Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today the Holy Spirit ended my focus on God faithfulness with encouragement that God finishes whatever He begins.

Today scripture, Philippians 1:6 (NLT)…
[6] And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Consider…
No one wants incomplete work on important things. For example who wants…

• Incomplete car repairs
• Incomplete home remodels
• Incomplete medical procedures

…when I say incomplete, I mean work that was began, but left unfinished.

I believe this is especially true with God when it comes to our eternal life. God began with justifying us. To be justified means to be declared righteous and acceptable in God’s sight, not because of a person’s own merits or actions, but through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:22-24 (NLT) explains…
[22] We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. [23] For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. [24] Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

After making us right in His sight, God continued His transformation work by sanctifying us. To be sanctified means to be set apart, made holy, and purified for His special use and purpose, which is an ongoing process of spiritual growth where a person becomes more like Christ.

Ephesians 1:5 (NLT) states…
[5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

And Romans 8:29 (NLT) reiterates…
[29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

God’s sanctification is all about our ongoing transformation into becoming Christ-like children.

That’s why Colossians 3:10-14 (ERV) tells us…
[10] Now you are wearing a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him. [11] In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, circumcised or not. It doesn’t matter if you speak a different language or even if you are a Scythian. It doesn’t matter if you are a slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he is in all of you. [12] God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. [13] Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. [14] Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity.

• Justification is about being made right by Christ
• Sanctification is about being transformed to live right like Christ

Which brings us to the finishing work of God, which is glorification. To be – glorified means to be transformed and made beautiful in a spiritual sense, conforming to the image of Christ, and ultimately to share in God’s glory in a resurrected, immortal body in the new heavens and new earth.

When I think of being glorified, a couple of scriptures come to mind.

First, Romans 8:18-19 (NLT) encourages…
[18] Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. [19] For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

God’s glorification is His children reveal. That reminds me of Matthew 3:16-17 (NLT), which testifies…
[16] After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Visualizing our Heavenly Father’s public affirmation of His Only-begotten Son led me to look for Galatians 3:26-27 (NLT), which declares…
[26] For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. [27] And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

Wow, baptism is about uniting with Christ, and changing out of our sinful nature into His Holy nature.

Ephesians 4:20-24 (NLT) expounds…
[20] But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. [21] Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, [22] throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. [23] Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. [24] Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

…and it’s becoming more like Christ that prompted the Apostle to write in 1 John 3:1-2 (ERV)…
[1] The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. [2] Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him just as he is.

When our big brother Jesus returns to bring us to our Father’s eternity home, we will be glorified like Christ already is.

As I wrote that, the Holy Spirit showed me something else, our glorification can happen while we’re still living on this earth. He used 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) to clarify…
[18] So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

God’s glorification reveal is ongoing from…

• Justification, being made right through Christ
• Sanctification, being made right like Christ

The full Christ transformation is today’s scripture is promising God will finish.

That’s because Romans 8:29-30 (NLT) explains…
[29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

God’s work…

• Began with His ‘image likeness creation’
• Continued with Christ’s ‘rightness justification’, for our sin.
• Is ongoing with the Holy Spirit’s ‘holy and righteous living sanctification’
• And will be finished with God the Father’s eternity ‘glorification revelation ‘

Until then, we must live like God’s glorious pure gold standard, which is Christ Jesus!

Like 1 John 3:3 (ERV) says…
[3] He is pure, and everyone who has this hope in him keeps themselves pure like Christ.

All of God’s children look like Jesus!

But until we finally do, ask others the lyrics of today’s song…

Please, be patient with me
God is not through with me yet
Please, be patient with me
God is not through with me yet

When God gets through with me
When God gets through with me
I shall come forth
I shall come forth
I shall come forth as pure gold!

This concludes our review of God’s faithfulness to finish His Christ-like glorification that began with His ‘image likeness creation’.

Today’s song is…
Please Be Patient With Me

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)