Sanctification Prepares You To See And Hear God

                                                     When The Door Slams 

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."                                   Isaiah 6:8

        It take a pure heart to see God (Matt. 5:8). You can attend church services, read your Bible, and pray; but if sin fills your heart, you will not see God. You will know when you have encountered God because you life will no longer be the same. 

        Isaiah was concerned with the death of King Uzziah, the able king of Judah, but was disoriented to his heavenly King. Then something happened that forever changed Isaiah's life. God, in all His awesome majesty, appeared to him in the temple, surrounded by heavenly creatures. Instantly, God's presence made Isaiah aware of his sinfulness. One of the seraphim came to him with a burning coal and cleansed Isaiah of his sin. Immediately, Isaiah began to hear things he had never heard before. 

        Now he was aware of a conversation in heaven concerning who might be worthy to be God's messenger to the people. This prompted Isaiah's eager response: "Here am I! Send me." Now that God had cleansed Isaiah, he was aware of heavenly concerns and prepared to offer himself in God's service. Where as Isaiah had been preoccupied with earthly matters, now his only concern was the activity of God.

        Think about this: If you have become estranged from God and His activity, you need to experience His cleansing. Sanctification prepares you to see and hear God. It enables you to serve Him. Only God can purify your heart. Allow Him to remove any impurities that hinder your relationship with Him and other love ones, and then your service to Him will have meaning as you offer Him your consecrated Life. 

Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we face death all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Yet in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me. (Romans 8:35-37). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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Sin Hardens The Heart To Become Stone

                                                      When The Door Slams 

"I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them.                                         Ezekiel 36:26-27

        From our hearts comes our response to God. Apart from the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are extremely deceitful (Prov. 17:9). David prayed that God would cleanse him from the evil of his sin and purify his heart (Ps. 51:10). God's greatest desire is that His people love Him will all their hearts (Deut. 6:5). Jesus said we are blessed if our hearts are pure (Matt. 5:8). 

        Sin hardens the heart (Matt. 13:4,19). The more sin we allow to pass over our hearts and through our lives, the more resistant we become to a Word from God. The sin of unforgiveness and disobedient stiffens our hearts. We cannot continue to resist the activities of the Holy Spirit without becoming hardened against Him. Exposing ourselves to evil and ungodly sexual influences desensitizes us to God and His Word. Over time, our hearts become like stone, unreceptive to a fresh Word from God. We become unconsciousness to sin. 

        Think about this: Has your heart grown hard toward God? Do you feel as though nothing could soften it? God has a solution. He will separate you from the influences that are destroying you      (Ezek. 36:24). He will cleanse you from all filthiness and remove everything that has taken His place in your affections (Ezek. 36:25). He will remove your heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, tender toward Him and His Word. If your love for God is not what it should be, ask Him to renew your heart and restore your devotion to Him.

Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51:1,2). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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The Light Of Life

                                                     When The Door Slams   

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.                                             John 1:4-5

        When Jesus came to a world that was in bondage to darkness and dead in its sin, He came as light and life. His light dispelled sin's darkness wherever He went, for the forces of evil could not withstand Him. The life He brought was abundant and free, available to all who were dead in their sin (Eph. 2:1; John 10:10). 

        Think about this: If you are a Christian, Jesus lives in you, and His light is within you. Christians are called to dispel darkness (Eph. 5:11). The light of Christ ought to shine so brightly through you that those practicing darkness are uncomfortable when they are around you. But how can you help others when you are living and walking in darkness. The light within you should dispel darkness from the lives of your friends, coworkers, and family members. If your are truly obedient and faithful to the Word of  God. 

        The fullness of life found in Christ dwells within you as a Christian (Col. 1:27). The life that Jesus offers is available to others through you. Don't discount what you have to give to those who are hurting. How can you help others when you are walking in darkness? Christ's life within you is more than sufficient to meet every human need. When people encounter you, they encounter Christ within you. You do not know all the answers, but you have Someone within you who does! You will not carry the burden of the needs of others. Christ will. You must be aware that just as many resisted Jesus, so there will be those who resist the truth that you offer (John 1:11). Be thankful, however, that God chooses to express Himself through me, giving light and life to those around me.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12) 

Those who suffer according to the will of God should commit themselves to their faithful Creator in doing good. (1Peter 4:19). 

I am from God and I am an overcomer, because He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)    

May I put away all of these things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from my mouth. (Colossians 3:8)

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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Sin Brings Death (Romans 6:23)

                                                      When The Door Slams

"The thief does not come except to steal, and kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.                                 John 10:10

        Jesus warn us to be on guard for thieves who will try to rob us of what God has for us. Jesus wants us to enjoy abundant life (John 10:10). Since the time of Adam and Eve, people have had to choose whom to believe. Satan convinced Adam and Eve that forfeiting their obedience to God would gain them everything. Instead, their disobedience robbed them of all they had. For the rest of their lives they experienced only a fraction of the blessings God had intended. Scripture is jam-packed with accounts of those who forfeited their inheritance as children of God in order to gain that which was short-lived and empty. 

        Think about this: The world seeks to convince you that you will find fulfillment if you adopt its standard of morality for your marriage, raising your children, advancing your career, or pursuing pleasure. If you believe this, you will never experience the blessings God intended for you. Sin brings death    (Rom. 6:23). It is tragic to listen to the voices of the world instead of the One who created life and who wants you to experience life to its fullest. 

        Jesus wants you to live your life with security, knowing that you are a beloved child of God. If you are not experiencing love, joy, and peace, you have settled for less than what God intends for you. If you have been making excuses for why you are not experiencing an abundant and and joyful life, determine today to settle for nothing less than God's best for your life. Stop following the way of the world, trying to find satisfaction. Instead, listen and obey the Holy Spirit, and you will  find true fulfillment.   

        May I not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all my heart. May I not turn aside to go after worthless things which do not profit or deliver, because they are useless.                      (1 Samuel 12:20-22).   

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

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Righteousness Is Not Only An Absence Of Sin

                                                      When The Door Slams  

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shell be filled.                                                                                                                                                     Matthew 5:6

        Hunger and thirst are the body's way of telling us that we are "empty." Our natural response to physical hunger and thirst is to seek food and water to satisfy our need. Each Christian has an inner longing that only Christ's righteousness can satisfy. But we cannot be filled with righteousness if we are filled with self. 

        Throughout the Scriptures God emphasizes that the one who longs for Him with all their heart will find Him (Jer. 29:13). As we crave righteousness, we will repent of our sin, and God will remove it from us. Our selfishness will be replaced by the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). The Spirit will make us to be like Christ.

        Think about this: Righteousness is not to be taken lightly, nor is it easily attained. Holy God does not give His righteousness to people indiscriminately. He gives it to those who know they cannot live without it. Our desire for personal righteousness must be powerful, all-consuming, dominating everything we do. Pursuing righteousness means that we value the opinion of God far more than we treasure the opinions of people.

        Righteousness is not only an absence of sin. It is allowing God to fill us with His holiness    (Rom. 6:11). It is being like Christ. Jesus is our model of One who sought God's righteousness first, and then the Father glorified Him. We are not only to seek the kingdom of God, but we are also to pursue His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). If we will hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be satisfied!

        Let me hear Your unfailing love in the morning, For I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should walk, For to You I lift up my soul (Ps.143:8).  

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord God and thank Him for His forgiveness.                      

                                            

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