Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Foundry Publishing House of Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Sunday, 31 December 2017 "We Shall Be Like Him" by Albert Hung - 1 John 3:1-101 John 3:1 See what love the Father has lavished on us in letting us be called God’s children! For that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it has not known him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now; and it has not yet been made clear what we will become. We do know that when he appears, we will be like him; because we will see him as he really is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in him continues purifying himself, since God is pure. 4 Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. 6 So no one who remains united with him continues sinning; everyone who does continue sinning has neither seen him nor known him.
7 Children, don’t let anyone deceive you — it is the person that keeps on doing what is right who is righteous, just as God is righteous. 8 The person who keeps on sinning is from the Adversary, because from the very beginning the Adversary has kept on sinning. It was for this very reason that the Son of God appeared, to destroy these doings of the Adversary. 9 No one who has God as his Father keeps on sinning, because the seed planted by God remains in him. That is, he cannot continue sinning, because he has God as his Father. 10 Here is how one can distinguish clearly between God’s children and those of the Adversary: everyone who does not continue doing what is right is not from God.
Likewise, anyone who fails to keep loving his brother is not from God.
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One of the most astounding claims of Christianity is that those who put their faith in Jesus Christ are given “the right to be become children of God” (John 1:12). Can you believe it? We are not just God’s creatures, or His servants, or citizens of His kingdom. We are more. We are members of His family. We are God’s children.
Children resemble their parents. They reflect their parents’ physical appearance, pick up their habits, mimic their behavior, and share their values. So it is with the children of God. John writes that although “what we will be has not yet been made known,” yet we know that when Christ appears, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as He is” (1 John 3:2). We will see as God sees. We will love like God loves. Until then, we are to purify ourselves and strive, with God’s help, to live a holy and righteous life.
Jesus did not only come to free us from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. Therefore, let us “conduct [ourselves] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27)!
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Hymn for Today: "O to Be Like Thee" by Thomas O. Chisholm
1. Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Refrain: Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
2. Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.
Refrain: Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
3. Oh! to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.
Refrain: Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
4. Oh! to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.
Refrain: Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
5. Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Refrain: Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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Thought for Today: Therefore, my dear friends, since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that can defile either body or spirit, and strive to be completely holy, out of reverence for God.(2 Corinthians 7:1)
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Please pray: That many people in Israel will come to know Yeshua as their Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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