Tag: sanctification

Loving Others from A Pure Heart (Part 2)

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Continuing on from previous post …

… for you have been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God….. therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. I Peter 1:23, 2:1-3

We must rid ourselves of these types of heart thoughts (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander)! And instead crave spiritual milk: Desire Him and His Spirit. Desire to know Him better through His Word. Desire to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds“. Desire to be pure and true like Him. Desire to give Him the honor He deserves… more than we desire honor for ourselves that we don’t deserve. Desire what HE says is best more than what’s easy or what feels best.

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Fighting Discouragement

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As we get older and experience more of life, even the most idealistic personalities among us can be tempted to be truly cynical about people, the fight against sin, the world, the state of the American church, and our country. Truly, evil and injustice are rampant, and deception and darkness covers the earth… BUT we must remind ourselves that the Lord warned us about these things and HE is where we rest our hope.

But how do we overcome the heavy-heartedness and burdened mind that can descend upon us when the darkness seems to be overwhelming, when people shock and disappoint us, or when it seems that there’s really no point in even trying to do and be good — because you’re still not as mature as you think you should be, you don’t see the fruit of your faithfulness, people don’t seem to listen to the Spirit of the Lord in you and instead very quickly listen to worldly ungodly voices, and the gap between what IS and what COULD BE in Christ seems to only widen?

Of course, the answer is to “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” Hebrews 12:3

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Rest Your Hope

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“Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober-minded, rest your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” I Peter 1:13

Where do I rest my hope?

Recently I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to set my hope on life hacks, routines, and daily habits. Being a good steward of our time, money, bodies, and relationships truly does take order and intention every day… but as we get older we realize we can stop thinking that eventually we are going to figure it all out. “If I could just get all my routines down and follow them… if I could just conquer all the problem areas I have and break them all down into daily steps… then I can be healthy, happy, really start living, and start blessing others”. Wrong. Life is always changing. Schedules are always changing. What worked one month won’t work another. We’re never going to figure it all out. And anybody that looks like they’ve got it all going on? They don’t. There are weak areas and they also need constant correcting and re-balancing too. They’re never satisfied if they’re looking to be satisfied in themselves.

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Remain

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Sometimes it’s very apparent when we have to “gird up the thoughts of our mind”. The thoughts have become so plentiful or negative, that we are tripping all over the place or we are truly “stuck” by them all and we are unable to move forward. We can thank the Holy Spirit for those “wake up call” times and for helping us recognize the danger we are in. We can dramatically “gird up” all the worries and cares and bitterness and negativity we have let fester and can have renewed, sharpened focus on Christ & His Word. But girding up the thoughts isn’t only a re-active action step when we’re already in danger. It is a pro-active one to too.

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Pruning

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I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you John 15:1-3

Today is Maundy Thursday in the traditional church calendar. Where we, as Christ’s followers, remember that upper room discourse and Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, eating the Passover meal with them, and praying for them before His great passion suffering.

Today in North Carolina it is a perfectly rainy day to spend time, even if it’s not until tonight in the quiet, to allow the Lord to wash away all the “dirt on the feet” that we have picked up in our walk. Any impurity of thought or body or heart – and allow Him to refresh us anew and remind us that we ARE already declared clean! Thanks to His suffering.

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