The Broken Man - Of This I am Certain - Purity 575

The Broken Man - Of This I am Certain - Purity 575

Purity 575 11/13/2021  Purity 575 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of Fort Christianvaern at Christiansted, St. Croix  comes to us from a friend who has made the US Virgin Islands their home and who decided to take visiting family members on a Big Beard’s Sunset Cruise to take in some of the local sites.   

Fort Christiansvaern is one of the best-preserved colonial forts in the Caribbean and is the largest structure at the Christiansted National historic site and features exhibits on the history of Christiansted and life on the island of St. Croix.

The oldest structure in Christiansted, Fort Christianvaern protected shipping from potential attacks by foreign invaders, privateers, and possibly pirates, enforced the collection of customs duties, housed prisoners, and quartered Danish troops primarily responsible for internal security on the island of St. Croix.

The fort was built with the labor of enslaved Africans and conscripted Danish soldiers with construction beginning in 1738 and was largely completed by 1749, with the last major additions dating 1835–1841.

Well it’s the weekend and weather you are traveling to islands in the Caribbean to visit historic sites that have stood for hundreds of years or staying closer to home where the buildings may have only stood for a few decades, it is my prayer that my friends use their time off over the next two days to enjoy the sites they encounter as well as the company of friends or family or to just retreat to the fortified comforts of home.

I find myself with a somewhat undetermined day ahead of me where I currently have only the vaguest of ideas of what I may be doing or where I will be going but I am assured that I whatever I do or where ever I will go today I will be in good company as my fiancé will be by my side wherever the day takes us.  

In a life that can be uncertain, its good to have the company of friends and family to be able to travel through life with. They can provide us with the love and encouragement that can raise our spirits or can just “be there” to make life less lonely. 

As I don’t appear to have much to say on this undetermined day, I thought I would share a poem that my friend from Manchester, Philip Hand, sent me not long ago:

  

 

 

The Broken Man

I met this day a broken man

with broken skin and broken hands.

He looked at me though broken eyes

underneath the broken skies.

 

I did not know who he was until he said "I Am your God".

"My body that day was broken for you

on that cross I died for you.

To take all your sins and make you new

by the power of my blood if you ask, I will forgive you" .

 

I looked into his broken eyes

It was like he could see my broken heart within my broken life.

 

Realising I fell down on my knees and cried

"Lord heal my brokenness inside

let me see the difference between the truth and the broken lies".

 

He took my sin and made me whole

now I feel joy deep down in my soul

because the broken man had made me free.

He said his name was Jesus.

-Philip Hand

 

Philip’s poem reminds me that as comforting company as our friends and family can be, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that we receive when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, is The Comforter. 

All the concerns and uncertainties of life are answered in our reconciled relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ and through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we can experience a peace that goes beyond all understanding.   

So keep walking and talking with God.  Enjoy the presence of your loved ones this weekend, if that is in the offering, but whether you will have company or seem to be all alone, remember that God is with you always and you can find peace in His presence regardless of the uncertainties of the day, (or the days, weeks, months, and years) ahead.    

Today’s Bible verse is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.  

This morning’s meditation verse is :

2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT2)
¹⁶  All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

Today’s verse reminds us that God’s word is true and of the great value of God’s word to instruct us in the way we should go.  

From the moment I first made Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior in 2010, I had a deep desire to read the Bible, to know what it actually said about God and how He would direct us to live our lives.   The immense joy over my salvation made me want to know God more and to do His will for my life.   So, I was drawn to the one source that could give me the truth about God, Jesus, and how to be a Christian, the Bible.  

Today’s verse assures us that the Bible, all Scripture, is inspired or, as the original Greek indicates, is breathed out by God.   In the Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course that I am currently facilitating, the first lesson taught that the Bible was “God’s message to the people He created”. God inspired the writing of the Bible for a purpose – to send us a message!

As 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us God’s message to us was intended to be “useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

God’s word was given to us to show us the truth of good and evil and to teach us how to do what is right.  God wants us to know Him and His ways for living and to do them.  

God’s message is sent out of love for us as if we follow the Lord’s wisdom contained in the Bible we will put our faith in Christ to reconcile us to God, receive eternal life, and live in a manner that will share the love of God with others.   

So if you think that Christianity is just a bunch of rules to follow I would encourage you to read the Bible to know who God is and what He wants you to know.  I usually recommend that newcomers to the word read the New Testament first because it is all about Jesus and it is through Him that we can have peace with God.

A study of the New Testament gospels prayerfully will convince the newcomer to the Bible that Christ was the Messiah, the Anointed One, sent to save a fallen humanity, and will lead them to put their faith in Christ. 

After that the New Testament can teach the newcomer about some of the history of the early church in the Book of Acts and provide them with some explanation of who they are in Christ and give them some instruction for living as a Christians in the epistles of the Apostles.

And finally, the New Testament concludes with the Book of Revelation that foretells of the return of Christ and the coming of a new heaven and a new earth to give us an accurate idea of where the future is going to and to assure us of the hope of the ultimate victory that we have in Christ.

After you get all of that, I invite people to examine the Old Testament to understand the history of God’s interactions with mankind and to know God as our Creator and the Author of Life and Righteousness.

So as you go through life and you may not know what is right or wrong, or what to do,  I encourage you to read the message that God sent to the people He created. Not only will you learn the history of the One who made all of creation, you can get to know Him personally when you become convinced of the truth of the Bible and place your faith in Jesus to come into God’s kingdom.

God is omnipresent. That means He is present everywhere. So it is best to know what He has to say and better yet it is best to be reconciled to Him to receive eternal life and the power of His indwelling Spirit to live according to His wisdom. 

So let God know that you have received His message of love and that you understand it by living according to what He says is right and by sharing it with those around us who desperately need it.

 

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 sharing from June Hunt’s “Evil and Suffering… Why? Is God Fair?

 

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.

F. Why Would a Good, All-Powerful God Allow Suffering?

God sometimes allows suffering in order to bring about a greater good.

—Jesus said about the apostle Paul, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name" (Acts 9:16). Later, when Paul was unjustly jailed and had no ability to leave, he was given the opportunity to witness to the guards. As a result, many Roman soldiers came to trust in Christ. Paul explained,

... "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly." (Philippians 1:12-14)

God sometimes allows evil and suffering through...

• —The free will of human beings
• Job's so-called "friends" badgered him with continual accusations that his sickness must have been caused by his sin.

"Job replied: 'How long will you torment me and crush me with words? Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me.'" (Job 19:1-3)

• —Natural order (earthquakes, death, etc.)
• Job's heartache began when a messenger came to Job with reports of a horribly destructive tornado.

"Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you." (Job 1:18-19)

• —Evil spirit beings
• God declared to Satan that Job was the most blameless man on earth. Afterward, Satan physically attacked Job's possessions, his family, and his physical body.

"Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head." (Job 2:7)

God always has a good purpose for our suffering.

His purposes can vary greatly. Sometimes...

• —He allows suffering to expose our sin.
• —He allows suffering to build our character.
• —He allows suffering to produce much good.
• —He allows suffering to change our perspective.
• —He allows suffering to bless our future.

"We consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." (James 5:11)

Biblical Counseling Keys: Evil and Suffering... Why?: Why God? Why?.

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

 

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