very-self

The mystery of sanctification is ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory.’

Over and over and over again, it is this one point to which Oswald Chambers brings us — sanctification (i.e., the making holy of our lives) is no thing for which we strive and no thing to which we might reach out and grasp; rather, it is the life of Christ Himself which indwells His beloved children – a brilliance in which we are bathed – a living reality in which we partake. To look at it another way: to follow Jesus is not to “live up” to an example, but to “be led” by a holy spirit – the Holy Spirit.

Do you strive? Do you aim after a holy and pure life that might glorify the name of Jesus and yet often find yourself failing – frustrated? The best thing you can do is give up and give it over to God. It is not your work to be done – it is a work that has been done. It is not your life to live – it is a life that has been lived. Surrender yourself. Lay it down and bask in our brilliant heritage.

Do I desire holiness more than any other thing … that my motives, heart, life, everything in me, should be as pure as God wants it to be?

Do we long for holiness? Are the deepest desires of our hearts Godward?

Whenever Paul speaks of sanctification, he speaks of it as an impartation, never as an imitation. Never!

Father, in the Name of Jesus, baptise me with the Holy Ghost and fire until sanctification is made real in my life.

Some of us have never allowed God to make us understand how hopeless we are without Jesus Christ.

Sanctification means that we are taken into a mystical union which language cannot define.

It is one thing to realise in speechless wonder, when the heart is attuned to an impulse of worship, what the claim of God is and another thing to tell God that we want Him to realise His claim in us.What the heart of Jesus wanted most was God’s glory, and sanctification means that that same desire is imparted to us.

Our Lord never pried into His Father’s secrets, neither will the saint.

Reflect On 1 Timothy 3:16, Colossian 1:12-17,27-29
Praise God for the light of His love and life.
Offer Thanks that He has shed His grace upon you.
Confess your self-striving to “live up” to His example.
Ask God that His Spirit might overwhelm you.
Comment: What practices might help posture us to know His presence as reality?

 

Other posts in this #MissionText series:
#MissionText • The Graciousness of Uncertainty • The Making of a Christian • Now Is It Possible— • The Discipline of Divine Guidance • The Fighting Chance • The Message of Invincible Consolation • The Discipline of Loneliness • #MissionText: Considering Copyright • Thy Great Redemption • Talks on the Soul of a Christian • The Highest Good