Purifying Hope
On July 18, 2018, the Netherlands-registered cargo vessel, the MV Priscilla, grounded in the Pentland Skerries off Orkney at 4:39 a.m. It is hard to believe that in this modern age of navigation marvel, a ship that size could shipwreck, but it did.
It seems that when the officer of the watch took over at 2 a.m. that morning, he turned off track steering and switched on the vessel’s autopilot. He then sat in a chair and watched videos on his mobile phone, and may even have fallen asleep for a time. At 4 a.m. he realized that he drifted off course but instead of using navigational data to get back on course, he relied solely on radar to steer a new one. The result speaks for itself.
This week is the beginning of Advent. Advent is the time of the year when we look back at the first coming of Christ and look forward in time to His Second Coming.
As we wait on God to send His Son, we wait with hope. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking but a confident expectation based on God’s Word that He will fulfill His promises. This kind of hope can serve to purify us when we fix our minds and our hearts on Christ.
1 John 3:2-3 states “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. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
This hope is fixed on Christ. Knowing that He will return; knowing that you will be changed inside and out; and knowing that you will spend eternity with Him can make temptation less attractive. It can give you a brighter outlook and lift your spirits.
When we begin to drift away from His imminent return, we become prone to wander. When this happens, we speak more spitefully, and we think more lustfully.
When we find ourselves drifting off course, we must refocus our mind and hearts back on Christ and His imminent return. As the Apostle Paul told Timothy, we must “fight the good fight” and not reject “keeping the faith and a good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:18-19).
Otherwise, if we allow the things of this world to become a distraction, we may end up shipwrecked ourselves.
These are your Words for Wednesday. Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
It seems that when the officer of the watch took over at 2 a.m. that morning, he turned off track steering and switched on the vessel’s autopilot. He then sat in a chair and watched videos on his mobile phone, and may even have fallen asleep for a time. At 4 a.m. he realized that he drifted off course but instead of using navigational data to get back on course, he relied solely on radar to steer a new one. The result speaks for itself.
This week is the beginning of Advent. Advent is the time of the year when we look back at the first coming of Christ and look forward in time to His Second Coming.
As we wait on God to send His Son, we wait with hope. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking but a confident expectation based on God’s Word that He will fulfill His promises. This kind of hope can serve to purify us when we fix our minds and our hearts on Christ.
1 John 3:2-3 states “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. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
This hope is fixed on Christ. Knowing that He will return; knowing that you will be changed inside and out; and knowing that you will spend eternity with Him can make temptation less attractive. It can give you a brighter outlook and lift your spirits.
When we begin to drift away from His imminent return, we become prone to wander. When this happens, we speak more spitefully, and we think more lustfully.
When we find ourselves drifting off course, we must refocus our mind and hearts back on Christ and His imminent return. As the Apostle Paul told Timothy, we must “fight the good fight” and not reject “keeping the faith and a good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:18-19).
Otherwise, if we allow the things of this world to become a distraction, we may end up shipwrecked ourselves.
These are your Words for Wednesday. Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
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