“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” Romans 12:2 NKJV
As Christians is important to be aware of what we say and how we say it. It is apparent when we say something from our flesh, instead of from the spirit. Now, more than ever before, Christians are being persecuted and ridiculed for their faith, but it is important that we never allow our emotions to control our behavior. There are ways to get the point across without being so aggressive and filled with attitude and it has taken me 34 years to figure that out. I am quite sure I was born with sass and attitude. Let us take a moment of silence for my parents. I am only half joking. At any rate, it is true. I have always been a very brash person, but lately I have felt something happening to me, a softness that can only be credited to the Holy Spirit. Through my extremely hard exterior is a softhearted woman who is determined to pursue Christ at all costs. What I mean by that is I will die to myself every single day in order for Christ to live in me. My wants, they are not important. The vision I have for my life is not my center focus. A great deal of the time, though, I become quite emotional when someone hurts me, rather, makes fun of my relationship with Christ, or when I encounter someone who mocks God. The Bible is noticeably clear that believers will be hated by the world, but that is a hard concept to grasp for someone who just wants to fit in. But here is the thing, Christians are not meant to fit in. We are to be set apart from the world, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
What does it mean to be sanctified? As my pastor always says, “I’m glad you asked.” Being sanctified, simply put, means to be washed and set aside for a special purpose. That is what God has done for us all through the blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ. There’s debate about what that purpose is, but the truth is, our only purpose in life is to spread the gospel, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19-20). We have been placed on this earth, God’s literal breath within us, to not only show the love of Christ, but to speak it as well, which brings us back to my opening statement about how we say things matters. “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” comes to mind. That saying is true. I have gone my whole life saying true statements, but with a very harsh tone and it has not done me any favors by way of friendships. My close friends know this about me, and they love me for it. But to be transparent, my prayer lately has been that God would soften me, help me become gentler and kinder, so that when I do speak, I speak with love instead of over-confidence. I never want to approach someone with a message from God and deliver it from my flesh, something I am very guilty of doing. I am telling you; this blog is more about God teaching me than it is about me teaching my readers.
I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to completely consume every part of your flesh and cleanse you from the inside. Not that there is anything wrong with being who God created us to be, but I recognize that parts of me are from living in a fallen world. Pieces of that brokenness has latched onto me altering things in a way that God never meant for me. Because I was of the world for so long (John 17:1-26), I was no longer sanctified. I was headed toward death. And death as we know it, is not the end of things, it is only the beginning of a new life. Without Christ in our hearts there is no life there is only death, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). May we walk with His Spirit in us and show the world that we are not ashamed of the name of Jesus. I ask you now to pray for a renewal of His Spirit within you and that He would guide your steps toward and your words so that He would be glorified in all things.
Lord, it is my prayer that each of Your children would allow Your Spirit to cleanse us and set us apart for Your purpose and Your will, to bring glory to Your Name and to rescue the world from darkness. Help us to display Your fruit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) and spread Your love to the ends of the earth. Not our will, Lord, but Yours, Amen.
Thank you for stopping by!
Amber
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