May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul encourages believers that God will not leave them, that He is faithful to continue the work He has started in them. That is good news for us today also – God was, is and always will be faithful. It’s part of His character. You do not have to do this walk of life by yourself. A sanctified believer is a person set apart; a changed heart that wants to live godly, but it’s important to know that this is a lifetime pursuit as God works in our lives to be more Christ-like. For all of us there will be stumbling blocks; we live in a fallen and broken world, but God is and will be faithful to sanctify ALL of us - our soul, body and spirit. There is great hope knowing that even when I am not faithful to Him, if I come to Him and repent, He will be faithful to give me peace so that I can continue on. I am not discarded because of my doubts, or screw ups. I can come to Him and He will be faithful to finish His work in me. The fact of the matter is that we cannot live a life always obedient to God without His faithfulness. He will help us and equip us to live godly lives and a truly changed heart pursues that goal, but we are all sinners and without His faithfulness we would never make it to the glorious end He has for us and we would never be the person He has created us to be. We can not have victory in Jesus without His faithfulness and His work in us; we are His to mold. Let us hold on to this great truth that we are never alone and we will be made perfect in Him because of His faithfulness. Not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus has done and what God works in us. Glory to God! It doesn’t depend fully on me; He will complete it! ~ Amen
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