Theme: Living for Jesus
1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His coming."
Reflection:
As we grow in our faith, God continuously molds us in preparation for Jesus' return. A friend once said that this verse reminds him of military uniform inspection formation. When we have shined our shoes, ironed our pants, buttoned our blouse, and ensured our hair is in regulations, inspections become exciting. We feel ready and confident that we will pass the inspection. However, when we have slacked off in preparation, we keep our eyes low and hope that our squad leader does not notice our deficiencies. Similarly to when Jesus returns to Earth, judgement of our hearts will occur. If we hold fast to His Word, live according to God's will, and prepare the way for Jesus, His return becomes exciting rather than nerve-wracking.
Questions to Consider:
If Jesus were to return today, would you confidently greet Him or hide from Him out of shame? In an inspection of your heart, what areas would be deficient?
Application:
Write down at least three habits or actions you would be ashamed to have read aloud by Jesus. Then honestly bring those areas before God and ask Him to change your heart. As you seek Him through prayer and His Word, allow Him to replace those habits with ones that reflect His character, so you can grow in confidence before Him.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to You today with grateful hearts that are preparing to be inspected. Lord, we thank You that we have someone worthy of preparing for. As we continue to grow closer to You and the return of Jesus draws nearer, we pray that we can align the posture of our hearts with Your will only. We ask that You continue to mold us in the areas we are deficient. Thank You, God, for giving us Your Word to guide us as we imitate Jesus' character. All of this is in Your holy name, Amen.
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