Holiness and Sanctification

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely."--1 Thessalonians 5:23.  In Paul's first letter one of the things he calls the Thessalonian church to is sanctification.  This meant abstaining from sexual immorality and other forms of sin.  In calling them to sanctification, Paul also recognized that while the choice to live a holy life was theirs. The sanctification was done by God Himself.  God sanctifies us ENTIRELY.

God sanctifies us entirely.  I think this is a pretty awesome thing to think about.  God makes holy everything about us, inside and out!!! We may be imperfect creatures but through Christ, God makes us holy and perfect.  No, nothing about our physical appearance changes but through Christ what we and others can't see is made clean and perfect.  This fact does not take away from our choice to want to be made holy.  God does not force anything on us.  The choice to want to be made holy is ours.  If we want to be made holy, we must make a choice.  Our choice begins with a desire to be obedient to Christ. Not just in what we say or do but also in what we think about.  Most of what we think about is a product of the environment around us and what we allow ourselves to be exposed to.  What are you allowing yourself to be exposed to? At the writing of this devo I was just told that a glimpse into my thoughts are seen through these devos.  This has encouraged me to continue to expose myself to the Scriptures. I wish I could say my thoughts were constantly on the Scriptures but this is not always the case.  There are so many other things that command my attention.  Not bad things necessarily but still other issues and responsibilities I have to tend to, especially to those I love and care about, such as you the reader :-).  We are told in Philippians 4:8 to dwell on that which is noble, pure, lovely, among several other things.  Scroll over the verse to read the list for yourself. If we are to dwell on these things it is things of this nature that we must expose ourselves to. So what is it that is keeping you from letting God sanctify you ENTIRELY? Maybe its movies you watch or maybe its the music you listen to.  Or maybe it's a person in your life that is keeping you from being holy. If this is the case, consider your relationship with that person and make an attempt to bring them closer to Christ and making them holy rather than letting said person drag you down.  Point is we need to be around that which will help us help God to make us holy. Keep these practical examples in mind. Until then may the God of peace Himself sanctify you ENTIRELY! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL GOD BLESS! THINK SOULS!