Daily Devotion (August 8, 2024)
1 John 5:1–4 (NKJV)
1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
John gives three proofs that we are born of God.
Proof one: Believers believe that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is not just another person born into this world. Jesus is God come into this world to save this world.
Proof two: Loving God and obeying His commandments. Believers obey God. Believers in God want to please God. Believers want to do what He says. The person who really loves God keeps His commandments. Obedience and love for God is seen in our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We obey God not out of fear but out of love. We show our love for God by doing what He says.
Proof three: The person who is born of God overcomes the world. The victorious life is gained through faith in Jesus. The follower of Jesus is not taken out of this world. The believer is surrounded by all the evil of this world. Corruption and death are still around us and in today’s world of instant access to news we see it constantly. The media portrays the evil of sin in ways many of us could not fathom decades ago.
The true follower of Christ is able to overcome the world not in the power of self, but through the power of God in acceptance of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit living in him. God gives the believer victory over all the forces and difficulties of life. It does not mean we will not face the evil forces of this world, but we have the power of God in us to overcome.