Who Are All These People? – Godsend Friends
Purity 511 08/31/2021 Purity 511 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of man’s best friend under ethereal skies, somewhere on
the shores of Lake Michigan comes to us from a friend who packed up their
trailer and took to the highways and byways for a summer road trip.
Today is the last day of August, and while Green Day sings a song that
tells us to wake them up when September ends, I thought I’d give everyone a
heads up that the eighth month of the year has less then 24 hours left in
it. I stated yesterday that it wasn’t
too late to make some plans to make some milestone moments for the summer of ’21
but sometimes being spontaneous and making quick decisions to seize the moment
will work too.
As I was out west in Esperance NY yesterday and was tired after burying
a wire that was longer than a football field by hand, the sun came out. Although
it was near the end of the workday and I didn’t particularly have any ideas in
mind other than going home to rest, I suddenly was reminded that it was the end
of August, my free time in the months ahead will be limited, and I have a
friend who graciously has given me an open invitation to use their swimming pool. My tired body protested by my soul and
spirit said that time was of the essence and if I didn’t take these
opportunities to enjoy my life, I just might regret it later.
So I contacted my friend and they assured me I could use the pool and
suddenly it was go time. I rushed back to the garage and grabbed my bag. Oh
yeah, I have a bag in my vehicle now that is packed and ready to go for such spontaneous
swim sessions and other activites. In
less than half an hour I was dressed and swimming.
The weather wasn’t as sunny as it was in Esperance when I decided to go
but the water was perfect, and I enjoyed watching the clouds above me move in
and dissipate as I stretched out swimming in lazy back stroke laps. The significant change in the weather from
the last time I went swimming at my friend’s place and some fallen leaves in
the pool testified that summer is indeed on the way out. So friends, don’t be too distracted this week
or this weekend because the times they are a changing and if you don’t take
time to enjoy these days you might miss out on something that could be good.
After going home and resting for a while, I joined a zoom prayer call
that Freedom in Christ Ministries does once a week and near the end the session,
the call came for prayers of gratitude. At that point I realized what an amazing year
it has been so far since joining Freedom in Christ ministries.
After finishing my master’s degree last year, I really felt led to
become a Community Freedom Ministry Associate and that decision has led me to so
many new things. It caused me to meet new people in the ministry, sent me to
Texas for the CFMA Practicum, and caused me to change my ministry work at my
local church. It caused me to start the
mt4christ247 podcast. It led me to meet new people from different churches that
I now call friends. It has led me to make friends and impact people in other
countries, on other continents.
That’s decision to follow the call to Freedom in Christ ministries and
all the decisions that followed has introduced me to so many new things and to
form relationships with so many people that I didn’t even know before this year
began. I mean we are talking like over 30 new friends, ministry contacts, and
acquaintances and an undetermined amount of people who have been reached by my
testimony and encouragements. The podcast that didn’t even exist last year has
over 2,100 downloads in just over 6 months. And while I can’t know what impact
I have had in anyone’s life; I can tell you that I have been blessed by all the
new people I have met this year and am happy to call them friends.
A common lament of life is that we “just keep doing the same old same
old” and that “nothing changes”. While there will always be some truth in these
statements for most of our lives, let me assure you that if you make the
intentional decision to draw close to God and let Him guide you in the way you
should go, there will be changes and you will do new things and meet new people.
And no matter how daunting the challenges may be that you will face on your
journey of a life of faith, the destination will be a good one and when you
open your heart to show other people the love of Christ that you have received,
you will be blessing to the people you encounter along the way, and you will be
blessed through them.
So seize the day and keep walking and talking with God. When you follow
where He leads you, you may end up wondering “Who are all these people?”, But then you will thank the Lord as you
realize that they are your “Godsend Friends”, who you never would have met if
you didn’t surrender to Him and follow His call.
This morning’s meditation
verse is:
2 Timothy 2:21 (NKJV)
21 Therefore if anyone
cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and
useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
Today’s verse points to the Christian’s
disciple’s need to sanctify themselves in order to find and fulfill their
purpose in Christ.
The “latter” that is mentioned in
today’s verse that we need to be cleansed from is “dishonor” in the context of
this section of scripture. The Apostle Paul
warns Timothy , and all Christians, in the previous verses to not only be cleansed
of iniquity, in verse 19, but to also “shun profane and idle babblings” in
verse 16. I like to point that out
because it gives us a true sense of how all the aspects of our lives
matter.
Unfortunately, most Christians have a
somewhat immature or ignorant view of our faith where they think of sin as a
violation of certain rules of conduct and that the requirements of a Christian
life lie in just “not doing bad things.”
This section of scripture points to a
higher standard. Yes, we are to cleanse ourselves of iniquity, overt outward volitional
sins, but we are to also keep our minds free of idle and profane things of this
world that would lead to iniquity.
So it’s not necessarily okay to look
and listen, but not touch, where we try to indulge our desires of temptations
to a certain point but not step over the line.
Nor are we to indulge in negative or profane thoughts that are contrary
to the ways of God.
Christians need to do more than
change their outward conduct. Christians
can only experience the new abundant life that Christ has given us by renewing
our minds to accept God’s ways for living and to reject the worldly ways that
we grew up with.
When we embrace Christ as our Savior
and Lord, we don’t want to hold Him in our arms but have our minds set on
things that are contrary to Him.
So endeavor to let go of your sins
and renew your mind with the word of God.
When you do that, you will increasingly know how good it is to be a “vessel
of honor” that is useful to the Lord, and you will be prepared for the amazing
things that He has planned for you to experience.
Our purpose as Christians is twofold.
We are to be transformed by the renewing of the mind as we conform to the image
of Christ, but we are also to be an agent of transformation as we engage with
the world and impact other people through the things we say and do.
Walk towards to the honorable life of
service and sanctification that the Lord has for you. For the word says in 1 Thessalonians
4:3, “… this is the will of God, your sanctification…”.
As
always, I invite all to go 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 with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory
Over the Darkness, continuing Chapter 13.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’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 $15.00:
Designs
for Discipleship
Level
III: Walking in Christ (Colossians 2:6)
Spiritually mature people are identified as those whose
senses are "trained to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).
Discernment is not just a function of the mind; it is also a function of the
Spirit. Through His Spirit, God will identify to the spiritually mature
believer a compatible spirit and warn against an incompatible spirit. Spiritual
discernment is the first line of defense in spiritual warfare.
Rationally, people are perishing
"for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). Mature
people can live productive lives if they know what to do or how to do it.
Counseling at this level is just good, biblical common sense.
Emotionally, the mature believer
learns to be content in all circumstances (see Phil. 4:11). This
life is full of discouragements, and many of the believer's desires will go
unmet. None of the believer's goals will go unfulfilled as long as it is a
godly goal. In the midst of life's trials, Christians need encouragement. To
encourage means to give people the courage to carry on. Every discipler should
be an encourager.
Someone has said the successful
Christian life hinges on the exercise of the will. The undisciplined person is
incapable of living a productive life, but the disciplined Christian is a
Spirit-filled person who has no unresolved conflicts of which he or she is
aware.
Relationally, mature believers no
longer live for themselves but for others. Perhaps the greatest test of the
believer's maturity is found in the call, "Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love" (Romans 12:10).
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for
one another" (John
13:35).
Simply stated, the third goal of
discipleship is to help others function as believers in their homes, on their
jobs and in society. The effective Christian walk involves the proper exercise
of intellect, talents, and spiritual gifts in serving others and being a
positive witness in the world.
Too many Christians are stuck on Level
I, locked into the past, immobilized by fear, and isolated by rejection. They
have no idea who they are in Christ, so they are making very little progress in
becoming like Him. Rather than telling immature believers what they should do,
let's help them celebrate what Christ has already done and help them
become who they already are in Him.
Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
God bless
you all!
Join our “Victory
over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” series of Discipleship Classes 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). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts,
Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com.
Email me
at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be
encouraged.
Encouragement for the Path of Christian
Discipleship
