“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you Who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
James was struggling with his thought-life. He truly wanted to be a Godly man who would have a warrior spirit when it came to inappropriate pictures he had seen earlier in the week. Doreen was struggling with her temper. She was frustrated with the twins who were a little over two. She always hated the term “terrible twos,” but she was in them and was she ever pushed right now. Teenage Cheryl was struggling with enormous feelings of jealousy. She was not part of the “in crowd” at school. All three were in the morning service when Pastor Kenward spoke about the faithful work of our Father who is at work in our lives. He explained that we are positionally totally sanctified in the eyes of the Lord. (All three and about 300 others silently whispered, “I surely don’t feel it!”) He then went on to explain that sanctification is also a wonderful growth that is setting us apart and making us more Christ-like.
For today: How does this affect you today? For those who know Christ, being set apart to the Lord is positional (complete), experiential (growing in our Christian walk), and someday final (total or complete when we are with the Lord!) So exciting!