Black Box – Remembering to Forget, Discovering the New Life
Purity 498 08/16/2021 Purity 498 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of a spectacular sunset over the darkened landscape of
Mount Osmond in South Australia comes to us from our friends at Dave Baun
Photography as they took a hike there near the end of July. As our friends were
heading to their car to “beat the darkness” the setting sun appeared before them,
and Dave knew that he just had to capture the moment. They lingered there to
enjoy it for a while and luckily escaped unharmed on their return trip down the
steep hill without the sun. Dave’s final remarks stated how he loved the fact
that there are so many beautiful places to explore where he lives that are pretty
much in his “own back yard”.
As the sun sets on another weekend and we begin a new work week, I share
my friend’s enthusiasm for the beauty that surrounds us, regardless of where we
live, and actually enjoyed an evening of discovering the simple beauty of a
gathering of friends around a bonfire in a friend’s back yard. The gathering really was quite special
because most of didn’t even know one another just a few months ago but since
then our fellowship has grown as we had shared with one another our experiences
of the past and our hopes for the future as each one of us looks to walk
further into the light of our new lives beyond the shadows of heartache and
pain.
Yesterday, I watched the Amazon original film “Black Box”, which
features a man’s search for truth as he seeks to recover his memories and a
sense of his identity after suffering a traumatic accident that resulted in amnesia. As the film progresses, the main character
begins to recall memories that are disturbing that he fears reveal that he isn’t
the wholesome person he thinks he is. Can these shadowy memories that feature
people with their faces blurred out indicate that he is not the man he thought
he was or that he was living a double life that his friends and family were
unaware of?
Well, if you want to know you will have to go to Amazon to check it out.
I’m not into being a spoiler and went into the film with little or no
expectations, which is usually for the best. Those with Prime Video might be at a loss for
something to watch and I would recommend it because it was entertaining and
somewhat thought provoking as it could cause us to examine the concepts of
identity and what makes us the people we are.
For those of us that are seeking answers in life and finding them
through our relationship with God after placing our faith in Jesus Christ, our “black
boxes” of the memories of our pasts can be a frightening thing that we wish to
keep closed and buried because the memories of the harm we have suffered or
inflicted on others could tell us that we are not the wholesome people that we
are now and that the changing circumstances of the world will one day cause us
to go back into the darkness with which our “black boxes” are filled.
I have recently been forced to recall things from the distant past that
are on my “permanent record” which don’t reflect who I am anymore but all the
same must be reported so others can make an informed decision when they decided
to come into a relationship with me.
The things in my past may cause people to decide to “go with someone
else” and quite frankly I couldn’t blame them.
We are responsible for the things we do in life and the negative
consequences for our past actions may be far reaching.
So, should we hide everything in our little “black boxes” and hope no
one finds out? Should we only reveal
what we absolutely need to and explain things on a “need to know” basis?
While there is great wisdom in choosing to be discerning in what
personal information we reveal to others in life, as a Christian, I have endeavored
to tell the truth and choose to be as transparent as I can be with people.
Quite frankly, it’s a lot easier to just tell the truth because when you open
up your “black box” that’s when the Lord can bring His light into your
life. Light dispels darkness and when
we decide to testify about what we have suffered, our pain and darkness loses
its power over us, and our transformed lives give glory to God.
But here is a key to living out your transformed life: remember to
forget. I am not saying that we deny what
we have done. I am also not telling you to dwell on the things of the past. Instead we should acknowledge the mistakes of
the past, forgive those who have hurt us, and make amends for the harm we have
done. When we do these things, repenting
of our former ways and making things right to the best of our abilities with God
and men, then we can “choose to forget” about what we have done and walk forward
into our freedom and victory.
Did I do all those foolish things in the past? Yup, I am not proud of it,
but I did. Am I still that person? Yes, and possibly No.
I am the person who did those things, and I will be responsible for what
I have done until the day I die. No matter
what I do going forward, my present and future actions will not erase the
things of the past. So yeah, I am the
person responsible for those things in the past, that’s me.
However, coming to faith in Jesus Christ makes one a new creation, according
to God’s word. Beyond “re-inventing ourselves”
by putting on new clothes, mannerisms, or habits, faith in Jesus Christ makes
us new by “killing us”.
The word of God describes a Christian’s life as being crucified and
resurrected with Christ. It tells us the old has passed away and all things
have become new. The word tells us we have new life in Christ.
So, if you have truly put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, you
are no longer that “old man”. You are a
new creation.
But if we expect to experience our new lives in Christ, we must decide
to live the rest of our lives as new creations. If we live like our “old selves” with a
Christian hat that says, “I’m forgiven”, we won’t experience the new life and
others will feel they are correct when they say that “people don’t change” or that
“faith is a joke.” If we live like our
old selves, we just sit in place and start to fill our little “black boxes” all
over again and never feel free.
No, in order to claim that we “are not that person anymore”, we are
going to have to put our faith in the spiritual reality of what the Lord has
done for us when we placed our faith in Jesus and continually and progressively
turn from the “man we used to be” through our thoughts, words, and
actions. Our transformation into the new
life that Christ has for us doesn’t end with a sinner’s prayer. That’s just the
beginning.
Instead of “sitting” in the patterns of our past, we have to rise up and
start walking towards the light of what the Lord is calling us to. When we do that, people may fail to
recognize who we are. While some will
never forgive us and never see what the Lord has done for us, others will recognize that we aren’t who we used
to be, and they will forgive us and rejoice with us over our new lives. It’s a lot easier to forgive a “dead guy”
than it is to forgive someone whose “fouls spirits” of the past continually
haunt those around them.
So, keep walking and talking with God. It’s a new day and a new work week. The bad news is that the job of living a new
life and leaving our pasts behind can be hard work with long hours, but the
good news is that the as we gain experience in our new profession the workloads
get lighter, and we become more skilled at handling adversity. Plus no matter what we run into “on the job”,
we have a close relationship with the One in charge, know that benefits of our
new life are amazing, and that our futures are assured.
This morning’s meditation
verse is:
1 Thessalonians 4:12 (NLT2)
12 Then people who are not
Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on
others.
Today’s verse speaks
of the benefits of living a quiet life with an honest work ethic.
Some saint once
said to always preach the gospel and to sometimes use words pointing to the
fact that our conduct will reveal our Christian faith possibly better than the
words that we speak.
The previous verse in Thessalonians four advises Christians to lead a quiet life, mind our own business, and to work with our hands. Today’s verse tells us that when we do that, non-believers will take notice and our efforts at honest work will provide for our needs and not make us dependent on others.
The word of God indicates that we are going to have to work to meet our needs, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t also work in a manner that can represent the interests of the kingdom of God.
A quiet life of character and work can be our best apologetic as we do not burden others for our needs and establish a reputation as someone who can be trusted. If we are “straight shooters” in caring for our needs and interacting with others, we could establish relationships and dialogs with people outside of God’s grace and use our position to draw people to the truth.
So if you are not the most skilled evangelist, just mind your business and do your job in such a way that your work will give glory to God. Not only will our hard work result in the means to meet our needs, but it could also possibly be used for the Lord’s purposes.
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, concluding Chapter 11.
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:
A
Second Touch
One of the greatest personal crises I have faced in the
ministry revolved around the problem of forgiveness and a board member I will
call Calvin. I struggled relating to this man, so I asked if he would meet with
me weekly. I had only one goal: trying to establish a meaningful relationship
with him.
About four months after Calvin and I
started meeting, I asked the board if I could lead a tour group from the church
to Israel. Calvin's hand shot up. "I'm against it because, as the tour
leader, the pastor will go free, and that's like giving him a bonus."
After assuring Calvin and the board I would pay my own way and use my vacation
time for the trip, they agreed.
Despite the burden I carried in my
heart about my conflict with Calvin, the trip to Israel was a tremendous
spiritual experience for me. On one of my free days in Jerusalem, I spent
several hours alone in the Church of All Nations pouring out my heart to God
about Calvin. I sat there staring at the rock where Christ reportedly had sweat
great drops of blood as He anticipated taking upon Himself the sins of the
world. I concluded by telling God that if Jesus could take all the world's sins
upon Himself, I could surely endure the sins of one difficult person. I left
that historical monument thinking I had let it go.
Two weeks after I returned, Calvin
shifted his attack to our youth pastor. That did it. I could handle Calvin's
resistance to me, but when he started blasting my youth pastor, I reached the
end of my patience. I confronted the board and demanded they do something about
Calvin. If they didn't, I would resign. Although they agreed with me in
private, they wouldn't stand with me in public, so I decided to resign.
The week before I was going to read my
resignation to the congregation, I got sick. I was flat on my back with a 103.5
temperature and I totally lost my voice. I had never been so sick before; nor
have I since. It doesn't take a genius to recognize that God was not pleased with
my decision. When you are flat on your back, you have nowhere to look but up.
So I began reading the Gospels and came to Mark 8:22-26
where some people led a blind man to Jesus. After Jesus touched him, the blind
man said, "I see men . . . like trees" (Mark 8:24). I got
the message. I was seeing Calvin like a tree, an obstacle in my path. He was
blocking my goal! Oh no he wasn't. I was. I am the only person on planet Earth
who can keep me from being the person God created me to be. God used that man
more than any other man to make me the pastor God wanted me to be.
Then Jesus touched the blind man again
and he began to see people as people, not trees. "Lord, I don't love that
man, but I know you do and I want to. I need a second touch from You." God
did touch me, and I chose at that moment to forgive Calvin completely.
The next Sunday I went to church, not
to resign, but to preach. My voice was still so husky that I almost couldn't
speak. I croaked out a message from Mark 8:22-26
about our tendency to be independent in the face of our great need for God and
for each other. I confessed to the congregation my own independence and my
desire for the Lord to touch me, to help me see people as people and not as
obstacles in my path. I explained that there are three kinds of people. Some
are blind and need to be led to Jesus. Others see people like trees. They
scratch one another or compare their leaves with one another. But we are not
trees. We are children of God who are created in His image. Finally, there are
those who have been touched by God and consequently see others for who they
really are.
At the end of the sermon, I invited
anyone who needed a touch from the Lord to join me at the altar. We sang a hymn
and people streamed forward. Soon the altar area and the aisles in the front
were packed with people. They were going across the aisles to ask forgiveness
and to be forgiven. We opened the side doors and people spilled out onto the
lawn. Eventually, all but a few people had come forward. It was a revival!
Would you care to guess who was one of
the few who did not go forward? To my knowledge Calvin never changed, but I
did. I continued to take a stand against what I believed was wrong because I
was not about to tolerate sin. I no longer responded in bitterness though. I
also learned a hard lesson in life. God is fully capable of cleaning His own
fish. My responsibility is to catch them and love them the way Christ loves me.
I thank God to this day that God put me flat on my back to make me the pastor
He wanted me to be.
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,
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Email me
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Discipleship
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