So I’ve had to do some course work and study to confirm my credentials as a Wesleyan senior pastor. I guess being 45 years out of college told on me because I had a harder time than I thought I would. But by the grace of God and some hard work, I finished my course last year in Wesleyan history and practice with a 95. 🙂 Praise God, I felt like that was a wonderful accomplishment for a going on 66-year-old man, who wonders if a stroke episode didn’t hamper my memory a bit.

But at any rate I finished that course and did really well and so I have another next year before my final full transfer of pastoral credentials. And wow am I looking forward to this course! The subject matter is the doctrine of Holiness and Sanctification. So as I sat down today and started reading one of the books I must do for the course, I did what I don’t always do and read the prefaces and forwards.

Two comments by the author, Keith Drury hit me strong and I wanted to extrapolate a little bit on them. The first comment is that we’re “in need of men and women to be living examples of what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.” In the infancy of Christianity the first church flamed to life The Difficult conditions of persecution. So in that day it’s easy to understand that unless people were deeply committed they weren’t going to be able to make much of a difference.

Yet in our world of indifference and callous hearts and selfish Minds, the same is true. A cold manby Bambi half-hearted acquiescence to the gospel will win No one, in fact it may turn people off. But if we show the same completely sold out devotion that the first church did, while it may cost us something as believers. There is great likelihood that the evident power of a life consumed by Jesus Christ will more deeply strike and make a living impression, on our troubled world.

The second of his comments that I wish to expand upon is: Since God calls us to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength,” we can “presume one can actually obey this command. And I think this is the big mandate that is called of Christians today. Jesus would not have commanded us to love Him with everything we’ve got, inside and out, unless it is entirely possible! We can we should and if we will fulfill the Great Commission we must love the Lord with all our heart and strength. And thus discover and demonstrate the full measure of these somewhat forgotten terms of sanctification and holiness.

So while this may be an uncommon calling for common men! It is a possible dream not a lofty unattainable goal. We must let the living Christ live through us today to show this world in such desperate need the true love of Jesus!

Pastor Tim-