the butterfly journey

Chasing Holiness Part 2 – Justification vs. Sanctification

I am reading this wonderful book called: “The Awe of God” by bestselling author John Bevere. And something that he says in the book that really gave me pause was that we can love God and walk in error because we do not fear God. That really shook me to my core.

This takes us back to why Jesus came to begin with and that was to fulfill the will of God to become a holy sacrifice and cleansing blood that atoned for our sins and redeemed us back to a right place with Father God. If you remember the scriptures when Jesus was about to be crucified, He pleaded with God to take this assignment from him, but His ultimate resolve was, “not my will Father, but your will be done”.

The gift of salvation from the completed work of Jesus, justifies us. When we receive this gift, we are then justified at which point the work of sanctification should begin. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old is gone and the new is here.” NIV This is where sanctification comes in to teach us how to be holy. Remember what Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13 “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” NKJV We have to will to do things in the right context of what God says in His word. Sanctification means “set apart to God”. When you pursue a life “set apart to God”; you are maturing your relationship with God. Transformation can begin to take place in your life. And with transformation becomes your will starts to look like that of your Father God’s will. There is so much more to this, but we will begin to pull pieces out that God wants us to focus on.

There are two things that I am learning so far from pursuing holiness: 1. I need to learn from Holy Spirit and God’s Holy word in order to understand who God is and 2. having holy fear of God allows me the will to do the things that He wants of me in reverence to His glory.

I don’t want to get to judgment day and not have done things in the correct way because I was ignorant of it. I want all that God has for me in order to glorify Him. And that’s why I share, because God has called me to teach and share His word of truth with His children.

Thoughts to ponder: Do we understand the process of sanctification? Are we pursuing it as we should?

If you are getting anything from my insights as Holy Spirit is teaching me, please let me know, I’d love to interact with you! Come back next week for Part 3. Subscribe to the blog and you can get notification when a new blog post is up!

In His service,

Sister Lisa Walker

the butterfly journey

Chasing Holiness

In this season I have been pursuing God and His purpose for my life. Amazingly, as I have been pursuing God, the Holy Spirit has taken me on a quest to understand the holy fear of God.

The fear of the Lord is the starting place for an intimate relationship with God.

I’ve heard some preachers talk about the Western churches and how we have lost our pursuit of the holy fear of God. We’ve compromised too much of God’s word, because the enemy has used culture to say; “Oh it’s not that deep.” But oh, to the contrary it is that deep, it’s eternal.

As God is teaching me about having holy fear or reverential fear of Him; it is making it more and more clear why I see some of my brothers and sisters in Christ walking in lack. They love the Lord, but they don’t fear Him. Having holy fear is not being afraid of God, but rather a deep respect, reverence, and awe of His holiness. It also reminds me that pursuing the things of God are super important to our eternal lives. Because if we are truly seeking God with our whole hearts, we will surely find Him. Studying and learning the word of God holds true to open up the mysteries of what God has for us.

Let’s look at what some scriptures have to say about the fear of the Lord:

Psalm 25:12-14 “Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.” NIV

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” NIV

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter; Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” NIV

Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

I know that this posture is not an easy study but trust me as the Holy Spirit gives us understanding and revelation into all truths and righteousness we will understand and have a clear understanding of God’s word and the ability to chase after His holiness.

Lock in or subscribe to my blog as we delve into this wonderous word about, the holy fear of God. I will be uploading new insights and thoughts each week.

I leave you with a question to ponder. Do I understand the meaning of holy fear of God?

Until the next blog, pray for God to begin to give you insight on where you are in your pursuit of holiness.

God’s servant,

Sister Lisa

the butterfly journey

Dear God, I love you!

Father, it’s me your daughter, Lisa again. I just wanted to tell you, I love you! I’ve known your faithful love for many years and yet in still I was not experiencing the most intimate relationship with you that I desired. But it wasn’t you Father, it was me. I didn’t understand the process of getting to know you. Until, one day it all clicked into place, and I surrendered my all to you and everything began to change.

When I mean change, I mean change! I have never experienced the type of freedom in the Lord that I have right now. My whole being body, mind and spirit are free! And peace, oh my Lord the peace that surpasses all understanding fills my life to the fullest!

I have talked to you all a lot lately, trying to have someone, anyone, consider donating a living kidney for me, because I was suffering from Stage 5 renal failure and desperate to live a little while longer. But I had no success, but my heart and my spirit were well with whatever outcome the Lord had for me.

I didn’t complain, I was grateful for every sunrise and every sunset. Life was more vibrant to me during this journey. I began to seek God more and I found Him more; my prayer walks became my happy place during my days. As God gave me grace for this journey He began to want to use me more for the kingdom. And I decided to be obedient to His call. I began to walk in my spiritual gift for teaching the word of God. I believe in the utmost that the living word of God is a manual of life but not only that it teaches us about the loving, gracious, kind, awesome, and sovereign Father in the intimate way.

But on Sunday, October 26, 2025 {my kidneyvarsary}, I got the call of a lifetime at 5:04 am in the morning! I was in the restroom when the call came through, but I was not expecting it to be about a kidney, I was kind of upset that someone dared to call me that early on a Sunday morning. However, when they rang back immediately after I declined it the first time, I knew something was up and I answered. “I am looking for Lisa, the caller stated.” “This is Lisa I replied. ” ” The caller said we have a kidney for you.” ” I stated, what?” “She said, yes, it is a great kidney, probably healthier than mine own kidney.” “I was stunned for a moment, trying to get my thoughts together. When she said “do you want it?” And I said, YES!

So from that point it was a whirlwind of activities. Me and my husband were running on pure adrenaline, with excitement and scared all at the same time. We got ourselves together {well my husband got me together}, as I had just stood in the middle of my bedroom floor and started to cry. We finally at about 6 a.m. hit the road to MedStar Georgetown and arrived safely there around 7 a.m. And we waited in the hallway of the Emergency room until the kidney finally arrived at 9:30 p.m. Finally, it’s showtime, I go to pre-op and wait some more then around midnight they take in for surgery.

The miracle of it all is so much, God just orchestrated everything in perfect excellency, down to every small detail. He is amazing to say the least. I will have to continue my story over the next few weeks as its so much to let you know about the goodness of my Father.

But I am doing very well, and recovery is coming along better than I could have imagined.

I want to thank each of you for your prayers during this journey of health challenges in my life and I ask my Father to bless each of you with renewed desire to know Him better in these difficult times and days in this world. He wants to know you better as well.

Be blessed,

Sister Lisa Walker