Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Monday, January 22, 2018
Listen to “Thoughts in Worship 01.22.2018” on Spreaker.
This is devotional thought number 57 in our devotional series, God’s Promises are Sure!
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4–5).
Teachable Moment
If you want to be an overcomer, ask God to teach you how to love Him. If you want power over addictions, rage, insecurities, listlessness, depression, or lust, ask God to teach you saving faith in Him. Saving faith in Jesus, and the Father who sent Him, along with Godlike love are the keys to overcoming every inherited and cultivated tendency toward evil.
Yes, there will be trials.You will need to strive against temptations. Yes, you will face persecution, but Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The Power in the Promise
It is the overcoming principle that I would like to underscore today. Jesus made a promise to all of us. His promise rests upon His divine power over the devil. The promise also rests on His victory over the devil as He depended upon His Father’s strength to be victorious over temptation, and all of the authority of the throne of God.
His promise is that if you want victory over all sin and worldliness and wish to have prevailing faith, believe in Jesus, the Son of the living God. Jesus has already overcome in your behalf. He stands ready to give His victory to you if you will only believe. As we have said so many times before, this brand of belief is no mere assent to truth. It is not simply cognitive agreement with what is obviously true. The overcomer’s victory is the kind of belief that transforms our lives in submission to God’s will. When we are born of God, we have the seed of God living in our lifestyles and mindsets. That seed is cultivated and flourishes to bear fruits of righteousness, and others who will follow our example to also bear fruit.
Shine On
God’s promise to those who believe in Jesus and have the seed of God living in us, is that we will become overcomers and reflect His image perfectly in a dismal world so others can see our good works and be inspired to follow the same path God has given to us. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
