READING: Ezekiel 40:28-42:20, 1 John 2:12-27
When John explained his reasons for writing his letter to believers, he twice spoke of why he wrote to young men:
- “I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one” (1 John 2:13)
- “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one” (1 John 2:14)
These young men, who probably were not yet fully mature in their faith, nevertheless had apparently been able to fight against temptation, stand strong in their faith, and not be lured away by the world’s teachings. In fact, the tense of the verbs suggests that they had been living in victory for some time. God’s Word remained strong in them, and the one who lived within them granted them victory even as the enemy sought to devour them. In the words of John Stott, “Their conflict has become a conquest.”*
You and I, too, have the Word of God and the Spirit of God to guide us into victory. We do not—must not—fight our battles in our own strength. With the resources God gives us, though, today ought to be a day of victory for us. I pray that the case for all of us.
PRAYER: “Lord, help me to conquer the evil one today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 43-45, 1 John 2:28-3:24
* Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 102). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.