Tag: Sanctification

Burn Them To Ashes!

~ A Prayer Life ~ Leave a comment

“Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.”

~ Colossians 3:5

“While a darling sin lives and keeps the throne in the heart — grace and holiness will be kept exceeding weak and low. But when your darling sin is dethroned and slain by the power and the sword of the Spirit — grace and holiness will quickly grow stronger and stronger, and rise higher and higher.

When a man has eaten poison, nothing will make him thrive, until he has vomited up the poison. Beloved sins are the poison of the soul — and until these are vomited up, and cast out by sound repentance, and the exercise of faith in the blood of Christ — the soul will never thrive in grace and holiness!

If ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness, then fall with all your might upon subduing and crucifying your most raging corruptions, and your most darling lusts!

Oh do not think that your golden and your silver idols will lay down their weapons, and yield the battle, and lie at your feet, and let you trample them to death — without striking a blow! Oh remember that besetting-sins will do all they can to keep their ground, and therefore you must arise with all your strength against them, and crush them to powder, and burn them to ashes!”

~ Thomas Brooks

Do Not Grow Weary

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“We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”

~ Brother Lawrence

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

~ Galatians 6:9

Prayer Life Pause: Dear Jesus, may I seek out little ways each day to display my love and devotion to You. In Your name, amen.

Lord, Make Me

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is error, truth; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may seek not so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

~ Francis of Assisi

For To Me

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“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”.

~ Philippians 1:21

Prayer Life Pause: Dear Savior, to live is to live for You. Help me, if I am to live, to make each moment count for Your glory, and when You do call me home, that I might rejoice in gaining everlasting presence with You. In Jesus; name, amen.

An Unfinished Work

~ A Prayer Life ~ 2 Comments

“[B]eing confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

~ Philippians 1:6

Prayer Life Pause: Heavenly Father, my eternal hope and everlasting confidence lies solely in You and Your Beloved Son that You will finish the gracious work of salvation You have begun in me. Thank you for Your tender mercy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Yielding All To Him

~ A Prayer Life ~ 1 Comment

“How many loaves do you have?”

~ Mark 8:5

The Lord Jesus put this question to his disciples on the occasion of feeding the four thousand. Now, Jesus didn’t have to ask the question, and He didn’t actually need any of their loaves of bread in order to miraculously feed the multitude. Yet, in this question, Jesus shows us a valuable lesson: If we are willing to yield all we have to Him, He can do greater things than us with them. The disciples, having seven loaves, gave them all over to Jesus to bless and share in abundance. And out of that giving to Christ, many others were blessed. May we loosely hold on to our possessions in this world . So that if you are asked of God how many or how much you have, you will yield all to Him that He may be glorified through you.

~ apl

Prayer Life Pause: Lord Jesus, take what I have and make it Thine so that everything I am and everything I have can be put to a more glorious and eternal use. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Manifest Thyself!

~ A Prayer Life ~ 2 Comments

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

~ John 14:21

Prayer Life Pause: Lord Jesus, help me to abide in You and keep Your commands. May my love for You be displayed in my words and actions that I might live in Your and the Father’s manifest love for me. In Jesus; name, amen.

Rest A While

~ A Prayer Life ~ 1 Comment

“And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

~ Mark 6:31

There is a physical cadence to life God has instilled in creation that requires His creatures to alternate between work and rest. We require rest. We need it to function at our best when we are awake and at work. Likewise, at times, Christians need seasons of spiritual rest, too. When we come to realize that our growing in grace and more fully in our Christ-likeness is really not so much about what we do, but rather who we are, it allows us to enjoy occasions of spiritual refreshing and rest. Sometimes, the best thing we can do for our souls is to come to a quiet deserted place, and spend some restful time simply communing in fellowship with the Lord. So come all who are weary and heavy laden, draw near to Christ, our beloved Savior, and rest a while.

~apl

Prayer Life Pause: Dear Lord, grant me times of quiet and solitude where I can refresh my spirit in Your presence and rest in the delight of Your grace and Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Longsuffering

~ A Prayer Life ~ 5 Comments

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

~ Galatians 5:22-23

Longsuffering. There one of those words we don’t use anymore. Yet, even though it may have fallen out of common use, the word is plain enough to understand, isn’t it? Websters defines longsuffering as “patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship“. And I think that definition is perfectly consistent with what the longsuffering fruit of the Spirit looks likes in the life of the Believer. Christians should not be quick to anger. We should not be prone to react when offended against. As Paul encouraged Timothy, we should all “be watchful in all things, [and] endure afflictions“. As God, in Christ, has been longsuffering with you, so may you bear the fruit of longsuffering towards others.

~ apl

Prayer Life Pause: Holy Father, cultivate in my heart a longsuffering spirit towards offenses and hardships that I might faithfully show the world what the longsuffering of Christ looks like. In Jesus’ name, amen.