Tag Archives: sanctification

June 25, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Open The Flow

During a drought one summer, my yard started to die. I began using the sprinkler in the evenings, and I moved it around every so often. Wherever I placed it, I would turn the water faucet on full blast in order to cover the most ground possible. Little by little, the grass began to turn green again. When I looked at my neighbor’s yards, many of them had started doing the same thing. I can honestly say that I didn’t see anyone watering their yards with the water barely turned on. Can you imagine how ineffective that would be? Yet some of us only open the flow of Jesus into our lives a little, and we wonder why we’re not growing.

When you accept Jesus as your savior, you are saved and begin your relationship with Him. However, you and I control the valve on how much we allow Him to influence our life. If we restrict the flow of Him into our life, not much is going to change in how we talk, act or live. We will remain in spiritual immaturity. Those who open the flow, will grow and be changed. The more of our life that we give Him access to, the more we become like Him. The more we move toward spiritual maturity. Our lives will bear the fruits of the Spirit as well. There are clear differences between those who restrict Jesus in their lives and those who don’t. Your spiritual life will always grow in proportion to the amount of influence you allow Jesus to have in it.

Colossians 1:10 says, “We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness!” (TPT) God desires that each of us would yield all of our life to Him. When we do, we open ourselves up to His fullness. How much of your life have you yielded to Him? If you’re not bearing much fruit in your life or are not experiencing all He offers, surrender everything to Him. You’ve trusted Him with your eternity. Why wouldn’t you trust Him with this life? How He sees you has to become more important than how others see you. Open up the flow of His presence in your life and watch the growth take place.

Photo by Paul Moody on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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June 24, 2026 · 5:49 AM

Retrain Your Identity

I’ve had several friends and family members who have gone through the adoption process. One of the things I’ve noticed, especially when older kids were adopted, is that some assimilate into the family and others struggle with it. The ones who struggle have accepted that they’re legally sons and daughters of the couple, but emotionally they’re still in the environment where they came from. They tend to hoard food, expect disappointment and sabotage the relationship because they have the expectation of being on their own again. They may be in a new home and family, but they struggle with their identity and mindset. It’s heartbreaking to see. It’s a long process to help them retrain their identity.

In Exodus 16, Israel had been freed from Egypt after having been slaves for 400 years. They had left Egypt quickly, but they were struggling to get Egypt out of them. They complained about their conditions constantly on their way to the Promised Land and often said they had wished they were still in Egypt. One of the ways God was trying to help reshape their identity was to give them manna from heaven each day. They could get as much as they needed for the day, but not more. They had come from scarcity and God was leading them to abundance, but their mindset needed to change. God was telling them He would meet them daily and supply their needs. They only needed to carry what was necessary because they didn’t need to fear an unknown future. They were sons and daughters now and no longer slaves. The first generation struggled with that concept and wouldn’t assimilate. They died in the wilderness rather than in a place of abundance.

Galatians 4:7 says, “Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir” (NLT). When you accepted Jesus, you were adopted by God. You are no longer a slave to sin. However, many of us fall into the same category as those above. Were legally His children, but emotionally we struggle to assimilate. God wants to lead us to a place of abundance, but He can’t if we’re stuck in our old mindset. We must retrain our identity. Find one area of your life where you’re struggling to let go of because of where you’ve come from and ask our Heavenly Father to help you trust Him in that area. While your legal status with God changed in an instant, the process of becoming like Christ takes time and is retrained a little at a time. Let God help you retrain your identity so you can live like a son or daughter of His. You are His own child.

Photo by Anna Keibalo on Unsplash

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May 26, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Polished To Perfection

Polishing the blade is one of the most satisfying parts of knife making. It reveals the grain, finish and craftsmanship that was put into it. The polishing process starts with holding the blade against a belt grinder using a coarse grit and progressively moving to a fine grit. Each grit removes the scratches from the previous one until there is a clean reflective surface that reveals the beauty of the steel. Before this polishing, the blade may be fully formed, but there are details and beauty hidden that only polishing can bring out. The polishing process can be slow and tedious. If the artist is too quick or too aggressive, it can damage the blade. The final polish is often done by hand in order to be slower and more intentional with the outcome.

Each of us goes through a process of sanctification when we are saved. I’ve seen some people delivered immediately from a habit, addiction or sin, while most undergo the process of becoming more like Christ as they get to know Him. The Holy Spirit starts with a coarse grit in our life removing the old man and everything that he stood for. While our soul is saved, our flesh and its desires need to decrease while Jesus increases in our lives. As our roots grow down deep into Him, He begins to switch to a finer grit to continue this sanctification process. We take on the mind and attitude of Christ mentioned in Philippians 2. We undergo a change from being led by our flesh to being led by the Holy Spirit. This process continues throughout our life to help us reflect Jesus.

In Philippians 3:12 Paul continues, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” Don’t fall into the comparison trap as you undergo this process. There will always be others whom God is using a finer grit with and others whom He is using a coarser grit with. Allow Him to work in your life at the pace He wants to go. You are being forged into His image for His purpose. Each step along the way, God will reveal more of who God created you to be. Don’t try to jump ahead. He will be faithful to complete what He started in you. Like Paul, you will not achieve perfection in this life, but press on anyway! 

Photo by David Ballew on Unsplash

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