LET JESUS LEAD YOU ON THE PATH TO A LIFE OF VICTORY
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“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6 –
Life is preparation for heaven. Our past is left on earth… our future is in heaven. God’s desire for us in this life is that we learn and grow in the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Colossians 1:9). His ultimate goal is to make us like Christ. Is there anything holding you back from becoming all that He created you to be?
As believers, we are on a spiritual journey. We travel from salvation to sanctification to glorification. Salvation begins when we give our lives to Christ and accept His complete forgiveness. We are not our own… we were bought at a price… the highest of prices (1 Corinthians 6:20). It cost Jesus His very life. His perfect sacrifice saves us and gives us eternal life.
We set out upon our road of sanctification… our spiritual walk that leads us toward Christlikeness. To be sanctified is to be chosen and set apart by Christ for His service. The Holy Spirit works in us and moves us toward perfection as we trust Christ and obey Him. When Christ returns, we will be glorified… made perfect like Christ.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” – Matthew 26:41
Sanctification is a lifelong process… a process of learning to walk in the Spirit. It is not something we achieve on our own. We do not at once become like Christ. In fact, we wonder why we still sin when we have been saved. Although now guided by the Holy Spirit, we still daily battle our carnal ways. Being on the road of sanctification does not mean we are perfect. That will not happen until our glorification. We will continue to fall short as we travel along our spiritual journey.
Each day we give to our Lord our sins, our failings, that continue despite our best efforts. He is not surprised… for only He has never sinned. That is why His forgiveness reaches back to our past and forward to our future. He has forgiven all our transgressions… once for all time… past, present and future.
We only grow spiritually by the power of Christ living within us. Only He can lead us along to spiritual maturity. We will stumble along the way. Yet our compassionate Savior gently picks us up and helps us move forward…. if we don’t give up. He is there to guide us every step of the journey. Our hope, our strength, our very life is in Him.
Along our road of sanctification, we allow Jesus to remove, little by little, all remnants of our old nature. He captures our hearts and fills us with His Spirit. He replaces our old ways of thinking and acting with His ways. He shepherds us along the path toward Christlikeness. Our defeated life becomes the victorious life He promises.
“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.” – Matthew 11:29-30
Our Savior leads us along our road of sanctification… making us into the people we were created to be. Every day we take up our cross and follow Him. We seek to empty ourselves of all that is not of Him. We submit to His work of aligning our values, goals and purposes with His. We aspire to glorify Him with our lives, seeking His guidance and direction all our days.
Let Jesus share the yoke you carry. Let Him daily bear your burdens, your struggles, your fears. Let Him pick you up when you stumble on your road of sanctification. For He is our gentle, kindhearted Savior who loves us beyond measure. Allow Him to take control of your life. Let the Shepherd of your soul guide you on your path to Christlikeness. Move from a life of defeat to a life of victory in Christ.
