Victory
In these 12 Days of Christmas I have started a study on
keeping a focus on God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God allows each of us to share in His
victory. When we believe in Jesus Christ
we can overcome the worldliness that continuously confronts us.
The New Standard Revised Version of the Bible calls this
section “Faith Conquers the World”. Love
is active. To love God is to obey God.
1 John 5: 1-12
1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of
God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we
know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his
commands. 3In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his
commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world.
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it
that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God.
6This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ.
He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who
testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three that testify:
8the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9We
accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the
testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Whoever believes in the
Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him
out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given
about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have
the Son of God does not have life.
Through a focus on Jesus we receive a new birth and get a lighter
load. It is not a burden to keep His
commandments. They make our lives
simpler not more difficult. God’s laws
are designed to guide our lives and not to make us feel guilty. Not following God’s will can make our lives
feel empty. God’s chosen people will
gain a victorious faith and will overcome the world. God’s people will gain confirmation through
witness to Jesus and will receive new life in Christ (John Maxwell). Loving and obeying God leads to a life of
joy, purpose, and meaning.
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