Scripture

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV

Quote

God must break through the exterior barriers in our lives in order to sanctify the soul,

~Chuck Swindoll

There are three aspects of our salvation: Regeneration [birth], sanctification [growth/maturity] and glorification [consumation/perfection]. These three aspects are past, present and future. I have been born again; I am being sanctified and I will ultimately be glorified. The first and last aspects are instantaneous but sanctification is a process. God uses many things in this process of shrinking our self and making Christ our all in all. How does God cut through all the layers of pride and deception that surround the inner man or the heart. Pride is a big problem but it is not the only one; fear is also an obstacle. Bitterness and unforgiveness can also hinder our sanctification. I think God uses His word, the fellowship of other believers, time, and experience to help us grow.

Ask the LORD to show you what hinders your spiritual growth. Is it pride or perhaps fear? The most pitiful people in society are those who live in constant fear. I still see [occassionaly] people wearing a mask while inside their own car. Covid drove many of these fearful people into seclusion; they basically stopped living. We all know some who did not recover. I think Swindoll is right. I think time helps. While many are praying to live, some are actually praying to be promoted. Yeah I know, you don’t understand but time will help.

It is hard to make progress in anything: sports, work, business, etc. without integrity.  Until you get completely honest with yourself, you are not likely to make much progress. This is a huge part of our sanctification: God is not only revealing Himself to us, but He is revealing us to us. Back when my brother played golf, he would play with anyone other than preachers. He did make two exceptions: myself and Tim Keenum. His reasoning was: preachers don’t count all their shots and you can never improve if you don’t play strictly by the rules. My brother was right: no integrity spells no growth.

Extra

Young people pray for excitement but we senior adults pray for a dull day at home. It is overcast here at Eastern Gate headquarters; it looks like the sky is about to burst. May the LORD’s will be done.

I got to vist Blake and Scott yesterday. Blake was having a better day, the first one without high fever. Scott has been with him all week because Dana has also been sick. Blakes oxygen level is better and if the fever stays down, they may begin talking about him going home. I was in horrible traffic going but the most amazing thing happened coming home, I never had to hit my brakes. It was 4:pm and I came down the I-565 Speedway without stopping.

Not COLS today I don’t think. PTL! If this rain holds off, I may side dress my corn. Have a good day and thanks for reading the blog.