Sanctification
January 22, 2024
Faith
January 22, 2024
Faith
The sanctification of thoughts, on the surface, seems easy enough; live and love like Jesus, period. And in our routines of life, when things are easy having God’s will top of mind can, without warning, turn into autopilot. My routine to most might sound a bit sadistic; waking up at 4:00AM walking downstairs with two cats walking infinity between my legs weaving in and out as I make my way to feed them. A few meows and purrs later and I’m off to make coffee and sixty seconds later I’m nose deep in the Bible. From there I crack open my prayer journal and begin thanking God for all the glory and grace he bestows upon his people. A couple of hours later my little one, Xander who is 9, comes downstairs and ‘sneaks’ a popsicle and makes his way back upstairs to take a bath and read. Shortly thereafter my wife Yolanda comes downstairs and makes herself a cup of coffee and our predictable day begins. I’m off to shower, she’s making breakfast for Xander and off to school and work we go.
When my routine is broken, something I’m so accustomed to, and have grown so fond of, I find myself plugged back into the Matrix. This is my time of peace where the Holy Spirit reveals Himself in me. A time where intentional prayer flows as freely as my breath. An opportunity for Christ to reveal His Glory, His Power and His Grace to sanctify my thoughts through His Living Word. Without this opportunity for His purity through His Word; the bustle of life and work creep in.
That’s another topic we can delve into later. For me, the first Fruit to die on the vine when my spiritual routine is broken is patience. I just don’t have any, especially for myself. From there I lose self-control, then goes peace, then gentleness and lastly kindness. I quickly move into a joyless state of self-loathing in a carb shell waiting to pinch the next person to poke me with a stick.
To find grace in self-loathing is akin to nothing I can think of, literally nothing. The day is already off kilter and my thoughts are in a negative pattern. In a moment of desperation, I say a quite prayer, nothing happens. Then I pull out the Bible app and poke my way over to the verse of the day, questioning if it has any meaning to my current situation. Three seconds later I realized it doesn’t and I tap, tap over to the Gospels and freeze. “What do I need in this moment?” The love of John, the tongue of Mathew or the passion of Luke? John of course, and three chapters later I look from side to side and glimpse peace, no longer in the rearview mirror.
Life takes place in every moment, every second, every nanosecond that we are currently existing in. This is where sanctification takes place, not in the past nor in the future. When spiritual routines are broken it can cause serious chaos in our minds, intentionally or not Jesus was put in the back seat. Before long, His Fruit withers and we find ourselves in OUR SELF and not in Him. Making him a priority outside of routine is a practice; going to church on Sunday’s isn’t making Him a priority. Jesus must be top of mind, all the time. Nearly impossible to remember in the heat of the moment. Enter stage left, an appropriate cliche, a little quip to remind ourselves of Him. One of my personal favorites, motion changes emotion.
When caught in the downward spiral of self, muttering motion changes emotion over and over gets me into action. For me, being of service to another person is my de facto to unplug from the Matrix. My flesh is weak, and it can take considerable time before I start moving. Yesterday, my movement when I couldn’t even utter a word to my wife was to just walk to the car, get in, and write a prayer in my spare journal. Who doesn’t keep a spare prayer journal in their car?
I’ve started building micro-routines to envelope my day in the Lord. From masterminds, to Zoom small groups to a tithing of time. I started by tithing 1% of my day during work to get lost in the Bible. It’s only 15 minutes but sometimes it turns into 30. Often, the chapter I’ve read is relevant to my day. This falls outside of my normal morning routine and provides connection to Him, especially when I have opportunity to discuss what I’ve just read, even just a verse highlight sent to a friend. This often results in a deeper conversation, and when driven by the Holy Spirit a deeper connection with my friend.
When you’re in the thick of it, and sanctifying your thoughts isn’t even a thought, get outside of yourself. Find your cliche and emblazon it in your mind’s eye. Get up and move, do something to find Him and allow His peace to cleanse your mind. His Spirit in you will carry you through the struggle like a leaf floating in a creek. Tithe your time to Him, and in His word, you will fade into He and Him.
