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Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Purity 297: Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Purity 297 12/22/2020 

Good morning!

Today’s photo was taken by a friend in Glen Falls, New York who caught this magnificent shot of the sun shining through the trees over this snow-covered landscape.    

I share it as an encouragement to my friends to assure you that as much as the ground before you may seem cold and full of obstacles in your path, the Lord still sees you and is there to let you know that He will never leave you or forsake you and that His light shines through to you, even in the darkest night.  

It is my prayer that you find that baseline of peace and joy that the Lord makes available to you even when the circumstances of life threaten to drive you into confusion and bitterness. 

Even in a storm, we can find shelter. Even in hostile environments, we can find peace. 

And if your road is clear, rejoice my friends and give your hope to someone else who desperately needs it this Christmas.     

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This morning’s meditation verse was:

Psalm 119:71 (NLT2)
71 My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.

 

This morning’s verse reminds us that our suffering has a purpose: to draw us closer to God.  

For myself, a lot of the suffering in life was a consequence of trying to live independently of God with no consideration towards Him as Lord, Creator, or Author of Truth.  I dismissed God and only cared about the things of this world and how I could obtain the things I wanted with as little work or effort as possible.

Although I followed the ways of the world, because I didn’t recognize God’s authority, I certainly didn’t respect man’s authority either, viewing authority to be the result of nepotism, corruption, or a lust for power and wealth.  So, I even tried to break the rules of the man-made institutions of control, both those of governmental and private institutions.   I believed in equality and pushed for change because I saw the systems in place as corrupt and “the game” was rigged.   

I eventually realized that nothing I would do would change it, so I sold out and took corporation money, giving them my obedience for the money and benefits and the things they provided.  The money and benefits are good but even within the confines of a corporation that has a code of conduct to ensure uprightness and equal treatment, I am not surprised to see individuals treated differently and co-workers insult and gossip about one another behind each other’s back or see individual bend the rules or manipulate the systems in place to appear to have better performance.  

I’m not surprised when these things happen. With a man-made system, this is the way the game is played and when you voluntarily join it you become subject to not only the system in place but the individuals who are manipulating it.  

There can be quite a bit of suffering in a system that seems above board. I have seen co-workers in tears contemplating another day of work. I knew co-workers that were on anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication in direct response to the work environment they are in.   I, myself, was a raging alcoholic and drug addict, and the stresses of work certainly didn’t lead me out of it.   But I did my best to survive and I still do. 

However, after I had suffered enough both from work and from the tragedies of life, I began searching for meaning. It took a while but eventually God let me know that He is real, and He is the meaning to life.  

So my suffering brought me to know God and His will for my life. My suffering was good for me because it taught me that there was One bigger than all of man’s systems and corruption that defined meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. 

Life still has its ups and downs, at work and in general, but when ever the going gets tough, I remind myself that I have been accepted by the Creator of the Universe. I am accepted, significant, and loved because He called my name.

God the Father, Christ the Son, and The Holy Spirit is the Truth on which I stand.  No matter what comes my way, they are higher than it all and I will follow where God leads me all the days of my life. 

 Today we continue chapter 7 of Anderson & Baumchen’s Finding Hope Again, where the authors complete their discussion on overcoming helplessness by examining Faithfulness and Encouragement.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work:

 

Overcoming Helplessness

Faithfulness vs. Success

The story of Elijah reminds us of a parable passed around the Internet:

One night a man was asleep in his cabin when he was suddenly awakened by the appearance of the Savior. His room was filled with light. The Lord said, "I have work for you to do." He showed the man a large rock, and told him to push against that rock with all his might. This the man did, and for many days he toiled from sunup to sundown, with his shoulder set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, wondering if his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture. He placed thoughts in the man's mind, such as, "Why kill yourself over this project? You're never going to move that rock." Or "Boy! You've been at it a long time and you haven't even scratched the surface," etc., etc. The man began to get the impression that the task was impossible and that he was an unworthy servant because he wasn't able to move the massive stone.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened him and he started to ease up on his efforts. "Why kill myself?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, expending a minimum amount of effort and that will be good enough." And that he did, or at least planned on doing, until one day he decided to take his troubles to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored hard and long in Your service, putting forth all my strength to do that which You have asked me. Yet, after all this time, I have not even nudged that rock half a millimeter. What is wrong? Am I failing You?"

"My son," the Lord answered, "when long ago I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you to push against the rock with all your strength. That you have done. But never once did I mention that I expected you to move it, at least not by yourself! Your task was to push!

"Now you come to Me all discouraged, thinking that you have failed and ready to quit. But is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled; your back sinewed and brown. Your hands are calloused and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your ability now far surpasses that which you used to have.

"Yet, you haven't succeeded in moving the rock; and you come to Me now with a heavy heart and your strength spent. I, my son, will move the rock. Your calling was to be obedient and to push, and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. And this you have done."

If we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, what are those "all things"? In other words, what is God's will for our lives? Paul clearly tells us, "This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thes. 4:3). This means that we are to conform to the image of God, and this we can do only by His grace. We don't have any power to change ourselves; that also must come from Him. Allowing ourselves to be influenced by the world, the flesh and the devil will interrupt the sanctifying process.

We will also curb the process when trying to change the world becomes our primary focus. On the other hand, if our goal is to become the person God created us to be, no other person nor anything on planet Earth can prevent that from happening. Not even Satan can stop us.

For example, how should we respond when the government turns a deaf ear to the Church, or when other people show contempt for the Lord? Is it our job to take on the government, or try to change those who are blasphemous? Those who try will only become angry controllers or very depressed. We are called by God to submit to governing authorities and pray for them (see Romans 13:1-6; 1 Tim. 2:1, 2). We are also to accept one another as Christ has accepted us (see Romans 15:7). That does not mean we approve of sin or allow others to determine who we are. All Christians must learn how to establish scriptural boundaries to protect themselves from further abuse.

Encouragement vs. Discouragement

Word got around heaven that the devil was holding a fire sale. Some of his best weapons were going on the auction block. A couple of curious angels thought they would check out some of the items to see what the devil was up to. There, displayed on pedestals, were many of his devilish tricks.

Of course the primary tools of his trade, temptation, accusation and deception, were not for sale. They sat prominently on display for all to see. They were the parents of all the other tools. On display were petty gossip, jealousy, arrogance, gluttony, lust and many other well-known tricks of the devil that have caused defeat to many of God's children. Satan's pitchmen (those little devils) were anxious to sell these tools and to disperse them more widely in God's kingdom for others to use.

One of the angels noticed that one pedestal was empty, and asked the little devils why. "Oh, the weapon that goes there is discouragement," they said. "It is not for sale because it is always in constant use and is our most effective weapon. Most of God's children already own it anyway!"


Finding Hope Again: Overcoming Depression.

 

------------------------------more tomorrow--------------------------

 

God bless you all!


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