Tag: Sanctification

Morning Musings: Colossians 3:5

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“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you; sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is tough language here.  Paul seems to soften a bit a couple of verses later, but that’s just an appearance.  This is what Paul really means.  When it comes to the fruits of sin in our lives–and they are manifold well beyond the list Paul offers here–it is not enough to put them aside or turn our backs to them or knock them off their perch or anything else like that.  We must actively put them to death.  We must kill them completely and not allow for even the slightest chance that they will get up again. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Philippians 1:6

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“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is one of my favorite verses.  It speaks of God’s long term intentions with us.  When He starts something, He doesn’t ever leave it unfinished.  When we give ourselves to Christ, the Holy Spirit begins in us a process by which we will eventually become fully reflective of the image of God in Christ Jesus.  Everything He allows to happen to us from that point forward is aimed at that goal.  They are aimed at growing in us the character of Christ.  They are designed to prune out the dead branches in us in order to make room for the new, live, fruitful branches He has set to growing. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Proverbs 21:26

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“All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.”  (ESV)

Being righteous doesn’t mean being perfect.  That is certainly the goal, but the two aren’t the same thing.  The righteous person still has desires for all kinds of different things, many of them things which are not good for them.  As Solomon writes here, he craves and craves all day long.  What the righteous person does do is deny those cravings for the sake of others.  He learns to say no to what he wants in order that he might be able to give to those around him.  She is in control of her desires in order leverage her resources for the benefit of people who do not have similar access to them. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Psalm 101:2-8

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I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;

I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.

A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.

Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an
arrogant heart
I will not endure.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.

No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.

Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all evildoers
from the city of the Lord.

(ESV – Read the chapter)

These are powerful words.  David was writing this from his position as king of Israel.  He was laying out his commitment to God of how he was going to manage his kingdom in such a way that would keep it on the path of righteousness.  He was talking about how he was going to set guardrails to keep it from teetering into evil.  Drawing from v. 2, he was committing himself to walking in the way that is blameless and then going on to describe how he was going to do that.   Read the rest…