I just received this email and thought it confirmed what I shared the other day HERE.
Notice these words: Victory! Overcomer! Seize! Take! Force! Success! Conquerors! Triumphant! Rise!
SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — October 29, 2009:
Victory is to the overcomer; it is not something that comes to you automatically or without effort. You have to seize it, take it by force. It is success in the struggle. I tell you this so that you will not take the position of a powerless victim. I have called you to be overcomers, conquerors, triumphant in all things. Refuse to allow the enemy to victimize you. Rise up and take your rightful position, says the Lord.
Romans 8:37
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
On a totally different note. My Blackberry phone arrived yesterday. The S store that was previously the N store wasn’t very happy because the S representative from Washington State made a way for me to receive my little present. But, I have it and I’m learning how to use it. Yay! 
I read somewhere we fight from the position of victory, NOT for victory…We are already more than conqueror's in Christ Jesus. We must fight to keep our victory, taking a stand..I keep having that picture in my mind of those ladies on the front porch with all those weapons…God keeps bringing it to my mind. I need to be like that spiritually…standing guard!!
We must not take the spiritual battle lightly for it's very real. But thanks be to God, we use His mighty weapons, not ours…That's how we can remain standing in these evil days…
Blessings to you sister.
Thankful to be an overcomer, too!
Glad you were able to work through your phone issues.
Blessings, andrea
Count me as being victorious…thanks to having God on my side! Blessings to you today, sweet friend!
In Christ I am Victorious! I am an overcomer. Amen! Yee haw to your new phone. Actress would be asking to play with it all day long:) Have fun.
Great word from e-mail. But a new blackberry don't let it take over your life. He He. Love to all.P.S.what is the next can of worms or should that be words. He He.?????
Although I have a cell phone, I hate it. I guess that is on struggle I need to overcome.
love and hugs~Tammy
Oh yah..we can overcome anything with Jesus!!!
And enjoy your new BB! I love mine!!! I can't imagine having anything else! You will always be connected to your blog!! LOL
I got that email too and I immediately thought of your post. I'm glad you got it and put it on your blog. Great minds think alike, right? I'm happy you got your phone, even though I'm jealous. Now you can take unlimited pictures because you'll always have your camera with you as long as you have your phone. Oh, and by the way…I haven't forgotten about "Jenny" but I don't talk about her because it's very painful…she never calls, she never writes…it's like she vanished into thin air! lol
I'm sending this to a certain family member of mine. Thanks so much for this very timely post!
Amen! We are more than conquerors!
congrats on your new blackberry!! How fun!
Praise God, we can overcome.
During the forty years from Jesus' death to the destruction of the temple (70 C.E.) the Jews were divided over whether to humbly submit to Roman rule or rebel and throw off the Roman yoke. Many Pharisees preferred a peaceful course, but the Zealot party grew in strength, until ultimately they convinced the people to revolt.
During this time, Jewish-Christians of Jerusalem preached Jesus' peaceful message of the Sermon on the Mount. They taught non-resistance to Roman rule. One of the Romans' most irksome practices was to force Jewish men to carry their equipment. To this Jesus said, "If anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile." (Matt. 5:41) Jesus refused to resist paying taxes, saying, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s." (Matt. 22:21) It is conceivable that the Jewish-Christians represented a genuine peace movement, vying for the hearts and minds of the Jerusalemites to steer them away from a tragic war with Rome.
During this period Judaism had many diverse streams, and the Jewish-Christians under James the brother of Jesus were tolerated and even respected by many Jews. But in time the Jewish leadership hardened against them and the Jewish-Christians became isolated, their message of peace ignored. The Jews revolted against Rome, and they were crushed, with Jerusalem reduced to ruins. The Romans put down the Jewish Revolt with great cruelty, destroying Jerusalem, killing over a million people, and deporting hundreds of thousands as slaves.
Our early Christian brethren were persecuted by the Romans for nearly 400 years, being fed to lions in the coliseums and enduring other atrocities against them. Eusebius of Caesarea states that Paul was beheaded in the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero; this event has been dated to the year 64 C.E., when Rome was devastated by a fire. Tradition holds that the Roman authorities sentenced Peter to death by crucifixion. According to a story recorded in the apocryphal Acts of Peter, he was crucified head down. The Roman Martyrology assigns June 29 as the feast day of both Peter and Paul.
By their strong faith, without using violence or weapons, Christianity conquered the Roman Empire and became its official religion.
Galerius issued an edict permitting the practice of the Christian religion under his rule in April of 311. In 313 Constantine I and Licinius announced toleration of Christianity in the Edict of Milan. Constantine would become the first Christian emperor. By 391, under the reign of Theodosius I, Christianity had become the state religion. Constantine I, the first emperor to embrace Christianity, was also the first emperor to openly promote the newly legalized religion.
Dear godamongus, I believe Marsha Burns was referring to the spiritual battle, not to physically take things by force. Our early Christian brethren faced a horrible spiritual battle as well, and as you said – Christianity prevailed.
Blessings,
Beth
Hope you don't mind Beth, but I am going to copy this and put it in my Bible for further use. I love it. It gave me a bit of a boost this am and I intend to walk in victory. Thank you for reminding me that I have a part to play in it. Victory is not passive, it is an action I must be determined to walk out daily. Blessings on you my sweet sister.
Beth,
In response to the differing translations of Matthew 11:12 in the KJV, which stated "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force" and the NIV, which stated "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it", the KJV appears to be the more accurate translation, referring to the zealot jews, who wanted to advance the cause of heaven with the use of force.
As I expressed above, history shows that their view prevailed and they suffered incredible violence by the Romans as a result. Keep in mind that one of their reasons they rejected Jesus was because they envisioned a forceful, violent, warring messiah who would lead their revolt to overthrow the Roman yoke. Instead of a violent messiah, they got Jesus – the "Prince of Peace." Of course we know that they violently crucified Jesus, prior to launching their failed and violent revolt against the Romans. Sadly, we can only imagine the different courses history could have taken had the Jewish-Christians, lead by James the brother of Jesus, prevailed with their message of peace rather than the forceful, violent strategy of the zealots.
In the end, it was the fervent faith (forceful if you want to call it that) of the early Christians, who were persecuted and fed to lions, that allowed God to change the hearts of the Roman Empire. They understood that faith is the key to unlocking the spiritual weapons that God and His angels could unleash on the Romans to change their hearts, not physical force and violence, as the zealots thought.
I stress this because, too often today many Christians seem bent toward the zealot approach rather than the peaceful approach as taught by Jesus. Today, many Christians seem to view the peaceful approach as being passive victims, rather than strong warriors willing to "walk the extra mile, turn the other cheek, and love their enemies" as Jesus taught. Personally, I prefer to go with Jesus's methods of peace through faith. Not only did this method work for the Christians in conquering Rome; but, similarly in American history, the non-violent method worked for African Americans to overcome slavery and segregation. As history reminds us, some African Americans advocated a forceful, violent approach through groups such as the Black Panthers; yet, it was the non-violent tactics employed by Martin Luther King, Jr., with his followers being bitten by police dogs and sprayed with fire hoses, that changed the hearts of Americans and the U.S. Supreme Court.
I appreciate your thoughtfulness in examining the differing scriptural translations and your responses. God Bless you as I will be praying for you, your family and friends.