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Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Hey Universe? – Let me tell you about my Jesus! – Purity 650


 Hey Universe? – Let me tell you about my Jesus! –  Purity 650

Purity 650  02/09/2022  Purity 650 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of yesterday’s sunset over the frozen Hudson River from the vantage point of my back yard in Stuyvesant NY comes to us from yours truly as the sun’s dwindling light over the horizon seemed to be calling me to peak around my house and to capture the moment.  Part of me wanted to remove the propane tanks and the decorative well from the photo in some way but I decided to share this photo as is because “it was what it was” and “it is what it is” and whatever inspired me to capture this photo told me that appreciating beauty isn’t always about focusing on the things that are perfect and that life is a beautiful thing that may have some things that may not be pretty but can be useful or necessary all the same.  

The propane tanks fuel my generator so if the power goes out those unsightly tanks are deeply appreciated and the decorative well while it serves no functional purpose has a charm of its own and does cover up the not so picturesque cylindrical hub that actually is the well to my home.  

Well, it’s Wednesday again and while I didn’t share a mountai to represent making it to the mid-week hump, I think I caught the setting sun more or less in the middle of this photo to visually represent the week’s mid-way point.    

You know that “pull” or call  that took me out of the “middle” of going into my house at the end of yesterday’s workday and the view that I found reminds me of something I saw one of my friends post on FB a few days ago.   

This friend apparently had car trouble on a particularly cold day and was sharing a post to report it in which they stated, “Hey universe!” bordered by a couple of middle fingers emoji to express their displeasure with these unfortunate circumstances.  I know they are a follower of Eastern Mysticism, and I was amused because while their “pseudo religion/philosophy” of life would normally explain the outcomes of their life as a result of their ”karma”, their misfortune was not accepted with patience or lovingkindness and their response seemed to be less than “enlightened” and not to be in “harmony with the universe.”   

Now while my friend blamed his misfortune on the impersonal universe, I would like to point out that in capturing today’s photo I could have also easily fallen into the trap of personalizing the universe as I enjoyed a pleasant experience with God’s creation, where I could have wrongly assigned a divine status to the universe itself, elevating the creation over the creator.   

As someone who was lost in the form of Eastern Mysticism known as Buddhism for years, I personally know the real danger of doing away with God in light of living with a world view of cosmic cause and effect where there are no judgements of right and wrong and where “things just happen” in some mystical form of “what goes around comes around”.   

For those who feel that Christianity fails to address “karma”, I would say that the facts of a Sovereign God who created and shapes the destiny of His creation and rewards those who diligently seek Him and who judges and punishes the wicked, with Bible verses that tell us that we “reap what we sow”, more than adequately answers the questions that Eastern Mysticism, and systems of belief that make a god out of the universe, bring up.  

When I meet people from our western culture that fall into these pantheistic belief systems, I usually get the idea that they were disappointed in, or not adequately taught the truth that, Christianity teaches, which accurately displays the personal God who developed a redemptive plan and gave us a tangible expression of His “personhood” in Jesus Christ.  

I know when I was lost in Buddhism, I was so mad at God and viewed Him as cold, judgmental, and uncaring that I decided for myself that He didn’t exist and that I would only focus on the good I could see in His created order rather than deal with His reality and my sin.       

But the Lord reached me through a radio message that told me the truth about Jesus and what God’s plan for mankind means in light of the gospel. It means God is alive, holy, and good and He loves us.     

When I run into friends that don’t believe, like I didn’t, I so want to express to them how our relationship with God isn’t about our performance or pleasing some angry uncaring God. Our relationship with God is a love relationship and the one in the wrong in that relationship is us. We have run from God, and He sent Jesus to show us what He is like and to save us from ourselves.   

Jesus told His disciples, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.  Jesus’ love, care, holiness, power, and goodness reflect the truth about God. 

So if you are angry at God, or just doubt His existence, look at Jesus and you will know what He is like.  

For those of you who are shouting “Hey universe”,  I want to share the lyrics to “My Jesus” by Anne Wilson to assure you that God is good, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The song’s chorus says:

 

… He makes a way where there ain't no way
Rises up from an empty grave
Ain't no sinner that He can't save
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
His love is strong, and His grace is free
And the good news is I know that He
Can do for you what He's done for me
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
And let my Jesus change your life

… Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Amen

The love of God has changed my life. Jesus has saved me and led me out of the darkness of my life that was full of shame, guilt, anger, fear, depression, and confusion. The Bible tells the story of God and how He sent His Son to show mankind who He is and how He loves us and wants us to be set free from sin and death.  

Stop screaming to “the universe” and look to the God who created it and thank Him for all the good you have ever known because He provided it and then ask Him to show you who He is and what your purpose in life is supposed to be.  

God loves you and merely asks that you walk with Him to see all there is to see and the beauty that awaits you just around the next corner when you answer His call and open your eyes to see Him.   

 

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

2 Corinthians 5:6 (NLT2)
6  So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.

Today’s verse speaks of the confidence we can have when we are walking by faith and of the assurance that there is a future fulfillment of being at home with the Lord that we can look forward to.    

The previous verse in this passage of scripture speaks of the fact that God has prepared us for the glorification of our dying bodies by giving us the guarantee of the Holy Spirit.  

When we place our faith in Jesus, we receive spiritual life and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who testifies to our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16), meaning, yes indeed, we have been saved, we have been forgiven, we are really Christians, and have all the promises of God given to us.   

That’s why we can be confident.  Our lives change the moment we trust in Jesus, and we experience the new life in the Spirit progressively as we continue to believe the truth of the gospel and start following the Lord by applying His wisdom and ways to our lives.  

If you don’t “feel” like a Christian, it’s probably because you don’t believe it or doubt it and it is almost certainly because you are not living like one.   

So grab a hold of that confidence, by grabbing a hold of your identity in Christ and by turning from the world’s ways and embracing God’s way for living.   

When you do that you will enjoy the benefits of the assurance of your salvation and the fruit of the Spirit in your life.  

But today’s verse also addresses our life with God in eternity. So yeah, due to the nature of the world and the temporary state of our physical bodies, we will suffer here on earth even though we are walking in the Spirit.  

Negative circumstances and people can bring us down.  The state of our health can cause us pain and discomfort.  While we can rise above a lot of these sufferings through the practice of our faith, today’s verse encourages us that these suffering will one day end when we eventually find our home with the Lord where we will receive glorified bodies and where there will be no more pain, weeping, or death.    

So be confident knowing that you have the Spirit of God in you to empower your walk through life  but also rejoice that no matter how good or bad we have it on the earth, the Lord will one day welcome us to a more glorious state when we are welcomed into His eternal kingdom where we will know what it is like to finally be home, for good!  

 

As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. 

Today we continue to share from Dr. Neil Anderson’s . “Restored: Experience Life with Jesus”. Today, we begin sharing from Chapter 8.  

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Neil Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work.

CHAPTER EIGHT - OVERCOMING ANCESTRAL SINS

The last issue that needs to be resolved is related to ancestral sins that are passed on from one generation to another and spiritual attacks that come from the enemy. This step is crucial for those who come from very dysfunctional families or families involved in cults or the occult. This step breaks the final links of bondage that have chained you to your past. You cannot passively take your places in Christ; you must actively choose to accept yourself as a new creation in Christ and take your place in the family of God.

THE INFLUENCE OF HERITAGE

Unless we make concerted efforts to do otherwise, we will perpetuate the habits, customs, and traditions passed on in our families for generations. The families we were born into and the way we have been raised shaped our present beliefs and behaviors. Some of those family traits can be very good, and others not so good. Jesus said, “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”148 Our personalities and temperaments have been mostly established by the time we are five years old, and nobody has contributed more to our early development than our parents.

This generational connection is clearly observed in cycles of abuse. The abused become abusers. This cycle is passed on genetically, environmentally and spiritually. First, we can be genetically predisposed to certain strengths and weaknesses. However, that does not make us alcoholics, or drug addicts, or gay. We took on those traits by the choices we make, but some may be more vulnerable than others due to genetic differences.

Second, the environment we were raised in is the biggest contributor to our development. This process of learning is more caught that taught. The actions of our parents have spoken louder than their words. If you were raised in a home where pornography was left around the house, you will struggle with lust more than the person who was raised in a morally responsible home. Mental strongholds are formed primarily from the environments in which we were raised. By environment, I mean the friends we had, the neighborhoods we played in, the churches we went to (or didn’t go to) and the parents (or single parent or guardian) who raised us.

The third contributor to our development is spiritual. In the Ten Commandments, God said, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”149 God blesses those who are obedient to His covenant to the thousandth generation but the iniquities of those who are disobedient are passed on to the third and fourth generations.

 

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

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

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