Work in Progress

 Philippines 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.

We all are a work in progress. Paul writes that some of us are still being fed milk, babies in Christ, and others are eating meat. Everyone starts their Christian walk at different points in their lives. It is easy to judge others based on our personal journey. There are some that develop into mature Christian quickly, and others that struggle with old habits and need more time to be established and grounded in the Word. It is the Lord’s will that we all come to completion, whole in Christ. It is not His will that we remain immature Christian, always fed the milk of the Word. (1 Corinth 3). God desires that we come to live a holy life. (Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God). We struggle with our human frailties, but it is God’s will that we continue to grow. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification” (Heb. 12:14). Even after experiencing the work of sanctification in our lives, we still have a lot to learn. The work that God has started in our lives is done daily as we pick up the cross of Jesus and follow Him in obedience.

The Will of God

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

What is the will of God? There are a lot of things in life we are not sure of God’s will. We make choices every day and those choices often lead us down a road that we regret or rejoice. Finding God’s will in every decision of life is not realistic. We often make our decision base on our state of mind, the information we have, or how we feel. We do know that a heart that desires God’s will follows the admonish of His word. It is His will to rejoice and praise Him for salvation, for the blood that He shed for our sins. It is also His will that we have a praying heart, keeping the communication channels always open to talk to Him. His will is done when in spite of what happens in life that we are to lift up our voices and give thanks, and lastly, it is the will of God that we be sanctified, set apart from the evil of this world, choosing good over evil. Made vessels unto holiness to be preserved blameless and holy at His coming. This is done, when we allow the Holy Spirit to have free access and control of our heart. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification”. We may not know what to do, but we can know to choose that which is good and acceptable to God.

Being a Saint

Ephesians 4:11, 12 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

The calling of God to ministry has more than one purpose. All are called to be a witness to a lost world without Christ, to let our light shine in a world that is full of darkness. But there is more to ministry than reaching the lost for Jesus. The ministry of edifying the body of Christ for the purpose of establish believers in the faith and sound doctrine. All that follow Christ are made saints of God. The ministry of perfecting the saints is to draw followers of Christ closer to God, to put their faith in Christ to practice, to live a life of holiness and godliness. Achieving the title of “Sainthood” in our day is reserved for those who have demonstrated a life set apart from the world and have manifested the love Christ in every aspect of their lives. In this sense, we all that are sanctified strive to be saints. Obtaining “Sainthood” is a life long process, but living a life of a saint is a daily choice to live a holy life.