Purity 367 03/16/2021 Purity 367 Podcast
Good morning.
As we draw toward spring,
I look forward to a new season but honestly, I am saddened because I have three
friends who have all lost their mothers since the beginning of the new year,
one quite recently.
I visit my mother once a
week and have plans to lunch with her on Sunday. As much as I am sometimes
highly annoyed by her incessant questioning, I could never doubt her love for
me and the rest of the family.
We were all quite
shocked when she was hospitalized with Covid-19 last November and are all very
relieved that she has now fully recovered, although it lingered for quite some
time after she was released.
In these times, its good
to have a new season to look forward to but we should be sure to reach out to
those who have lost loved ones over the last year. Losing a parent, spouse, or
other loved ones is very traumatic and it’s important to check in with those
grieving, months and even a year after the loss, as many pay their respects in the
wake of the loss but leave the grieving alone afterwards.
Also we should take time
to reach out to our family and friends to let them know they are loved.
God has provided us with
these people in our lives for a reason and we should cherish what we have been
given. Christ said that we should love
one another. So do that.
(An Audio version of this message is available
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This morning’s meditation
verse is:
Galatians
2:20 (NKJV)
20 I have been crucified with
Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
and gave Himself for me.
Today’s verse
speaks about what has happened to us when we place our faith in Jesus
Christ. The fact that we were spiritually
crucified with Christ means that at conversion our old man has died, and that
Christ now lives in us, as we receive the Holy Spirit.
I know some may
ask “Wait is it Christ or the Holy Spirit that lives in me?” The answer is to
that question is yes. I would say that
Christ lives in you through the Holy Spirit. Christ is at the right hand of the
Father and is awaiting His return. The Holy Spirit is within us but also in
other believers and is active in the world convicting others to repent and to
place their faith in Jesus Christ.
You have to
remember the doctrine of the trinity is a mystery that we sort of understand
but we cannot fully comprehend. Also the
attributes of God (His omniscience (perfect knowledge) and His omnipresence (present
everywhere)) come into play. As I have
stated before, better theologians than myself have attempted to explain the trinity
and have slipped into heresy. So I will just say what I said, confident in its
truth, but slowly walk away to avoid putting my foot in my mouth.
But essentially,
today’s verse is telling us that we have new spiritual life and that the life
we no live is supposed to be defined by our faith.
Our new life in
Christ should give us the conviction and motivation to change the way we lived
our lives before becoming a Christian.
To do so, shouldn’t be seen as a legalistic following of commandments but
should rightfully be viewed as fulfilling our purpose. Our mission in life is now to grow in harmony
with the Lord, to enjoy the benefits of a righteous life, and to testify of the
new life that God has given us.
The old has passed
away the moment we say “Yes” to Jesus. The transformation from the old to new
is completed through our cooperation with the Lord by renewing our mind and by
crucifying the flesh that insists on staying in bondage to the things that trip
us up.
Life in the
spirit is possible only through having faith that God empowers you and that your
core identity has been changed already and it is no longer appropriate to live
the way you once did. Every step we take in faith towards the new life God has
given us the more harmony and peace we will experience as we reject the lies of
the flesh, the world, and the enemy and embrace God’s truth.
I invite all to mt4chritst.org where I always share
insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters
in Christ with their walk.
Today we will share from Dr. June Hunt’s Biblical Counseling Keys on “Alcohol
& Drug Abuse: Breaking Free & Staying Free.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase Dr. Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work:
Alcohol & Drug Abuse
Breaking Free & Staying Free
Introduction
He was an all-American hero. Some say he was the
greatest baseball player of all time. Mickey Mantle had it all — fame, fortune,
and millions of fans. On the day of his high school graduation, he signed with
the world renowned New York Yankees, a decision that placed Mickey on the road
to stardom.
The statistics support his superstar status: 536
career home runs, three Most Valuable Player awards, a career batting average
of .298, seven World Championships, and baseball's Triple Crown — leading the
entire Major League in the highest batting average, most home runs, and most
runs batted in.
But in the midst of all of Mickey's accomplishments,
more than adrenaline was pumping through his veins. Too often, dangerous
quantities of alcohol also coursed through his body, poisoning what God had
uniquely made... ultimately causing his premature death.
For Mickey, the cry of his heart — and that of every
addict — could easily echo the writer of the Psalms. ...
"Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish."
(Psalm 25:17)
I. Definitions
They call it "the good life" — the pleasures of swimming in a sea
of booze ... the fans always buying drinks for their heroes ... the
complimentary wine bottles in all hotel rooms.
"The Mick," as Mickey Mantle was nicknamed, and his buddies
considered it "the measure of being a man." How well they held their
liquor, drink after drink — without physical or emotional collapse — was their
symbol of "manliness."
Much later, however, Mickey recognized "the good life" wasn't
"good" at all: "Baseball didn't turn me into a drunk. I drank
because I thought we were having fun. It was part of the camaraderie, the male
bonding thing." But what he called the bonding thing became more
his breaking thing — the breakdown of his health and untimely death
solely due to alcoholism.
Although written centuries before, the Psalms reflect the sorrow in the life
of this addicted hero. ...
"The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over
me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow."
(Psalm 116:3)
A. What Is a Drug?
For Mickey, it wasn't just fun that drove him to drink, but also fear.
Mickey's father died of Hodgkin's lymphoma at the young age of 40...and
three other relatives succumbed to the disease before their 40th birthdays.
Afraid his life also could be cut short, Mickey decided to "party
hard" — his drug of choice, alcohol — because he might never see his
sunset years.
A therapist commented: "Mickey is totally controlled by fear. He is
filled with fear about everything." His father's death was precisely what
pushed Mickey over the edge — the critical turning point when his playful
partying turned debilitating. The "baseball great" slid into a
self-made addiction — running from his fear instead of facing it.
With death all around, if Mickey had learned to yield his life to the Lord,
he could have faced his fear and found comfort by claiming the fourth verse of
the 23rd Psalm. ...
"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me. ..."
- Drugs
are chemical substances introduced into the body that produce physical,
emotional, or mental changes. Some drugs are helpful; some drugs are
harmful.
- Drugs
are used in three primary ways:
·
— Ingesting
(swallowing pills, powders, liquids)
·
— Inhaling
(breathing in powders, smoke, fumes, and other inhalants)
·
— Injecting
(inserting a substance directly into the veins for a faster effect or injecting
the drug underneath the skin — called "skin popping" — which allows
the drug to be absorbed more slowly into the blood stream)
- Drugs
are obtained in three ways:
·
— Over-the-counter
drugs (legal drugs acquired without a prescription)
·
— Prescription
drugs (legal drugs prescribed only by medical doctors)
·
— Illegal
drugs (unlawful drugs to purchase or even possess, although the legal
status of certain drugs varies from state to state and country to country)
One of the side effects of living in a world where evil abounds is that the
very things God created for our good can be misused for our harm. Such is the
case with drugs. Those who take what God intends for good but instead use for
harm need to heed these words of warning ...
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for
light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for
bitter."
(Isaiah 5:20)
Friends'
Excessive Drinking
Question: "I have friends who drink excessively, and they
want me to party with them. Is that okay, even if I'm not drinking?"
Answer: There's a saying that conveys much truth: "You
become like who you hang around with"... meaning, more than likely, you
will become like those very friends. Actually, Proverbs 23:20
specifically addresses this issue ...
"Do not join those who drink too much wine. ..."
Biblical Counseling Keys - Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling
Keys: Alcohol & Drug Abuse: Breaking Free & Staying Free.
----------------------------more
tomorrow-------------------------
God bless
you all!
Join our
Victory over the Darkness Discipleship Class via the mt4christ247 podcast!
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