Tag: purify yourself
The Blessed Hope!
Scripture reading for December 9th: Titus 1-3
What the world needs is hope! Hope keeps us moving forward and expecting something good to happen in the near future. Hope works with faith and love and keeps us in balance spiritually. Without hope, we often despair and give up or give in to the temptations of this life. People who have no hope become depressed. Our God is known as the God of hope! (Romans 15:13)
Titus was an overseer of the church in Crete. Paul gave him basic instruction concerned the qualifications necessary for church leadership. Character was of the highest concern and it was to be discerned by observation of relationships in the family and community. A person’s reputation comes from his daily deeds and attitude. We become quickly known for how we treat others, especially those close to us. (Titus 1:6-8)
One of the main qualifications was a firm grasp on the Gospel message and word of God. (Titus 1:9) A pastor’s job is to teach each age group in the church body how to respect others and serve them with godly character. If a person claims to know God but behaves as if He does not exist, that person is unfit for service to God. In fact, they may be leading others astray and must be soundly rebuked! (Titus 1:13-15)
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:11-14
It is by grace that we are saved and empowered to live a godly life. That grace came to us in Jesus Christ, who redeemed us from sin and cleansed us by His own blood. This made possible the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit to live in us. We have power to say “No” to sin and temptation. Through the Holy Spirit we can know we belong to God and are a part of His family. (Romans 8:15-16) He will soon come again for us! This blessed hope keeps us moving forward, eagerly working while we await His appearing!
Unashamed at His Coming!
Scripture reading for December 20th: 1st John 1-5
I find it interesting that so many of the Apostles who walked with Jesus wrote so often about Jesus’ return. They evidently heard something from the heart of Jesus that made a deep impression. They were willing to suffer and die, many of them martyred for preaching the Gospel. John the Apostle is another of Jesus’ inner circle who wrote about Jesus’ return and encouraged the church to be ready!
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1st John 3:1-3)
John is the apostle of love. He is always talking about the love of God and how God has lavished His love on us as human beings. Through Jesus Christ, we are now adopted into God’s family and have the privilege of being called His children. To the world, we look no different than anyone else. The people of the world don’t recognize us as children of God because they do not know Jesus.
But when Jesus returns, things will change in an instant. We will be instantly made to be like Him in His glorified body. We will see Him in all His glory and be transformed. Those who have faith in Christ, have this hope in their hearts and it causes a change in behavior and attitude. We separate ourselves from the sins of the world and the flesh and live a pure life by faith in Christ. We prepare for Christ’s sudden return and our transformation!
John stresses that those born of God will not continue to sin because God’s seed (sperm–the living word of God) dwells in him. (1st John 3:9-10) We who are born again love others and choose to do what is right according to God’s word. There are only two types of people in the world: those born of God and those who are children of the devil. Are you ready for His coming?