Purity 311: Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

 Purity 311 01/12/2021 

Good morning!

Today’s photo comes from a friend who was driven by the turmoil of recent events to take a mental health day and went to find the stillness and peace that a hike with a four -footed friend to the Adirondack region of Bald and Bear Mountains near Inlet, NY could provide.  

I know many of my friends make a regular habit of enjoying the treasures of nature by going for hikes or taking to the water and many of them speak of the peace they find in those quiet moments out in the world that God created. 

I also enjoy those periodic breaks in nature but when I do, I am sure to recognize that “all of this” was created by God personally for each one of us. When we rediscover that peace, we are rediscovering the gift that God meant for us to enjoy. 

And that quiet stillness that we find peace in is provided by God and if we seek Him there, we will be assured of His presence, for He is omnipresent.

Today I continue to share Dr. Neil Anderson’s “Twenty “Cans” of Success”, to encourage my friends that are fasting as well as those who aren’t.  

8.  Why should I lack wisdom when I know that Christ became wisdom to me from God, and that God gives wisdom to me generously when I ask Him for it (1 Cor. 1:30; James 1:5)?

 Our success doesn’t just come from what we know. It comes from applying what we know. That’s wisdom.  

 While man has discovered many things about life and the world we live in, I think that if we are honest, we can all admit that there are many things that mankind still doesn’t know.  

 There are not only scientific mysteries to consider but also part of our ignorance lies in what our purpose is here on earth.   

 Again, if we are honest, we would admit that the best person to consult in regard to the meaning of life is the One that created life itself: God.  Luckily, He has written a book that gives us a good indication of what we are supposed to do and how the destiny of the world will play out: The Bible. 

 But for many, including myself for most of my life, the Bible isn’t a source they consult for wisdom. They doubt that Bible is true and because of how they have seen the Bible misused and how people who profess faith in God have harmed others, they reject it without investigating it with an open heart and open mind for themselves.   

 God has wisdom for you, but you have to seek it and approach the word of God personally.  If you want the truth, you have to not trust what others have told you. You have to seek it for yourself and when you do you have to be honest and seek it with an open heart and an open mind.  When you read the word of God, you are not reading a history book. You are reading what the Creator of all things wants you to know about Him.  

 As a former atheist, and as a 5-year member of a religion that rejected Jesus Christ, I was possibly the biggest skeptic when I put my faith in Christ, and I wanted to make sure that the gospel was true. So I sought God’s wisdom by reading His word and asked Him to reveal Himself to me.  I can assure that He has answered all my questions and demonstrated His reality through His presence in my life.  

 I encourage you to ask God for His wisdom and to demonstrate wisdom by applying His knowledge to your life.  He won’t lead you astray.  

This morning’s meditation verses were:

Romans 6:10-11 (NLT2)
¹⁰ When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.
¹¹ So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

Yup, today I pulled a card with two verses on it, so we get a bonus, and this is a big one.

First, Christ’s death on the cross is often preached as the means by which we are forgiven of our sins, if we place our faith in Him.  This is the truth that should send everyone running to Him because there is no other way to “make up for” or pay for our sin debt.   

But while Christ’s atoning for our sins is awesome, this verse also states that He died to break “the power of sin”. Some may say that the “power of sin” was to keep us from heaven and now that we are forgiven by His blood, all is well. The “power” is broken.  And that logic would be true.

However, the verse says that since he has been resurrected, he lives! And not only that, but He also lives for the glory of God.  “Living for the glory of God” means to demonstrate by action that God has influenced one and that the good things that one does shows the evidence of God’s power to change.  Well, we shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus would live for God’s glory, good for Him!

But verse 11 turns to us, the ones who have claimed Jesus as Lord and Savior and says that we too should consider ourselves dead to the “power of sin” and alive to God through Christ Jesus.  So we “also” should “live for the glory of God”.  

Verse 11 tells us that we don’t have to sin anymore. The power of sin is broken.  So we can choose to live a life that is increasing free of the sins of our old ways and our transformed life will give God the glory.  

So stop identifying with your old ways and stop referring to yourself as a sinner because since you put your faith in Christ the power of sin has been broken. You have been set free from sin’s prison. You just have to walk out of your unlocked cell and follow Christ to lead you to the new life that you already have.  

Open the door and keep walking and talking with God and you will leave the darkness behind and discover the peace that comes from being in continuous harmony with Him.

Today we continue chapter 9 of Anderson & Baumchen’s Finding Hope Again.

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:

This, Too, Will Pass

The attempts to get medical help became exceedingly expensive. Our insurance ran out, and we had to sell our house to pay the medical bills. Joanne couldn't function as a mother or wife. My daughter, Heidi, wasn't sure whether she could handle it if her mother were to die. My son, Karl, withdrew into himself. I got caught in a role conflict like never before. Was I Joanne's pastor, counselor or discipler, or was I supposed to be just her husband?

I decided there was only one role I could fulfill in her life, and that was to be her husband. If someone was going to "fix" my wife, it would have to be someone other than myself. My role was to hold her every day and say, "Joanne, someday this will pass." I was thinking it would be a matter of weeks or months, but it turned into a long, 15-month ordeal. The funnel got narrower and narrower. Isaiah 21:11, 12 had great meaning to me: "One keeps calling to me from Seir, 'Watchman, how far gone is the night? Watchman, how far gone is the night?' The watchman says, 'Morning comes but also night.'"

A ministry of hope must be based on the truth that morning comes. No matter how dark the night, morning comes. And it is always the darkest before the dawn. In our darkest hour, when I wasn't even sure whether Joanne was going to live or die, morning came.

Joanne had all but given up on any medical hope. A doctor who remained in private practice was recommended to her. He immediately took Joanne off the medication she was on, and prescribed a much more balanced approach that dealt with depression but also her general health, including good nutrition.

At the same time, we had a day of prayer at Biola University where I taught. I had nothing to do with the program other than to set aside special time for prayer in my own classes. Our undergraduate students had a communion service that evening. Because I taught at the graduate level, I normally wouldn't have gone. But because work had detained me on campus, I decided to participate.

I sat on the gym floor with the undergraduate students and took communion. I am sure nobody in the student body was aware that it was one of the loneliest and darkest times of my life. I was deeply committed to doing God's will, and I was walking as best I could in the light of previous revelation, but I felt incredibly frustrated. There was nothing I could do to change Joanne or the circumstances.

Morning Comes

I can honestly say that I never once questioned God, nor felt bitter about my circumstances. For some time, the Lord had been preparing my heart and leading me into a ministry that sets captives free. Somehow I knew that the nature of my ministry was related to what my family was going through, but I didn't know what to do about it. Should I abandon what I was doing to help others in order to spare my family? God was blessing my ministry in unprecedented ways, but my family wasn't being blessed. He had stripped us of everything we owned. All we had left was each other and our relationship to God. When there was nowhere else to turn, morning came!

If God has ever spoken to my heart, He did in that communion service. There were no voices or visions. It was just the quiet and gentle way He has in renewing our minds. It didn't come by way of the pastor's message, or the testimonies of the students; but it did come in the context of taking communion.

The essence of my thought process went like this:

Neil, there's a price to pay for freedom. It cost My Son His life. Are you willing to pay the price?

Dear God, I answered inwardly, if that's the reason, I'm willing, but if it's some stupid thing I'm doing, then I don't want to be a part of it anymore.

I left with the inward assurance that it was over. The circumstances hadn't changed, but in my heart I knew that morning had come.

Within a week, Joanne woke up one morning and said, "Neil, I slept last night." From that point on, she knew she was on the road to recovery. She never looked back, but continued on to full and complete recovery. At the same time, our ministry took a quantum leap forward.

 Finding Hope Again: Overcoming Depression.

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

 

God bless you all!