EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/12/2024 4:50 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-5 “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 continue looking at hope in today’s SD as I have
been looking at the features of hope that John MacArthur outlines in his
commentary.
Number
seven, hope defends the saints against Satan’s attacks, and this one seems to
be timely to me. MacArthur adds Paul
included hope as an important part of the spiritual armor that believers must
wear in the inevitable war against the enemy.”
Then in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 Paul writes “Since we are of the day, let us
be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the
hope of salvation.” Ephesians 6:17 “and
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God,” which is similar to 1 Thess. 5:8 as both use different articles of the
believers armor. MacArthur concludes “Satan
and his forces seek to deal crushing blows of doubt and discouragement to
believers. But when God’s people wear
the helmet of salvation, hope, they have protection from those satanic attacks.”
Number
eight, hope is also confirmed through trials.
All believers go through trials and it is good to realize that the Holy
Spirit lives within believers to help us get through those trials. Hope is another important item to help
believers get through trials, even the most severe adversity and suffering will
not separate believers from safekeeping in God’s hands. MacArthur then gives another point and adds
some more Scripture to help us out. “Paul
encouragement to the Roman Christians illustrates this point:
“31 What then shall we say to these things? If
God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own
Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely
give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the
one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died,
yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also
intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate
us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just
as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." 37 But in all these things
we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“In actuality, trials not only confirm
true hope; they serve to strengthen and sharpen that sense of hope and heavenly
expectation (cf. James 1:2-12; 1 Peter 1:6-7.”
In
will now include those verses from James and 1 Peter as I end this SD.
“2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter
various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And
let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of
God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to
him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is
like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought
not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 But the brother of humble
circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 and the rich man is to
glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11
For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower
falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in
the midst of his pursuits will fade away. 12 Blessed is a man who perseveres
under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life
which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:2-12).
“6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a
little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so
that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is
perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and
glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
12/12/2024 5:20 PM
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