Falling Down and Walking Away – Prophecy of Pain
and Loss – Purity 522
Purity 522 09/13/2021 Purity 522 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of an August sunset over Lake Ontario that features the
moon comes to us from Celestial Blue Photography. I am a huge admirer of the work of photographer,
Rocco Saya, and periodically share some of his “views”. The last time I shared a photo of his was of
a beautiful sunset on September 4th.
The “title” of my blog that day was “Falling Down and Finding Comfort in
His Presence”, referring to a misstep that I had made in my plan for optimal health
due to stress. I had no idea that the
association of my title and Rocco’s photo could later be said to have prophetic
underpinnings.
Unfortunately, four days later, on September 8th, while
photographing waterfowl on the on the shores of Breitbeck Park, Rocco fell off
one of the large boulders there and broke his fibula and had to be rescued by
firemen and EMT’s. His injury is quite painful and will require surgery. So I am asking for prayers for comfort and
healing for Rocco during this difficult time.
He injured himself while doing what he loved, and we pray that his
recovery is complete, and he is fully restored to return to capturing the
beauty of God’s creatures and creation.
We never know what the next day in our lives will bring and I often try
to encourage people to be intentional in the steps they make from day to day
and to express the love they have for their friends and family now because we are
not promised tomorrow.
Part of the process of my sharing daily encouragements began when I
agreed to be an accountability partner with someone and started sending them
daily texts. I eventually started sharing that daily text with a group of men,
and later several other individuals.
Even to this day, the message that I put out on the blog 6 days a week,
is still texted to that group of
men. As time has passed, on occasion I
will get a notice that someone in the group would like to be taken off the
list. The texts are obviously voluntary
so even though I am little disappointed to see people leave the group text, I
immediately honor the request and hold no hard feelings towards those who “walk
away”.
On Wednesday, last week I sent out the group text and received an
indication from one of the men on the group text that he would like to be taken
off the list. I just gave a “thumbs up”
to his comment and the next day didn’t include him the text anymore.
I just found out this morning that this person is no longer on this
earth. They passed away two days ago. They were only 42 years old. I don’t know
the details of their death and don’t wish to speculate but I really wish they
had reached out to me and taken me up on my invitations to walk through life on
the path of Christian Discipleship together.
Christ came to give us a new life and through following Him I know that
we are given the power to change who we are.
God gives us free will to choose to go His way or to choose to walk
away. Many people that I talk to about
living out their faith indicate that they would really like to do that “someday”.
Unfortunately, if we keep going our own
way and choose to walk away from the love that God wants to freely give, “someday”
may never come.
So, I don’t mean to bum anyone out on a Monday morning, but I want to
encourage you today that your current situation could be worse, you could have
a broken leg, and for those who are suffering a worse fate than that, you could
be dead. So going to work today might
not seem so bad if we think about what has happened to two men who were just
going about their business when something unexpected happened to change their
course.
So I encourage you to take care as you walk out into the world today and
to appreciate the life and the health that you have. Look for some beauty in your experience as
you spend another day on earth. Appreciate the people and the things you have
in your life and enjoy them.
But most importantly, I would say to draw close to your heavenly Father
by confirming or establishing your faith in Jesus Christ. Eternity can be a heartbeat
away and if we are not careful the “someday” that we intend to make peace with
God, may never come.
So keep walking and talking with God. Tell the people in your life that
you love them and share with them the hope that is found in Christ alone, the hope
that will take you from here to eternity and beyond.
Today’s meditation verse
is drawn from” from the Dr. Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministries provided
resource: “Freedom: Our Life in Christ” Memory
Verse Cards set:
This morning’s meditation
verse is:
Colossians
3:2 (NASB)
2 Set your mind on the things
above, not on the things that are on earth.
Today’s verse commands us to put our attention on the big picture.
Considering that people lose their lives every day, we should be greatly concerned with what will happen to us at the hour of our death. Luckily, Jesus Christ came to earth to warn us of the dangers of being separated from God when we die. If you read the four gospel accounts that detail Christ’s earthly ministry in the New Testament, you will quickly realize that “meek and mild” Jesus really taught a lot about hell and the great value of gaining entrance into the kingdom of God.
I don’t mean to put an emphasis on salvation with this verse but let’s be real! Setting your mind on the things above is great but if you don’t secure your salvation by putting your faith in Jesus Christ it won’t matter how much you pondered the mysteries of theology or doctrine.
So first things first, make Christ you Lord and Savior. Okay? -
Then, with your new and eternal life in Christ, we should really set our minds on things above, meaning that we should ponder how God would want us to live our lives.
Again, it won’t matter how much we think about the things of God, unless we do something with our knowledge about God and our speculations about how to do His will. We need to actually apply them to our lives.
We’ve all heard the phrase about being so heavenly minded that someone was no earthly good. We don’t want to be that guy. God gives us the revelation of His truth and wisdom so we can put our faith into action.
So secure your salvation with faith in Jesus Christ and then experience the peace and power of walking in the Spirit by changing your ways of living to God’s ways. Although we are saved for all of eternity in an instant when we place our faith in Christ, our sanctification – the process of becoming more like Christ- is a progressive process that requires the renewing of our minds and the practice of living according to God’s instructions and principles that are drawn from His word.
The things of this earth may seem compelling but most of them will pass away or lead us astray from the purpose God has for us. So set your mind on things
above and live out your faith everyday by living in the presence of God and
according to His wisdom.
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 to share from June Hunt’s
Boundaries: How to Set Them, How to Keep Them.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work. If you need this title you can find it online at several
sites for less than $5.00:
D. What Characteristics Accompany Codependency?
Jeff Gillooly and Tonya Harding . . . their marriage is punctuated with
violence, restraining orders, divorce filings, and enmeshment, which
continues even after the marriage is over.
Who knows what motivates Jeff to conspire to injure his ex-wife's rival, but
codependency seems to characterize his relationship with Tonya. The skater's
former agent Michael Rosenberg says Jeff and Tonya are incompatible and others
chime in that the couple fight frequently.
James Golden, Tonya's stepfather, observes: "If she looked at someone,
he would get mad. He'd manipulate her real easy. He has such a possessive
nature and is so jealous of her." In contrast, the Bible describes
authentic love. . . .
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud."
Having a "codependent relationship" is being dependent on another
person to the point of being addicted to, controlled, and manipulated by that
person. It is the natural by-product of having little or no boundaries because
it is driven by the lack of personal wholeness and sufficiency.
After all, if we can't depend on ourselves to meet our deep emotional needs,
then it seems only logical to look to others to meet those needs—to depend on
others to fill our emotional emptiness and to give us a sense of significance
and purpose in life.
To be needed by someone is certainly ego-boosting and to meet that person's
needs can be exhilarating . . . but to fail can be crushing, and to be rejected
can be nothing less than catastrophic!
The problem for codependents is not their dependency but rather the object
of their desire. The fact is, we are all dependent creations, but our desire
should be for our Creator . . . our only true Need-Meeter . . . and not another
dependent creature. As the psalmist wrote...
"I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me
with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in
heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my
heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion
forever."
Codependency
Is...
- Marked by
an insecure, dependent person spending an inordinate amount of time and
energy meeting other people's needs and desires while neglecting personal
needs and desires
- Based on
the belief that the subservient helper, the rescuer, the enabler has no
inherent value or worth and can gain significance only by meeting the
needs of other people
- Rooted in
the premise that one person not only determines the worth of another
person but also has the ability to control that person's thoughts,
feelings, actions, and the processes surrounding them
- Identified
as a relationship dominated by fear and control where power is
exaggerated, misapplied, misdirected, and generally abused in an effort to
get inner needs met
- Established
by boundary violators who seek to use a series of tactical maneuvers to
get their own way without regard for anyone else's feelings or desires
- Characterized
by the skillful use of manipulation through deception and intimidation,
goading guilt, heartrending stories, unsolicited and undesired advice,
anger, and even threats
The Bible gives this description of those who are held captive to
codependent relationships. . . .
" . . . they loved human praise more than praise from God."
Biblical Counseling Keys: Boundaries: How to See Them - How to Keep Them.
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.