Devotionary

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Ep 915 – Sanctification – Romans 14:17-19 Jun 18, 2019

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When we think about the power of the Spirit of God, we tend to focus on the miraculous. You know what I mean. Those unbelievable, inexplicable outpourings of His power like we read about in the New Testament. Like what happened on the day of Pentecost when the disciples suddenly found themselves able to speak in foreign languages they didn't previously know. Or how they were able to perform miracles such as healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, or even raising the dead. Now, that's power. But one of the true miracles that accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit was the radical transformation of the lives of the disciples. They went from being timid, cowering-in-the-corner followers of Christ to bold, Spirit-filled proclaimers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And within days their number had grown from a handful to more than 3,000. And they had all things in common, including their love for Christ and for one another. All as a result of the power of the Spirit.

Ep 914 – Sanctification - Galatians 5:22-26 Jun 17, 2019

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Fruitfulness. It's a well-documented expectation in the New Testament. God expects His people to live fruitful and productive lives, but on His terms and according to His power, not their own. Yet, we tend to make fruit-bearing a competition sport, where we score points with God by producing more fruit than the believer next to us. It becomes an endless and hopeless endeavor to manufacture that which only God can produce. Jesus told His disciples that fruit-bearing required abiding. He clearly communicated that, apart from Him, they could nothing that even remotely bore the resemblance of the kind of fruit God was looking for. But when they did abide in Him, they would be productive and fruitful, giving ample proof that they were His followers. And their fruitfulness would bring glory to the Father because His Holy Spirit would be the ultimate source of their fruit.

Ep 913 – Sanctification – Romans 8:5-10 Jun 16, 2019

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Most of us as Christians would agree with the premise that the Holy Spirit lives within us. Jesus promised it. The disciples experienced it. And the way we live our lives should reflect it. But in order for us to reveal the presence of the Spirit within us, we must learn to rely upon the power He has made available to us. And that is going to take a concentrated effort to recognize His presence and to understand our complete dependency upon Him for all that we have been called to do as Christ-followers. Paul calls us to set our mind on the Spirit. But what does that mean and how are we to do it? To have the mind of the Spirit is to live under His influence, to think as He thinks, and to act according to His will and in the power that He provides. The Holy Spirit is not just some disembodied force we can tap into and utilize for our own selfish desires. He is the Spirit of God who wants to radically alter our actions and our attitudes.

Ep 912 – Sanctification – John 4:10-14 Jun 15, 2019

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If you're like any other red-blooded western Christian, you've probably asked yourself the question: What's the key to living the Christian life? And, no doubt, you've come up with a varied list of answers, most of which you have tried – to one degree of success or another. But have you really discovered the secret to successful Christian living? Is it more effort, increased faith, greater sacrifice, or a larger expenditure of selfless love? It seems that Jesus gave us the key to living the Christian life and it was the presence and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He referred to is as "living water" – "a spring of water welling up to eternal life." And His disciples experienced the life-changing nature of this spiritual water when the Holy Spirit of God came upon them at Pentecost. They learned that the Spirit within them was meant to empower them so He could flow out from them. They would be like PVC pipes through which the life-transforming power of God's Spirit flowed to the world around them.

Ep 911 – Sanctification - 1 Timothy 6:11-16 Jun 14, 2019

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You are a new creation. You have experienced new birth and have been given a new nature. How many times have you heard those truths? But how much do you really believe them? There is a part of each and every one of us as Christ-followers that embraces those Scriptural realities intellectually, but still find it difficult to live them out in everyday life. We don't feel new. We don't always act like new creations. And our old nature seems far more in control than whatever new nature we received. So, our doubt turns to duty. In the face of what appears to be a less-than-new lifestyle, we tend to look for a list of things we need to do in order to grow up, measure up, and muster up some much-needed righteousness in our life. But Paul would have us look up - to God. He has done it all. He not only saved us, but He has provided everything necessary to sanctify us.

Ep 910 – Sanctification - 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Jun 13, 2019

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Most Christ-followers know that their life is to be characterized by progressive spiritual growth. But the question is, do their lives reflect that understanding? Do they display an ever-increasing spiritual maturity that reveals their ongoing transformation into the likeness of Christ? The New Testament is filled with allusions to the growth that should take place in the believer's life, comparing it to the physical growth of an infant to adulthood. A baby that does not grow is abnormal, an anomaly. The same is true of a Christian who does not display a steady increase in spiritual maturity. And the sad thing is that we are told that we have everything we need to grow spiritually. It is not as if we have been left to survive and thrive on our own. We have all the resources necessary to grow from innocent infancy to full-blown adulthood. But are we taking advantage of them?

Ep 909 - Sanctification – 1 John 4:13-21 Jun 12, 2019

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Love one another. We're all familiar with those words, but do we live them out in real life? If so, are we guilty of pre-determining who the "other" is referring to? Do we tend to make our own list of who we want to love, conveniently leaving off all those we find unlovable or simply unlovely? A big part of the doctrine of sanctification is learning to allow the love that God shows us, to not dead-end on us. In other words, He loved us so that we might love others. And Jesus commanded that we love others in the same way that He loved us: Selflessly and sacrificially. Jesus didn't love as long as He was loved back. He didn't withhold His love from those who lacked the capacity to love Him back. In fact, Jesus loved us when we were at our worst. He loved us when we were mired in our sin and lacking any capacity to reciprocate. Love is to be a non-negotiable mark of what it means to be a Christ-follower. We love because He first loved us. And we love because His love resides within us and must flow out from us.

Ep 908 - Sanctification - John 14:15-21 Jun 11, 2019

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Remember that exchange between Peter and Jesus, just days after His resurrection? Jesus had just finished having breakfast with the disciples, when He asked Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" And Peter responded, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Then Jesus preceded to repeat His question to two more times, and in each instance, Peter gave the same answer. Jesus' questions were accompanied by three imperatives: Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep. And Jesus ended the conversation with the same two words He had used more than three years earlier, when He had called Peter to be His disciple: "Follow me." It's important to note that Jesus was about to leave them, but He was asking Peter to follow Him. Not to a destination, but in the pursuit of the Father's will. And Peter and the rest of the disciples would soon find themselves empowered to follow Jesus in full obedience, proving their love for Him as they followed His example by feeding His sheep.

Ep 907 – Sanctification – Romans 8:1-11 Jun 10, 2019

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Living the Christian life is essential, but not always easy. Yet, the reason we find it so difficult is not because God has made it hard, but because we fail to do it in the manner He has prescribed. We attempt to live godly lives without God's help. And when we do, we not only find it difficult, but impossible. We may succeed for a time, but it won't last long and it won't produce lasting results. In Romans 8:1-11, Paul reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We have been set free from the penalty of death that accompanies a life of sin. By placing our faith in Christ, we received forgiveness and stand before God as fully righteous in His eyes. But we are expected to live up to our new standing or identity. God is not demanding perfection from us in this life, but a growing awareness of our need for His Spirit's power.

Ep 906 – Sanctification - 2 Corinthians 12:5-10 Jun 09, 2019

Show notes

God's grace. We talk a lot about it, but I'm not quite sure we fully appreciate it. And when we read passages like 2 Corinthians 12:9, where Paul describes God's grace as being sufficient, we're not quite sure what to do with that information. How is His grace sufficient? Exactly what is it sufficient for? For Paul, it had to do with strength in his moments of weakness, contentment in times of calamity, and confidence even when facing uncertainty. Grace was enough. Paul didn't need to add anything more. Because God's grace was fully sufficient, Paul could rest in the knowledge that he was in no way deficient. As Peter put it, Paul had everything he needed for life and godliness. Which is why Paul could boldly claim, "I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13 NLT). Paul's confidence came from God, not himself.

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