The Good and Bad of Fire

Fire will burn you, but it also provides so much to improve our daily lives.  It gives us light.  It gives us heat.  We cook with it.  We use it to purify metals and to shape them into tools and so much more.  As we discussed in the previous post, God often reveals Himself through fire.  Here we will discuss how fire is used for judgement, but it is also used to purify us, to help us to grow.  It is also used to represent the evil schemes of the devil, but we know that fire will await him in the end. Continue reading “The Good and Bad of Fire”

Be Sanctified

What does it mean to be sanctified?  Sanctification is one of those big words mostly used in Christian circles.  What exactly does it mean?  Is it something we are given? Something we have to do? Do we obtain it when we receive salvation or is it a process?  This is a discussion that I have heard recently with conflicting answers so I thought I would look into it.  In the old testament, it is used to mean “to make holy or set apart.”  It usually was something God decided to do for His people, an individual or His temple.  It was something He declared.  So what does it mean for believers?

I looked up the Greek term using e-sword (www.e-sword.net) to learn what the Greek terms are and what they mean.  From what I gathered, there are a couple different words and different uses (I found a few in particular:  hagaismos,  hagios, and hagiazo).  I am no scholar or anything near to that, but they seem to be derivatives of the same word.  They basically mean “sanctification, consecration, purification.”  To purify, make holy, set apart (for God’s glory  or to do His work).  It is the process of making or becoming holy.  Clear as mud, right?  Let’s look at the New Testament scriptures to see how the word is used. Continue reading “Be Sanctified”

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