LEARNING DAILY

 

1 Peter 1:15, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

 

If you have been reading the blog for very long, you might have noticed references to Jesus being the narrow gate to heaven and then the need to stay on the narrow way to God’s kingdom and eternal life.  You might also have wondered about the difficulty of staying on the narrow way.  From the time a person enters through the narrow gate or accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, a process of purification begins called sanctification.  Sanctification can be defined as being set apart for holy use.  It is a process and it does take time – a lifetime.  Look back over the time since you entered the narrow gate and you should see changes in the way you live your life.  I am so thankful for God’s patience with me.  How about you?

 

Who are you when no one else is around to see what you are doing?  Who are you when faced with temptation?  Do you realize that when you refuse to give in to temptation you are being sanctified and honoring God?  When you get into compromising situations or when you are facing difficult decisions, the Holy Spirit will let you know that you need to walk away.  There is that quite voice (some would say that is your conscience speaking to you!) speaking a warning to you to walk away, to run, that you better not go there, better not do that. That is sanctification.  You might fail, perhaps fail many times.  When you do, God’s grace helps you get back on track, back on the narrow way. 

 

The ultimate goal is to be like Jesus, to grow in holiness.  I cannot be holy on my own initiative; I must place my trust in the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Recently, I have mentioned Paul’s problems of doing what he did not want to (Romans 7).  It seems the harder I try to become like Jesus the more I mess things up.  The answer is allowing the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from the inside.  As the desire to no longer act or speak a certain way is removed from me the easier it becomes to stop.  I find the more time I spend reading and studying the Bible, the more time I spend in prayer the Holy Spirit is able to sanctify me.  The Word of God cleanses and purifies and takes away my desire for the things found in the world.

 

This process of sanctification takes a lifetime; it will not be accomplished until you are taken to heaven.  Resist temptation and sin.  Cooperate with the Holy Spirit working within you to cleanse and purify you by not putting yourself in a position to fail.  Let me close with Romans 12:2 from the New Living Translation.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.”

 

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