In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 JOHN 2:15-17

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:The world’s desires (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life) are fleeting and pass away.

MY THOUGHTS: One of the keys to overcoming temptation is to remember that those desires pass away. Temptation or the desire for the things of the world come to an end. The desire for anything of the world passes with time. Meanwhile, the desire for the things of Heaven grows the longer we give it space in our lives.

Heavenly desires are stronger than earthly desires and the key to overcoming is to let our desire for Heaven and the things of Heaven supplant our desire for the things of Earth. Overcoming also requires us to shift focus from the things of the Earth to the things of Heaven. We make stronger those things that we focus on; so today focus on the things of Heaven and watch your passion for them grow.