Tag Archives: Sanctification

2015 – Transformed and Free

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We are closing the books on what I have to say has been the biggest year of my life.  There’s been some big years and events that have occurred over the years.  Getting married after graduating high school and having our first child all in 1997, our second child in 1999, our third in 2002, graduating college in 2003, and so on.  Some big events, some big moments.  Some moments that have been great and some like in 2009, that brought me down.  This time of year, we often look back on the year that was and then look ahead to the year that will be.  All I know, is that after the year I’ve had and the work God has done in my life, whatever He has in store next, I stand ready for it.

2015 was a year of complete transformation for my life, in so many ways.  I have written about so much of the journey and the changes over the past year.  There’s so much I could cover.  Just looking at what I have written on this site alone, I’ve written more posts than ever before.  This will be my 108th post for 2015.  In 2014, there were just 39.  It’s like the Lord took a hold of my life and my heart and drove me to continue sharing the journey with you all.  Just hear alone, it has been amazing to see the Lords work.  I take what I write very seriously and definitely don’t just post to post.

I look back over this year and I just think….WOW!!!!  I never imagined that my life would undertake the changes it has.  I never knew what it was like to live a life that is Spirit led.  I never knew I would be looking not just at a transformed heart and mind, a transformed family, a transformed walk with God, but also a complete transformed profession.  I took a major leap this year to follow God into the unknown and enrolled in counseling studies.  I knew God had been calling me for some time to help others and then once I surrendered to Him completely and opened my heart to the restoration of Jesus, He said it was now time.

As I have shared many times this year, this all began to take root last January as I stood in the mountains of Colorado realizing that I had let my sin and wounds run my life too far.  I realized I could no longer walk through life alone and needed to repent and surrender it all to Him.  Jesus took a hold of my heart like I never thought could happen.  He came into my heart and my wounds.  Exposed my false self and broke me down.  I hadn’t wept like that since my Dad’s passing.  It was raw exposure, men I didn’t know prayed with me and over me and I experienced restoration like I never thought possible.

With all of the changes this year from that point, going back to school, getting more connected and invested in my church family, being baptized, and on from there.  I now follow God into the unknown.  My pastor once said, that the unscripted life is the only one worth living.  I have now found that to be very true to life.  God knows the path, we have to follow Him. Psalm 16:11 says, “You will make known to me the path of life…”  God will show us the path if we just choose to follow Him and let Him lead.  In his book ‘Waking the Dead,’ John Eldredge wrote, “There are too many twists and turns in the road ahead, too many ambushes waiting only God knows where, too much at stake. You cannot possibly prepare yourself for every situation.”  I learned I have to stop trying to figure it out on my own and let Him lead.

2015, the year of transformation.  What’s so awesome know, is that going into 2016 and beyond, I know the Lord will continue to work on my life.  The transformation and growth does not end with the end of the year.  My heart will be perfected with passing day as I am progressively sanctified through following Jesus and walking with Him daily as a disciple for the rest of my life.  I am justified now to seek Him and will be sanctified and restored daily.

There is so much to look forward to.  The funny thing is, I don’t know what that will be.  What I do know is that I will follow Christ as a disciple from here on out NO MATTER THE COST.  There is so much in this life that is poised to pull us away from a relationship with Christ.  The enemy is prowling around looking for someone to devour.  That includes followers of Christ.  I stand armed with the whole armor of God to defend my heart, and to fight for my family daily.

If you have not felt the call of Christ on your life.  If you have not surrendered every aspect of your life to Him and found the freedom that comes from walking as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it’s not too late.  I did it at 36 and I know many that did it even later.  The offer stands for us all, if we choose to open to it.  Start somewhere and get to know Him in His word and by conversing with others.  It’s not all sunshine and roses, but I can tell you, the unscripted life in Christ is the only one worth living.

I wish you all a very blessed and Happy New Year!  See you in 2016 as we move forward to continue winning for the Kingdom!

 

A Lifetime of Growth

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There is a common misconception of Christians that even used to dwell in my mind at one time.  This is the thought that once one comes to faith in Christ then they have figured things out.  They are good to go now and should not have a life of struggles and pains any longer.  I guess it’s not that I thought of them this way, but more they saw themselves in this light.  Over the past 4 years, as I began to slowly walk closer with God, He has began to show me knew things and give me new perspectives and an understanding that this is not even close to being the case.

In my reading this week, I ran across a great statement from Larry Crabb which states, “Just a quick glance beneath the surface of our life makes it clear that more is going on than loving God and loving others. It requires only a moment of honest self-reflection to realize that no matter how much we may have already changed, we still have a long way to go.”  This statement helped to cement a new belief and perspective that I had come to learn over the last few years.  This that we life and growth does not end with accepting Christ or Baptism.

Coming to Christ does not mean that we are now perfect people do no wrong or look at ourselves in this light.  Granted there may be some who do feel this way, but this is not the case.  We instead have come to grips with the reality that we do not have all of the answers and that this life is not about us and our own story, but it is about God and his epic story and what He desires for each of us, which is holiness.

In our lives and because of our inherent fallen nature, holiness is something that we will never be able to achieve in this world.  We can start leaning that way, but our fallen nature will always right back down at one point or another.  It’s a part of who we and the nature that we have.

God gave us something awesome though.  Through Christ, we are justified to seek Him and be sanctified throughout our lives to reach holiness and glorification.  So how does this happen?  Through study, prayer, fellowship, and discipleship.  All of these pieces fit together to allow us to grow throughout the course of our lives and to be sanctified in Christ over the course of our lives.

Just as Larry Crabb’s stated, while we walk in this life, no matter how much movement and change we’ve undertaken, we still have a long way to go.  None of us will ever have all of the answers.  None of us will ever make all of the right decisions all of the time in life.  However, we can all choose the direction of our lives.  Humble ourselves in understanding that we are still fallen and that we can never grow enough through this life.  As John Eldredge  has stated, “We get to live the life of Christ through a thousand small choices” and those choices run the full course of our lives to define who we are in Him.