It is always fun to remember your “firsts.” We all cherish the remembrance of our first boyfriend or girlfriend, our first kiss, our first job and that wonderful first paycheck.

I also clearly remember the first time I tried to memorize scripture. I was only 3 or 4 months “old in the Lord” and a freshman in Bible College. Our bible teacher assigned our first memory project. It was the ENTIRE 8^th chapter of Romans!

At that time, I worked at a hardware store and can remember standing in front of my cash register with my memory cards sitting on the top of the keys. As I checked out a customer, they might hear me mutter “There is therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus…”

It took me a few weeks, but eventually I memorized it all.

If you happen to be a quart low in encouragement this week, take a long look at that chapter. It starts with an incredible statement about the believer’s standing in Christ and ends with a marvelous paragraph of affirmation.

In English, vs. 37 begins “But in all these things (the trials and difficulties of life that were enumerated in the previous verses), we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

In Greek, “more than conquerors” is actually one word. It is a compound word that unites “huper” (“more”) and “nikao” (“conquering or overcoming.”). In our world, it gets transliterated by the famous shoe company as NIKE.  It means to utterly defeat. In colloquial terms, we are all HYPER NIKES.

Paul is just trying to emphasize that NOTHING can separate the believer from the love of Christ. We are indeed more than regular-run-of-the-mill conquerors; we are HYPER CONQUERORS. We are capable of conquering death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things to come and any person!

So, this week, if Satan and his crowd tries to fill your mind with messages of defeat, ignore them. Instead, read and reread those wonderful 39 verses in Romans 8 and declare for all to hear, “I am a HYPER CONQUEROR! Nothing can separate me from the love of the Lord!”