EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/11/2024 6:02 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-4 “Intro
to ‘The Purifying Hope’
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
1 John 2:28-3:3
Message of the verses: “28 Now, little children,
abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink
away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you
know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. 1 See how great a love the Father has
bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we
are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we
will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see
Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who
has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
I have mentioned that this introduction will take me
a while to get through, and missing a day like I did yesterday does not
help. I am sorry for missing yesterday,
I hope that will not happen again.
We continue to look at the word hope as there are
many different points we have been looking at concerning hope. John MacArthur writes “Hope founded in the
immutable and eternal Deity is sure and absolutely fixed. In the salutation of his letter to Titus, the
apostle Paul refers to ‘those chosen of God…in the hope of eternal life, which
God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago’ (1:1-2).” This was the first point that was given and
now today I want to move onto the fifth point which is “the bodily rising of
Jesus Christ from the grave secures the Christians hope.” Peter in his first epistle writes: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1
Peter 1:3; cf. v. 21). “Who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from
the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God”
(v.21). MacArthur adds “The monumental,
historical fact of the resurrection secured genuine hope for everyone who ever
believed (1 Cor. 15:1-4; cf. vv. 20-28, 50-54).
As Jesus told Martha, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who
believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes
in Me will never die’ (John 11:25; cf. Job 19:25-26; Ps. 16:10).”
Now we move to the sixth, hope is confirmed and
energized in believers by the Holy Spirit.
Now we want to look at what Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans 15:13 “Now
may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you
will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” It is the Spirit who supernaturally places
into believers a hopeful attitude in anticipation of their heavenly
righteousness. “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope
of righteousness,” (Gal. 5:5). Moreover,
the Spirit serves as a divine seal and pledge of the believer’s hope,
guaranteeing that what God has stated in the present, He will bring to full, glorious
fruition in the future. “13 In Him, you
also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having
also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance,
with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of
His glory” (Eph. 1:13-14).
There
are more of these points about hope and Lord willing I will continue tomorrow
evening.
12/11/2024 6:24 PM
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