Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Devotional 201009

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank God for another beautiful day after the storm. The refreshed Nature under the Sun reflects the glory of God. No wonder the psalmist said, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). Take a deep breath of the fresh air that God has created for your enjoyment. Take a coffee break to enjoy the blue sky and give thanks to your Heavenly Father who gives you a new life in Christ. It is Him who put you in where you are, for the purpose to demonstrate His goodness and love in and through you. Amen?

"It is God's will that you should be sanctified" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh? Beware of saying - Oh, I am longing to be sanctified. You are not, stop longing and make it a matter of transaction - "Nothing in my hands I bring." Receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel of the Atonement of Jesus will be made real in you. All that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed, my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and humiliation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification just as Paul said in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” No wonder Paul says nothing is "able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:35).

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God; and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ. Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and is the out come of speechless thanks and adoration for the marvelous sanctification produced out in me because of the Atonement.

Sanctification is the work of Christ who lives in me. As I live out my salvation through obedience to His life, I will harvest the fruit and joy of sanctification. It is not the work of the farmer who gives life to a seed. It is the work of the farmer who discovers the potential in the life of a seed. Yes. Obedience is hard work. That’s why Paul said, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13). Working out your salvation could be translated as living out your salvation with fear and trembling. And the way to live out our salvation, according to the context of Paul’s letter, is obedience. God has planted the seed of obedience in us, and He will give us the will and commitment to obey out of joy. When we sincerely obey His Word, the Holy Spirit will work out our sanctification within us. Our God is always proactive in growing our faith in Him and relationship with Him. All we need to do is to respond by obedience…Will you?

Love you in obedience to His will,
Lawrence

No comments: