As we wrapped up the book of 1 John, we took some time to focus on our foundation in the identity of Jesus Christ through the Spirit, blood and water. We have a unique opportunity to live our lives from a position of victory, we aren’t fighting with fear of the ultimate outcome. We already know how the story ends. We have confidence that Jesus has already overcome the world. When we believe in Him and have the Holy Spirit inside of us, that makes us overcomers as well. When He freely gave Himself on Calvary’s hill, Jesus granted the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to fill all who believe. This gives us the ultimate gift of eternal life to look forward to, as well as a distinct comfort and understanding on this side of Heaven that unbelievers don’t get to experience. As human beings, we were created for worship. But, what are you worshiping? Is there something (or someone) in your life that you are putting on a pedestal above God? We must reject the worship of idols, this can be commonly recognized as money or the earth itself. There is a fine line between honoring what God has created versus elevating it to a status that puts importance above the Creator of the universe. Alternately, we can be fooled into worshiping a “good” idol too. Think about your past relationships – has there been another human relationship that you placed so much value on that it was slowly pacing your relationship with Jesus out of the picture? We hear “all things in moderation”. But the truth of the matter is God first. When we allow our primary focus to be on Him, God will appoint space in our heads and hearts to prioritize what He wants us to focus on. When we relinquish the “power” we like to think that we have over life, we find the confidence to freely share our own testimony with whatever audience God gives us. We shift from fearing the judgement of the world to living unashamed because we already have the love and approval of the only One that matters.
Three things I will leave you challenged with this week:
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stop going through life on the fight for victory – recognize that Christ has already won, you are fighting from a position of having already achieved the ultimate victory, you get to keep it with confidence
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hold fast to the testimony of the Truth – to include where you’ve been, what God has brought you through and the Truth of His written Word – this pushes accountability on you (do you know the Word of God? are you spending time immersing yourself in the Word?)
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pray with confidence – God wants to pour out all the goodness that He has stored up for you, but this will require that you ask for it – that you are aligned with God in such a way that the desires of your heart are written by your Heavenly Father, He is the God Who can