously losing situation. He focused on the power within him and his identity – a general of armies and a courageous warrior. He defeated his foes.

Maximus is a fictional character, but YOU ARE NOT. You are a real human being in a battle. Just as those chariots came out of every door, the enemy unleashes attacks against you and I each day. Insecurity, Guilt, Hopelessness come toward us. Sometimes, it seems overwhelming.

Join me, friend, and do not focus on those coming against us. Focus on HE who wants to come through us with His power and strength and VICTORY!

Ephesians 1:3 tells us that you and I are blessed by God with EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ. WE ARE BLESSED!  Right now, this day, this week, let us rise and live like blessed people, focusing on HE WHO IS IN US!