Romans 6:4
“Buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
What of Today’s Verse…
No one enters into the experience of entire sanctification without going through a “white funeral” – the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crisis of death, sanctification is nothing more than a vision. There must be a “white funeral,” – a death that has only one resurrection – a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can upset such a life; it is one with God for one purpose, to be a witness to Him.
Have you come to your last days really? You have come to them often in sentiment, but have you come to them really? You cannot go to your funeral in excitement, or die in excitement. Death means you stop being. Do you agree with God that you stop being the striving, earnest kind of Christian you have been? We skirt the cemetery and all the time refuses to go to death. It is not striving to go to death; it is dying – “baptized into His death.”
Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you sacredly playing the fool with your soul? Is there a place in your life marked as the last day, a place to which the memory goes back with a chastened and extraordinarily grateful remembrance – “Yes, it was then, at that ‘white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”
“This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” When you realize what the will of God is, you will enter sanctification as naturally as can be. Are you willing to go through that “white funeral” now? Do you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.
Words of Wisdom
Choices…
Every moment, you make a choice. You are where you are because of the choices you have made in the past. The choices you make today will determine your future. With each choice you make, ask yourself, “Where will this choice lead? How will it affect my life tomorrow, next week, next month, 5 years from now?”
Experience will teach you which choices work for you, and which ones work against you. Consider your life purpose, your goals, your direction, and your focus in the choices you make — which choices will enable you to develop into the person you want to be? You can spend your time doing the things that will bring you closer to your goals, or you can spend your time seeking immediate comfort and gratification. The choice is up to you, and it will make all the difference in the world.
A life that is successful and fulfilled is no more difficult than a life of mediocrity. Successful people aren’t any luckier, nor are they anymore intelligent, or more skilled than the average person. The fact distinguished successful people that they have chosen to do the things that will make them successful. Not just in the big decisions, but also every day, moment-by-moment decisions that make up the bulk of living.
Life is made of choices, not chances. Which choices are you making?
