Labels

Saturday, February 19, 2022

I Will Follow Him – Purity 659


 I Will Follow Him – Purity 659

Purity 659 02/19/2022   Purity 659 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of blue skies over Riverfront Park, the Hudson River, and the Green Island Bridge under a blanket of clouds in Troy NY comes to us from yours truly as I decided to take a quick picture as I took a wrong turn into the park’s parking lot while going to my first job yesterday.  I had misread Google’s GPS instructions and taken a turn too soon but decided that since I had made this unexpected detour I might as well make the best of it and took a moment to enjoy the riverfront and grab a photo.   

Well, it’s Saturday and to say that life has given me a few unexpected detours would be an understatement!  Today, my wife, Tammy Lyn, and I begin our honeymoon trip to Tampa Florida, and it will be full of firsts, and the unexpected, as I deliberately chose a destination that we have never been to before and this will be our first travel experience together as a couple!

This trip and this marriage are unexpected detours in our lives, as a year ago TammyLyn held the conviction that she would never marry again, and I was pretty sure that my days would end in veritable monkhood as I was determined to not compromise my faith and figured the path of Christian Discipleship would be one I would probably walk out alone.   But God knew us, and He used the podcasts of my discipleship classes to bring us together.

 As I got to know TammyLyn last year, and we became friends and I started to have deep feelings for her, I struggled with how our lives would fit together.  But when I thought about how she faithfully came to my classes and how she progressively and tenaciously expressed her interest and love for me, I eventually came to the realization that not only would TammyLyn give me a faithful Christian wife, I came to the realization that in light of her devotion to seek the Lord and her freedom in Christ and her dogged determination to have me in her life, I realized that there was simple no other person that would be a better life partner than her, ever.

Tammy Lyn’s beauty, faith, character, and our mutual experience together made her simply the best and only option for my wife.  After that realization, I didn’t ask her to be my steady girlfriend, I asked her to marry me.  

This morning as I contemplated our travels together thus far, the one before us today, the ones we don’t know about in our future, and our commitment to seek the Lord in all the aspects of our lives I was reminded of the old pop song, “I Will Follow Him” by Peggy March and how it’s lyrics reflect TammyLyn’s love for me and our love and commitment to follow Jesus for the rest of our lives.  André Rieu’s lyrics say: 

“ I will follow him

Follow him wherever he may go

And near him, I always will be

For nothing can keep me away

He is my destiny

I will follow him

Ever since he touched my heart I knew

There isn't an ocean too deep

A mountain so high it can keep

Keep me away

Away from his love

I love him!

I love him!

I love him!

And where he goes

I'll follow!

I'll follow!

I'll follow!”

My decision to follow the Lord wherever He led me resulted in my developing a Community Freedom Ministry and to start a podcast and they led me to finding the love of my life.  

TammyLyn’s desire to follow the Lord led her to experience her freedom in Christ and know the joy, peace, and love that comes from a close personal relationship with the Lord that flows from the daily decision to walk in the Spirit.

Her journey of faith  has led her to change her mind about never being married again  and has led her to boldly proclaim the hope she has found in Christ and to encourage others to find the freedom that only He can provide.  Today she will be getting on a plane for the first time in approximately 17 years and will be going to a state she has never been to!

A year ago both of us made decisions to be faithful to the call to follow Christ in our lives and now we are overwhelmed with love we have for one another and the wonder of where the Lord will lead us next.   

If you seek the Lord you will find Him. If you decide to walk in the Spirit, by living according to His ways and being open to His presence and guidance, you will know beyond a shadow of doubt that God is real, He is alive, He loves us, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.    

So as we enjoy another weekend of life, ask the Lord to guide you in the way you should go and, either continue or, start walking and talking with God because the abundant life that Christ has for you is waiting in the future for you to experience. 

He calls us out of darkness and welcomes us into His wonderful light. When we answer that call and we decide to follow Him, we will discover that, like the song says, there isn't an ocean too deep or a mountain so high it can keep us away, away from Him love. 

 

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

This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 Corinthians 2:12 (NLT2)
12  And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

Today’s Bible verse speaks of the spiritual reality that we become spiritually alive, and we receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit when we put out faith in Jesus Christ. The Lord becomes our constant companion, through the Holy Spirit, so we can know the wonderful things that He has freely given us.   

The thing that I try to stress about our relationship with God is the fact that it is not just a set of doctrinal beliefs that we mentally assent to, to feel better about ourselves and to motivate us to suffer through this world.  Our relationship with God is a dynamic interactive living relationship that is just as real, if not more real, that the relationships we have with our friends and family.  

Because God is unseen in the material sense many people struggle with the fact of His reality in light of the sufferings we can see in the world and the feelings of isolation we can have when we embrace the worldview that disbelieves His presence and doubts His existence.  

When we believe that God just isn’t there, we really experience the bitter loneliness of life and fear everything as we view the universe as a chaotic and dangerous place that will one day succeed in taking our lives and absorbing us in its eventual nothingness as the natural processes that sustain life will logically just run out of gas and die.   

Our investigations into reality should lead to questions about our existence and God.  

A scientific examination of our existence speaks of a supernatural beginning of the universe where everything just sprung into existence.  The beginning points to a Creator.  God is real.  

When we choose to believe there is a God, we should start to look for Him and when we seek Him earnestly, we will find Him.   

Any investigation into God should lead us to consider the Bible and what it teaches. The Bible shows us that  God is not only a Creator, but He also has a plan for His creation, and through the  advent of Christ, we learn of God’s great love for mankind.    

The Bible shows us that God seeks to reconcile us to Him and when we put our faith in Christ we find peace with God and are given eternal life that is sealed with the Holy Spirit.  

As today’s verse declares, through God’s Spirit in us, we can know the wonderful things He has given us. 

God knows us intimately and when we have that covenant relationship with Him through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can know we are His children. We can experience His continual presence. We can experience the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. 

So draw close to God and experience the dynamic interactive closeness that our relationship with Him affords us.

His Spirit is in us.  Wherever we go, He is with us. 

So rejoice and know the abundant life that results from living in the Spirit and knowing the wonderful things that God has freely given us.


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 sharing from June Hunt’s Codependency: Balancing an Unbalanced Relationship.

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 his work.  This resource is available on many websites for less than $5.00.

II. Characteristics of Codependency

Can children be conditioned to be codependent? Clearly, yes. In the Bible, Rebekah shows a blatant bias toward her second-born son, Jacob, because he stays close to hearth and home. Meanwhile, Isaac favors his firstborn son, Esau, because he has prowess in hunting.

Since no two children have identical skills, all children should be recognized for their differences and respected for their distinctiveness. Oh, but Rebekah does not love in this way! She becomes obsessed. Thus, the conniving begins. Rebekah wants Jacob to receive "the birthright of the firstborn" (which unquestionably belongs to Esau). She becomes determined to deceive her husband so that he will give it to Jacob. Because of the enmeshed relationship between Rebekah and Jacob, she finds it easy to persuade her son to defraud his father. She plots.... She schemes.... She secretly plans. Rebekah coaches Jacob to cover his hands with the skin of a young goat so that they will feel like the hands of his brother. She even dresses Jacob in Esau's clothes. Because of old age and weak eyes, father Isaac is fooled.

Although the scheme is a success, Jacob is found out and flees for his life. But alas, he does not escape his passive dependency. All too soon, he again becomes manipulated by others. His father-in-law and his own two wives are crafty and cunning. Meanwhile, he feels conned and controlled. Such is the misery in adulthood when one is enmeshed in childhood. (See Genesis chapters 27-30.)

A. Who Are Codependent People?

Codependent people may appear capable and self-sufficient, yet in reality they are insecure, self-doubting, and in need of approval. This need for approval results in an excessive sense of responsibility and a dependence on people-pleasing performance. However, the Bible says our primary focus should not be on pleasing people, but rather on pleasing God.

"We instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more." (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

The Codependent Person Profile

(Think about the person with whom you are closely involved and consider if any of these statements are reflections of you.)

  • I feel responsible for the feelings, needs, and actions of the other person.
  • I try to fix the problems of this person, even to the detriment of my own well-being.
  • I can discern the thoughts of this person but cannot identify my own.
  • I know the feelings and needs of this person but do not know my own.
  • I do things for others that they are capable of doing for themselves.
  • I feel angry when my help is not wanted.
  • I tend to be rigid and judgmental in the eyes of others.
  • I judge myself more harshly than I judge others.
  • I deny my own feelings and needs—so I've been told.
  • I feel guilty when I stand up for myself.
  • I feel good about giving but have difficulty receiving.
  • I try to be perfect in order to avoid anger or criticism.
  • I look for my worth in the approval of others.
  • I find that I am attracted to needy people and that needy people are attracted to me.


Biblical Counseling Keys: Codependency: Balancing an Unbalanced Relationship.

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

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" 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. 

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTxjSNstREpuGWuL0bF3U7w/featured

Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be encouraged.

My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.