Saturday, November 27, 2010

Character: A Spirit of Confident Expectation

The character built on Christ will exude confident expectation such as that of Christ in Hebrews 10:12,13:


But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand of God;
From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

Our lives need not be spent quaking in fear or frustration; the Spirit pours out hope that produces when we purpose to receive it!  In the Creation account, we are reminded that God completed His Work and rested on the seventh day.  We are repeatedly admonished to 'keep the Sabbath.'  We must deliberately choose to enter that same rest because we are confident in His goodness and power. 

Jesus, upon the Cross, uttered the words, "It is finished."  Jesus came to earth to die, to provide the pure, permanent sacrifice we can not make.  As God, He completed the task set before Him.  Our life-race is authored by Jesus and when we fix our eyes upon Him, we will see the story He has written for our lives ends with victory as well. 

Our confidence is not in ourselves but in His plans and purposes and power in our lives.  Our confidence is in the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.   The writer of Hebrews unveils a critical principle in this confidence when he tells us that faith in God's presence and goodness is our key to pleasing Him.  He is worthy of our confidence; the perfection of His love casts out every fear or frustration that attempts to infiltrate our minds.  God's Word overflows with promises and prophesies that are ours because of the work of Christ.  Victory is already assured; the trials and struggles of this life--not matter how intense--are temporary.  Be confident in Him moment by moment!

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