Category Archives: Sanctification

Sin & Church Attendance

Can you imagine getting drunk Saturday night and then going to church the next morning? Can you imagine rolling out of a bed you share with your live-in lover, getting dressed, and going to church? Can you imagine having beer … Continue reading

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Church, Church Attendance, Discipleship, Disobedience, Doing Good, Faithfulness, Holiness, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Sanctification, Sin, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lunchroom Trays & Jesus

You remember those lunchroom trays from your childhood, don’t you? They were so compartmentalized. They were the epitome of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” The cream corn wasn’t supposed to spill over into the mashed potatoes. … Continue reading

Posted in Church Attendance, Commitment, Discipleship, Dress and Appearance, Entertainment, Family, God's Will, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Sanctification, Separation, Work, Worship | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Love for Jesus Looks Like

Harry Winston, the famous New York diamond dealer, once heard about a wealthy Dutch merchant who was looking for a certain kind of diamond to add to his collection. Winston called the merchant, told him he thought he had just … Continue reading

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Backsliding, Choices, Commitment, Confession, Discipleship, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Drugs, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Gambling, Gluttony, God's Holiness, God's Will, Holiness, Love, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Priorities, Rebellion, Repentance, Sanctification, Separation, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Body, A Temple

I’m well aware that 1 Timothy 4:8 says: “For bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable for all things” (N.K.J.V.). I’m also well aware that overweight Christians love that verse because it seems to dismiss the need for exercise. Nevertheless, a … Continue reading

Posted in Alcohol, Dieting, Dress and Appearance, Drugs, Gambling, Gluttony, Homosexuality, Idolatry, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Sanctification, Sex, Sin, Temptation, The Heart, The Holy Spirit, The Tongue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Family Resemblance

Let me shock you: God’s chief characteristic is not love. “Then what is it it?” you ask. Answer: holiness. Psalm 47:8 doesn’t say God sits upon his “loving” throne. It says He sits upon His “holy” throne. When Moses stood before the burning … Continue reading

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Disobedience, Fatherhood, God's Holiness, God's Love, Heaven, Hell, Holiness, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Salvation, Sanctification, Sin, Temptation, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Divine Link Between Growing & Learning

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me… (Matthew 11:29, N.K.J.V.) There was a preacher who had been in the ministry for twenty years. In a conversation he had with one of his church members, he said with pride, … Continue reading

Posted in Backsliding, Bible Study, Church Attendance, Commitment, Discernment, Discipleship, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Giving, Personal Holiness, Prayer, Preaching, Sanctification, Service, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Making Excuses for Your Sins

Four old codgers were playing poker for money in the back of their local store. Suddenly, the sheriff walked in on them and said, “Gambling again, eh? This time I’m going to arrest you fellows just to teach you a … Continue reading

Posted in Addiction, Adversity, Attitude, Backsliding, Change, Disobedience, Drugs, Gambling, Gluttony, Lust, Lying, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Problems, Racism, Rebellion, Repentance, Sanctification, Sex, Sin, The Tongue, Worry | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Water Lines & Old Paths

You don’t have to be a nautical expert to know that boats must be as solid below the water line as they are above it. A boat that looks good above the water line but is rotten below it will eventually sink. Well, the … Continue reading

Posted in Adversity, Backsliding, Bible Study, Church Attendance, Commitment, Confession, Discipleship, Doing Good, Faithfulness, Giving, Obedience, Perseverance, Prayer, Priorities, Repentance, Righteousness, Sanctification, Scripture, Service, Sin, Stewardship, The Bible, Trusting In God, Witnessing, Worry, Worship | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Different Agendas

When my son Ryan was in high school and trying to get a chance to play college baseball, I took him to a Prospect Camp at a small college in Georgia. The college had a successful DII baseball program, and … Continue reading

Posted in Adversity, Aging, Complaining, Contentment, Desires, Disappointment, Discernment, Discipleship, Elderly, Faithfulness, God's Love, God's Omniscience, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Heaven, Loneliness, Persecution, Perseverance, Personal, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Problems, Prosperity, Sanctification, Sickness, Spiritual Warfare, Sports, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Your Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat … Continue reading

Posted in Addiction, Backsliding, Choices, Commitment, Conscience, Decisions, Desires, Discipleship, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, God's Will, God's Word, Lust, Man's Freewill, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Righteousness, Sanctification, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment