FRIDAY: I’M STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS

Aug 26, 2022
2 min read

Lord, as you wash my heart today, fill it fully with peace and faithfulness, so I continue to feel Your peace and Your faithfulness in my heart. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. I’m a work in progress; I’ll admit that. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination—God is continually at work on my heart shaping me to be more like Jesus Christ. This is what sanctification is all about. God is the One who is tasked with sanctifying me through and through, so my whole spirit, soul and body, will be kept blameless at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ. He sanctifies me because He is faithful. I may learn the same lessons over and over (and over and over) again before I give Him my attention, but eventually I get there, learn the lesson, and move on. I ask for prayer from my brothers and sisters, just as I pray for each of them. The greeting between brothers and sisters of that day was a holy kiss; it was an acknowledgement of the fellowship each enjoyed as part of the body of Christ; in our day, people tend to greet each other with a hug. THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS: Since God is the God of peace, I want His peace to sanctify me through and through. Peace also means “to join,” which confirms to me that I am joined with Him as He sets me apart from the sin of this world. When God sanctifies me, I ask Him to get out a divine Brillo pad to scrub the dirt from my heart, so I may be blameless in the sight of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I ask all who read this to pray for each other, so each can realize the One who calls each of us is faithful. As God cleanses my heart, He instills His desires in me. He fills my spirit, so I desire to be like Jesus. He fills my soul, so my will can be content with His desires for me. He fills my body, so I can be blameless from sin in His sight and separated from the desires of the flesh. Lord, may Your grace reign over my life today, so I can graciously accept each of these things You have prepared for me. I don’t deserve any of them; You freely give them to me as Your child. Thank You, Lord! Thank You! Thank You!