Titus 2:13 …looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…
How blessed is this blessed hope? If you are looking for Jesus’ glorious appearing then you are greatly blessed, for your heart affections are where they should be – with Him in heaven.
Hope is a joyful anticipation, expectation, and confidence. Blessed hope means a joyful, happy hope : a hope which fills you with joy when you consider it’s fulfillment.
1John 3:2-3
(2) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.
(3) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
The saint’s life is completely referenced to the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ – – anything in his/her life only has meaning inasmuch as it relates to THAT GREAT DAY when we bodily meet our Lord.
Everything is “defined” by this event, e.g.
* that we keep our robes white and whitened in the Blood of Christ
* how we preach Jesus, what is the nature of our gospel we preach, i.e. does it relate to the Person of Christ, or, is it incorrectly a “world within a world” – a person taking on board a new moral philosophy of life, yet divorced from the Person of Christ – they are still “in their own bubble, their own world they have created” .
* how we live, where our heart is…. everything
ian.
Ian Vincent 
January 28, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I get a lot of joy out of reading this blog … not because you are my friend … but because it is so fruitful!
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
The work of the Spirit of Grace is fruitful. Therefore, if we are not frustrating the grace of God, we are living by the faith of the Son of God, guided by His Spirit to live even as He lived, and these signs are evident in our lives (Galatians 2:20-21):
* a holy affection for all manner of godliness, i.e. a focus upon Christ rather than upon worldly lusts and affections
* a continual anticipation of Christ’s glorious appearing
* an ever-present thanksgiving for the grace we have received and the sacrifice of our Saviour
* a constant recognition of our calling in Christ, as ambassadors of Light in a dark world
* a fervent love for the brethren
* an acknowledgement of that we must walk in the light, even as he is in the light, if we are fulfill our calling (do His works)
January 28, 2008 at 5:04 pm
P.S. Thank you for “conversing in the Lord” with me. There is joy in Christ, as we fellowship with Him and His children (Bob and Mary, Billy and Janice, and all the brethren).
January 28, 2008 at 5:46 pm
God is ALWAYS faithful to sustain those who are willing to be offered … whatever they may encounter … for the threat of death has no hold on a people of Life.
This is a faithful word for all who love Him today.
January 29, 2008 at 1:05 am
Thanks brother for the words that produce life (edifying).
January 29, 2008 at 8:43 am
If we are tortured, abused physically, go hungry or are murdered – this should have not effect on us as Christians – they can harm the body, even take our lives, but they can’t take our souls. They have no dominion over our souls, and I think for the devil that must be a real let down – it’s what makes him mad.
To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord.
January 31, 2008 at 2:15 am
The Lord’s coming is SOON. Let our lives testify that this is true.