Purity 400 04/23/2021 Purity 400 Podcast
Good morning.
As we crest the “mountain”
of another work week and cruise into the “valley” of the weekend, I am
extremely thankful for the people in my life and the way we can build each
other up through sharing our experiences.
At last night’s
discipleship class, I was blessed to have a podcast student travel an hour to
experience the class live. Simple things
like people showing up can really encourage us, so make sure that you “show up”
for the people in your life.
Our presence is a gift
that we can give that may not be fully appreciated when given but whose value
is fully realized when it isn’t. So give the gift of your presence this weekend.
Even if they don’t appreciate it, they’ll miss you when your gone!
But seriously, I was
also blessed last night when I realized that my words of encouragement seemed
to have an impact on another student’s life. My class isn’t a recovery class it’s a
Christian discipleship class but before we transitioned to discipleship we
taught Christian recovery for 5 and half years so I wasn’t too surprised when a
couple of new students were referred to our class for recovery.
I explained that we
taught Christian discipleship, but we could certainly help them with any
recovery issues because of my experience and because we fully understand that
life transformation only happens through the power of the Holy Spirit that
comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
Amazingly they stayed
for the class and came back, but this one individual was in rough shape, like
with zero days sober under their belt, so not surprisingly they got the help
they needed with an extensive detox. So while they were gone, I kept teaching and
wondered if they would return when they got out. Last week they got out of treatment and came
to class reporting 40 days sober, and I encouraged them to come back this week
and we would count off 47 days of victory.
Last night they were
there again, and I congratulated them on 47 days walking in victory. In our
conversation they revealed to me that they had put their trust in the Lord and
have been receiving His strength to keep walking in victory. They also reported that they had been reading
the Bible.
You know we try to trust
what people say to us and sometimes we’re never really sure if they are just telling
us what we want to hear or if they are for real. Believe me I have walked with a lot of
people and have been saddened when that walk has ended and usually don’t know
why.
But when I heard this
individual tell me that they were reading the Bible, I knew they were telling
the truth and I knew that God is alive and working in their life right now. I
assured them that if they continued to trust the Lord and to walk with Him that
47 days would be 54 next week and that they could leave that darkness behind
for good.
So share your experience
with one another. Chances are that someone could learn a lot from you. But when you do share it be sure to thank the
Lord and give Him the glory because there is nothing that we have experienced
that is good that He wasn’t responsible for.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Romans 13:12
(NLT2)
12 The night is almost gone; the
day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty
clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.
Today’s verse speaks of the life transformation that we should all be walking through after having received our salvation through placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
This verse in the NKJV starts as “the night is far spent, the day is at hand”, so what the NLT calls “the day of salvation” should be understood to be the final day of salvation: when salvation will be complete: the day that Jesus returns to judge the earth and to reclaim it.
This letter to the Romans is to believers, so they didn’t have to get saved, they were saved already. But if you are not sure you are saved, do a quick prayer to make Jesus your Lord and Savior and then do the thing that will give you full assurance of your salvation: believe it!
We don’t need to be born again, again but there is nothing wrong in rededicating yourself to the Lord or saying a salvation prayer to reconfirm your faith and assure yourself that you have given yourself to the Lord.
Let’s face it, we go astray sometimes and when we do, we should know that we haven’t been thrown out of God’s kingdom, but we should re-establish the harmony we have with Him by confessing our wrongs to Him and stating our intention to repent, to change our minds and our ways.
That’s what Romans 12:13 is talking about. We don’t know when Christ will return but it could be today. So what are we supposed to do as a Christian with the knowledge that Jesus can come back at any moment?
We “remove our dark deeds like dirty clothes and put on the shining armor of right living” Simply, we repent and live a righteous life by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We need not fear the end times. Christ has sealed us with the Holy Spirit. We are secure forever. So we can live in the peace of that knowledge, but we should also seek the continual harmony we can have with the Lord by living the life that He wants us to have: a righteous life accomplished by walking in the Spirit.
I invite all to mt4christ.org where I always share
insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters
in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue to share from Dr. H. Norman Wright’s “Experiencing
Grief
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase Dr. Wright’s books for your own private study and
to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several
sites for less than $5.00:
Chapter 15.
What Do I Do with My Feelings?
Some have said grief is the blackest night of confusion
because of all the emotions. Your range of feelings is like a smorgasbord. Each
day you have a wide variety to choose from. There will also be daily
variations. They come and they go. You may think they're gone for good, but not
so-they come and go and overlap one another. Over time they're less frequent
and less intense.
Perhaps the best way to deal with emotions that invade your life is to
follow the example of a hiker who had just read the Forest Service instructions
of what to do when encountering wild animals, especially mountain lions. This
man was jogging with his dog and came upon a mountain lion. The lion began
stalking the man and then ran after him. Fortunately, the man remembered what
he had read. He stopped, turned around, and faced the mountain lion. The lion
wasn't expecting this, so it stopped and walked away. Your emotions are like
that mountain lion. Face them head-on, listen to their message, and eventually
you'll rise above them.
When we lose a loved one, we sometimes believe that God has abandoned us. He
hasn't. When we lose a loved one, we sometimes feel as if nothing matters—but
it does. When we lose a loved one, we sometimes think life is not worth living.
It is!
In times of loss and sorrow, we people of faith have to "believe
against the grain." In our weakness God reveals his strength, and we can
do more than we thought possible.
Faith means clinging to God in spite of our circumstances. It means
following him when we can't see him. It means being faithful to him when we
don't feel like it.
Resilient people have a creed that says, "I believe!" and they
affirm their creed daily. In essence they say:
- I believe
God's promises are true.
- I believe
heaven is real.
- I believe
God will see me through.
- I believe
nothing can separate us from God's love.
- I believe
God has work for me to do.
"Believing against the grain" means having a survivalist attitude.
Not only can we survive, but out of it we can create something good. We need to
cry out, "God help me believe!"
Your thoughts are not immune from grief. You may not like some of your
thoughts. You would like more control of them, but that's difficult. The
preoccupation you have with the death and your pain can occur when you're in a
group, attempting to work through a business transaction, or when you're
driving—which could lead to a ticket or an accident. Sometimes you may feel as
though you've become obsessive with your thoughts since you can't let go of
them. You're not. These too will diminish.
It's true that feelings can be held back and bottled up. But not for long.
If you don't let them out, you'll discover they'll find their own means of
expression. Your storage space is only so large. It has limits. And when it's
full, feelings spill out causing confusion, turmoil, or a rash of physical
ailments.
Putting your feelings and thoughts into words gives them shape and meaning.
Expressing them to others means you're not having to carry their weight by
yourself. It also gives you a freedom to overcome them. Sometimes it provides
you with the freedom to be free of them. If you don't give them a voice, they
will still find a way. Often they explode. For many, giving these a written
expression defuses their intensity.
There is another reason for your expression of feelings. It's a message to
everyone around you of how you're doing. If you are silent, others will think
"you're getting over it" and doing just fine. Your display of grief
needs to be clear. Most won't know what you need unless you tell them. Be
specific. Avoid words like, "I'm OK," or "I'm fine." Others
can't read your mind. If you're struggling, say so. If you're depressed, tell
them. If you can't function, describe it. Don't hesitate to say, "I could
use your help in this way." If another just quotes a verse or says she'll
pray for you, say, "Thank you, but here is something else you could do
that would be helpful."
There is something else you can do: Share with your friends and family the
book or video Tear Soup. Ask them to purchase a copy for you and watch
the video together. It will change their response to you (see the
Appendix).
Even though you can't schedule your grief, you may want to select some time
and solitude in your life that is purposeful. It may be a time when you choose
to vent all of your feelings, sit and weep, reflect on the future, listen to
worship music, consider forgotten blessings, or simply stare into space.
The experience of this woman may reflect where you are:
I cry from time to time, and often find myself
swallowing this strange lump in my throat. But I am learning not to apologize
for my tears since they are God's gracious gift to me to express my loss, and a
sign that I am indeed recovering. As I continue to feel, God continues
to heal.
At times, I feel so angry and irritable for no
apparent reason. Most of the time I just don't have a tangible reason, and this
causes me much frustration. One thing I have learned is that all of my
emotions have greatly intensified during this time of grieving. The loss of my
parents brought with it a multitude of other losses as well. The loss of what
never was and will never be (on this side of heaven). But I continue to pray
that God will turn these losses for his gain.
During this year grief has affected every part of my
being—physically (some days my body ached from the inside out), emotionally (at
times I felt completely numb, and other days I felt raw to the touch),
intellectually (some days my memory was so bad I feared I was in the beginning
stages of dementia), relationally (retreating and withdrawing was safe), and
spiritually (some days feeling the absence of God felt too much for me to
bear). So, if I don't always make sense, please forgive me and be patient with
me. Just a few months ago, I found myself standing in Starbuck's when a kind
employee called out, "Have a nice day," to which I replied,
"Vacuum." We looked at each other with great bewilderment!
Listen to what Elisabeth Eliot learned through the loss of her husband:
"We are not given explanations, but to hearts open to receive it, a more
precious revelation of the heart of our loving Lord."
As you express your emotions of grief, remember the following:
But it hurts....Differently
there's no way to predict
how you will feel.
The reactions of grief are
not like recipes,
with given ingredients
and certain results.
Each person mourns in a
different way.
You may cry hysterically
or
you may remain outwardly controlled,
showing little emotion.
You may lash out in anger against
your family and friends,
or
you may express your gratitude
for their dedication.
You may be calm one moment—
in turmoil the next.
Reactions are varied and
contradictory.
Grief is universal
At the same time it
is extremely personal.
Heal in your own way.
With such a jumbled array of feelings, no wonder there's a sense of
confusion.
The following Ball of Grief describes the normal array of feelings you may
experience:
Ball of Grief
Take out your, Ball of Grief, each day. Some
days it seems that each one belongs to you. Yet another day one or two are
dominating your life. You're not unusual. This is the way of grief. Share your
Ball of Grief with others so they can understand. It may help them with their
own grief.
Grief...
A TANGLED 'BALL' OF EMOTIONS
Experiencing Grief.
----------------------------more
tomorrow-------------------------
God bless
you all!
Join our
Victory over the Darkness Discipleship Class via the mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154) and Google podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL210NGNocmlzdDI0Ny9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D
Email me
at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be
encouraged.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.