Justified" Is Even Better Than "just As

We Take What We Think Are The Tools Of Spiritual Transformation Into Our Own Hands And Try To Sculpt Ourselves Into Robust Christlike Specimens. But Spiritual Transformation Is Primarily The Work Of The Holy Spirit. He Is The Master Sculptor

From Our Limited Vantage Point, Our Lives Are Marked By An Endless Series Of Contingencies. We Frequently Find Ourselves, Instead Of Acting As We Planned, Reacting To An Unexpected Turn Of Events. We Make Plans But Are Often Forced To Change Those Plans. But There Are No Contingencies With God. Our Unexpected, Forced Change Of Plans Is A Part Of His Plan. God Is Never Surprised; Never Caught Off Guard; Never Frustrated By Unexpected Developments. God Does As He Pleases And That Which Pleases Him Is Always For His Glory And Our Good.

I Realize Anew That, Just As We Must Learn To Obey God One Choice At A Time, We Must Also Learn To Trust God One Circumstance At A Time. Trusting God Is Not A Matter Of My Feelings But Of My Will. I Never Feel Like Trusting God When Adversity Strikes, But I Can Choose To Do So Even When I Don’t Feel Like It. That Act Of The Will, Though, Must Be Based On Belief, And Belief Must Be Based On Truth.

Sanctification Is The Work Of The Holy Spirit In Us Whereby Our Inner Being Is Progressively Changed, Freeing Us More And More From Sinful Traits And Developing Within Us Over Time The Virtues Of Christlike Character.

We Need To Call Sin What The Bible Calls It And Not Soften It With Modern Expressions Borrowed From Our Culture.