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Friday, August 13, 2021

Poison – Taking Candy from Familiar Strangers - Purity 496

Poison – Taking Candy from Familiar Strangers

Purity 496 08/13/2021    Purity 496 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of a sunset over Cape Cod Bay comes to us from a friend who vacationed at First Encounter Beach in Eastham Massachusetts last week.  While they reported not having the greatest weather while they were on the Cape they did manage to capture some beautiful moments like this one and described their trip as a “great escape”.  

Well, its Friday and while we still have to get through today every minute that passes brings us closer to the weekend and hopefully to an escape from any troubles you may be experiencing for a while.   I shared today’s photo because it is beautiful, and I absolutely love Cape Cod as I vacationed there with my family as a child and returned there as an adult with my own children.  So today’s photo reminds me of fond memories but to keep it real it also reminds me that a change of location doesn’t always solve our problems as I recall some not fond memories of arguing with my ex on those later trips to the Cape.   And to keep it super real, my proclivity for drunkenness and my lack of skills of communicating and relating with my ex were definitely contributing factors to our arguments. 

Ironically, it was only after I came to Christ and got free from my addictions to drugs and alcohol did we get divorced. Just because you change, doesn’t mean that the people in your life will change.  As I briefly discussed in last night’s Bondage Breaker course, sometimes the people we are with are very comfortable with us being “the bad one” in our relationships and they may actually prefer us to be in bondage because we are “easier to control.”   So for more of my shocking confessions, check out last night’s podcast.     

As we navigate through the weekend and we try to walk out our freedom and victory, we must be careful how we walk because some of the people that are closest to us may be distant from the Lord and unwittingly be used to pull us into temptation or failure. 

I have taken great strides to optimal health by watching what I eat and exercising but as I have lost weight I have gotten resistance from someone who loves me and honestly wants what’s best for me but because “optimal health” or just plain “health” is somewhat of a foreign concept to them, they have actually attempted to encourage me to stop my attempts to be healthy and have actively tried to give me foods that are processed and are outside of the parameters of what has helped me get me to where I am.    This same person has also mindlessly offered me, who is now 6 years clean and sober, alcoholic beverages on more than one occasion.   

Like the evil witch in Snow White, transforms herself into a kindly older woman with a poison apple, this person out of their ignorance, or through subtle demonic influence, actively seeks to lead me astray.  I literally must tell this person “No.” repeatedly. 

Unfortunately, as far as I have come in my walk, I am still subject to being “tricked” and fall into traps that I should have walked away from. This person recently insisted I take some sweet treats home with me to give to my children.  I foolishly agreed to it thinking that the treats weren’t for me so the kids would eat them and there would be no issue. 

But my kids are sometimes smarter than me or they like their own sweets more than what this person sent home; I don’t know.  Anyway, the cookies they sent have sat on my kitchen table all week, untouched. 

Last night after having a good class, and right on the heals of encouraging others to work toward optimal health, because I was up late and struggling to finish a bunch of paperwork for a new service opportunity in the future. I was tired and hungry and because “the poison apple” was sitting on my kitchen table for so long, I inexplicably finally mindlessly gave in to the temptation to “just get rid of them” and ate them.    

Ok, I didn’t die.  No enchanted princess has to kiss me out of a death like sleep state, that’s a relief because I might be there for a while.  But I report this loss to share two things.  When we suffer a failure in our walk, we have to report it.  Nobody likes a snitch, but we have to rat ourselves out because if we don’t we are no longer walking in the truth and that’s when we live a lie and separate ourselves from the harmony we have with the Lord.  

The other thing is that just because we are walking with the Lord in victory doesn’t mean the other people in our lives are even remotely on the same path as we are.  They don’t have the relationship that we do with the Lord and don’t see things they way we see them.   So we must be careful in our interactions with those who are not living a surrendered life of Christian discipleship. It’s a lonely road and the people we will meet on it that will try to lead us astray are not always strangers.  

I recently rejoiced over my freedom from alcohol yet again because I went to a few social gatherings where alcohol was served in abundance, but I was not tempted and was free and uninhibited to sing and dance and enjoy myself.

But even though I am free and am happy about it, I didn’t decide to keep going out to wineries and bars to keep celebrating my freedom.   Quite frankly as fun as those times out were, I didn’t want to keep exposing myself to those environments because I recognized that if I did I could possibly be led astray, like with these cookies.  And honestly, I feared slipping into other sins of the flesh more tempting than anything you can drink: Hello, ladies!

So anyway, it is my prayer that all my friends have a great weekend but I also pray that in your search for fun and relaxation that you stay true to yourself and to avoid the corrupting influences that may be near and dear to you, who mean well but unwittingly lead you into compromise, guilt, shame and seek to keep you in the box that they are more comfortable with you staying in.  

The good news is that God is with us, even when we fall down. We just need to keep walking and talking with Him, admit when we step off the path, and reach out and take His hand to pick us up and lead us further into the life He has for us.     

 

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 14:8 (NKJV)
8  For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

Today’s verse speaks about our motivation for life and the assurance of who we are.   

The Apostle Paul makes no bones about it, as Christians we are the Lord’s possession and that no matter what circumstances we face, even life and death circumstances, we are to live or die “to the Lord”. 

The phrase “to the Lord” points to our direction. Which way should we go? To the Lord. No matter what extreme circumstances we may face, as Christians, we are the Lord’s and therefore we should live according to His will for our lives.  

While I can’t tell you the Lord’s personal specific will for your life in every moment of everyday, I can tell you that 1 Thessalonians 4:3 tells all Christians that the Lord’s will for us is our sanctification, which means to conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), which is to live according to the life principles prescribed and described in the Bible.  

So whether we live or die, we need to examine our experience to determine if we are living “to the Lord” or not.  To come in harmony with the Lord we have to make an honest assessment of how we are living and thinking, and we must know what God’s word says so we can align ourselves to a way of life that is pleasing to the Lord.  

The benefits to a life that is lived “to the Lord” are peace, joy, love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, patience, gentleness, and self-control, the fruit of the Spirit.  So I encourage you to keep taking steps “to the Lord”.

The more you give away from the world, the more riches you experience from the kingdom of God.  The more you turn from your “old man”, the more you will experience the abundant life of the new man. Whether we live or die, “to the Lord” is the best way to go, for when we are walking in His direction we discover more and more how we are truly His.  

 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 in 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:

Forgive Those Who Have Hurt You in the Past

The second step in resolving past conflicts is to forgive those who have offended you. After encouraging Cindy to deal with the emotional trauma of her rape, I said, "Cindy, you also need to forgive the man who raped you."

Cindy's response was typical of many believers who have suffered physical, sexual or emotional pain at the hands of others: "Why should I forgive him? You don't seem to understand how bad he hurt me."

Perhaps you have asked the same question. Why should you forgive those who have hurt you in the past?

First, forgiveness is required by God. As soon as Jesus spoke the amen to His model prayer—which included a petition for God's forgiveness—He commented: "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" (Matthew 6:14, 15). We must base our relationships with others on the same criteria on which God bases His relationship with us: love, acceptance, and forgiveness (see Matthew 18:21-35).

Second, forgiveness is necessary to avoid entrapment by Satan. I have discovered from my counseling that unforgiveness is the number one avenue Satan uses to gain entrance to believers' lives. Paul encouraged us to forgive "in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11). I have had the privilege to help people around the world find their freedom in Christ. In every case, forgiveness was an issue and in many cases it was the issue that needed to be resolved.

Third, forgiveness is required of all believers who desire to be like Christ. Paul wrote: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (Ephes. 4:31, 32).

What Is Forgiveness?

Forgiving is not forgetting. Forgetting may be a long-term by-product of forgiving, but it is never a means to forgiveness. When God says He will remember our sins no more (see Hebrews 10:17), He is not saying "I will forget them." God is omniscient; He cannot forget. Rather, He will never use the past against us. He will remove it as far from us as "the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12).

Forgiveness does not mean you must tolerate sin. A young wife and mother, attending one of my conferences, told me of her struggle to forgive her mother for continual manipulation and condemnation. She tearfully continued, "I suppose I can forgive her tonight, but what am I supposed to do when I see her next week? She will be no different. She will undoubtedly try to crowd between me and my family as she always does. Am I supposed to let her keep ruining my life?" No, forgiving someone doesn't mean you must be a doormat to the person's continual sin. I encouraged her to confront her mother lovingly but firmly and to tell her she would no longer tolerate destructive manipulation. It is okay to forgive another's past sins and, at the same time, take a stand against future sins.

Forgiveness does not seek revenge or demand repayment for offenses suffered. "You mean I'm just supposed to let them off the hook?" you may argue. Yes, you let them off your hook realizing that God does not let them off His hook. You may feel like exacting justice, but you are not an impartial judge. God is the just Judge who will make everything right in the end. "'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). "But where is the justice?" ask the victims. It is in the crucifixion of Christ. Christ died "once for all" (Romans 6:10). He died for his sins, her sins, your sins, my sins.

Forgiveness means resolving to live with the consequences of another person's sin. In reality, you will have to live with the consequences of the offender's sin whether you forgive that person or not. For example, imagine someone in your church says, "I have gossiped about you all over town. Will you forgive me?" You can't retract gossip any easier than you can put toothpaste back into the tube. You will have to live with the consequences of that person's gossip no matter how you respond. We are all living with the consequences of someone else's sin. We are all living with the consequences of Adam's sin. The only real choice is to live with those consequences in the bondage of bitterness or in the freedom of forgiveness.


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


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