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Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Take My Life - Eyes on the Sky to Die? –Purity 685

Take My Life  -  Eyes on the Sky to Die? –Purity 685

Purity 685 03/22/2022  Purity 685 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the view of the sky and several palm trees comes to us from a friend’s recent visit to Florida’s Treasure Coast.  I am sure the view of the ocean must have been nice that day, but our friend had the presence of mind to look up and realized that the vertical view was worthy of capturing too.    

Well, Happy Tuesday, while I am rejoicing this morning over the fact that, if the Lord wills it, I will be reunited with my wife this evening at our countryside home because I have Wednesday off from my “day job” I have to admit that I am feeling the after affects of being “on the go” and working nearly 16 hours yesterday.  With that lament you may suspect that it was a “bad day” but on the contrary while the day was long and filled with activity none of it took my peace away. 

My secret, of course, is that I “prayed without ceasing” by keeping a running dialog with the Lord through out the day to ask Him to go before me, to be with me, to show me the way to go and to inquire of why somethings had to be the way they were.  I also thanked Him for being there, for showing me what I needed to see, and for directing my path to see some wonderful sights and to be used to give some people comfort.  

Through my job with the phone company, I was able to resolve a few people’s telecommunications problems. I fixed ‘em all, and I also got to see a whole lot of real estate of up State New York as my tasks sent me far and wide under yesterday’s blue skies. Throughout the day, I thanked God for the bright although windy spring day and for the resolvable problems I encountered along the way.   

Those days are not typical in my line of business, so I was thankful and it was with a overall attitude of satisfaction and peace that I went into my second job as a psych tech for mobile crisis assessment team.  When you are helping people in crisis, you have to put your problems aside, so I was happy that I didn’t have any when I started my shift at MCAT.  

I was reminded last night that not all conversations with God are as jovial as mine were throughout the day.  Last night, our team was dispatched to assess a young woman who had made suicidal statements and she admitted to us that because of the stress in her life she had been continually asking God to take her life. 

Faced with the stress of broken relationships, financial hardship, the responsibility of raising her young children, this young woman had made inquires to friends to take care of her kids “when she was gone” causing her mother to request the assessment.  The good news is that she wasn’t alone, her mother had made the right call, and now she can have a network of support to help her with her problems.  

As vastly different as I am from this young woman, I could really relate to her story because there were times in my life when the stresses of having to transition to adulthood and rise to the challenges of supporting my family and raising young children had brought me to the brink of suicide. 

That stress of being a “grown up in the real world” is rough and I remember how my feelings of inadequacy filled me with hopelessness that filled my youth with destructive behaviors and a pretty consistent death wish. 

The wish to not “grow up” is not just for “toys ‘r us kids” as the stress of “adulting” can cause us to call on God to enact a “final solution” that will end our pain and send us to heaven.   These life responsibilities don’t end and if we don’t learn to manage our stress and come into harmony with the realities of life these “death wishes” can be a cyclical phenomenon that can repeat throughout our lives.  

The world’s answer to focus on our careers or families can work when things are running smoothly but it can be the cause of the loss of our hope if things in those areas go awry.  The failure of the American dream to work in our lives can cause us to shout out to heaven to end it all.   

So while this young woman’s dreams have seemed to have failed her and she had been asking God to take her life, I know that God used her mother and the Mobile Crisis Assessment Team to save it. 

Sometimes our problems can seem so big that we can’t see a way past them or don’t think we have the strength or capabilities to overcome them but the Lord wants us to live. He gave us life with the purpose to know Him, to love Him, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  

So last night the mental health agency that was created to help the neighbors of our local community answered a cry for help that was sent in God’s direction and even though this woman’s struggles aren’t over, we left her with the hope that comes from knowing you are not alone and that there are others that will help you in your time of need.      

So I don’t know where you are today, but it is possible that you are in a season where the stress is high and you have thoughts that tell you it would just be better to die.  But I am here to tell you that those thoughts are a lie, your death won’t make things better for the ones you leave behind. God created you and placed you where you are in life for a purpose: to love those around you.  

So instead of asking the Lord to take your life to make you die, I would like to encourage you to ask the Lord to take your life to make you live.  

Focusing on the world can be pretty depressing and we can instinctively call on God to take us out of it, but He is the one who put us in it and He knows that if you walk with Him you can find the meaning and purpose to your life and live in the peace that goes beyond all understanding that He has for you.  

So look to the sky and tell the Lord that you know in your heart that He is there. Say a prayer to Him and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior so you can be at peace with the Lord and enjoy the new eternal and abundant life that the Lord wants you to have.   

Be real and honest in your decision to let the Lord “take your life” and to use it for His glory.  When we trust in God we can overcome “the impossible” and we can face each new day with hope because we know that we are not alone because He will never leave us or forsake us and that some how and in some way, the Lord will help us in our struggles because our hearts instinctively reach out to Him in our darkest hours.  

So keep walking and talking with God. I know for a fact that if you do, He will see you through.  He will lead you out of the darkness and into the hope for today and tomorrow.  And if you keep walking with Him, one day you will reach out and show another lost soul the way into His mercy, grace, and peace.

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If you are interested in taking an online course with Freedom in Christ Ministries below you will find the course options for our Spring Session. The classes will meet for 1.5-2 hours once a week for 12 weeks starting the first full week of April. Our prayer is that you will be able to set aside time for one of these wonderful courses. They truly are life changing!

 

Spring registration is now open! We are offering these times.

1.     Women’s Group, Starting Wednesday, April 6 at 10:00 AM EDT.

2.     Women’s Group, Starting Friday, April 8 at 10:30 AM EDT.

3.     Men’s Group, Starting Tuesday, April 5 at 7:00 PM EDT.

4.     Men's Group, Starting Thursday, April 7 at 6:30 PM EDT.

5.     CO-ED SPANISH SPEAKING Group, Starting Tuesday, April 5 at 7:00 PM EDT.

6.     CO-ED Group, Starting Thursday, April 7 at 7:00 PM EDT.

 

If you are interested in taking the Freedom in Christ Course, please click the Sign-up Form link below to register for your desired course time.

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We encourage you to order your books now through the FICM online Bookstore at Freedominchrist.com. You will need the Freedom in Christ Course Participant’s Guide and The Steps to Freedom in Christ booklet. 

 

For the SPANISH participant's book click here. For the SPANISH Steps to Freedom click here or search SPG004-1 in the bookstore search bar.

                       

All materials and shipping should cost you no more than $25.

 

Once registration has closed, you will receive an introduction email confirming your course time and giving you additional information about your instructor and how the course works.

  

Sign up and order your books today! Class registration will close on Sunday, March 27

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

This morning’s meditation verse is :

James 1:4 (NKJV)
4  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing..

Today’s Bible verse encourages us to grow in patience to the point where we can see that the Lord has given us all we need.  

Okay, this verse is speaking to the church, meaning you who are in a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  I remind us all of that because the practice of patience in that context is the only way we will experience being “perfect and complete”. 

Colossians 2:10 tells us we are “complete in Him”, meaning Jesus.  Sorry Jerry Maguire, only Jesus completes us.   

Christ makes us complete, but we don’t always realize that. Our situation on earth can make us feel far from perfect and can make us feel that we lack a whole lot of things. 

But when we go through trials and we patiently lean on the Lord for His strength and wisdom, we can experience “patience’s perfect work” of coming to the realization that we are undoubtedly a Christian, because of our committed trust in Him through the hard times that would want to cause us to go into despair, and that means that we have all the promises of God.

Our patience in our trials, that is born of our faith in God, can give us the “perfect and complete” understanding that we are indeed members of God’s royal family and that means that we lack nothing!

Our faith in Christ and our perseverance in trusting in Him. even during the hard times, shows we really are “in Christ” and it is only through Him that we could be “perfect and complete”.  


Today’s verse is pointing to our growing into mature Christians that have the assurance of our salvation and the assurance of our continuous and unbreakable relationship with God, and because of that relationship, we are complete, perfect, and lack nothing.  

So rejoice because the Lord has called you to walk with Him forever and every step we take in His direction that we make is another leap into the complete peace that He has for us and that He wants us to know perfectly.   

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 Overeating: Freedom from Food Fixation.  

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.

III. CAUSES

Food … can function like a drug.

Food can be eaten in an attempt to numb us from pain, thereby turning necessary sustenance into a form of solace. The term “comfort food” identifies its role in our lives … to console.

But it’s pacifying ability isn’t permanent—the “fix” is only fleeting—because only a short time after eating, we can find ourselves rummaging through cupboards and cabinets, raiding the refrigerator … again. As with drugs, food can become an addiction, consuming our thoughts … preoccupying us with when and where we’ll get the chance to eat again.

Jesus instead offers food for both the soul and the spirit that will deeply satisfy, thereby minimizing the fixation on our physical appetites. He calls Himself “the bread of life,” the only One who can provide lasting spiritual sustenance and can shift our focus from what’s in the fridge to what’s in His Word. To be totally filled, to have your thirst fully quenched, heed Jesus’ words.…

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

(John 6:35)

In reality, no snack food can create an obsession. (Manufacturers only wish they could make that claim.) The causes for compulsive overeating are much more complex and deep-rooted. Compulsive eating for many people is not based on physical hunger, but on emotional hunger, a craving for the love and gratification they missed during their childhood.

As you search for the truth about your past and see within your heart the truth about your present, honest answers can be the first step toward healing, as confirmed by Scripture.…

“You desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.”

(Psalm 51:6)

A. What Are Situational Setups for Overeating?

Cultural trends from country to country can lead to situational setups for overeating.

In Egypt, considered the 5th most overweight nation in the world, cultural taboos inhibit women from exercising or playing sports. So rather than reaching for a tennis racket, Egyptian women may be more prone to reach for another plate of food. Obesity among Egyptian women is particularly high.

And a study in New Zealand concluded that children who spent the greatest amount of time watching television were at a far higher risk for developing adult obesity than children who viewed little television. A sedentary lifestyle can be a situational setup for overeating … and can become your “master,” when instead God wants to be your Master.…

“If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

(Genesis 4:7)

Other setups include …

•     Childhood Circumstances

—   Overweight parents (modeling poor eating patterns)

—   Rejection (using food to mask emotional pain)

—   Sexual abuse (gaining weight to appear unattractive and to insulate inner self)

—   Verbal/emotional abuse (eating to soothe poor self-image)

—   Deprivation (turning to food as a source of security)

•     Physical Dynamics

—   Less active lifestyle (discontinuing student P.E. classes, changing jobs, retirement, becoming physically disabled)

—   Childbirth (gaining weight during pregnancy)

—   Hormonal changes with aging (lessening of metabolism affecting the rate the body burns fat)

—   Underactive thyroid gland (having a hypothyroid condition that decreases production of fat burning hormones)

—   Medications that cause weight gain (taking steroids, certain antidepressants, or hormones)

—   Genetic factors or chemical imbalances in the brain

—   Abnormal functioning of hypothalamus region of the brain, which controls appetite

•     Emotional State

—   Depression (eating for emotional comfort)

—   Grief (relying on food to replace feelings of emptiness)

—   Anxiety (focusing on food to calm the nerves)

—   Loneliness (looking to food to compensate for lack of companionship)

—   Current abuse (feeling out of control except for being able to choose food to eat)

—   Substituting one bad habit for another (replacing smoking with overeating)

•     Relational Patterns

—   Business engagements (conducting business meetings over a meal)

—   Social gatherings (fellowshipping around food)

—   Busy schedule (eating out or on the go rather than cooking healthily at home)

—   Boredom (preparing and eating meals to help pass the time)

—   Celebrating (using food as a reward)

•     Decision Making

—   Weak impulse control (not saying no to the enjoyment of excess food)

—   Poor judgment (not considering size of portions)

—   Family, peer, and cultural pressure (not wanting to “hurt people’s feelings”)

—   Consumption of too much alcohol (not limiting the high calorie content of alcohol)

—   Conclusion of a diet (not realizing healthy eating is a way of life)

—   Substituting one bad habit for another (replacing smoking with overeating)

Whatever situations from the past served to set you up to be an overeater, you are no longer living in the past and you have the power to break the hold those situations have on you today. Even if your circumstances haven’t changed, you have. You are no longer a child but an adult. You are no longer powerless but powerful. You are no longer unable to choose for yourself but free to exercise your will. You can walk in freedom from overeating.…

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

(Galatians 5:1)[1]

 

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

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship



[1] June Hunt, Biblical Counseling Keys on Overeating: Freedom from Food Fixation (Dallas, TX: Hope For The Heart, 2008), 19–21.

 

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