I wrote about hope this week over at Do Not Depart.

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just a He is pure. 1 John 3:3

I don’t know about you, but I don’t often feel very pure. I yell at my kids on a nearly daily basis. I want to strangle my husband when he spends more than I deem appropriate. And I kick the dog when he gets in my way. And this just the beginning of everything that makes me feel less than pure. I easily get annoyed with the guy in Sunday school who just seems to enjoy the sound of his own voice and I find myself frustrated when the worship team plays another song I don’t know. These selfish reactions are not the way a pure person would react. Are they?

When I choose to focus on all my imperfections I can get so discouraged, even lose hope that I will ever be like Christ.

But, if I remember to put my eyes back on Jesus, the living and active Word of God, my confidence is restored and I am no longer ashamed of who I am. 

I am loved.

I am a child of God.

Read the full post here: Hope in Jesus is Hope that Purifies