March 22

Read: Acts 11:15-18

God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 11:17).

Through Decision And Faith

Dr. A. M. Hills tells of an old lady eighty years of age who testified: “I was converted when I was ten years old. I tried to grow into sanctification for sixty-nine years, and utterly failed. Then I got tired of trying to get it by growth, and last year I went to that altar and received it by faith in half an hour, and I have the blessing yet!”

This instantaneous entering into a new relationship with God is the testimony of those who have found the experience of heart holiness. And is it not what we should expect, being the kind of persons we are? Most of life’s great experiences climax in some decisive moment of time. Human life begins at the moment of conception. Birth has its gradual preparation but the event itself takes place in a decisive moment. Courtship is a growing experience but it leads to the sacred moment when two persons say, “I will.” The process of wearing out goes on in the human body from the time we are born, but there comes a crisis point when the body dies.

We should expect this great spiritual experience of entire sanctification to reach a critical instant because it depends upon choice and faith. Weighing alternatives is a gradual process, but a choice is made in a moment. Feeling our need and seeking to understand the truth may be a short or a long process, but there comes a point where we say, I believe God’s promise. It is this moment of decision and faith that precipitates the crisis and brings the blessing of entire sanctification.

Affirmation For Today

What I give, Christ takes; what He takes, He cleanses; what He cleanses, He fills. I have given myself; He has all of me; I believe God’s promise; I am cleansed; He now fills me with His Holy Spirit: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (II Corinthians 9:15).