Sanctification is Perpetual and Demands Perseverance

Some of you might be new to reading the Bible, while others may have been doing it for years. Still others may have drifted from the Word, but are grasping at footholds to find their way back to Christ. Regardless of where you are in your journey, you are bound to come across John 17:17, 19, which say, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” If any of you are like me, you probably pondered what is meant by the phrase ‘truly sanctified’. As defined by The Westminster Shorter Catechism, sanctification means: “The work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.” I prefer the definition offered by my NIV Life Application Study Bible, which defines sanctification as, “The change God makes in our lives as we grow in faith. Becoming more and more like Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.”

For some, this is a lot to fathom and digest. It is hard to imagine living like Christ because He was the only perfect being. We are not called to be perfect, though. We are called to live out Christ’s character to the best of our abilities. This does not mean that we won’t screw up because, believe me, you will. To serve as a reminder, refer to Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. On Earth, we are constantly at war internally against our sinful nature, and unfortunately, it occasionally wins.

I feel like I haven’t put much effort into defending myself against my sinful nature. Recently, I have drifted into a realm of self-righteousness where I feel I have become way too critical of others and am only concerned with my own wellbeing. This is definitely not a healthy place to be in. My wakeup call came when a close friend, and fellow Christian, rebuked me for my actions and felt it best I take some time to re-evaluate what is important to me before we speak in person again. As hurt as I was when this first came to light, I am now extremely thankful for her courage. I desperately needed to come to my senses and remember that it is necessary to always be on guard against sin, in spite of knowing I am saved through Christ. Another passage from Romans makes this clearer. Romans 6:1-2, states, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” The essence of this scripture is that, even though we are saved by grace, does not mean we should abuse that privilege. If you find yourself slipping into this unfortunate pattern, though, be thankful for sanctification.

Sanctification is a continual growing process. Our faith does not become as strong as iron overnight. Instead, it is a lifelong process. To better understand the roots of sanctification, read Titus 3:4-6, which states, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior”. The beauty of this is that no matter how often we screw up and lose our footing in faith, God has mercy on those who truly believe in Jesus as their Savior and repent for their sins. Again, we don’t have a ‘license to sin’, but we have a Redeemer offering His saving grace when we humble ourselves before Him.

Since it is inevitable that you will stumble in the process of sanctification, it is vital to develop a strong desire to persevere. The following three verses are critical in understanding the need for perseverance:

Romans 5:3-5 ~ “Not only so, but we^[c^] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

James 1:2-4 ~ “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a^] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

1 Peter 1:6-7 ~ “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

These three verses are strikingly similar, yet inherently different. All of these verses mention that we will endure trials or suffering. The key is that none of the verses say ‘if’, but ‘when’. We should always remember this key concept when enduring tough times because God reiterated the fact that we will face hardship due to our alliance with Christ at least three different times in the New Testament. So instead of grumbling or throwing a pity-party while being dragged through the proverbial mud, remember that all Christians must endure such situations in order to develop perseverance.

The inherent differences that we must grasp from these verses are the specific reasons for perseverance.

Romans 5:3-5 ~ Hope doesn’t disappoint because of God’s love poured into the Holy Spirit within us.

James 1:2-4 ~ The work of perseverance makes one strong and complete.

1 Peter 1:6-7 ~ Trials are endured to prove our faith is genuine.

In essence, we endure trials and should persevere in our sufferings in order to mature in our faith to prove it is genuine, and to gain hope through God’s love, which is present in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, in the race of life, you are never alone while enduring trials and hardships. So clothe yourself with the Holy Spirit and consider the words in Philippians 3:13-14: “…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” See you at the finish line.

Oh Hail

Ever have a storm come out of nowhere in your life? The storm can be of the literal or figurative sense. Today, I experienced this in the literal sense. I was out for a walk with my brothers on a beautiful sunny day. We were enjoying catching up on the past couple months because we have not all been together since Christmas. As we laughed and joked, I took note of the storm cloud that was looming. It seemed best to turn around and head back to beat the impending rain, though none of us felt it was anything serious. Oh how wrong we were. A drizzle began, which was refreshing at first, but soon the skies opened up and all three of us were drenched in a cold rain. This caused me to shiver to my core, but it still didn't seem terrible. Then, all of a sudden, there was a bright flash of lightning and a loud thunderclap just as we reached the end of the driveway. At this, we were prompted to run, which was a good decision considering the torrent of rain morphed into pelting hail. Once we reached the shelter of the front porch, we chuckled in amusement at how, what started out as a perfectly sunny walk took a drastic turn as we outsprinted pounding hail.
This experience had me thinking about the disciples as they were on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had asked them to get into a boat and row across the sea. As Jesus slept, a storm came upon them and frightened them. This is outlined in Matthew 8:24, which states, "Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping." I find it fascinating that as the disciples are terrified, Jesus is so calm that he slumbers in the stern. What we should take away from this, though, is that we have no reason to fear the sudden turbulence of life because our Lord in heaven is calm and resolved and in control of everything.
In the realm of running, changes in weather can occur, but an internal storm can also begin brewing during a race. Runners who experience a depletion in fuel tend to hit the proverbial wall. Some panic in such situations because the wall can sneak up on a runner, much like the hail storm I encountered earlier this afternoon. Instead of panicking, though, we must have faith and call on Christ. Jesus is always in control, even if He appears to be sleeping, like in the story of the disciples in Matthew and Mark. Jesus rebuked the disciples in Mark 4:40: "He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'" We need to constantly build our faith by putting more trust in the Lord, because He has complete control over our entire lives. It is a blessing to know I have nothing to fear with Christ in my corner and a faith that gains strength slwoly and surely everyday.

Life: The Continual Journey

"Life is a journey, not a destination." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s that time of year again: finals week in college, and my last finals week ever. One would think that I might have an overwhelming sense of accomplishment now that I am so close to acquiring my Master of Science degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology. Unfortunately, in my mind, that piece of paper seems moot. Many people in society believe that once they go through college that they will automatically discover what it is they want to do the rest of their lives. They act like graduation day is this epitome of self-discovery, instead of realizing that there is no distinct end point in life; only numerous transitions.

One will never fully understand their purpose in life, and that was the point that Jesus was trying to get across to His disciples in Acts 1:7, which says, “He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.’” The disciples wanted to know when they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, but Jesus was pointing out that it was better that they not know in order to build faith. The unknown always helps to build faith because one must put their trust, not in himself, but in God. He is the only One who knows where we are heading in the journey of life.

Another important point to make is that we cannot live out someone else’s dreams. We must focus on our own goals and make decisions based on our evaluation of situations. It is silly for me to think that I can be an Olympic weightlifter when I have a petite frame that is built for running. It is just as foolish for somebody else to choose a profession or move to another part of the world based on some other person’s life dream. One must remember that people are fallible and by no means reliable, so why base important, life-changing decisions off of them? In the words of Emerson, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

One should always turn to the Lord when life is turbulent and unknown. He knows your heart and can provide necessary guidance. With His help, I have already come a long way. I am a far cry from who I was only months ago: an angry, shy, discontented follower, and former runner. Now, I am being blessed with opportunities to lead and help others bolster their faith, and I finally have a sense of contentment. Along with that, I am now less than two weeks away from running my second marathon and have applied to be a temporary professor. This is proof that God uses everybody in a particular way and that life is a continuous journey of change and re-invention. Don't be fooled, though. This does not mean that I have everything figured out. I have come to the conclusion that I still really have no idea about where I am heading or what I plan on doing for the rest of my life. Most people might panic in such a situation, but that’s not the case with me. Instead, I trust the Lord to slowly steer me in the right direction and provide me with opportunities that He sees fit. This does not mean that I don’t have some ideas or plans in the back of my mind. I have plenty of travel plans and potential career avenues, but I will focus on the words in Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Resurrection Sunday

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” ~Matthew 28:5-7

This morning at church, the pastor spoke on how people search for fulfillment in the dead things of this Earth, such as knowledge, achievement, or physical activity. The truth of the matter is that we can only find life and fulfillment through Jesus, who is the risen King. We cannot find hope through any other means; not running, not education, nor family. Only Christ provides us with hope.  What comes to mind is the song All Along by Remedy Drive. The following is an excerpt of lyrics:

It's not everything it seems,
The world and it's dreams
Slipping like water through my hands, tonight
All the things I thought would fill me up inside
Left me empty here
And now I know why
All along I was looking for something else
You're something else
All along I was looking for something more
You're so much more
I finally found what I could never see before
You've always been the one that I was looking for

We must never forget the importance of Christ dying on the cross. He was our living sacrifice so that we can once and for all be forgiven for our sins and transgressions. Without the death of Christ, we would not have an intercessor between humanity and the Almighty. Therefore, rejoice in the knowledge that Christ died for you so that you have eternal life. In John 20:31, it is said in this way: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
So on this Resurrection Sunday, stop looking for answers and fulfillment in places other than Christ because it is a futile search. Instead, relax and rejoice in knowing that Jesus is risen and alive in each and every one of us. The Almighty is a personal God and He will call out to you, just like he did with Mary Magdalene in John 20:16 (Jesus said to her, "Mary."), but you must listen and pay attention. He wants to share in your life, but you must be willing to surrender to Him and trust in the Lord for guidance.

Seeking Forgiveness: Definitely Not an Easy Task

Life lessons, though necessary, are always hard to learn. We go about our days not giving much thought to our actions and thinking that we are doing the right thing to some extent. That is until somebody brings our flaws to light, and we realize that we have hurt somebody drastically and were not even aware. This is much like what Paul reveals in Romans 7:15, which states, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

I don’t know about any of you, but when something like this is brought to my attention, I’m completely devastated. A whirlwind of emotions will flow through me, but my knee-jerk reaction is always to just want to run away. The band, Addison Road, expresses this in the following lyrics:
"Run just as fast as you can
Run, 'til you reach the end
Where the fallen finally land
And your world starts over again." 

I think it is mere instinct that we just want to detach ourselves immediately from the situation so that we don’t have to face the facts. This is by no means the right way to handle such occasions; I am just stating that the idea is always in the forefront of my mind. 

After analyzing a difficult situation that you have ended up in due to your actions, whether accidental or on purpose, the best thing to do is take some time to think over the proper way to respond. One should refrain from lashing out in anger, because that will only serve as a means of exacerbating the issue. As difficult as it may be, the only proper response is to seek forgiveness. We must seek forgiveness from God for slipping up and not following in His ways. We must seek forgiveness from the person we have hurt. And we must also forgive ourselves.

Seeking forgiveness is by no means an easy task. The thought of the all-perfect God makes anybody shudder and feel unworthy of His grace, but we must seek His forgiveness in order to be restored. His mercy is plentiful and if we sincerely seek forgiveness from God, He will provide it. Seeking forgiveness from the person whom we have hurt is another difficult task. It is necessary to humble oneself, accept that we are wrong and hope that the person will, in time, find it in their heart to believe we are sorry and grant us forgiveness. 2 Corinthians 2:5-8 illustrates how and why this should occur. The verses go as follows: “If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”

Searching for forgiveness in any realm is difficult. I hate knowing and admitting to my own screw-ups, but it is necessary. The hardest part for me, though, is forgiving myself. I am my most difficult critic, and I have a tendency to overanalyze my failures. I play the “what if” game far too often and grapple over what I could have or should have done better, instead of trying to look towards the future for hope. So for now, I will look at tomorrow as a new day to try and work on the lessons I have learned and put my hope in the Lord.

"Everything rides on hope now 

Everything rides on faith somehow 
When the world has broken me down 
Your love sets me free."
~Addison Road

The Importance of Rest

In today's society, people tend to forget how important it is to just kick back and relax once in awhile. Instead, we are constantly busy and running around like chickens with our heads cutoff. Phrases such as "time is money" and "no rest for the weary" have trumped "rest and relaxation" in this high-paced, materialistic world.
Rest days are also very important in the realm of distance running. One cannot constantly train and expect results. Overtraining will kick in and one will have more setbacks than breakthroughs once that point is reached. Thus, being conservative in training is typically the way to go when aches and pains arise. I typically am one to savor my rest days and today seems to be a fitting day to blog about rest because I am taking the day off from running. My main reason for rest is the fact that I ran for 2 hours on an indoor track yesterday and my body needs to recover. My two secondary reasons are the fact that it is raining and it happens to be my birthday, so relaxing seems to be the smartest decision all around.
It is also important for our souls to rest and relax, especially when feeling overwhelmed by life. Just at that point where we feel like we are on the verge of collapse from stress, or life in general, is when we should turn to God so that we can take a breather. If you turn to Matthew 11:28-30 in your Bible, Jesus says, "'Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'" In essence, Jesus is trying to remind us that God is in charge of our lives and that if are just willing to relinquish control and hand everything over to Him, we will find the rest we are searching for. We will never find rest on our own, though. We will only find rest for our souls when we hand over our burdens and take up the yoke of Christ because only His yoke is light. So remember, whenever you feel beaten down in your busy life,  take the time to turn to God and you will be able to kick your feet up and enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation.

Why Are You Trying to Escape?

Runners always get asked why they run. Some do it for good health. Others do it to maintain their stress and sanity. But there are plenty of runners who admit that they run as a form of escape. They want to either escape their job, their home, or even their own reality. Instead of meeting issues head on and trying to determine the best course in life, they choose to escape and avoid making any worthwhile decisions. I'm not saying that this is necessarily bad or that I myself have not done it in the past, but there comes a time when you have to stop trying to escape and actually face the music. For example, I have had to confront the reality of my depression instead of living in denial that I deal with it. Once I accepted that it is a part of who I am, I was able to focus on how I can overcome situations where I become depressed. Instead of outrunning the problem, I admitted that I had one, which gave me the strength to ensure it does not rule my life and define my existence.
I believe that many people desperately try to outrun their past and feel unworthy of Christ's love. This is very unfortunate because the truth of the matter is that Jesus and the Father will love you no matter what. They just want you to trust in them to control your life so that you rely on them instead of your own instincts. "No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength...We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield." ~Psalm 33:16, 20. This verse directs us to putting our hope in God because we cannot do anything without Him in order to save ourselves. There is no sense trying to outrun our past when God knows all and is the only one who can truly bring us comfort and help. No matter what you have done in life, Christ is the great intercessor between you and God and as long as you love Jesus and go to him for help, you are never alone. This hope can be found in Hebrews 7:25, which clearly states, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."
My hope is that people will find encouragement through the love of Jesus so that they do not feel the need to run away and hide. It is very difficult going through life feeling unworthy and alone, but we must not forget that God is always their by our side. He wants to bring us comfort and he should be the one that we go to with all of our problems; nobody else truly knows what is best for us. In the face of difficult life decisions, instead of trying to run away and escape, we must always pray and ask for guidance because that is the only way through it all. I prayed a lot when it came to deciding to run my marathon. Some may not feel that this would be a major life decision, but given the mental obstacles it involves me to overcome, it was quite necessary in my mind to ask for guidance.
So the next time you find yourself trying to run away from life for some reason, try to remember that God is merciful and loves you for you. Take Ephesians 2:4-5 ~ "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." I find this very encouraging to know that no matter how much I screw up, I will always be loved. I am going to leave you with lyrics from the song that inspired this post. It is the song "Come Home" by Luminate.

There's power in the blood of Jesus

Your father's screaming just come home

And He's reaching out His hands

I know you been running, searching for something

But you're looking in a place you don't belong

Well, it's never too late, you can't outrun grace

No, mercy doesn't care what you've done

So come home