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Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we
shall see him as he is. And every man that has this hope in
him purifieth himself, even as he is pure
1Jn3:2-3
Another advantage to living by faith is that we become sons of God and though we are sons, the world does not recognize us as they did not recognize Jesus. But the beauty of living by faith is the hope of one day seeing Jesus and becoming like him. It is the blessed hope of every born again, spirited filled Christian. When this becomes our hope the word becomes our life and inspiration and we seek to purify ourselves even as he is pure. “Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth.” Jn17:17 The preparations we make today, the time we choose to spend in the word, will have eternal consequences. By meditating on the word day and night, we will prosper and have good success.Jos1:8 If we abide in Christ and his word abides in us, we shall ask what we will and it shall be done for us. Jn15:7 The flesh must be crucified with its affections and lusts. Gal5:24 To purify ourselves we must know the word and we must desire what the word reveals and we must confess what the word shows us in order to get ourselves ready to see Jesus. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called sons of God. 1Jn3:1 If we are sons then we are heirs, joint heirs with Christ.Rm8:17 So spend time in the word. The more you spend time in the word, the more will God show you what you need to confess. He will show you what you need to abandon. He will show you what you ought to desire. He will inspire you to set scripture to memory through the Spirit and he will begin the pruning process. Have no other desire than to be like Christ. From the parable of the sower we learn that the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things can choke the word. Even Jesus in his wilderness temptation was shown the riches of the world and he had to reject them. If your heart is not hard and if trials and persecution do not cause you to give up the journey, sometimes success and prosperity will side track you. Only by keeping your eye on Jesus, the finished product, will we overcome the craftiness of the deceiver, satan. So be on guard. Fight the good fight of faith. Have your eyes fixed on no one or no thing but God. The road to glory has many obstacles, but as we keep focused on Christ, he will carry us through as we purify ourselves even as he is pure with the blessed hope of being like him. Amen |