Bible League: Living His Word ...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.What does the word "world" mean in the Bible? Sometimes it just refers to the earthly portion of God's good creation. This is the sense Paul used when he referred to the "creation of the world" in Ephesians 1:4. In our verses for today, however, the word has a definite negative connotation. It refers to the earthly portion of God's good creation in so far as it has been taken over by Satan and infected with sin. "World" in the first sense of the term is not something that needs to be overcome. It is simply the place of our habitation as human beings and it is good. "World" in the second sense, in contrast, needs to be overcome. It is the second sense of the word Jesus used when He said "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus is not saying that he had overcome the earthly portion of God's good creation, but that He had overcome the power of sin and the devil at work in the earthly part of God's good creation. The reason Jesus came to earth was not to destroy the earth, but to destroy "the devil's work" in the earth (I John 3:8). The whole point of Jesus' mission is to purge the earth of evil so that God may dwell with His people on earth (Revelation 21). It is through our faith in Jesus Christ's overcoming of the world that we overcome the world. Because of our faith, we have already overcome the world. We are already new creatures in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). We are already the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21). We have already overcome Satan by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). And we continue to overcome whenever we resist, counteract, and destroy the works of the devil in our lives. In fact, whenever we resist the devil he will flee from us (James 4:7). In Christ, you are an overcomer. Indeed, you are "more than a conqueror" (Romans 8:37). Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading2 Samuel 7, 8, 9 2 Samuel 7 -- David Plans a Temple; David's Prayer NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Samuel 8 -- David Defeats the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Samuel 9 -- David by Ziba Sends for Mephibosheth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 19:1-28 Luke 19 -- Zacchaeus Converted; Parable of the Ten Minas; Triumphal Entry; Driving Traders from Temple NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion So don't go to war without wise guidance;victory depends on having many advisers. Insight In any major decision we make concerning college, marriage, career, children, etc., it is not a sign of weakness to ask for advice. Instead, it is foolish not to ask for it. Challenge Find good advisers before making any big decision. They can help you expand your alternatives and evaluate your choices. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Revelation 5:6 Lo, in the midst of the throne ... stood a Lamb as it had been slain.Why should our exalted Lord appear in his wounds in glory? The wounds of Jesus are his glories, his jewels, his sacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is passing fair because he is "white and ruddy:" white with innocence, and ruddy with his own blood. We see him as the lily of matchless purity, and as the rose crimsoned with his own gore. Christ is lovely upon Olivet and Tabor, and by the sea, but oh! there never was such a matchless Christ as he that did hang upon the cross. There we beheld all his beauties in perfection, all his attributes developed, all his love drawn out, all his character expressed. Beloved, the wounds of Jesus are far more fair in our eyes than all the splendour and pomp of kings. The thorny crown is more than an imperial diadem. It is true that he bears not now the sceptre of reed, but there was a glory in it that never flashed from sceptre of gold. Jesus wears the appearance of a slain Lamb as his court dress in which he wooed our souls, and redeemed them by his complete atonement. Nor are these only the ornaments of Christ: they are the trophies of his love and of his victory. He has divided the spoil with the strong. He has redeemed for himself a great multitude whom no man can number, and these scars are the memorials of the fight. Ah! if Christ thus loves to retain the thought of his sufferings for his people, how precious should his wounds be to us! "Behold how every wound of his A precious balm distils, Which heals the scars that sin had made, And cures all mortal ills. "Those wounds are mouths that preach his grace; The ensigns of his love; The seals of our expected bliss In paradise above." Daily Light on the Daily Path Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. Romans 3:10-12 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; • THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; • ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." 1 Peter 2:25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. Psalm 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments. Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. John 10:27,28 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; • and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. Luke 15:4 "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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