08/10/2011 - HAVE THIS HOPE

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And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

I John 3:3

The apostle John wrote that everyone who believes in Jesus would be enveloped with hope. Through this biblical passage he informs us, in other words, that no one is predestined and that anyone who decides to believe in Jesus will have eternal life. However, it is up to man to make this choice, not up to the Lord because He does not choose some and reject others.

You can be that person who will be purified and live beside the Father; to this end, all you have to do is to believe in the Son of God! One of the greatest riches of life is to have this hope in Jesus – the assurance that the saved ones have of being like the very Son of God, knowing Him as they are known by Him (I Corinthians 13:12). In order to have this hope you only need to believe in Jesus, which means more than mentally assenting: it is a heartfelt attitude through which you will not let yourself be carried away by doubts or by any other action of the devil who will always try to rob you of your eternal happiness (John 10:10).

He who truly believes in Christ obtains the fulfillment of all promises. In fact, everything that the Scriptures declare to be yours will be fulfilled; for the believer nothing that the Scriptures state to be his will fail to be fulfilled; as a matter of fact, all things work together for good to him who loves God (Romans 8:28). That\’s because he discovers that after every battle he overcomes he is purified. So, when temptations come upon him in order to get him out of the divine presence they turn back to the one who sent them: Satan.

So, dear reader, stop giving the devil a foothold and live the reality of the Lord. Do not give the enemy the chance to oppress you with dirty thoughts but, without any reservations, give yourself to the Spirit of God who will make you lie down in green pastures and lead you beside still waters (Psalm 23.2), where your soul will be restored.

Believe wholeheartedly that the Lord is pure; He will never tempt anyone and neither will he devise any last-minute plan for your life. Do not trust the devil because he will lead you into falling in the web of his lies and as a result you will believe that you do not need to abide by the guidelines written in the Scriptures to those who are faithful.

We need all the blessings that God has: we must purify ourselves because He is pure; we must strengthen ourselves for He is strong; we need to thrive, because all the gold and silver are His (Haggai 2:8); we have also to do good, because He is good to those who seek Him (Lamentations 3:25). My prayer for you is that you may purify yourself and be a keeper of this hope spoken of by John!

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares