Through the Bible - Psalms 142-145, 1 Corinthians 11:17 - 12:11
Good morning,
I apologize for not sending out the verse of the day e-mails this week. I was on vacation and had planned to send them out but did not have internet access where I was staying, except for my Blackberry.
Prior to going on vacation, my wife spent a week in Chicago with my daughter and her family. She returned to North Carolina with our grandaughter Layna for a week prior to our family vacation.
I went to the airport to pick her up and met them in the terminal. I told my wife Jean that I can't remember a time when I was so anxious for someone to return. It was both her return and what she was returning with that made me so anxious. This time, it was a double blessing, having my wife and grandaughter arrive at thte same time.
Their coming home, the flight into the airport was a scheduled "event". But it wasn't the event that I was anxiously waiting for, it was the person, or in this case persons that I was waiting for and overjoyed to see.
Today's verse comes from 1 John and speaks of an "event" that all Christians should be anxiously waiting for.
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. NLT.
When you think of Christ's second coming, what do you think of it as, an event, or for the person of Jesus Christ? Do you have an "eager" expectation for this return?
John MacArthur notes that the "key" in this section is the living hope that we have. He writes, "Living in the reality of Christ's return makes a difference in a Christian's behavior. Since a Christian will someday be like Him, a desire should grow within the Christian to become like him now. That was Paul's passion expressed in Philippians 3:12-14
Phil 3:13 but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. NKJV
We need not think of this only in relation to His second coming.
As you go off to worship this weekend, or the next Bible Study, small group, or youth group meeting, what will you go going to, an event or will it be to meet and learn more about your Saviour, the One who died for you and wants to live in and through you.
An old hymn came to mind as I was concluding this note. If you know it, sing it in your heart or out loud as you prepare to meet Him, whether it be this weekend, His second coming, or possibly both. Think of His return and what He is returning with.
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
Living as Children of God
28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.
29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God's children.
3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
7 Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. NLT
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