June 23

Morning

Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is an unturned cake. — Hos 7:8 BSB

A cake not turned is uncooked on one side; and so it was with Ephraim—untouched by divine grace in many respects. There was some partial obedience, but much rebellion remained. My soul, I charge you, examine yourself to see if this describes your condition. Are you complete in your walk with God? Has grace penetrated the very core of your being, so that its divine influence is evident in all your actions, words, and thoughts? Your aim and prayer should be to be sanctified in spirit, soul, and body. While sanctification may not be perfect in any area of your life, it must be at work universally. There should be no appearance of holiness in one part of your life while sin reigns in another, or you too will be like a cake not turned.

A cake not turned is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire. While no one can have too much religion, some seem to be charred black with an excessive zeal for one part of the truth they’ve embraced or scorched with a Pharisaic display of religious practices that suit their preferences. Such an outward show of sanctity often masks a complete lack of genuine godliness. The person who appears saintly in public may, in private, be corrupt. Such a person is like a cake burnt on one side and raw dough on the other. If this describes me, O Lord, turn me! Turn my unsanctified nature toward the fire of Your love and let me feel its sacred warmth. Let the side of me that is burned cool while I learn my own weakness and lack of fervor when I am removed from Your flame. Let me not be a double-minded person, but one wholly under the influence of Your grace, for I know that if I remain a cake not turned, I risk being consumed forever in the fire of judgment.

Evening

Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. — Rom 8:23 BSB

Even in this world, saints are God’s children, but they are not easily recognized as such by others, except by certain moral qualities. The full manifestation of their adoption has not yet taken place. Among the Romans, a child might be privately adopted, but there was also a second, public adoption. During this public ceremony, the child’s old garments were removed, and the father who adopted the child provided new clothing appropriate to the child’s new status.

“Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be.” We are not yet clothed in the garments that befit the royal family of heaven; for now, we still wear the same attire as the children of Adam. But we know that “when He appears,” the firstborn among many brothers and sisters, “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Imagine a child from a lowly background, adopted by a Roman senator, saying to himself, “I long for the day when I will be publicly adopted. Then I will put off these humble garments and be clothed in robes that suit my new position.” This is how we feel today.

We eagerly await the day when we will put on our rightful garments and be revealed as the children of God. We are like young nobles who have not yet worn our crowns. We are like brides whose wedding day has not yet come, and the love of our Bridegroom makes us long for that morning. Our present joy makes us long for more; our happiness, like a fountain under pressure, yearns to burst forth like a geyser, leaping to the heavens, but for now, it groans within us, waiting for the day it can be fully revealed.