“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
Titus 2:13
Are you looking for that blessed hope? The second coming of our Lord? Are you ready for His return? This is the time for you to establish your heart. To settle yourself into the path God wants you to walk. Remember that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation [see 2nd Corinthians 5:18]. We are to be reconciled back to God and each other. The coming of the Lord draws near. Let us heed the warning and look towards the coming of the Lord with patience and with wisdom. The wisdom from above is pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy, [see James 3:17]. Does your behavior project the image of Christ? This is the reason why we confess our faults to one another and pray for each other.
“Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge stands before the door.”
James 5:9
The danger of being condemned by our own actions is a moral and ethical dilemma due to the consequences. We just do not think about the consequences from the decisions we make. One should decide if they are receiving the discipline or punishment from God. James was addressing those who believe in Christ and how Christians should behave and view themselves. James was rebuking the worldliness of the believers. Just read chapter four when James questions where wars and fighting’s among them come from. It is due to their own lusts, and they did not pray and ask God for what they needed. Friendship with the world is enmity with God [see James 4:4]. Christians are not to be false accusers but to exhort the love and peace of God through Jesus Christ. To live a holy and godly life before man looking towards Jesus as our example of suffering affliction and of patience. We must remember the patience of Job and read of the end result how the Lord was pitiful and had mercy towards Job and gave him a double portion back of what he had lost after he prayed for his friends.
We must continue to pray and ask the Lord for help and change our desires that we do not speak evil of another person. We do not know what tomorrow may bring. It is today that we should be concerned about. This moment in time we are living is precious in God’s eye. What we do today is important, and God will open doors in the opportunity to witness. Even seniors still have that opportunity to witness to others about Jesus. We each have a testimony of what God has done in our life. I remember Smith Wigglesworth stating that there is always preaching, preaching, preaching, and people get tired of it. We need to hear more testimonies from those whom God has blessed. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to move in the body of Christ then there will be the gifts of the Spirit flowing to meet the needs of everyone in the body of Christ. This includes reading of the word, testimony, prophesying, healing, singing, praying, and more. There should be no bitter envying and strife within our hearts. James states it is the tongue that defiles a man.
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeded blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
James 3:8-10
James is explicit about the tongue not being tamed and full of poison. I rarely heard this subject being preached, but we need to hear it. Many times, we put our own foot in our mouth and say things that offends or upsets another person. Sometimes we do this without even realizing what we have said. James also said that a person who judges is not a doer of the law but a judge. This is like the Pharisees who were experts in pointing out the law but not following the law itself. Our speech and actions are important to those around us. What we believe is what we speak. This is what is in our heart. Out of the heart comes the issues of life. Can you be assured within your own heart before God?
“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”
1 John 3:20
God is greater than our own heart and knows all things. Do you have confidence toward God. John states that we can only have confidence in God if our own heart does not condemn us. We knew when this happens, and God knows. This is very important when we come to God and ask him for something. Our heart must be in the right place in order for him to hear us that we may receive from him our petitions. Each person is responsible for their own actions, and we need to humble ourselves in repentance. I love it when pastors allow time for prayers at the alter for repentance and healing. We need to purify our hearts before our Lord and have forgiveness for our sins. We must remember how God gave us His Son because of His Love for each one of us. There is no partiality with God. We desperately need His Love within our own heart. Do you know and believe that God is love? Those who live in love, dwell in God, [see 1 John 4:16].
Let us not be discontented against one another but let us have the love of God within our hearts. Let us have a sound speech before others. Let us deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, that we may live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, [see Titus 2:12]. It is through mercy of God that we were saved through Jesus Christ, and we should remember our past lives of serving lusts. We were brought out of those bondages that controlled us to the newness of life through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we now live in the Love of God and look forward to His coming. This is redemption from sin, evil, and all types of bondages. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,” [1 Corinthians 6:20]. We were bought through the blood of Jesus Christ. We have deliverance from the power of sin. We now look forward to His Coming and the Resurrection of the dead in Christ. This is the blessed hope we look for and pray that “this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory,” [1 Corinthians 15:54]. Our victory is through our Lord Jesus Christ, and He is our blessed hope.
