Consecrate yourselves there, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.  You shall keep My statues and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.  Leviticus 20:7-8

Harry Ironside, one of the first pastors of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, said… “A Christian is someone whose past has been altered.”  The resurrection power of Jesus that raised Him from the dead is making us new, in every way, on the inside.  

Jehovah is the God who sanctifies us. To sanctify is to become holy. God is slowly changing us to become like Jesus. Sanctification happens every single day if I yield to the process. I’m transformed in baby steps, and though I may not see massive changes in a week, the cumulative effect over a year should be enormous. In a decade, I shouldn’t resemble who I used to be. 

Here are some examples of what it may look like.  

• If an angry mother raised me and I still tremble in the presence of anger, Christ’s resurrection power slowly delivers me from fear and makes me bold.  I am sanctified to be calm and prayerful through another’s rage.
• If I was raised to be someone else’s puppet and never had a thought or dream of my own, Christ’s resurrection power frees me from the control of others. I am sanctified to follow Christ and embrace His plans for me.
• If I was criticized relentlessly for almost everything I did and still feel a crippling fear of doing something wrong, Christ’s resurrection power delivers me from playing it safe.  I am sanctified to become a Joshua who goes forward in confidence to conquer spiritual mountains.

You and I have been set apart from this world to be different.  We have each been singled out.  Jehovah Mekaddishkem picked us long before we were born.  We have great faith in the transforming power of Christ.  We thrill at every Word He speaks.  We tremble at the presence of the Holy Spirit.  We run out of the grave to new life.  

It takes a lifetime, though, for the grave clothes of the flesh to be unwrapped.  Daily, we die to ourselves and cling to new life in Christ.  As we do, we become more peculiar.  We live as aliens and strangers.  As I’m writing this, I’m aware that we are a family of daughters who know the pain and the exhilaration of the sanctification process.  Every sacrifice is worth it, and we cheer each other on to the finish line.   

Only true disciples can celebrate this name of God.  We’ve yielded to the Potter and seen His glory revealed in us.  

Thank you for choosing us and for patiently working with us. Amen