Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God--I worship in every dimension of Your Being and welcome You into every dimension of my being--spirit, soul, and body.
Yesterday I drove three men to a camp where they will spend this weekend on a Walk to Emmaus retreat. In Montgomery this same weekend is being he'd a similar weekend retreat called Paseo. This three men and those others attending the retreats this weekend are desiring to encounter Jesus and be sanctified more entirely as they conform their lives more to Christ.
"May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
You are the God of peace, the God of shalom. By the power of Your grace You bless me and anoint me and empower me to be at peace with You, at peace with one another, and at peace within myself.
And by the power of Your grace, Your Holy Spirit is at work within me to purify and sanctify me in my spirit, in my soul, and in my body. And not just a little bit, but entirely, wholly, and completely. I believe you can obtain complete sanctification in this life, that is the message of the cross. You are faithful and You will do this, because this is Your will for me--that I would be entirely surrendered so that I could be entirely sanctified. "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification.... For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness" (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7).
By the power of Your grace that I desperately need every moment of every day, I want to be "kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Your blood cleanses my sins as I admit them and turn them over to You (1 John 1:9). And Your Holy Spirit keeps sanctifying my soul as I keep surrendering my mind and will and emotions to You and Your mind, Your will, and Your emotions--filling me up to the degree that I keep making more room for You (Ephesians 5:18). "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I willing choose to entrust as much of me to You as I can and to receive as much of You within me as I can. Baptize me with Your Holy Spirit and Your holy fire (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:4). Consume everything in me that's not yet like You (Matthew 5:48). Conform me into the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29).
Lord Jesus, make me more like You each day. Come and keep baptizing me with Your Holy Spirit, keep setting me ablaze with the fire of Your passion, keep sanctifying me entirely in spirit and soul and body, keep perfecting me in Your love, and keep empowering me by Your Presence! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray you desire to continually be sanctified entirely in the fire and power of the Holy Spirit, so that you be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by the One who is faithfull and who will do this in you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
No Blog Posts Next Week
My wife Nancy and I will be flying to San Francisco next week to spend time with Francis Chan and his "We Are Church" network intensive simple church training in downtown San Francisco. We will hit the streets early and return in the evening so I will not post my blog next week.