Tag: Sanctification

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A Heat Which Leads to Refreshment

Dear sister,

In the Christian faith the symbol for the Holy Spirit, which is imparted to the believer as a guarantee of their inheritance, is a flame. This is so because the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection was when God poured out His Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem (Acts 2). As the Scriptures tell us; “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit …”.

 Jesus had promised the disciples who followed him that when He returned to His Father in heaven that a helper (paraclete), would come. (John 17) This helper, who would lead them into God’s Truth, is the third person of the Trinity.  He would sanctify God’s people while on earth, so that when, in God’s appointed time, they were received into heaven they would be just like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:12). The sanctifying process by way of God’s Spirit is meant to make us holy in two ways. First, holy as in the sense of setting us apart from the rest of the world. Second, holy as in the sense of purifying us.

Basically, God’s plan in saving us is to change us, and God being God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, has decided that this process is the best means to that end.  Very much like the flame of a fire, our sanctification can involve a lot of heat.  I like to call it a Holy Heat.  As with most heat though, depending on the situation, it can make us extremely uncomfortable.  As I write to you, the country I live in is recovering from a deadly heat wave which swept across much of the central to northeastern United States. Temperature wise, things seemed upside down. The upper region of the country was hotter than the lower region. Of course, it is summer right? Some of this is to be expected at this time of year no matter where you live in the States. I live in Florida which is famously known for its unbearable heat. It’s furnace like intensity can literally wear you out, especially if there is not an air- conditioned space to retreat to. There is no mystery to Florida’s heat.  Those of us who live here know to brace ourselves come mid- April and to hang on until mid -November.

However, there is  mystery involved with Holy Heat. I call it that because it is often unexplainable and also many times we cannot see where the heat is coming from until we are completely in it. It is as though we have walked into a furnace that had no caution signs alerting us to it when we entered in.  Other times we enter into a furnace (situation) knowingly, yet we expect to feel no heat at all.  It seems strange doesn’t it, but we humans are really good at rationalizing. In fact, we have been perfecting it since the Garden of Eden. Nonetheless, God in His infinite wisdom knows everything.  He knows the motives of our hearts, He knows the facts surrounding the time and place we will walk into our personal furnace. He knows what will happen in the furnace and what we will be when we walk out of that furnace.  He knows all the same things for those who are in our lives and how it will affect them.  There are times in our sanctification where we might cry out to God in the midst of a personal furnace, “Why Lord? This heat is too much to bear! I can’t do this!”

The beautiful Truth which permeates all of this is that God is Holy, and His holiness and goodness are intricately intertwined (Romans 8:28-29). It may be difficult to see at the time, but God’s goodness is always, always, yes, always involved with our personal furnaces. His goodness and mercy direct the temperature so that it does not consume us, but it preserves us while melting away the dross (garbage) from our souls. Yet, God does not stop there! Holy Heat is meant to refine us and then revive us. Meaning, the end result is refreshment for our souls. Looking back at some of my personal furnaces I am able to see that it was the only way to refine my soul! And that my dear sister is like a refreshing splash of cool water on my red- hot face.

What does your personal furnace look like? When did you notice the temperature rising? Are you looking for God in the midst of the flames or are you just looking for a way out? What dross is God’s Holy Heat melting away? The temptation is to look away or run away from the source of heat. Sweet sister in Christ, don’t do it! Fix your eyes on Him who is the perfecter of your faith. Like the flaming tongues to the first converts of the Christian church were, look at the flame with its Holy Heat as a gift from above with a purpose. When you are delivered from your furnace pause, and be thankful to God who cares for you and directs His goodness and mercy to follow you all the days of your life (Psalm 23:6). Be refreshed by this truth!

Refined by His Holy Heat and Refreshed by His Good Pleasure,

Susan

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Means of Grace… What’s That?

Dear sister,

“Means of grace.”  If you are like me you think, well, grace is unmerited favor, we deserve God’s wrath but get salvation.  The means of that salvation is through Christ’s death on the cross. Done.  Simple. Let’s go have coffee.  But upon further inquiry, I have learned that the “means of grace” is not the way to salvation but rather the continuing grace we receive as we live in the already/not yet tension of our Christian life, the tension of still fighting our sin while God sees us as sanctified saints.

Put on your thinking caps sisters!  Once you put your faith in Christ alone for your salvation, nothing or no one can snatch you out of God’s hand (John 10:27-30).  Furthermore, Paul writes to the Ephesians in his first chapter about who they are in Christ.  It is a rich and enriching chapter to read as it claims us as adopted in Christ with all the spiritual rights of a first born son, that we are saints, that we are brought near to God, and so many others!  Yet Paul also writes of himself as the chief of all sinners (1 Tim 1:15) and one who does what he doesn’t want to do and doesn’t do what he should do (Rom 7:15-20).  What? You see, we are sealed Saints, yes! But it won’t be fully realized until heaven.  In the meantime, our hearts battle our dying sin nature.  We get discouraged, hopeless, and even bitter over our sin.  This is where the “means of grace” comes in.

God in His wisdom and kindness has given us ways to be encouraged in the faith to fight sin.  He has given us provisions to reassure us on our sanctification voyage.  This “means of grace” or provision can be scripture, fellowship with other believers, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the local church, and sermons, just to name a few. These are what the Lord uses to teach us about Himself and about how to grow spiritually.  They seem so simple and common yet if we neglect these provisions we find ourselves tired, having a lack of hope, and empty of encouragement.

I remember taking a job that made me miss Sunday morning church.  I thought to myself, “No big deal, I have other times to meet with people or read my Bible.”  Can I admit something?  I was dry and lonely.  I wasn’t face to face with people who could encourage me to fight my sin another day, or who could look at my face and just pray for me, or who could call me out on my sin.  I needed that!  I also have attended churches who rarely give the Lord’s Supper.  I didn’t realize how much I needed it until I started going to a church where they give it every week.  I’m faced to keep short account of my sin as well as tasting the elements that remind me of what my sin cost Christ.  His forgiveness refreshes my soul now every week!

Oh sisters, don’t neglect these means of grace.  They are a gift of the Lord to help us on this sanctification journey.  This blog is a means of grace!  We encourage each other by reminding us each month of impactful truths.  Yes, God saves us in His grace, but He also provides encouragement to us as we travel this world filled with brokenness that tries to bring us down.  Now let’s go have coffee and discuss what we have learned.

Your Sister,

Colleen

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Walking in Steadfastness

Steadfast (sted-fast) adjective

Merriam-Webster gives two definitions for the word steadfast: 1. A: firmly fixed in place. B: Not subject to change 2. Firm in belief, determination, or adherence. Wow. Just in the past few months, or even weeks, the Lord has been patiently working this quality into my life. Yet, dear sister, I have been fairly resistant to the construction he’s been doing in my heart and have not cooperated with the Holy Spirit in my sanctification. I have had plenty of opportunities to practice steadfastness and instead have practiced procrastination and changefulness.

Not long ago I was feeling defeated in more than one area of my life and all I wanted to do was give up—I almost did. It seemed that the success or the victory I was searching for was—is—eternally beyond my grasp. But the Lord did a work in me. Through his word and through his people He showed me that what I wanted to do was not what was best for me even though it was definitely the easier route to take. And so begins my lesson in steadfastness, a lesson I foresee taking a lifetime to learn.

This evening I came home and pretty much right as I walked in the door, I snapped at my dad over something that had been frustrating me earlier in the day. Looking back at my hasty remarks and frustrated shouts, I’m sure glad I don’t have to worry about God lashing out on me because he had a bad day. Aren’t you? God is eternally the same. He is not subject to change; he is firmly fixed in one place. The Lord is steadfast. He will always keep his promises; He will always love us. His character is unchanging forever!

If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

What an encouragement this truth should be to us in our daily lives and in our daily walk with the Lord. God has not given up on us so neither should we! Yes, we have stumbled. Yes, we have wasted away time. Yes, we have lacked steadfastness. But it is not too late. We can always try again and if we lean on the strength of the Lord we can do better. We must work with the Lord, not against him. Keep fighting the good fight. When you want to give up, don’t! The Lord is still with you even in your weakest moments. In your ministry, in your learning, in your practicing, in your striving, He is still with you. He will remain steadfast, faithfully walking with you every step of the way. Won’t you walk with Him, dear sister?

Walking with you,

Kayla