His will for our lives!

(1John 3:2) “…but we know that when he appears we shall be like him…”

I would like to consider the reality of the future, for all those who believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and for those who now confess Him as Lord…

Just as He received His glorified body so too will we receive our glorified bodies, what a delightful consideration. To think that one day we shall be like Him is almost beyond my imagination and yet I know it to be true, praise the name of Jesus!

This is the hope for every true born again believer; I mention this fact, as we know that the day preceding this great event will come as a thief in the night and there will first come a falling away amongst apparent believers, and the love of many will wax cold. And then Satan will have his allotted reign for a short time as he will look to destroy all those who confess Jesus as Lord. It will be a time of his wrath.

Most of us have from childhood been taught that our true dreams will never come easily, it will take effort and sacrifice but it will be sweet when we reach our goal. There will be nothing sweeter than receiving our glorified bodies as we become in “type” like the Lord Jesus, where we will receive a body that knows no pain, that does not age and a vessel capable of coming into the presents of our almighty God without it disintegrating.

Although we understand very clearly that salvation is a gift of God and we could do nothing to receive it, but once it was ours, it brought with it true repentance and even with the many mistakes along the way it now still carries with it daily repentance. My life is constantly surrounded by self-examination in the light of this verse; “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

Each day I test must actions and my thoughts in light of God’s will for my life; I often fail dismally but it has by God’s grace become a lifestyle, and so should it be for every believer who has the Spirit of Christ. The enemy will always look to rob us of the truth; “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) 

Everything in our lives hinges on the finished work of Calvary; it is all about Jesus Christ our Lord. It started with Him and it will end with Him and for those who will not love His appearing will curse the day they were born, but for us who believe what a day that shall be.

Our eventual hope will be that we will forever be called the children of God, we will live as one of His sons, mind-blowing stuff and we will be able to recognise one another for who we were and now are. Even the eleven Apostles could hardly believe their eyes; “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” (Mark 16:14)

Do you know that there is a day coming when people will ask this question? “But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,” (Matthew 24:48): - times will get tough for the believer, but why shouldn’t they if we look at all our brothers and sister throughout biblical history, for us to receive this wonderful promise we must also suffer with them; “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1John 3:2)

We too must endure hardship as they did, for in so doing we bring glory to our glorious heavenly Father. Obviously the measure will vary from individual to individual, but we will all need to suffer in our “bodies of death” to attain to the resurrection. And for those who preach this message; that we will never suffer or be sick and that there is no hell, they are liars and they do the work of the devil. We must suffer to learn obedience, it is the way of our Lord; “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8): - we need to therefore arm ourselves with this understanding as it will be very confusing to expect a certain outcome and to receive the opposite.

This is what sound doctrine teachers us; it arms us with correct understanding for service. But why must it be this way? Anything that comes to easily is never really appreciated. May God give us the strength to endure whatever this year holds for us as believers, may our lives glorify His name like never before, Amen!

Remember our hope; that one day we shall be like Him and we will be named amongst the sons of God, what a glorious opportunity we as God’s children now have. Let us therefore remember this; “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-14)

Let us leave behind all our failure as there is nothing now to be done about them, today is a new day with new hope, let us therefore find grace in time of need as we call out unto our God for His mercy, as we work out His will for our lives.

Signing off

Tyrone