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SANCTIFICATION

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  SANCTIFICATION By Steven H. Miller, Th.M. Sanctification is one of those “churchy” words we often hear tossed around during a church service. It is among the many terms used in the church that people may hear without fully understanding what they mean. The dictionary defines sanctification as “the action of making or declaring something holy.” In simplest terms, sanctification is the process of being sanctified—being made holy. If you read 1 Peter 1:13–16, you will get a good idea of what the call to sanctification is all about. It is a call to holy living. Lest I be misunderstood, I want to make clear that once we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are redeemed and, in that sense, already sanctified. Yet there remains a call upon our lives to live in holiness. We do not do so to earn our salvation or to perform some work that makes us worthy of being sanctified. Rather, we seek to live a holy life because we love Jesus and because He calls us to do s...
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Faith and Fear

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  Faith and Fear The Reality of Fear I have been thinking a lot about faith and fear lately—particularly fear. I know it may sound odd for a pastor to admit this, but I struggle with fear a lot. I always have. Ever since I was very little, I can remember being afraid of just about everything. I have gone through most of my life feeling it. Oh, I’ve been able to function reasonably well despite it, but I have regrettably made a lot of decisions in my life because I was afraid. I have allowed fear to control my life in ways that most people cannot even imagine. I think people struggle with fear more than we want to admit, especially if we are Christians. You see, the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (ESV). The obvious question is, if God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, then where does it come from? Satan is the obvious answer. So, as a Christian dealing with fear, admitting that you struggle with it can f...
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The Prayer of Faith

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                                          The Prayer of Faith James 5:13–20 Max Lucado once wrote, “Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” That statement points us toward one of the most important truths about prayer. Effective prayer does not depend upon our eloquence, our ability to find exactly the right words, or some special spiritual quality possessed only by a few Christians. Prayer has power because of the God to whom we pray. The Bible has much to say about prayer, and the concept of prayer runs throughout Scripture. God’s people pray in times of suffering and in times of joy. They pray when they need direction, healing, forgiveness, or help for someone else. Prayer is not intended merely for emergencies; it is part ...
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Profiting from Trials

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                                     Profiting from Trials Trials are a part of life that none of us can completely avoid. They come through conflict, suffering, disappointment, uncertainty, loss, and circumstances we never would have chosen for ourselves. Sometimes they arrive suddenly; at other times they develop slowly until we realize that life has become much harder than it once was. Scripture does not tell us that following Christ will insulate us from trouble. James begins his discussion with the assumption that believers will encounter various trials. James 1:2-4 tells believers to count it all joy when they encounter trials because the testing of faith produces patience. That does not mean we are expected to enjoy suffering or pretend that painful circumstances are pleasant. The joy comes from understanding that God can use those circumstances to accomplish something in...
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Faith Without Works Is Dead

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  Faith Without Works Is Dead James 2:14–26 Introduction For centuries, James 2:14–26 has generated considerable discussion because, at first glance, James seems to contradict what the Apostle Paul teaches concerning salvation. James declares that “faith without works is dead” and asks the rhetorical question, “Can faith save him?” Paul, however, writes in Ephesians 2:8–9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.” The apparent contradiction disappears when we understand the different issues the two men are addressing. Paul is explaining how a person is saved: salvation is by grace through faith, not as the result of human works. James is addressing people who have exercised genuine faith and is explaining what genuine faith should look like after salvation. His concern is faith without works compared with faith accompanied by works. James is not teaching that good works earn salvation....
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But God …

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  But God … What Do You Do When You Feel Like You’ve Done Nothing With Your Life? Here you are … in your 60s, getting ready to retire … if you haven’t already, wondering where the years went. There is a lot more behind you than you have left, and when you look at it all, you feel like you’ve done nothing with your life. What do you do? But God … Those may be two of the most hopeful words in Scripture. We can look backward and see wasted years, missed opportunities, poor decisions, disappointments, and things we wish we could do over. We can calculate how much time has passed and wonder whether there is enough left to make any difference. But God does not look at the calendar and reach the same conclusions we do. We often measure life by accomplishments. We think about the career we had, the money we made, the places we went, the things we built, the recognition we received, or the goals we reached. If those things do not seem especially impressive, it can be easy to conclude that o...
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