Scripture
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
~Hebrews 10:14, NASB
Quote
We can, to some extent control our actions but we have no control over our Temperament.
~C.S. Lewis {Mere Christianity}
Suppose you lived in a house with a cellar; a dark, damp an musty cellar. Suppose there are rats in your cellar. You have not actually seen them but you suspect they are in your cellar. You will need several things to get them out, the most important one would be access to your cellar. Someone has to go down there with a light and kill the rats. That sounds simple enough. Our cellar is our subconscious and we have no way to access it. We suspect our motives and we know that our behavior is unchristlike at times. Things happen that we do not suspect and are not prepared to handle and then we respond in the wrong fashion. Then we begin kicking ourselves for behaving badly. There is a huge difference between a religious person and a Christian {follower of Christ}. Religion is spelled “do,” it is all about what we do and who sees us do it. Christianity is spelled ‘done.’ It is about what Jesus has done and is doing in us. A part of the process of sanctification is God making us aware of who we are and we become more concerned about who were are rather than what we do.
I am not a rocket scientist but I am intelligent enough to know that something is wrong in me. There are rats in my cellar and I can’t get to them. I fear God, I love the word and Jesus is more than my Savior; He is my hero, my Warrior King. He is my Rock, Refuge and Redeemer. He is my Strength, my Song and my Salvation but I do not share His temperament, not yet. The good news is that He is going to make me like Him in that regard. He has the key to my cellar and He is the ultimate rat killer. I can’t make myself holy and neither can you. Trust me, you don’t want to hang out with those who do their own sanctification. Their halo will give you a headache. True sanctification is a work of grace from start to finish and only God can do it. People who try to do themselves become hypocritical if not just plain weird.
Rough night with the Covid. I can’t find anything to stop the cough. The headaches make my dysfunctional; can’t read, can’t study and can’t work a puzzle. June is in town picking me up some medicine and I sure hope it helps. This is my eight day and I can’t tell that I am improving. It is what it is: I hope to have better news tomorrow. Johnny Burnett is still critical. We need to pray for he and Betty.