They Overcame by the Blood and the Word

They Overcame by the Blood and the Word

— By M.T. Clark — P-2019, 07/18/2026 — Today’s Audio Podcast

Today’s Message on YouTube:

Today’s photo of the setting sun breaking through the clouds over distant hills and a wide-open field of winter grass comes to us from yours truly, as I captured this spectacular view from the car while driving through Fort Edward, NY, with my wife TammyLyn on March 28th, 2026.

Well, it’s Saturday, and I share this simple photo of a beautiful sunset taken on an ordinary drive with my wife TammyLyn, because I didn’t want to let the plain goodness of it pass by unnoticed. We weren’t headed anywhere important that I can even recall now, but the evening sky was ablaze over the fields, my wife was by my side, and it was a good day.

I have learned that these unremarkable, gift-wrapped moments are some of the ways the Lord quietly reminds us that He is good and that the life lived with Him is the best.

Noticing the good things in your life and focusing on them for a few minutes is the practice of appreciation. When we do this, we welcome joy into our lives, and if we do it often enough, it changes the way we look at life, and it not only gives us greater appreciation of the lives we have, but it also increases our capacity for joy and emotional resilience.  The more we “return to joy” by practicing appreciation, the easier it is to recover from life’s disappointments.

So, take a moment this weekend to notice the plain, everyday gifts right in front of you and appreciate them. Doing so brings us into God’s presence through thanksgiving and helps us to experience the peace and joy of the Lord.

Our series, “Freedom Stories,” continues today with how God’s people overcome.

They Overcame by the Blood and the Word

In the book of Revelation, in the middle of a cosmic conflict, we are given a remarkably practical description of how the people of God defeat the accuser. John writes in Revelation 12:11 (NKJV): “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

That verse names two weapons joined together, the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and we dare not separate them, because each one without the other loses its power.

The blood of the Lamb comes first, and it is the foundation, because it is the finished work of Christ that actually defeats the enemy and secures our standing.

The word of our testimony has no power on its own as a mere inspiring story, and this isn’t a verse about the magic of telling our story. It is a verse about what happens when a redeemed person opens their mouth and declares what the blood of the Lamb has done in their life.

The testimony is the application of the victory, the moment we take the finished work of Christ and say out loud, here is what God did for me, here is the chain that He broke, here is the darkness that He brought me out of. That declaration is a weapon the accuser can’t defend.

Think about why this would be so. The enemy’s whole strategy runs through deception, accusation, and isolation, and he works best when our stories stay hidden in the dark of shame.

The word of our testimony declares the work of God, and in doing so, it disarms every accusation made against us at once, because you can’t shame a person who is openly testifying to the grace that covered the very thing you would use against them.

Early in my faith walk, I thought my own testimony was just the story of my past that was something to be embarrassed about and ashamed of. When I was still “saved but stuck”, I was just a sinner saved by grace, and I thought that the less I talked about my sin and shame, the better, but after I got set free, I came to understand that the longer I had remained silent about my sin, the longer I kept myself in chains.  I was only as sick as my secrets, and because I was hesitant to share what God had done (and because I thought He hadn’t done anything yet), the more I was subject to the lie that denied the victory that had already been given to me.

Paradoxically, the very story shame told me to hide would be used by God to bring me to repentance and freedom. When I broke down and admitted that I still struggled with the sins that I had been forgiven for, the Lord led me out of the darkness that I had kept myself in.

My testimony is also how I can continue to overcome and walk in victory. By declaring my story of how I was forgiven of my sins and set free of their power, I declare and reinforce the truth of who I am in Christ and how God is faithful to help those who call on His name.  My testimony is the most powerful thing I own.

When I tell what God has done, the accuser loses his grip on me, and at the same time someone listening discovers that what God did for me He can do for them. That is why the devil fights so hard to keep us silent.

So don’t underestimate the testimony God has given you. It is not a footnote to your faith or an awkward story to keep quiet. It is, joined to the blood of the Lamb, one of the appointed weapons by which the saints overcome the enemy.

Every time you tell what Christ has done in your life, you are not merely sharing. You are overcoming, and you are offering the same victory to whoever has ears to hear it.

Keep on walking and talking with God.

— M.T.

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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

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