It is about coming home

NORSK
Since I am born and bred in The Salvation Army, I also belong to what we normally label as the ‘holiness movement’. Globally it is an extensive movement and its roots go way back to the church fathers. The evangelical part of the movement, is likely to refer to John Wesley as the one who revitalized the focus on the importance of holy living.

Wesley put much emphasis on the holiness experience as the ‘second blessing’. He frequently used a typological exposition of the Israelites’ exodus of Egypt, interpreting the crossing of the Red Sea as a parallel to receiving salvation in Jesus Christ, and the crossing of Jordan as entering into the second blessing, to be able to live in the presence of God in the pursuit of knowing him ‘fully’ (1).

It is a good illustration for the process we go through as Christians, a fact that also Gilbert Ellis commented on here on the blog a couple of days ago (2).

It is interesting that the prophecy from Hosea, which has been the focus of the last blogs, also opens up for a “two-step” experience of being revived:

After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
so that we may live before him.
Hos 6:2 CEB 

The Bible gives several examples when salvation occurs first and is followed by a second experience – the baptism of the Holy Spirit (3), and I believe it is important to be open for the fact that there is more “land to be conquered”. Even though I personally can point on a day of surrender and a day of baptism in the Spirit, I have over the years become more and more reluctant to speak about “two” experiences. 

The reason is that I have had many encounters with the Lord that have been of great importance for my own spiritual life, and I do not want to limit the Holy Spirit to work through a predestined number of important spiritual parameters. But, 'Yes!' there is salvation, there is a baptism in the Spirit and there is a way of holiness and many, many important blessings!

‘Manna’ for today:

I am home, but still on the road home.

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(1) Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Cor 13:12
(2) See: Gilbert’s comment
(3) Acts 8:14-17 & 19:1-7