According To The Will of God

Grace to you and peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3 ESV

Paul’s prayer draws our attention to the grace and peace that come from God. Here we pause to consider. It will not come from the appetites in the world, for Paul calls this a ‘present evil age’. It was a present evil age when Paul wrote this letter, and it will remain a ‘present evil age’ until Jesus returns. In this world you will have trouble, but we are not of this world, nor do we fashion ourselves by its system. While we live out our earthly time, we are daily reminded of this reality. 

In the now and not yet, Paul calls for our attention to be directed to God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who holds the grace and peace needed. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, ‘where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. Simply meaning, sin is not stronger than the enabling power of God working to keep you from falling into whatever temptation is set before you. But it is by faith that we access this grace and stand in it, as Romans 5 says. The writer of Hebrews tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. 

God is our ‘Boethos’. The one who responds to our cry for Help. 

Our cry must come first, then God responds to it. We must see our need for God. 

If I trust in the arm of flesh, there will be no supernatural power coming to me. These are truths I must continually hold before me. I am not the Saviour. There is no other name given under heaven where mankind is saved - out of, from, this present evil age. 

As our Father, he is moved with compassion. Jesus is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. Grace and peace are to the one who comes to the one who is filled with the power and might to help, and ‘our Father’ as the one who is moved with great love and compassion to save.

We find both the nature and character of God in the very word Father. Ephesians tells us we have been chosen by Him to be adopted into His Family. The James T. Hudson Translation of Ephesians 3 of Paul’s prayer in verses 14-15 reads, ‘ I bow my knees to the Father from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name and nature.’ 

We see in our verse from Galatians 1 Paul’s immersion into the thankfulness of this place and provision we have been given through Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD. We need to hold on to the reality of what God's will is for our lives. 

While we live in this world, we are called to endure and remain steadfast in our commitment to Christ. We live overcoming lives through what Christ has provided, deliverance from the power and dominion of sin, with all the grace, mercy and peace we need daily. 

This is the will of our God and Father, which is why Paul proclaims, to Him be the glory forever and ever. 

Amen. 

Manifest His Name

I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world.

John 17:6 ESV 

We must remember the two-fold purpose of Jesus.  First, to reveal the true nature of the Father (John 14:9; Hebrews 1:3; 1 John 1:2), and then to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). These two realities are always working.

Jesus came to make known to the world the Father,  both His name and His nature. When people ‘know’ me, Jeanne McGrew, and speak my name, they are declaring the essence of who I am, both personality and character. They understand what I believe and how I live.   The more intimate the relationship, the more they would know about Jeanne McGrew as a whole.  

When Jesus declared, 

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  John 17:26…

We then understood that knowing the name of God enables us to abide in God's love.  Not only do we find in John 17:3 that the entrance to eternal life is through the knowledge of God and His son Jesus Christ, but we also now learn that knowing His name enables His love.  

Jesus’ union with the Father continually manifested His name and nature.  Jesus told Philip, He who has seen me has seen the Father, John 14:9.  Every word, every action, was a manifestation of the Father.  Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing.  He only said what He heard the Father say.  This union, driven by the love, was the impacting power of His ministry. 

God is love, and God is good. God is kind.  God is rich in mercy.  God is faithful.  God is a consuming fire.  He is jealous. God is long-suffering.  God is willing.  God is able.  Every aspect of the name and nature of God must be experienced and learned. 

In our pursuit to see Jesus, we come to understand that it is as we behold Him that we are transformed into His image.  It’s easy for us to tell where growth and knowledge are required. It’s the areas we don’t look like Him.   By studying the word and seeing who the Father is and how Jesus portrayed Him, we learn how to be as He is in this world.  

It is as we know the name, we are able to make it known.

See and Believe

For this is the will of my father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:40

This is the will of God, that we should look upon the Son and believe in Him, resulting in eternal life.  Eternal life is not only the quantity of life but the quality of life, beginning with beholding and believing.  Jesus came so that we would have a quality of life filled with every spiritual blessing found in the heavenlies. It is as we see Jesus that we enter into this quality of life, John 14:19, and are enabled to freely give what we have freely received.  

As Jesus was the expression of His Father, we become as He is in this process of beholding. Jesus proclaimed, ‘I and the Father are one.’  ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father.’ Whoever sees me, sees Him who sent me.’   Jesus’ purpose was to manifest the Father.  Our purpose now is to manifest Jesus. 

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers states the following on this passage - 

    “And this is the will of him that sent me.—Read, For this is the will of My Father. (See John 6:39.) The common text has inserted the opening words of these verses. There can be no doubt that the change indicated gives the original           reading, and it will be seen that the relation of “Father” and “Son” is thus preserved.

    Every one which seeth the Son.—We pass here to the individuals who compose the great mass of humanity. It is the divine will that no one should be excluded, but that he may have eternal life (comp. John 3:15; John 5:24): this is the Father’s gift in the person of the Son. The exercise of the mental power to see Him, the reception of Him and trust upon Him: this is man’s acceptance of God’s gift. The word rendered “seeth” means to look upon, to contemplate, and is     the first step towards a true faith.”

From Helps Word Studies the Greek word seeth is defined ~ 

    “2334 theōréō (from 2300 /theáomai, "to gaze, contemplate") – gaze on for the purpose of analyzing(discriminating).

    2334 (theōréō) is the root of the English term "theatre," i.e., where people concentrate on the meaning of an action (performance).”

To ‘see’ Jesus there must be a ‘contemplative gazing’ of scripture, a meditation of the words until there is wisdom and understanding. Much like Joshua 1:8, ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all according to all that is written in it.  THEN you shall make your way prosperous and THEN you shall have good success. 

It is the transformation process of renewing our minds that enables us to ‘see’ Him as He is and become like Him. We saw that transformation comes from beholding, and we understand that transformation is always done by the power of the Holy Spirit as we yield to His workings.  The Holy Spirit works within us, bringing us into the revelation (wisdom and understanding) of the Father and of His Son.  

This knowledge is eternal life, John 17:3, and eternal life begins for the one who looks upon Jesus and believes in Him. 

Beholding the Lamb

The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  

John 1:29 ESV 

How we see Jesus is important.  The ‘he’ speaking  in our verse is John the Baptist, the verse goes on to say: 

“‘This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel.’”  “And John bore witness……”

Even as a natural relative, John still had to have Jesus revealed to him as the Messiah.  It was at the baptism of Jesus that John saw what all of Israel watched and waited for; the Spirit descending and resting upon him, and to this, John bore witness.  

Beholding Jesus as the Lamb of God takes us into a greater understanding of our redemption and salvation.  Israel looked and waited for their Messiah.  The one who would save and deliver them from their enemies.  They understood the sacrificial lamb offering atoned for their sins.  

To have Jesus proclaimed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world was a revelation that had to be received and believed in order to benefit.  To understand the condition and nature of sin is to realise the need for a Saviour.  There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.   Salvation is in none other.  Acts 4:12.  

We see in that when Jesus appeared, he was not exactly what they are expecting. Isn’t this our dynamic today as believers?  There are things we have yet to see and learn about Jesus as we meet our daily experiences.  Life doesn’t always live up to our expectations, and we could stumble.  Like John the Baptist in Matthew 11:3, questioning, “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?”  This question from the one who bore witness to the Spirit descending and the Father affirming should not amaze us.  We face the same doubts when our experiences challenge our beliefs. Losing our awareness of the only one who can truly save us, is a step towards another for salvation. 

Beholding the Lamb as the one given by God to take away sin, gives us the daily assurance that we have been made right in the sight of God.   We are now able to come before Him without shame, guilt, or condemnation. Jesus became sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Not by works that we have done, Titus 3:5, but only by the gift of His son. 

Who among us does not need to be continually reminded of these truths; thus, we must, Behold the Lamb of God. 

Beholding

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:18

In our need and desire to see Jesus, beholding is required.  The interlinear Greek shows the word ‘beholding’ as “beholding in a mirror”.  

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines the word katoptrízō—a compound of kata and a derivative of optanomai—as “to mirror oneself; to see reflected (figuratively),” that is, to behold as in a glass.

The Topical Lexicon states:

“The verb denotes the action of looking into, and thereby reflecting, a mirror. The idea combines receptive contemplation and responsive radiation. The spectator does not merely gaze; the spectator becomes a living mirror, receiving and giving back the glory viewed. Thus, it captures both beholding and displaying.”

Paul’s exhortation in this passage reminds us of the veil Moses wore (Exodus 34), which is now removed when one turns to the Lord, as explained in 2 Corinthians 3:14–16.

It is beholding that first transforms us and then causes us to reflect His glory.

As we behold Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, we begin to enter into all that His redemption provides. This is foreshadowed with the bronze serpent lifted on a pole, through which healing came to the children of Israel.

By beholding Jesus in the Gospels, we see the very nature and character of God that we are called to put on. Becoming as He is in this world is Christ revealed in and through us—the hope of glory.

Beholding the One seated at the right hand of the Father enables us to administer His Kingdom from heaven to earth, both in prayer and in active service.

Beholding Him as the One whose eyes are like flames of fire allows the purging of all chaff. His feet refined by fire cause us to pause and examine our ways. The sword that proceeds from His mouth challenges us to guard our words and equips us to speak only His. His white hair speaks of eternity—He reigns forever and ever.

We desire to see and reveal Him, but transformation begins with…beholding

We would see Jesus

…“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

JOHN 12:21 ESV

Peter tells us that we are to hold an answer for everyone who asks about our hope (1 Peter 3:15). We live with this responsibility, knowing we must be ready to respond to such a request, as seen in today’s Scripture.

This verse suggests two foundational truths: first, every person needs to see Jesus; and second, since Jesus is no longer physically present on earth, we now bear the responsibility of reflecting Him faithfully to others.

These Greeks approached Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples, and asked to see Jesus. I find it particularly interesting that Philip went to Andrew, and together they went to tell Jesus. We aren’t told much more about this interaction, but we can learn that, as disciples, we have a responsibility to lead others to Jesus, and to do so, we must see Him rightly. 

From Scripture, we are continually reminded to look unto Jesus. Knowing that Jesus was first the Word and then the Word made flesh, we understand that we now “see” Him primarily through the words He spoke and the words written about Him.  We behold Him as we read Holy Scripture. We become what we behold. 

This makes Paul’s prayer from Ephesians 1 vital for us each day in our ongoing desire to see Jesus.  We ‘see’ through the eyes of revelation, birthed by His Spirit according to Ephesians 1:17, ‘The Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him’.  It is first and foremost a spiritual working in the heart of man to illuminate the soul.  

Jesus said in Matthew 6:22, ‘the eye is the lamp of the body, if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive] your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts].’ Amplified Translation. 

To consider Him in, and through every moment, is to accept that Jesus is everything we have need of at all times.  Jesus has been made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.  To abide with Him is to experience the life He is within His Kingdom. We experience His righteousness, peace, and joy through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

John the Baptist announced, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.  Isaiah prophesied, “Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights.”  We are to look upon and consider the One who endured the cross, became sin, defeated death, rose again, and is crowned and seated as Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.  

The Jesus we behold must become the Jesus others see—living and working through our lives—so that our words carry power and demonstration, drawing others into His family and fellowship within His Kingdom.

It is Written of Me

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

Hebrews 10:5-7 ESV

I’ve thought much about purpose over the past months and as we move into a New Year, I continue to be mindful of pressing into purpose. The Apostle Paul purposed to leave behind all things that could hinder pursuit of his upward call in Christ and so, we too, journey into this New Year with a press in our pursuit of His purposes. 

We see from our passage today the understanding we all must hold, found in the words of Jesus Christ.  Andrew Murray writes there are two necessary, foundational, principles found in The Word that we must embrace: ‘a body you have prepared for me’ and ‘I have come to do your will O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ 

Every day our lives hold purpose, and as long as we are drawing breathe there is opportunity to achieve it. As we live by the understanding that we have been bought with a price, and so are no longer our own, we can begin to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. (1 Cor. 6:19; Rms.12:1.)  Without this understanding we struggle to embrace the humility necessary to submit our will.  Yet it was Jesus’ willingness to present his body that provided us sanctification, (Hebrews 10:10).

We should all live with this same kind of press unto purpose.  Not our own spiritual ‘to do’ lists but those that we have discovered through the same process Jesus has shown us. When he declared “Behold I have come to do your will O God,” he found daily opportunity to be tempted into his own way and will.  His submission, in all ways, was in alignment with what had been written in the scroll of the book. This makes me mindful of the days that have been written for us, (Psalm 139:16). 

Jesus’ own words following the presentation of His body to submit to the will of our Father was His way of life.  His separation to this was seen in all of his acts of obedience.  We learn through his prayer, taught to his disciples, the preeminence of pursuing His will. We intimately see his agony of soul in the garden as he wrestles with his will.  

As we begin 2026 I realize again how important ‘presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), becomes, not only for the sake of others but the ordained good works of our life hanging on the willingness of our yielded obedience.  In the yielding to His purpose, we find His blessings.  

May it be said by all of us ~ You have given me a body to offer, look, I have come to do your will o God.  

Perfected Love

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us …’

1 John 3:16

We all understand the adage, "you can’t give what you don’t have.”  At times in our lives, I'm sure we have all struggled to know and believe the love God has for us. Our experiences in life are meant to lead us to the knowledge of His love, and to the acknowledgment of the work He has done making us accepted in the beloved. 

We know many things that we don’t believe.  Believing is generally about accepting something as true or real.  We can only learn and believe love by the actions of others.  

John's conclusion of our verse today reads, ’and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers…’  This isn’t intended to be gender-specific, but rather the concept of loving those within the family of God.  For God so loved the world….and we are commanded to love even as He has loved us. That goes beyond our natural family and environment.

When we hold to the world's culture, we are taught and encouraged to embrace the god of self.  The love we are told to know and learn is a self-sacrificing love that involves time, money, and effort.  This love we are learning is not self-seeking.  

 Greed is the essence of idolatry.  Excess of self is always seen through greed, if we accept the definition of greed as an intense, selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food. It is in these natural appetites that we face the question of how laying down our lives affects us.     

We commonly think that hate is the opposite of love, but in reality, it is fear.  Hatred is something we wrap in an effort to protect ourselves.  Hatred is secondary to the primary response of fear.  It is only, I say again, it is only the love of God that has the ability to dispel fear and its torment.  

The Apostle John went on to write in His first epistle, 1 John 4:16,

We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. 17: By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because a he is so also are we in this world. 18: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts our fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. He who fears has not been perfected* in love.

Perfected from Helps Word Study is teleios; to complete, i.e. (literally) accomplish, or (figuratively) consummate (in character) -- consecrate, finish, fulfil, make) perfect. Cognate: 5048 teleióō – to consummate, reaching the end-stage, i.e., working through the entire process (stages) to reach the final phase (conclusion). [This root (tel-) means "reaching the end (aim)." It is well-illustrated with the old pirate's telescope, unfolding (extending out) one stage at a time to function at full-strength (capacity effectiveness).]

It is the freedom from fear that eliminates our need to consider ourselves before obeying God.  

Concluding our scripture today, John writes a strong measurement followed by instruction in 1 John 3:17.

 If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?  Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.  

John went on to write in 1 John 4:19, ‘we shall know we are of the truth and our hearts are reassured before him,’ because we have the world's good and see the need and give into it with open heart and open hands, even as we are aware of what it will cost us.  

This is a perfected love.  In this perfection, especially in this season, let us endeavour to be someone's great experience of God's love. 

God is Love

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

1 John 4:8

We all recognize, especially in this season of Christmas giving, John 3:16 ~ 

“For God so loved that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

For so many, Christmas can be a very lonely time. Being separated from family and having no real relationships prompts people to isolate, even though isolation simply highlights aloneness.  The promise of the Father was to set the lonely in families, Ps . 68:6.  

God is first and foremost a Father who has adopted many sons and daughters.  While they all do not share the blood of common natural parents, they do share in something far greater when accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 

God Almighty is the one who defines Fatherhood.  All creation takes its name and nature from Him as a Father.  Earthly man may have failed in their duty to represent Him faithfully, yet He remains faithful to His name and nature.  

God is love, and it is the intensity of His love that desires for all mankind to come into a saving knowledge of the gift He has given.  

Christmas gives us a wonderful season to let His light shine through us in ways that we may have neglected throughout the year.  The act of giving is highlighted in many ministries and community outreaches.  We see the need of man growing greater with each passing day. As believers, we know Jesus is the answer to man's heart condition, and our willingness to give of ourselves to the lives of others meets the natural needs that open hearts.

As we walk through this month, celebrating the wonders of our Father and all that Family has given to us, let us be mindful of all around us who may not be experiencing these things and be Jesus to them. 

“……For as He is so are we in this world…” 1 John 4:17

Come, Let Us Adore Him

Jesus said I am the Bread of life.  He who comes to me will not hunger and he who believes in me will never thirst.”  

John 6:35 NASB

As we move into the Christmas season, our focus can be shifted from the original intent of our celebration.  We are tempted by much busyness, and the Christmas season offers many opportunities to increase it. Demands of others add to what we already demand of ourselves, creating the stress that makes the season not quite so enjoyable.  

We have this scripture today reminding us that Jesus is the Bread of Life.  As Christians, we celebrate Christmas with the understanding that the only things that give us the life we crave are found in Jesus. He alone satisfies. It’s not the stuff of this world that perishes with its use.  While we love giving, because it is more blessed to give than to receive, and have been blessed to be a blessing, we want to make sure that what we are giving is with much faith, hope, and love to those we are connected to.  We are always mindful that it is the eternal qualities that remain. 

The promise, to never hunger, is to the one who first comes to Jesus.  The promise to never thirst requires believing in Him and, by extension, His words.  John 6:36 Jesus went on to say, “But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe me.”  Isn’t that the condition that afflicts many?  We see, we hear, but choose not to believe.  

Belief is the condition in which one generally accepts something as true or real.  Trust comes from experience, where we build confidence in the reliability, integrity, and ability of someone or something.  

Believing and trusting can never develop in our lives without responding to the invitation “come”.  Isaiah chapter 55 offered the same invitation: "Come."  To the one who was hungry and thirsty, Isaiah said, Come and buy, yet without money.  Meaning that coming still costs us something, just not money. 

The invite is always there, and the choice remains: will I pay the price to attend?

Demas Deserts

“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.”

2 Timothy 4:10

We find that Demas is mentioned three times in the New Testament, with commentaries agreeing that all three most likely refer to the same man.  Beyond Timothy, we find Demas as a travelling companion with Paul in ministry, noted in Col. 4:14, and the letter to Philemon notes Demas as a fellow worker.  

In Timothy, Paul indicates a past tense working of Demas’ love, i.e., ‘having loved’ as the explanation for his desertion.  While the word is commonly used to describe the love God has, we learn that Demas has first and foremost deserted this love for God, before he has deserted Paul.  

From Helps Word Studies in the Discovery Bible Software, we find the word deserted defined as ~ 1459 egkataleípō (from 1722/en, "in"; 2596/katá, "down"; and 3007/leípō, "to leave") – properly, left in a condition of lack ("without"); hence, to feel forsaken (helpless), like when left in dire circumstances. Jesus uses 1459/egkataleípō ("left forsaken") in His cry from the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Paul’s letter to Timothy tells us why Demas has deserted him;   Demas preferred ‘the world and it’s ways above the way Paul taught in Jesus.  Guarding our hearts from a love and preference for anything other than our Father's will is a daily task.  

 ~ 

From Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2, p. 382). T. Nelson,~ 

“Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. It was an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself.”

Our affections are tempted. The Apostle James wrote in his letter that it is the desires of our flesh that open the door for our temptations, James 1:14.  Temptations are a good system check on what we are holding in our hearts and minds   Living in the world, surrounded and inundated with worldly thoughts and ways, we must choose to overcome by drawing near to God and resisting the devil.  

Desertion cannot occur without first leaving our first love.  The book of Revelation warns the church about their lukewarm love.  Repentance was required.  Our first commandment is to love God with all of our being: spirit, soul, mind, and strength.  Every part of man’s makeup is to be in love with our Father and His Son.  Jesus said If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  He reinforced this command to love by saying, ‘Love even as I have loved you.’ 

Demas preferred the world, in contrast to Moses’ choice for reproaches of Christ over the treasures of Egypt, Hebrews 11: 24-27.  Like Moses, we must make choices to leave one to embrace the other.  Jesus said, when it came to treasures of one's heart, you love one and hate the other…preference.  Mt. 6:19-24.

So, Demas ,‘having loved this present world,’ begs us to ask what it was he was so attracted to in this world that it cost his relationship with Paul?  We often believe the lie that we can separate ourselves from our brothers and sisters in the Lord and carry on in our love for God, but that’s a lie.  It’s the thing about deception; you can’t see it.  You think you are right with God, but in reality, there is no right with God without doing right with people.  You don’t forsake divine relationships without first forsaking the supreme one. 

Staying united with our Father in His love holds us tightly to a love for our brethren and assures us that we will not depart from either one.  

Futile Thinking

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”

Ephesians 4:17 ESV 

Today’s verse parallels Romans 1:18-24, with emphasis on verse 21, which reads; 

“For although they knew God they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

The Helps Word Studies from the Dictionary Bible gives us good insight into the condition and meaning of futile ~ 

Cognate: 3153 mataiótēs (a noun) – aimlessness because lacking purpose or any meaningful end; nonsense because transitory.    See 3152 (mátaios).

    3152 mátaios (an adjective, derived from 3155/mátēn, "without purpose or ground") – properly, aimless (vain), without purpose; (figuratively) without profit or basis – hence fleeting (transitory), ineffectual ("groundless").

    3152/mataios ("aimless") emphasizes the "absence of purpose or failure to attain any true purpose" (Moulton and Milligan).  3152 (mataios) refers to what is "vain, unreal, ineffectual, unproductive" (Souter).

1. 3152/mataios ("futile because aimless") is the opposite of what is intelligent.  It describes someone who builds their house on sand – "chasing the wind" ("pursuing one's own shadow") (so Gregory of Nyssa).  3152 (mataios) is used in the LXX to translate "vanity" in Ecclesiastes (Heb hebel) – i.e. what is empty (amounts to "zero") because it is not fruitful.

Reading in context with these two portions of scripture, Ephesians 4:17-32 and Romans 1:18-24, we learn about the lies that enter through the lusts one carries.  Hardness of heart ultimately produces impurities that lead to a wrong worship of our own vanities, instead of a worship of our Creator. What we worship, we serve.  What we serve, we worship. 

Ephesians describes it as the old self, which belongs to our former life (before Jesus), and describes it as corrupt through deceitful desires. 

The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans, emphasizing that honouring God and giving Him thanks keeps one free from deception. Ephesians tells us we have been taught and learned Christ, as the truth is in Jesus, and must be renewed in the ‘spirit of our mind’.  There is a mindset we are to hold, ‘let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,’ Phil 2:5. 

The only one that has the power to change my mind is the Holy Spirit, illuminating the word. This always begins with a choice.  I must believe that the word is true and hold a desire to be taught the truth.  Falsehood, from Ephesians 4:25-32, begins a litany of the fruit that comes from futile thinking.  

You can then understand the verses from 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ~ 

“If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case, the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

Any place of unbelief has the potential to lead us away from God, but a love for the truth will keep us in peace, holding a sound mind, Hebrews 3:12; Isaiah  26:3; 2 Timothy 1:7.

In a day where culture holds a value for 'every man doing right in his own eyes’, how much greater is the need for His church to be so rooted and grounded in His truth that they are able to boldly live and proclaim truth in the midst of hostilities.

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”

Identification

Galatians 2:20 KJV 

 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

This important biblical concept is evident throughout much of the Apostle Paul’s writings.  At the heart of identification is the believer's understanding that they have been “grafted into” the work that Jesus accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection. The believer at the new birth becomes positioned ‘in Christ’, and Christ is ‘in the believer’.

Without an understanding of this new identity in Christ, the believer is weak in their ability to live the abundant life Jesus has provided.  The knowledge that ‘we are made acceptable ‘in Christ’ is our foundation.  Ephesians chapter one begins our understanding of the ‘In Him’ realities and our need to identify with them. In Christ we become ‘as he is’ in this world, 1 John 4:17.

The concept of ‘identification with Jesus Christ’ refers to the believer’s spiritual union with Christ; sharing in His death, burial, resurrection, and new life. It means that what happened to Jesus in His redemptive work is counted by God as having happened to the believer as well.

Mankind, created in the image of God, [Gen. 1:26-27, John 4:24] is a three-part being: spirit, soul, and body, 1 Thess. 5:23; 3 John 2.  The beginning of identification occurs when we recognize our need for God and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Jesus explained the need for a ‘born again’ experience to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John, chapter 3:1-14.  

At the heart of identification is union with Christ — the believer is “in Christ,” and Christ is “in the believer.”  

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh….Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come, and all this is from God……’  2 Cor. 5:16-18

Today’s verse, Galatians 2:20, highlights our spiritual reality.  ‘I have been crucified with Christ.’  It is one of the mysteries the bible holds.  Physically, we know we have not been crucified with Christ. This is the condition of our inner man, the spirit of man who died to be born again. John 3:5-7.  We don’t need to fully understand, but we must believe and agree with the one who has decreed this new place we are to live from.  

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized in his death.  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.’  

Romans 6:3-4

The identification with Christ's death and burial declares His victory over the power of sin and death.  His victory becomes ours in Christ. Sin no longer has dominion over us. 

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again death no longer has dominion over him. ……So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passion…present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you…’

Romans 6: 8-14

Sanctification

For by a single offering, He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” 

Hebrews 10:14 ESV 

Sanctification is defined in Discovery Bible Helps Word Study as ~ 

Cognate: 37 hagiázō (from 40/hágios, "holy") – to regard as special (sacred), i.e. as holy ("set apart"); sanctify.  See 40 (hágios).  

[37 (hagiazō) means "to make holy, consecrate, sanctify; to dedicate, separate" (Abbott-Smith).]

1. 37/hagiazō ("sanctify") is to render or regard as holy, because something has been made different.  This preeminently refers to the Lord transforming believers so they are unlike sin and like Himself.

Our Scripture today shows the process of Sanctification.  Again, we see the tension in the phrase ‘perfected for all time’ and ‘those who are being’.  ‘Perfected’ speaks to what His single offering accomplished, and ‘are being’ speaks to the ‘now' process, worked out in our daily lives through the activity of the Holy Spirit.

• 1 Corinthians 6:11 "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

• 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

While we are admonished to be holy, sanctification is best understood as being "set apart because we have been made different.  Our English Word ‘holy’ is defined as something, someone, dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. You can see it emphasizing being set apart rather than merely clean. Clean is the result, not the process.

The Helps Word Study further defines hagiazo ~ 

God sanctifies ("makes holy, 37/hagiázō) us through faith (4102/pístis, "His inworked persuasion").  Accordingly, faith (4102/pístis) and 37 (hagiázō) are directly connected.

Ac 26:18: "To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (37/hagiázō, Gk perfect tense) by faith (4102/pístis) in (1519/eis) Me" (NASB).

In viewing sanctification as separation, we learn from Col. 1:13 that we have been (at the moment of acknowledging Romans 10:9-10) separated from the Kingdom of darkness and separated to the Kingdom of Light.  This marks the beginning of the sanctification and the ongoing daily application of ‘those who are being sanctified’  

2 Tim 2:21,22: ~ 21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified (37/hagiázō), useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.  22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (NASB).

From God’s perspective, the believer has been sanctified in Christ.  Outside of Christ we are a tainted vessel, requiring sanctification. Holiness recognizes something that has been dedicated to God.  This is why the Apostle Paul wrote  ~

• Romans 6:19 "I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”

• Romans 12:1 to “present your body to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable.  This is your spiritual worship”.

• 1 Thess 4:3, 7 ~ "For this is the will of God, your sanctification… For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification”.

Without believing that these biblical truths apply to our growth and development as believers, we cannot succeed in conforming to Christ.  The Father has fulfilled his purpose and desire through Jesus’ obedience for every individual who will receive the work that He has done. 

It is in the believing, receiving, and obeying that we find the greatest fulfillment as Christians.  If our bodies are to be separated for God's purpose, they should not be used for things that defile them. A sanctified vessel is a pure vessel.  

In John 17:17-19, Jesus prays for his disciples to be sanctified in truth and declares his sanctification so that we too might be sanctified. He was separated from and separated to, and we see his life displayed in the fruit of that separation.  

 "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." Romans 6:22

Justification

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”  Romans 5:18

Awareness of our need for Justification begins with accepting that we owed a debt we could not pay.  We stood guilty before God in a sinful nature, deserving of punishment and eternal separation.  BUT God, in his great love and mercy, made a way for sins to be paid, declaring man justified and made right before Him. 

“… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

Romans 3:23-25

Easton’s Bible Dictionary says: 

Justification is not the forgiveness of a man without righteousness, but a declaration that he possesses a righteousness which perfectly and forever satisfies the law, namely, Christ’s righteousness….. 
 

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   2 Cor. 5:21, ESV

….“Justification is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ,…..justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied in respect of the justified”.

“..but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification."  Romans 4:24-25, Berean Standard Bible

Justification from Discovery Bible Helps Word Studyshows the following meaning ~ 

Cognate: 1344 dikaióō (from dikē, "right, judicial-approval") – properly, approved, especially in the legal, authoritative sense; to show what is right, i.e. conformed to the proper standard ("upright").

The believer is "made righteous/justified" (1344/dikaióō) by the Lord – cleared of all divine charges (punishment) related to their sins. 

The easiest way to remember what justification is the way I learned this when I was first saved. Justified:‘just as if I’d never sinned’.  It is what the gospel presents and what Jesus has given us at our salvation. Justification makes us acceptable before God, because we have been cleansed by His blood and given His righteousness. 

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Romans 5:9, ESV

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21, ESV

Hard to reason, but simple to believe, and believe we must in order to walk in the benefits this brings. Our faith is the one required condition for us to apprehend His righteousness.   Freedom from sin consciousness, guilt, shame, and condemnation are done in this place of ‘just as is I’d never sinned,” forgiven, and accepted before God our Father.   Not because of what we have done, but only in Christ and by His blood.  

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   Romans 5:1 

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.  23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Romans 3:22-26, NLT

Redemption

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,..”

Ephesians 1:7 

“…in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Col 1:14

Redemption Defined ~ 

 “The action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.”Oxford Online Dictionary 

Helps Word Study from the Discovery Bible 

629 apolýtrōsis(from 575/apó, "from" and 3084 lytróō, "redeem") – properly, redemption – literally, "buy back from," i.e., re-purchase (winning back) what was previously forfeited (lost).

629/apolytrōsis ("redemption, re-purchase") emphasizes the distance ("safety-margin") between the rescued person and what previously enslaved them.  For believers, the prefix (575/apó) looks back to God's effective work of grace which purchased them from the debt of sin, and bringing them to their new status of being in Christ.

In a biblical context, redemption describes the process by which individuals are freed from the bondage of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  

Salvation is entirely dependent on one's ability to believe in the redemption that has been provided through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This is why Romans 10:9-10 delineates the belief required.  

To redeem someone or something literally means to buy back. It means a price has been paid, the penalty is fulfilled, and the guilt is removed — but, removed from what? This becomes the question that we must answer.  And to answer that, we must consider the beginning of mankind. 

In the beginning, we have God’s creation of man.  Made from the dust of the ground (physical flesh), God breathes into him His own breath of life (spirit), and man becomes a living (soul). Alive unto God, Adam and Eve now live in perfect harmony with God in this perfect environment, the Garden of Eden.    

Through one man's disobedience, we find in Romans chapter five, a full explanation of how sin enters and reigns in the heart of every individual, meaning all require redemption.  The book of Hebrews tells us in 10:5 that Jesus had a body prepared for Him to offer up as a sacrifice. His body and His blood became the price required to redeem man back to God. 

From the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the garden, as described in Genesis 3, to the arrival of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, and his ultimate death, burial, and resurrection, we begin to understand the need and story of redemption.

The life and blood of Jesus, poured out for the remission of mankind’s sin, becomes the acceptable price before God to redeem and restore mankind. 

In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, Ephesians 1:7 ESV

Once redemption was made, our belief is required for restoration. This restoration, as stated in Romans 10:9-10, brings salvation to everyone who calls upon that name. 

 For there is no other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved, 
Acts 4:12. ESV

In summary, redemption is the act of freeing individuals from sin, while salvation is the assurance of eternal life and a restored relationship with God.

Salvation

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12 ESV 

The Gospel is about what God has given to us through His son, Jesus Christ. The gospel is a message of salvation.  It is both a message to be believed and a person to be welcomed.

Throughout the scriptures, we are instructed in salvation, redemption, justification, and sanctification.  Big words that we must understand.  They provide our foundation as believers.  We could call them pillars of faith, and as such, I want to explore each of these with you over the next few weeks. 

These truths are activated and released the moment we believe…..

“…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Romans 10:9-10 ESV 

…and creating a tension of now and not yet that we as believers are called to live in. 
 

To begin with, salvation is one of the easiest words to understand. 

From Oxford's Online Dictionary, we learn that salvation means ~ 1. preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss. 2. deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ.

From the Helps Dictionary in the Discovery Bible, the Greek rendering for salvation is :

4982 sōzō (from sōs, "safe, rescued") – properly, to deliver out of danger and into safety; used principally of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin – and into His provisions (safety).  

[4982 (sōzō) is the root of: 4990/sōtēr ("Savior"), 4991/sōtēría ("salvation") and the adjectival form, 4992/sōtērion (what is "saved/rescued from destruction and brought into divine safety”).]

1. 4982/sōzō ("save, rescue") refers to the Lord's saving work in the believer and is applied in all three time tenses in the Greek NT: past, present, and future.  The believer:

   1. has been saved – Eph 2:5,8: "By grace you have been saved for by grace you have been saved through faith”;

           • Believers are being saved from the power of sin (= sanctification, 1 Cor 1:18, 2 Cor 2:15, Phil 2:12).              

           • Believers will be saved at Christ's return from the previous effects of sin (= glorification, Ro 5:10,  11 Thes 5:8, 22 Thes 2:14).

2 Corinthians 1:10 shows us the Apostle Paul's confidence in all three of these phases of salvation provided. It is important for us to understand the tension between the now and not yet.  While we have been saved, we continue to have a daily need for salvation.  We enter this salvation experience through our acknowledgment of Romans 10:9-10, and we live in this place of being saved through a process the bible calls sanctification.  

Next week’s Good Word ~ Redemption  

What does the Lord require?

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8 ESV

In a culture that cries out for truth and justice, the church should shine as a beacon of hope.  God’s church is the pillar and foundation of truth (1 TM 3:15). We know that His church is composed of many individual members. Within many and varied households, these members form the universal family of God, comprising those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 

Who is able to see that these independent members, all having been given supreme sovereignty over their own wills, can and would bow to a greater authority that desires to dispense righteous justice?  Shepherds, after the heart of God, are given to us to watch over our souls, helping us navigate the modern complexity of mindsets and choices. 

This is the very plan of God, and ultimately, on that last day, every knee will bow to the name of Jesus, the ultimate judge, dispensing righteous justice.  Until then, Christ, in the believing one, is our Father's hope of manifesting His glory through justice and mercy upon this earth.

This is our job as the church: to continue proclaiming the goodness of God, so that others can receive the mercy He offers now through Jesus.  Justice and mercy must be displayed through individuals who have first humbled themselves before their Lord and King. 

Revelation 19 reveals Jesus’ return; beginning with verse 11 through 16, we read from the ESV: 

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is our righteous judge. While Jesus declared in John's gospel,12:48 ~  “the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day,” these words spoken from the Father, manifested by Jesus, are the ultimate judge.  As a two-edged sword, Revelation tells us that His sword proceeds out of his mouth.   Again, you cannot separate Jesus from his word.   They are one and the same. 
 

To dispense justice and mercy requires a vital union with the Father, built on the word and taught by the Holy Spirit.  Our world craves justice, and it needs mercy.
 

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

You Must Believe

“And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.”
John 12:47-49. New King James Version

It is the Spirit of Christ who brings all things, which Jesus has said, to our remembrance.   All holy Alignment demands agreement with the Spirit of Truth. 

Today’s verse reminds us of the need for our agreement with Him, lest there be judgment on the last day.  

We all face times of questioning, “did God really say.”   It was Eves temptation in the garden.  

Jesus met His own ‘if’ in,‘If you be the son of God,’and then found his security in, ‘man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ His believing that God had said, “this is my beloved son,”  had enabled Jesus to sanctify himself to His Fathers purpose.  Adam and Eve’s rejection of Gods command allowed sin to dominate their choices and ultimately alter their very nature. 

Our scripture from John’s gospel is a strong admonition by Jesus for us to believe. When Jesus was asked by the hungry crowd what work they must do, He responded, you must believe,  John 6:29. You cannot separate Jesus from his words. 

We’d all like to have a Damascus road experience to assure our doubt or disbelief.  Something that knocks us off our horse.  An encounter that blinds by its light and a hearing of the holy voice; but we seldom realise that even these moments still face the same questions.  Whether it’s the challenge of man or simply adverse circumstances, our job is to be steadfast in our confidence that God had said. Paul wrote  that those things that are seen require, no faith, Romans 8:25. It is always the unseen that demands our choice to believe. Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Romans 10:17, there is sufficient grace in this living word to activate believing.  Thus, choice is freely given to mankind. 

The whole trinity of the Godhead is involved in the process of choice.  

The Father decrees the word.   Jesus is the word.  The Spirit of Truth reveals the word and works within the unbeliever this conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment. 

There is no accountability where there has been no word delivered.  However once the word is presented choice is required.  Acceptance or rejection lies within the purview of every individual.  The servant who heard and received, but did not do was judged.  The one putting his hand to the plow and looking back is judged.  We might be able to coast along in this life, but the day comes when we must give an account for having heard, and the choices we made with that word. 

Holy Refinement

But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires”. 

Matthew 3:15 NLT

• “Let it be so for now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” ESV 

•  “ Permit it just now, for it is the fitting way for  [both of us to fulfil all righteousness,  [that is to perform & complete whatever is right].” AMPC 

In this season of holy refinement, God is working throughout His church. We see a great return to holy alignment. A holy alignment that requires  each of us carrying out all that God requires.  Much emphasis is now being placed on a returning, which can only be indicative, first of a leaving.  

We note from Hebrews chapter 3, that it is the evil heart of unbelief that departs from the living God. It is deception to believe we are in love and right before the Father without a life that perpetuates continual, willing, obedience. 

.  

From the New Testament Narrative translation, we find the publicans asking John the Baptist what they must do. His response is “do nothing more than that which is appointed you.” Luke 3:13

Mary at the wedding of Cana tells the servants to “do whatever he tells you”  John 2:5. 

From the book of Samuel we learn from Saul’s example of the cost of disobedience. It cost him his Kingdom.  1 Samuel 15:22-23

From the prophet Isaiah, we learn the Lord delights in obedience and discover it is the willing and obedient who eat the good of the land.  Isaiah rehearses in chapter 1:11,

“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me [unless they are the offering of the heart]? says the Lord. I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts [without obedience]; and I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of he-goats [without righteousness].” Amplified Classic.

Verse 17 continues,”If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” Amplified Classic

It is said of Jesus in the book of Hebrews, knowing he had a body prepared, he had come to do the will of the Father Hebrews, 10:5-7. His willing obedience, His love of righteousness, crowned Him with the oil of joy.  Hebrews 1:9

Grace, is our Fathers enabling power at work in us.  His truth, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” receives my response of ‘yes’ back to Him.  The purifying work done within us by the Holy Spirit is a holy refinement, a refiners fire producing holy alignment. This experience was never designed to be an one and only event but achieved through daily union with the Holy One.  

These wonderful days, David and I spend the majority of our time pastoring, pastors. That is encouraging and strengthening them to be shepherds after the heart of God, and stewarding and overseeing the souls given to them to guard. 

Leading a people into holiness is not only done through teaching, but must be by precept and example.  If judgment begins with the house of God, it must start with those leading the church.  The teaching that comes from the pulpits must be aligned with holy scriptures.  While we all, as ministers, believe we are preachers of the word, we must also examine whose name is focused and exalted.

Jesus, as the head of His church and comes to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. Forever marked as His.    Fire to burn the chaff, ignite the soul and produce a zeal for Him that consumes our lives. The Holy Spirit becomes a seal upon our lives.

Forever marked as His.