Overcoming the World!
No weapon formed against you shall prosper. And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17.
I am reminded, Lord, that Your Word has much to say about overcoming. It is one thing to be a Christian, it is another thing to be an overcoming Christian. To be an Overcomer is vitally important, since Jesus mentions the need to overcome in each letter to the Asian churches (Revelations, 2- 3).

To be an overcomer means that I have been in conflict. It is a military term. In fact, the word, overcomer is translated “him who is victorious” quotation marks in the New English Bible, and the Amplified Bible. It is applied to the Christian who has emerged from battle heat and stress undiscouraged and his faith and undeterred in his determination to live obediently to his God.

Jesus is the first great Overcomer. “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). To overcome the world means to refuse to be seduced by his popularity, and to refuse to be intimidated by the threats of the cross. The world always follows the same pattern, first controlling, and then, if that does not work, crucifying. The world’s desire is always to squeeze me into its own mold. (Romans12:2). The world will, and God’s will are direct opposites. If I insist on following Jesus that I must follow Him to the battle against the world’s, passionate desire to thwart my path to live a godly life in this present age. (Titus 2:12).

Lord, the Bible reminds me of many who went into battle for you, but did not overcome – Lot, Saul, Gehazi, Demas and others. That is enough to make me realize that victory is not guaranteed – unless I cling to Him who wonderfully overcame it for my sake. And the Lord himself will fight for me as “He fought in the day of the battle” (Zachariah 14:3).

Set the Standard!
“Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever.” Psalms 112: 1-3; New Living Translation

In the scripture today we can see the benefit of people who are godly. But what does the word godly mean? According to Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words one definition of the word godly means to be honest, just or to act right. Vines Dictionary states that it is a just or godly person who sets the standard for doing right. This standard is not set my men but by God. The godly person is a person who stands by their word. It is a person who does right to other people.

We live in a world where most people want to take short cuts to get ahead. If they need to lie a little to get ahead that’s OK. If they need to cheat a little to get ahead that’s OK. If they need to cheat on their taxes that’s OK. If they want to make money quickly by using false advertising, it’s OK. If they have a business and they offer inferior quality to make money, that’s OK. If they have to lie and say falsehoods to get ahead, that’s OK. It is OK to the world but not to God.

My father told me many times when I was growing up that all a person has is their word. If you can’t trust the word of a person, you can’t trust the person. He also stated that a person who lies to you will eventually steal from you. Our word is all we have to offer to demonstrate who and what we are made of.

Can people trust in your word? Are you a person of your word? When you say you will do something will you do it at the time you state you would do it? Do you lie or cheat to get ahead? Remember the blessings of being a godly person is not only for you but for generations to come in your family. What you do today echoes throughout eternity. By what standard do you live by? Remember what you sow is what you will reap!

The Bible is a Fire and a Hammer!
Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path. Psalms 119:127-128.

I must understand that the Bible is not only my source of comfort, but also my source of bruising due to our disobedience. The Lord says, “Is not my word like fire? Declares the Lord and like a hammer with shatters a rock? Jeremiah 23:29. If I’ve never felt the scorching of the Bible ‘s heat or the shattering of the Bibles blow, I’m not making much progress as a disciple. The Bible is a sharp instrument; it pierces, divides, discerns, and reaches into the depths of my personality, down to the thoughts and motives of my nature Hebrews 4:12.

I must beware the man who preaches a sugar-coated faith. Faith in God is not an Aladdin’s lamp that grants my every wish. I must avoid as I would, the plague, the man who preaches peace, peace, peace, continually. There are times when the Bible will not give me peace; times when to comfort and assure me would be absolutely damaging to me. How can I sin and not feel the burning fire of the Word?

The false prophet is easily discovered. He is a man who offers nothing but honey, peace, joy, security, and tranquility. He does that, of course, because it is what the natural man craves; it provides him a ready audience, a guarantee of success. A counselor who offers me a rosy goal, but never mentions the painful, torturous road to it is not my friend. Jesus Christ is my true friend. He offers me a rewarding future, but with persecution. Mark 10:29-30. He wants to deliver me safe, sound, and complete. That is why His Word must sometimes make me ache with soreness and weep with bitterness. He knows where it all is leading; to manhood and womanhood changed with glory. I respond with Mary sincere humility, “Behold the bond slave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word” for “my soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior. Luke 1:38,46.

Developing Hardness!
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:4.

If I am going to be an example of what a disciple of Jesus Christ I must learn to develop a hardness. Jesus Himself was a mixture of both tenderness and hardness. And unless I develop the same mixture I will drift off into sentimentality or else become very rigid.
Jesus never became hard to His Father’s will, but always towards the people who tried to prevent Him from doing that will. He set His face like stone to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). If I decide to follow Jesus I will be pulled in many directions, all supposedly for good to save me from myself. The disciple who does not deliberately develop a hardness will find himself too weak to resist the warnings from family and friends that he is too fanatical.

Jesus developed a hardness toward people even His closet friends, whenever they appeared to block His path in doing God’s will. Jesus made statements like “Get behind me Satan” (Matthew 16:23); “What is it to you?” (John 21:22). “Women, what do I have to do with you?” (John 9:24). If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me”. (John 13:8).

I must always be tender toward human need but incorrigibly hard against human short-sightedness. The person who is shortsighted will always want to take shortcuts around the will of the Father. I must walk both in love but with wisdom being on the lookout for those who would want me to become soft and self-indulgent. My strength comes from me setting my face like stone to accomplish the Father’s will. “Our sufficiency is of God,” Paul said (2 Corinthians 3:5). That is the sufficiency from God and the stubbornness of a person who will not be sidetracked from accomplishing the will of God. Paul stated when he encountered obstacles “I am ready not only to be jailed…but also die for the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 21:13).

Godliness is Not Geographical!
God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” John 4:24.

I must remember that my relationship with Father God is not determined by a certain place. Godliness is not produced by topography. Man builds himself tremendous, large cathedrals thinking that this impresses Father God and proves their holiness. This is exactly what Jesus confronted with the religious leaders of His day.

Jesus vividly made this point to the woman at the well (John 4:4). She was emphatic about Mount Gerizim: the place where men ought to worship” (John 4:20). Jesus replied that it did not matter where she worshiped, it was how to worship that she needed to be correct about. The house of worship is in spirit, that is, and being properly tuned to God spiritually.

Jeremiah stated in his parable regarding the ripe and the spoiled figs. (Jeremiah 24). The good figs were the Jews, who had been taken to Babylonia, while the rotten figs were the Jews who remained in the holy land.

The parable ends forever the sin of place. Babylon was supposed to be the evil place, Judah, the good. But that was not true of the figs, for the rotten ones were in the good place; the good ones were in the rotten place.

How this speaks to my heart just now! Babylon with all its evils did not corrupt the captive Jews. Why? Because the right kind of geography was inside of them, not outside. Their hearts were right though their surroundings were evil. It was exactly the reverse with the Judean Jews, whose hearts were wrong though they were surroundings were right.

How often I have blamed my friends, my family, my job, or my environment for hindering my progress with God. False! The blame lies in my own negligent heart. The battle is one or lost within me. Babylon can become my purest heaven or Judea, my deep as hell, depending upon the state of my heart. The Lord God said in His Word that Jesus was a tender plant in a dry desert. (Isaiah 53:2). Father God, you want me to make sure to be the opposite of my surroundings, a touch of heavenly beauty in a barren land.

What are you listening to?
“So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom. 10:17; (KJV)

What is faith? The epistle of Hebrews 11: 1 states that, “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things, [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” What does this mean? It means that even though you can’t see something happening right now you believe it because the word of God says it’s so. For instance, Psalms 23:1 states “The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want.” You look at your checkbook, and you see you are down to nothing and it’s still a long time before you are going to get paid. What do you do? You confess what the word of God states and not what you five senses tell you. Scripture also states that we “walk by faith and not by sight”. Once again, we look to what the word of God says about our circumstances and not what our circumstances are saying.

Have you ever really analyzed what you are watching and hearing every day? The news is filled with doubt, murder, desperation, wars, famines, and anything else that is negative in the world. Have you ever asked yourself why they don’t report about all the good things that are going on in the world? Why don’t the news stations report on the work that Christians are doing around the world? There are many very good organizations feeding people, building houses for the poor, helping inner city kids, and helping the elderly in the United States and around the world. The reason they don’t report on good things is because the entire world is in the hands of the evil one and he uses the media to keep people living in fear and bondage.

The key to living a victorious life is not attending church occasionally. The key to living a victorious and abundant life comes from studying and practicing the word of God. God has filled His word with so many precious promises to lift us up and set us free. Some people say I just don’t have the time. But these same people will turn on the television in the bedroom every night and watch it for three to four hours until they fall asleep. If you take time to read the word of God and spend less time watching the TV you would see how much your life would improve.

Mediate and think on the Word of God. Speak the Word of God and Live the Word of God and you will see how much your faith will grow!

Eternal Eyes
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not (invisible), to bring to nought things that are (visible):
1 Corinthains 1:28.

The true disciple lives in the upper room where he sees “invisible things”. Anxiety exists in the temporal realm which always is at war with the heavenly realm. The temporal realm produces fear, fear of sickness, an empty pocketbook, fear of the unknown. Father God always has said’ Fear not, for I am with you; do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. (Isaiah 41:10).

Everything is the visible is subject to decay- houses crumble, economies fold, wars, famines, and people die. But everything in the invisible is beyond decay. Angels do not grow old, the human spirit never dies, and God Himself never changes. Paul stated there are three things that abide-faith, hope, and love- all these characteristics are of the invisible world that need to be practiced in the visible world.

True worldliness is really lack of vision. The worlding says, “What I see is all there is”. So, he uses his time, strength, and will cultivating the physical and the tangible. Result? The world is passing away (1John 2:16-17) and so is the man of this world.

I must follow the footsteps of those who went the “invisible” way: Abraham, looked for the invisible city (Hebrews 11:8-10); Elijah, saw invisible armies (2 Kings 6:17), and Moses, who followed an invisible God (Hebrews 11:27). Only as I immerse myself in the invisible world do I abide; and only if I obey invisible laws do I live.

Secondhand Knowledge!
The world is unable to receive Him because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him because He remains with you and in you. John 14:17
I must be careful not to “know” Christ in the natural way. Paul said, “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet we now know Him thus no longer”. (2 Cor. 5:16). What Paul was saying we do not comprehend Jesus with our head or even with our five senses (flesh). When we know about Him with head knowledge, this is called secondhand knowledge. This is the problem with secondhand knowledge it is all academic studies and not based on having a personal encounter with the almighty God. I believe we must study the Word of God but it cannot take place of the Living Christ.
To know Christ “according to the flesh” is based on sense knowledge as the disciples had before the Lord’s crucifixion and ascension to heaven. The disciples were with Jesus for more than three years, yet they did not believe Him. The disciples were not born again. There were no born-again people until the redemptive work of Christ was finished and the Day of Pentecost took place. But when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and entered them taught them all that Jesus said and did and suddenly it became amazingly alive and true.
No amount of research, or laws of reason, or history will reveal the risen Christ. We must see Him only through our (spiritual) eyes and experience of the Holy Spirit. There are too many so-called Christians who only see Christ naturally. A natural Christ will transform no one.
Also, secondhand knowledge is not living off someone else’s faith. I must not be part of the “me too” movement thinking that I can get to heaven through someone else’s faith. God has no grandchildren, only born-again sons and daughters. If I let the Holy Spirit teach me directly about Jesus through His Word of God that experience and knowledge will grow stronger and sweeter through the years. If I learn of Jesus in any other way my knowledge will decay and rot and I will be lost. Paul’s prayer, “May God give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” through the word of God. (Eph. 1:17).

God doesn’t need your help; just that you believe!
“Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” Gen. 2:1-2

Man was created on the sixth day (which is the last day of creation) and then God rested. The first five days of creation God worked alone. He did not make man first to help Him. God made everything first than He made man. God finished His work and rested. We don’t have to do anything that is beyond our control. Why, because He wants us to rest in His rest. He just needs us to stand back, believe and see Him move on your behalf. God does not want us to worry and fret over what we are going to eat, where we are going to live, or any other physical necessities.

How many times are we busy, busy, busy trying to make things work and fix things? How many times are we breaking our heads and backs trying to secure our financial future? In I Peter 5: 7 it says, “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” I am not saying that we don’t need to be wise and save. All I am saying is do your best with what God has given you and RELAX!

God cares for us. God wants us to understand that he loves us and takes great interest in our entire life. God wants us to rest in Him. How many times do we think we can change something or someone? We began to worry over a situation or nag someone to change and things get worse! Why, because it is not your job to change anything or anyone. God says when you get tired let me know and I will take over. That is the job of God. God is more interested in changing us, so we respond in love to difficult people or to have a positive attitude in all things. God wants us to rest in His power. He knows what He is doing.

It is not easy to sit back and let God be in control. We want to rely on our own intellect, power, and connections. But once again God is saying rest in Him. Rest in the fact the God knows what He is doing. God says when you come to an impossible situation you ask Him in prayer to take over. Let go and let God take over. Rest in Him and believe!

Owning Nothing, Enjoying Everything.
For me to live as Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

We need to settle once and for all concerning our rights and responsibilities. To accept Jesus, as my savior means, I will resign my right to justify my sin. And to accept Jesus, as Lord means, I resign my right to myself – my time – my talents, and finally my future. In other words, I die to myself and live for Christ.

This is where the real difficulty comes – resigning myself. To surrender my rights to myself means giving up my rights to my reputation, my place of service, my possessions, and my rights to privacy from the needs of others. As a follower of Christ, I know that my reputation will suffer. As a follower of Christ, I know that He may send me to a place of service that is not of my choice. I know as a follower of Christ, there will be divine interruptions in my privacy. As a follower of Christ, my life belongs to Him, nothing more-nothing less.

When I became a Christian, I felt a great burden taken off my shoulders because Jesus took my sin. But when I became a disciple, I surrendered all my rights to Him. I took on the nature of a servant, fulfilling my masters’ commands.

I must admit that many times I am touchy, irritable, and even selfish. And this is because I have not surrendered my all to Jesus. I have lost sight of what a disciple is. A disciple is a servant. As a disciple, I own nothing but enjoy everything that the master allows me to use