Hope Leads to Holiness

“’And I will welcome you,
And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me.’
Says the Lord Almighty.

Therefore, having these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
2 Corinthians 6:18-7:1

Because we hope (assured expectation) in God through Jesus that we are His sons and daughters, our reaction should be purity and holiness. This is not something that we can accomplish with perfection, but we can be becoming more mature, more pure, more holy as we walk with God, turn more and more of our lives over to the Lordship of Christ, as we trust deeper, and as we humble ourselves to receive the grace of God.

Through Bible study, prayer, praise, and relationship, God will transform your mind and turn your heart of stone into a heart of flesh – tender and sweet. God will be faithful to do His work in us if we are faithful to sacrifice our time, our lives, our bodies, our flesh (our old way of receiving love and affirmation through acceptance of others, performance, etc…) to Him. That’s what Galatians 2:20 is really about: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Hope should lead us to pure living. After all, this life is just preparation for all of eternity and we should be preparing ourselves for that glorious time!

Nana Halydier with great grand daughter, Hannah