Purity 324: Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

 Purity 324 01/25/2021 

Good morning!

Today’s photo comes from a friend who went out of their way, coming all the way to my home down by the River, to help me with a situation that I simply couldn’t fix on my own. Apparently on the way back they decided to check out the River view a few miles down the road where they caught this stunning prenoon shot.

At times in life our friends or family will come to our aide and their acts of service may not mean much to them, but when considered really show that our relationships are a little more than a loose friendly association.  When we act in kindness, we show our character, and we show our love for one another.  My friend went away from their good deed knowing they had given help that few others could provide and also with an appreciation for what God has provided us, even on a frigid Sunday in January.

Remember that it is better to give than to receive and that you personally have talents and skills that you can give to others that will bless them, and have you walking away knowing that you are walking the way that the Lord would want you too. 

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 6:7 (NLT2)
⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

 Romans 6 makes a reappearance this morning to remind us that we have been set free. 

 When we put our faith in Christ, we enter into His life. We vicariously are crucified, die, and are raised to new spiritual life with Him. 

 A public proclamation and affirmation of our lives in Christ that represents what happened to us spiritually is water baptism. We “die” when we are submerged and are “resurrected” to our new life when we rise out of the water. 

 I encourage all who have put their faith in Christ to be baptized because Jesus commanded it (Matt 28:19).  My baptism was a significant event in my walk of faith, and it can be a transformational sacrament if done by faith. 

 However, today’s verse highlights the fact that because we “died with Christ” we were (past tense) set free from the power of sin.   

 The first part is key here. We have to die with Christ, meaning you have to truly placed your faith in Him. If you have done this you have the power, by faith, to say no to sin.  I know it may seem impossible but the more you embrace the truth that the work has already been done and you have already been set free, and believe it, you can walk in it.  

 Success over sin requires you to daily lean on the Lord for strength and wisdom, but if you do that, with the assurance that you have already been changed and set free, you can live in the Spirit, no longer under sin’s control.  

 So believe that you are free because of Christ and live it. 

 Today we continue chapter 10 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:

Commit Yourself to Exchange Your Ashes for His Beauty

One woman shared with us that her best friend ran off with her husband 10 years earlier. She was deeply hurt by this incredible betrayal and disloyalty. She thought her life was ruined by those adulterers, and there was nothing she could do about it.

For 10 years she smoldered in depression. Feelings of resentment and plots of revenge ruminated in her mind. I told her, "I see you with one arm extended up to heaven where God has a firm grip on you. Your other arm is hanging on to your past and you aren't about to let go. You are not even hanging on to God, but your heavenly Father is hanging on to you, His beloved child. Isn't it time to let it go? You are only hurting yourself."

At the end of the conference the woman walked through the Steps to Freedom in Christ, and was able to let go of all that burden of resentment and anger. The next morning she was singing in the choir, exhibiting a countenance that portrayed a liberated child of God.

Let go of your past, and grab hold of God. It is your only hope. May these closing thoughts help you do just that:

Once I held in my tightly clenched fist...ashes. Ashes from a burn inflicted upon my ten-year-old body. Ashes I didn't ask for. The scar was forced on me. And for seventeen years the fire smoldered. I kept my fist closed in secret, hating those ashes, yet unwilling to release them. Not sure if I could. Not convinced it was worth it. Marring the things I touched and leaving black marks everywhere...or so it seemed. I tried to undo it all, but the marks were always there to remind me that I couldn't. I really couldn't. But God could! His sweet Holy Spirit spoke to my heart one night in tearful desperation. He whispered, "I want to give you beauty for your ashes, the oil of joy for your mourning and the garment of praise for your spirit of heaviness." I had never heard of such a trade as this: Beauty? Beauty for ashes? My sadly stained memory for the healing in His word? My soot-like dreams for His songs in the night? My helpless and hurting emotions for His ever constant peace?

How could I be so stubborn as to refuse an offer such as this? So willingly, yet in slow motion and yes, while sobbing, I opened my bent fingers and let the ashes drop to the ground. In silence, I heard the wind blow them away. Away from me...forever. I am now able to place my open hands gently around the fist of another hurting soul and say with confidence, "Let them go. There really is beauty beyond your comprehension. Go ahead—trust Him. His beauty for your ashes." 

Finding Hope Again: Overcoming Depression.

 

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

 

God bless you all!