How God entirely sanctifies His children

I want to share with you the good news of the gospel and how God wants to deliver us from sin and make us holy and blameless and full of His perfect love. In this article I want to share with you what sanctification is, how God brings it to pass and how we can define it as “entire sanctification”. Although this is a somewhat lengthy article, I hope you will prayerfully and diligently read all the way to the end and then ask the Lord to reveal what He desires to do for and in and through you by His sanctifying power and Holy Spirit!

Let us begin first with what the Scriptures say about sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 tells us that God’s will is that we would be sanctified. God wants and desires for us to be made holy. Let us be reminded that God’s desires are always perfect, holy and right. What God wants He works for with all that He has and all that He is. He is working tirelessly that you and I would be holy as He is holy. Not only does God desire that we be sanctified but He also assures us in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that He Himself will sanctify us entirely. What an amazing promise! Now we know according to Hebrews 10:10 that “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” which indicates to us that all who have been born again have already been set apart, forgiven, cleansed and have received His Holy Spirit at salvation which is the point of initial sanctification. But there is an “entire” sanctification that is available when there is an entire surrender from us. In fact it is both God’s desire and His command to us in Hebrews 12:15 that we diligently pursue holiness and the sanctification that He offers, and that without such a sanctification we will not in fact see the Lord. Finally we see in Hebrews 13:12 that Jesus came and died to sanctify His people and as such we understand that Jesus’ sacrifice already makes possible the entire sanctification of His children because His is a finished, perfect, holy and entirely sufficient work. What a beautiful starting place: God wants us to be sanctified, He will do the work, He has paid the price, without sanctification we could not be with Him forever but the work of Jesus has secured it for all who will believe and receive!

Let us turn now to defining sanctification. Sanctification in its most basic understanding is being set apart, filled full, cleansed, delivered, empowered, and imparted with righteousness and holy love. This we know begins the moment a person is born again. The very moment a person is justified (forgiven, regenerated and adopted) that person is also initially sanctified and whatever we give to God He sets apart, fills, cleanses, delivers, empowers and imparts righteousness and holy love into. The dilemma of course is whatever we hold back from God and simply don’t allow Him access to. Some of this comes by ignorance (not realizing we are holding it back) but other things are held back because of selfishness. I am so glad that the moment we are born again we are also initially sanctified and set apart but I also don’t want to stop there when I know God has so much more for you and me!

Since we know the basics of sanctification let us begin considering how a person can be entirely sanctified even here on earth. Recognize that God sets apart entirely that which has been completely given to Him. He sets us apart from sin and unto Himself and sets us apart for His perfect and holy purposes. If we give it to Him, He sets it apart. God also fills entirely that which is given to Him and emptied. But, He only fills what is given to Him and He only fills what is emptied of sin and pride and ready to be filled.  God cleanses entirely that which is confessed and surrendered. He cleanses of all sin – but He only cleanses what He has been given. He cleanses of all guilt – He doesn’t cover up sin, but  rather forgives and cleanses and purifies of all unrighteousness. Often when guilt remains in the heart of believers it is because we have not given full control so He can get rid of the root of selfishness and pride.  He also cleanses us of all shame – He removes the condemnation and shame of defeat and bondage  but when shame remains it is because we have not given Him full control to break every chain. 

And so at this point we are learning that God entirely sets apart, fills and cleanses that which is entirely given to Him. It’s not like if we give it to Him that He says “nah, I don’t think I will make that part holy; no, I don’t think I will cleanse that part of you; no, I don’t think I will fill that part of you; good luck”. That would not be holiness at all, and we know our God is completely holy!

Let us look at 3 more things that God wants to entirely do in us. God will entirely deliver us from false ideologies, old masters and destructive enemies. He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He dethrones and crucifies the sinful nature (the selfish inner man) and by the fullness of the Spirit within He pushes back the powers of darkness. God also empowers entirely that which is fully availed in weakness. By the fullness of the Spirit within us, holy, true and loving words, actions, attitudes, behaviors flow forth from our lives. Finally, God entirely makes holy that which is fully filled with and united with Himself. He gives us a new heart, mind, and spirit at justification/initial sanctification. The heart, mind and spirit He gives us are good and perfect gifts. The only things that are righteous and good and perfect are from God and filled with/united with God. Therefore even the new heart, mind and spirit have to be entirely given daily to Him (along with everything else in our lives) in order for Him to release the fullness of His power into all of a believer’s life. Somehow by His divine and sovereign power when He entirely sanctifies us (in a moment, by grace through faith, after we entirely surrender to Him) He changes our spiritual DNA so we have and operate by His fullness and He literally makes us righteous by our union with Him. And so yet again I remind us that if we entirely surrender to Him, God does not say: “nah, I don’t think I will deliver you from that sin, you’re gonna have to stay under that sin; or no, I’m not going to empower and help you, keep trying on your own; or, no, I’m not going to give my holiness unto you, I died to forgive you but your holiness is up to you”. That is nonsensical, and yet sadly what we sometimes believe. 

So Does God only partially sanctify us?  Only inasmuch as He will only save, sanctify, heal, redeem, and use that which is given to Him. Many times we are only partially sanctified because God has sanctified the parts that He was given but will not and cannot sanctify that which has been held back. So if we give Him ourselves entirely, then He will entirely sanctify us.

Therefore God entirely sanctifies that which is entirely consecrated to Him. God does not sanctify things unconsecrated. Anything therefore that is reclaimed by us from God to serve self, world or darkness is not sanctified any more. But furthermore, anything that remains fully consecrated, God will continually entirely sanctify and keep in a state of righteousness and holiness.

Let us consider briefly what entire sanctification does not mean. It does not mean that we are perfect. Only God is perfect in all things (wisdom, strength, love, etc) and although He makes us into His image and likeness with ever increasing glory, He does not make us God. We will still make mistakes and be weak and in need of His guidance and provision. Being entirely sanctified does not mean that it is impossible to sin. Everyone has a choice. We choose Christ’s Lordship, give ourselves fully over to Him and ask and allow Him to entirely sanctify us. We then have to remain continually consecrated in order to allow Him to continually entirely fill us and unite with us. Entire sanctification does not mean that we will not have temptation. Jesus was tempted and yet we know He was completely holy and never sinned. Let us never convolute temptation with sin and thereby accuse Jesus of not being perfectly holy or sanctified or accusing Him of sinning. Lastly, being entirely sanctified does not mean the immediate and complete annihilation of the enemy of pride/sin nature/selfishness/depravity from existence in the universe. This needs to be addressed further:

God has chosen to allow some of His enemies to remain (in His infinite wisdom) awaiting the day when they will be completely subject to Him, placed under His feet, thrown into the lake of fire and utterly destroyed forevermore. When we are entirely sanctified, pride/sinful nature/selfishness continues to exist but is dethroned, crucified, no longer our master, and stripped of power in our lives. At entire sanctification pride/sinful nature/selfishness is placed outside the soul/spirit of man. Even after entire sanctification this pride will be urged on by forces of darkness and try to break back into the life of the entirely sanctified. Of course we know that one day pride/sinful nature/selfishness will be completely annihilated and destroyed and cease to exist at all in this universe when all God’s enemies are fully placed under Jesus’ feet, but this does not occur at the moment of entire sanctification. However since our sin nature was given to Jesus at entire consecration and since he has entirely defeated it, entirely crucified it, entirely dethroned it, entirely tossed it out of our lives, the only way for our sin nature to get back into our lives, gain a stronghold or have any lasting influence in our lives is that we would personally empower it by giving heed to the words of darkness. If we only walk in the light, then the dead things will remain dead in our lives and we will remain entirely alive in the Spirit. OB Wilson Jr once said “The carnal nature is not destroyed out of the world, but only out of those hearts that are yielded to God.”

So what does entire sanctification mean and look like in a person’s life? It means that we are entirely able to live by complete faith, in complete surrender, with a complete motive of holy, perfect love (by and with His heart in us). It means we are entirely able to say no to temptation, sin and pride. Entire sanctification means that we are entirely able to operate in His power to push back darkness, tear down strongholds, declare His gospel, actively live out righteousness and holiness.

I want to close with the obstacles and hurdles to entire sanctification, which of course is primarily the sin nature (which might also be called pride or selfishness). There are many things believed about the sin nature, but I want to simply leave us with a consideration of what the Bible says about this, so that we can see that when God entirely sanctifies His children the sin nature is defeated and Jesus is indeed Lord of all.

Galatians 5:24 declares that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desire” which tells us that to be entirely sanctified the sin nature must be crucified. Furthermore, we know from 1 John 2:16 all sin nature is not from the Father but from the world and from Romans 7:18a that there is nothing good in the sin nature. As a matter of fact Paul explains even further in Romans 7:25 that the sin nature serves sin and in Romans 8:5-6 that the sin nature thinks about the activities of sin which lead unto death. But here is the good news: God removes the sinful nature by His supernatural work of cleansing, purifying, and sanctifying  (See Colossians 2:11). And so God fully intends that any child of His would entirely belong to the Spirit of God and be entirely divorced from the sinful nature (Romans 8:9). So let us realize that if we “are living according to the flesh, [we] must die; but if by the Spirit [we] are putting to death the deeds of the body, [we] will live” (Romans 8:13). And so we recognize that even a child of God has the continuing choice to either listen to the voices of the enemy, the world and the sin nature or heed the call of God and live according by and unto God’s Holy Spirit. A believer remains and walks entirely sanctified only inasmuch as they put to death the deeds of the body and walk according to the Spirit. (see also Galatians 5). But finally, with entire consecration and the victory Christ gives of His entire sanctification we are empowered to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts”( Romans 13:14).  So when we put on Jesus – abiding in Him and Him in us – we let the sinful nature die and stay dead and we let the perfect, holy, entirely sanctified life of Christ become our life!

The lie of “more”

There is a falsehood that is often believed by many people. I know I have been taken in by it, and maybe you have too.

The lie is that you have to “do more,” and that you need to “get more.”

The accusatory thought is that you are not working fast enough, you are not doing it well enough and that you will never get it done or do it right.

These are words of condemnation.

The accuser of Christians is the devil and he loves to use words like these to trip us up, get us tied up in knots and keep us going nowhere.

But this is the truth that we need to cling to and live according to: In Christ there is enough! There is enough time, there is enough energy, there is enough money, to do what needs doing, because God Himself has availed to us everything we need for life and godliness. We of course must ask. And then we must receive and walk according to what He gives us, but in Christ there is enough.

So the next time you hear the lie that you need to do “more” and be “more,” recognize it for what it is, push it out of your mind and then slowly, carefully work on what God leads you to. Whatever must be done, God will help you, and furthermore He will also help you to know what is unimportant.

Please, remember: Christ is enough, in Christ we have enough and by His atonement, He makes us enough!

So consumed

Do you find yourself so consumed with thoughts, feelings, plans and obligations that you just don’t know what to do? Like the expression: “I have so much to do, I don’t know what to do!”

There are many things that vie for our attention. Many things that are worth paying attention to, and many more things that we need to ignore.

Since we are so consumed in this way, how can we know what to focus on, what to ignore and what to do next?

First of all, I recommend that you get rid of all of your distractions in order to sit down and prayerfully sort through all the noise and options in your life. Find a quiet, empty room (maybe at your church or a local library) and bring nothing with you but a blank piece of paper or journal. Write down all of the things that God has given you and what He is teaching you. Then write down what you know you are neglecting, all of the things that seem to be begging for your attention, and finally (after much prayer) write down what you believe God is saying your purpose and goals are for this season of your life.

Second, after you have these things written down, go to your pastor, Sunday school teacher, counselor or a godly friend and share with you them what you are have written down and what you are struggling with. Ask for their input. In particular, ask them to help you discern if anything you have written down is incorrect (in light of Scripture) or if there is any wisdom they can give to you for your journey.

Third, even after you have done this, don’t yet begin working on your list and checking things off of it. Instead take a day, a week or even a month and fast and pray about the things on the list. Then while you are fasting and praying, try to eliminate the noise and the extra voices in your life and instead listen only the God (through the Bible, preaching, teaching etc) and continue to write down the things that you believe God is speaking to you.

Finally, after all of this, then only implement one or two things at a time (unless the Lord Himself directs you otherwise). Work on the new tasks diligently for 4 – 6 weeks and when they begin to become habits in your life, then you can add 1- 2 more things. Remember, the point of this is to discern the will of God for what to do with all of the many choices and voices in your life and then to intentionally develop a plan to work through them one on one until you are only doing what God directs and are not consumed by the fear and the incessant demands and accusations. Your goal is to peacefully, patiently and joyfully take one step of faith at a time to accomplish what God has laid out for you.

May God richly bless you as you seek His will and to live an intentional and disciplined life to His glory and according to His plans and purposes for your life!

Are you distracted? Are you tired? Is everything just too much?

If you feel like everything is just too much, too overwhelming and too painful, I want to share some life-altering truth with you!

Please take the time to read both the first and the second parts of this article. They are both exceedingly important.

Part 1

The gospel of Jesus Christ, is a message of good news of deliverance for all who will receive it from God. It is a gift of salvation, paid for by the sacrifice of God, the death of Jesus and the victorious salvation offered to us by God. All we have to do is to believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and then live it out and we can receive freedom from worldliness, distraction, discouragement, sin, shame, guilt, etc. God begins the process of fully setting us free and sanctifying and glorifying us with a single step of faith, wherein we say to Jesus: “Yes I believe! Now what do I do?”

You may be saying to yourself, what does that have to do with the title of this article? I’m glad you asked

First, if you and I are distracted by sin, tired of running from God and feeling under a weight of guilt, shame and emptiness, then God is the answer to this and all we have to do is listen, believe, receive and then walk with God our Savior.

But it might also be that you are already a Christian and you still feel distracted, tired and overwhelmed and you can’t figure out why…

Part 2

Here is some straightforward and difficult truth that you might need to hear.

As Christ followers we are not supposed to act or react like the world. We are not supposed to behave or think or talk like the world. And yet over and over again Christians seem to do these very things.

Why is that?

In large part because the greatest influencers in many Christians lives are secular culture, Hollywood, worldly music, materialism, social media, etc. In other words we begin believing and acting according to the input that we receive and Christians are constantly digesting the world’s content.

So please, if you are already a Christian and you want to get rid of your distraction, your fatigue and the overwhelming discouragement in your life, start with cutting out the input and content from the world. Turn off the TV, turn off your phone, unplug from technology and instead plug in to God with all of the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship, meditation, fasting, etc. Do this for a week or a month or even longer! And watch and see how as God detox’s your mind and soul from the corruption of the world, that all of a sudden you will notice the craziness of the world’s distraction, tiredness and defeat fall off of you and you will be able to walk in the freedom made possible by the amazing grace and perfect provision of Jesus Christ!

Tending God’s flock with patience, holiness, wisdom and understanding

Dear pastor,

What would it be like, if collectively, all of God’s shepherds would pray daily for their flocks? What would it be like if we all reached out with love and compassion as well as the challenging truths of the gospel? What would it be like if we all modeled a life of peace and holiness of speech and attitude and behavior?

Of course, we know, we are far from perfect! And we know that we keep making mistakes, and yet: God’s grace is bigger!

And since God is our ever-present help and is the fire around us and the glory within us, I just believe that it is possible that God’s shepherds can indeed be men and women who are after God’s heart and can feed, lead, guide and tend God’s flock with patience, holiness, wisdom and understanding.

Let us be different in how we pastor and how we preach

Dear fellow minister and servant leader of God’s people,

What does it look like to be faithful to the call God has placed upon us?

In the middle of this crazy mixed up world and even in the midst of polarizing, divisive and judgmental perspectives within the church, how can we stand out as lights?

Here are 3 powerful ways:

1. Let us make sure that we do not throw mud on the bride of Christ. So many pastors, ministries and churches these days seem to make their mark by pointing out everything that is wrong with everyone else. Let us continue to look for what is right, holy and good in not only our church but even in the churches around us. And when we do sense that something is wrong, let us not condemn, or pass judgment but instead pray and as the Lord directs gently restore those who have gone astray. Let us be different in this way.

2. Let us make sure that we don’t talk about God more than we talk to God. It is easy to be a Pharisee. Let us continue to talk to God, listen to God and enjoy the sweet commune of simply worshiping and waiting in His presence. Let us be different in that we actually take the time to make the space in our lives and at the church to always pray and fellowship with God.

3. Let us make sure that we don’t talk about the church more than we talk about God and His salvation. The church is a beautiful gift and a wonderful body that God has formed but the point of the church is to make much of God, not of ourselves. Let us be different in that we don’t spend our time talking about the messenger (the church) and forget to talk about the message (Jesus!).

Thank you in advance for intentionally joining me in these 3 things. We want to shine as lights in this world and we don’t want to get caught in the traps of the enemy and if we pay attention to these three things I know that God will grow our faith and our effectiveness for Him.

Please let us continue to pray deeply and regularly for each other and for our flock! I sense that God is moving mightily in our midst and perhaps in ways we have not seen before and as such I know we must be on guard against the devil and his schemes.

I thank God for each of you

Be a shepherd who lays down your life for the sheep

The call to pastoral ministry is a difficult call.

We are to shepherd people, oversee the administration of the church, equip the people for works of service, preach the gospel, care for the sick, hurting and absent, and the list goes on.

Perhaps one of the more difficult roles shepherds must tend to (and it seems to be increasingly necessary) is that of protector and defender. We need to protect the sheep in our care from wolves that would try and destroy them. We are called to defend the integrity of the Word and protect the doctrinal standards of the church.

In the midst of protecting and defending we will have opposition and feel caught in the middle. Let us remember 4 vital things about protecting the people and guarding the Word and doctrine of the church:

  1. The people need to be protected from false teaching, but we also need to equip them to identify it themselves and to learn and apply the true gospel to their lives and the church
  2. Knowing the Word of God is vital to identifying falsehood as well as knowing when and how to call it out. We must study the Bible like a dying man searching for food or water to save him
  3. To know the Word we also need the gifts and tools of Godly counsel and the traditions/liturgies of the church to help us interpret and apply what the Bible is saying. Let us not arrogantly assume that we have the answers in our own head without seeking wisdom outside of ourselves
  4. Finally let us carefully seek God’s counsel for when and how to correct and rebuke and instruct. Let us remember about “casting pearls before swine” and “endless genealogies and myths” whilst also remember that with “gentleness and respect” we are to “always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have” especially as we are “watching over our life and doctrine closely”

I know there is so much more to be said about this, but I am calling pastors to please be sure to protect and defend, but let us also do it with gentleness and respect (because how we shepherd is vitally important. We must shepherd like Jesus and even work for the salvation and transformation of the wolves). But whether the wolves are ever won over to the Lord, we still must defend the people and the truths of the gospel. This is a necessary role of being a shepherd, let us not run away when a wolf comes, like we are only ‘hired hands’ but instead let us recognize we are to be true under-shepherds of the Good Shepherd, and as He did, so should we, be willing to lay down our life for the sheep. 

Dearly beloved: stop, listen, pay attention, God is trying to speak to you

Dearly Beloved,

God is trying to get your attention. Your attention is elsewhere. Not on Him. Your ears and your eyes are focusing on other people and other things and other thoughts, and not on Him. 

God is using His voice, His power, His Spirit, His Word, His church, His children to try to get your attention. 

“Why” do you ask? For what purpose is God trying to get your attention?

It is for these reasons:

  • You are worried and concerned about many things, but only one thing is needed. And that one thing that is needed is that you sit at the feet of Jesus and listen
  • You say prayers and sing songs and speak words with your mouth that are supposedly for God’s glory and in line with His truth but in fact your heart is far from Him. You need to have an agreement of your speech with your heart. Your heart needs to desire Christ and His glory and holiness above all else, and your speech and actions need to reflect this.
  • You keep on judging other people and in fact the things you are judging them about are the exact same failings and sins that you yourself have committed. You need to stop judging and let God’s declaration of what is right and wrong come upon you. Let God convict you and deliver you from sin, and then once the log is out of your eye you can help the other person get the splinter out of their eye
  • You keep on cussing and cursing and saying unhelpful, untruthful things that do not build up but instead tear down. God is calling you to stop saying hateful things, stop saying crude, crass and coarse things. Let the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be pleasing in His sight. Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is useful for building others up according to their needs so that it will benefit those who listen. 
  • You are consumed with anger. The anger is because you have been hurt and you’re afraid. Sometimes your anger is because you feel out of control. But God wants to give you a peaceful spirit, a settled spirit, the Spirit of holiness, His own spirit of truth and gentleness and restfulness. Stop sinning in your anger or something worse will happen to you
  • You are running from the truth. As a matter of fact you already have been hearing the voice of the Lord in many different ways but you are ignoring it because you know it will cost you something. But the more you run, the more you hurt and the more fear you will have. Stop running, cease striving, be still and know that He is God. Wait patiently in His presence for Him to act. Those who wait on the Lord will be empowered to run, but not away from everything and everyone but instead on His path of righteousness, for His name sake and along the way you will be able to help other people because the truth from God will have truly set you free

God is trying to get your attention. But instead of listening you are trying to drown out His voice and cover up your sins and hide yourself from Him. But it is not working. The storm will continue to surge around you until you, like Jonah, admit that you are running from God and ignoring the Lord. Once you admit it, you will be able to find the deliverance and renewal of God in your life.

Dearly Beloved, you may not know how to stop and listen. You may not know how to stop running. You may not know how to get off the crazy ride that this world and your sin are taking you on. But I am here to tell you: 

  • Jesus Christ died for you and His grace is enough to save you
  • God is willing and able to save you and make you whole
  • Cry out to the Lord. Call on His name on you will be saved
  • Repent and believe 
  • Turn away from your sin and the world
  • Abandon your selfishness and hypocrisy
  • Admit that God is calling you out and reach out to a spiritual guide (pastor, teacher, Christian brother/sister) who can help you find God’s path
  • Let God remove the scales from your eyes so that you can see not only your sin and stuckness but also His amazing and all-sufficient power and grace which is able to forgive, cleanse and make you new.

Please, please, please, stop playing games with God and just get all in with Him. Hold nothing back. Pray and surrender and then watch and see what God will do for you and in you.

One word to describe your life, go:

There are certain words that consistently come up these days: 

  • Busy
  • Distracted
  • Tired
  • Stressed-out
  • Overwhelmed
  • Burned-out

I believe that there is a common denominator that ties all these things together.

Depending on how you read the title of this post, you may have already been trying to think of what one word describes your life. Maybe one (or more) of the words I have already mentioned seems appropriate. 

But I wonder if you might look back at the title and consider another word: “GO”

If you are always “on” and always doing, always thinking, always pursuing something, this word might fit you perfectly. You might even describe your life as “always on the go”.

Here is the problem: God never intended us to always be on. He calls us to rest. He created rhythms of life that help us to receive His peace. God has included daily times of rest, weekly times of ceasing from our labor, as well as annual times of stopping to celebrate Him, let the work cease and let our bodies, minds and spirits be refreshed and renewed.

So if your life is all about “GO”, I want to challenge you to try one (or more) of these things:

  1. Stop for one minute. Close your eyes. Breathe in and out slowly. Say “thank you God for loving me…please help me to trust you…I give everything and everyone to you”
  2. Grab a blanket and find a seat to watch creation (or a video like “Blue Planet”) and then just breathe in, breathe out and recognize that God who created all this can take care of you
  3. Set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes, put some worship music on, close your eyes and just listen and let the Holy Spirit minister to your soul
  4. Open your Bible or listen to the Bible for 10 minutes uninterrupted. Turn off your phone (and smartwatch too) and just rest in the reality of God’s perfect instructions, warnings and promises.
  5. Go for a 30 minute walk and while you are walking just start listing (outloud helps if you dare!) all of the many things you are thankful for. 
  6. Find a completely quiet room (dark too maybe) and if you are able to just kneel or lay down or sit with your palms facing up to heaven, and one-by-one say “God I give you _____” and release each of these things to God

There are other things you can do as well, including going to church, spending time with a Christian talking about God, or enjoying a good Biblical movie. The point is that you give yourself time to stop going and just rest in the presence of God and let Him cover you with His love, comfort and peace

I hope you will take me up on this. You may just find God changing you.

The joy and pain of pastoring

I love people. I love seeing them experience a breakthrough. I love seeing them live victoriously. I love laughing with them and rejoicing with them in the blessings and milestones of life.

But I also hurt for the pain they endure. And the pain they put themselves through. And the pain they cause other people to experience. I also hurt because of the pain they have caused me and those I love.

But I can’t quit. God won’t let me. And I have a fire inside of me that simply consumes and compels me. No matter the pain, I can’t stop. Even when the joy of ministry seems like it is fleeting or fleeing, even then I still have to love people, listen to people, pray for people, and tell people the good news of Jesus.

I pray that some things will get easier. I pray that I don’t get in the way of the work God wants to do. I pray that I am not the one causing another pain, but that instead I am the cause of their joy in the Lord.

I pray that I will be faithful and that God will be honored and that many people will be eternally impacted by my pitiful efforts.

There is deep joy and sometimes ongoing pain, but ultimately I don’t pastor for any temporary joy or temporary pain-relief here on earth but for the eternal glory of God and eternal blessings for all who will call on His name.

May God help us to faithfully press on through it all. Eternal joy is coming to all who will stand firm to the end!