Purifying or Putrefying?

Which process is the dominant force in your life? Are you being purified by the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit or are you decaying and putrefying with the stench of gangrenous sin?

January’s Awakening, Day 24

A faith which works not for purification will work for putrefaction. Unless our faith makes us pine after holiness, it is no better than the faith of devils, and perhaps it is not even so good as that. A holy man is the workmanship of the Holy Spirit.

 —Charles Spurgeon

The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.

 —Charles Spurgeon

I would sooner be holy than happy if the two things could be divorced. Were it possible for a man always to sorrow and yet to be pure, I would choose the sorrow if I might win the purity, for to be free from the power of sin, to be made to love holiness, is true happiness.

 —Charles Spurgeon

God has one destined end for mankind—holiness! His one aim is the production of saints. God is not an eternal blessing-machine for men. He did not come to save men out of pity. He came to save men because He had created them to be holy.

 —Oswald Chambers 

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 NIV 

            Once in a while, it’s good to have a bit of introspection with our meditation. How are you progressing in your pursuit of holiness? How much are you cooperating with the purging and purifying fire of the Holy Spirit? Are your relationships improving, especially your time spent with God? Are your behaviors and attitudes and thought patterns significantly more in line with Christ now versus five years ago? Is your focus positively fixed ahead on Jesus or are you living still in your disappointing past?

            If you’re not gaining you’re draining. And if you’re draining you’ll soon be empty and dry and dead in your sin. Resolve to do better today and every day. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you become that vessel of gold, inside and out, that God can use in special ways. Make holiness the priority in your life and spend quality time with God and those near and dear to your heart. It’s time to rise, moving ever forward and upward, forgetting what is behind and straining ahead, pressing on toward the goal and prize with holiness firmly in hand. Christ Jesus is waiting for you at the finish line.