Fields of Gold - The Art of Life and the Hope of Heaven - Purity
791
Purity 791 07/23/2022 Purity 791 Podcast
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a painting of a child walking through almost
colorless waves of grain while adoring the light of the heavens that
illuminates just the tops of the wheat comes to us from Dave Baun Photography
who captured this scene back on July 13th while traveling through
Kimba in South Australia. Dave shared this photo on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DaveBaunPhotography)
with the following comments: “Today’s images are of the silo art at Kimba. We
were rolling into town just before sunset so the golden hour light and the
colour of the sky really made this one a keeper. I love how these little “blink
and you’ll miss it” sort of towns have these beautiful paintings on the silos.”
Me too, Dave. I love the fact that someone had the vision
and artistic ability to transform what could have just been something common,
ignored, and missed while driving through a small town and made it a thing of
beauty that speaks of the simple beauty of life in their rural community.
I spend my weekends at my countryside home in rural Easton
NY and I although I was born in raised in a small city-town, I am continually
surprised how I have found peace with “Country living”. I thoroughly enjoy my
short walks with the dog where I can enjoy the beauty of the fields, the quiet,
and the big sky that covers it all. I
love it.
I also love how that through social media I can have friends
that I have never met in person from all around the world and how they expand my
vision to see things I simply would never see. Although one would think that
these Facebook friends are more like acquaintances, I know that they are
actually my brothers and sisters in Christ and that although we are separated by
vast distances we have been introduced to one another because we all have the love
of art, nature, and the Lord Jesus in common.
Just yesterday my friend in the UK, Philip Hand spontaneously
shared the following Bible verse and original poem with me, and so I share it
with you:
Matthew 5:4 (KJV)
4 Blessed
are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
“Tender”
“When the touch of love’s sweet
tender hand gently slips away.
When the bittersweetness in my
heart is pulled apart again.
The wonder of you as I remember
helps me face another day.
The tender kiss of time will
wash away the pain.
Till heaven gently beckons and
angels call my name.
I know the touch of love’s
sweet tender hand will gently guide me home.
Cherishing the tender memories.
I will dance and sing in love
forever more before God’s throne…”
-Philip Hand
Philip is mourning the loss of his beloved grandad who after 93 years on this earth “went to heaven to be with his wife”. Philip’s grandparents had been married nearly 70 years when his grandmother passed in September of 2020 and now Philip’s grandfather has joined her, having gone into eternity earlier this month. Philip is assured of their destination and reunion in eternity because they were “the most amazing beautiful Christian people” Philip has ever known and have been a blessing to Philip his whole life. So while Philip is still feeling the pain of the loss, he is comforted because of the memories of the love he experienced from his grandparents and because he knows that his loved ones have eternal life because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
As I considered, Dave’s photography and Philip’s testimony and poem, I thought of Sting’s song: Fields of Gold and the sweeping beauty of the images and feelings that the lyrics “paint” of a couple’s love for one another among the fields of gold and how it endured through the years. The song concludes, saying:
“Many
years have passed since those summer days
Among
the fields of barley
See
the children run as the sun goes down
Among
the fields of gold
You'll
remember me when the west wind moves
Upon
the fields of barley
You
can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When
we walked in fields of gold
When
we walked in fields of gold
When
we walked in fields of gold…” (https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sting/fieldsofgold.html)
)
I
am sharing a link of the song on YouTube if you want to check it out (https://youtu.be/-jMAIuqnFEI)
I always thought that song was beautiful but how it was also sort of winsome and sad, because it was incomplete. It tells a beautiful story of love between a man and a woman “among the fields of barley” that endured through the years but it sort of indicates that the lovers who “walked in fields of gold” have been separated as the “west wind moves”, leaving one alone to “remember” the other and the days when they walked through fields of gold.
But as Philip’s testimony indicates, the love story doesn’t have to end. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ we have eternal life and although death may temporary separate us we can rejoice as we walk on streets of gold in God’s future kingdom, as Revelation 21:21 assures us.
But you have to follow the One who will bring you there. You have to follow Him alone. You have to follow Jesus Christ, the One who said:
Matthew
13:44 (NKJV)
44 "Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and
for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Jesus came to earth to show us that He was the only way to God the Father. He is the only way to have peace with God and to be adopted into His eternal kingdom.
As we walk through the fields of gold on this earth, the seasons change, we age, and one day our life will be called into eternity and only the ones who have found Christ will have life with God for all eternity.
Christ has shown us that He is the treasure hidden in a field. It is only Christ that can give us an abiding peace on earth and an entrance in the kingdom of heaven.
The question: is will you surrender everything you have to the Lordship of Jesus Christ to experience it?
Through the word of God, my life experiences on this path of Christian Discipleship with the manifest presence of the Lord, and from the testimony of other Christians through out the ages and who are still alive today, I know the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that truth has set me free and given me the assurance of my place in eternity with God.
So enjoy your walk through the fields of gold and all the beauty that surrounds us on this earth, but put your faith in Christ, and in Him alone, to have the assurance that your journey through life will have a meaning, a purpose, and a glorious final destination.
So start, or keep walking and talking with God, study His word and pray to get to know Him more and to be transformed into a person of peace that has the hope of heaven and the words that lead to eternal life in your mind, heart, and soul that will point others to the treasure that is Christ alone.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
John
14:15-16 (NLT2)
15 “If you love me, obey my
commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
Today’s verses are Christ’s instructions to His apostles and His promise of the Holy Spirit to all who submit to His Lordship and obey.
The Advocate spoken about here, of course, is the Holy Spirit. Although the third person of the godhead -the trinity – and who thus has the attribute of God’s omnipresence, The Holy Spirit is somehow present everywhere but somehow also takes up residence in everyone who makes Jesus their Lord and Savior!
Before the work of Christ on the cross, the Holy Spirit only came upon select individuals to empower them for God’s special purposes. But after the power of sin and death was broken by Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross, and after He took His seat at the right hand of the Father in heaven, The Holy Spirit has been given to empower every person who obeys God’s call to repent and to put their faith in Christ.
Jesus’s instructions are clear “If you love me, obey my commandments”: Not anybody else’s commandments or philosophies of life, His commandments, His way.
As the only person who ever lived who never sinned, Christ is our example. He was encouraging His disciples to live the way He lived.
That may seem to be a tall order…
But the fantastic news is that, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we have all been empowered to be able to follow Christ’s example. When we “abide in Christ” through continuous communication, worship, and service to the kingdom of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we can walk the walk as well as talk the talk and live the Christian life.
So show
your love for Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to obey His
commandments. Christ’s burden is light and because the Holy Spirit is with us
forever it is a burden we can bear.
______________________________________________________________________
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 Clinton E. Arnold’s
“Powers of Darkness”
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and
encourage all to purchase Clinton Arnold’s books for your own private
study and to support his work. This resource is available on many
websites for less than $20.00.
The Threefold Nature of Evil Influence
In
this book the focus on the theme of principalities and powers could lead one to
believe Paul gave a demonological root to all evil. That is not the case.
Paul’s view of the nature of evil influence on people is very balanced.
In Ephesians 2:1–3,
Paul describes sinful behavior as stemming from three compelling influences—to
be seen as three strands combining to make one sturdy cable. This cable tightly
binds unbelievers, keeping them in slavery to the kingdom of darkness. It may
be helpful to depict these three sources of evil influence graphically:
1.
The World: |
“the ways of this
world” |
2.
The Devil: |
“the ruler of the
kingdom of the air” “the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient” |
3.
The Flesh: |
“the cravings of
our sinful nature … its desires and thoughts” |
In
simplest terms we might categorize these influences as “the world, the devil
and the flesh.” We need, however, to take a closer look at what Paul
specifically said.
In this passage Paul
was disclosing the nature of his readers’ lives before they turned to Christ.
Here a set of overriding principles help us to understand how Paul perceived
evil as influencing the lives of people in general, Christians or
non-Christians. Christians will still need to contend with the same sources of
evil influence, but Christians have a new means of overcoming these influences
through the power of Christ. Those who are not believers, being apart from
Christ, are enslaved to these influences, not having the power or ability to
escape.
When he spoke of “the
ways of this world,” Paul was thinking of the powerful influence of societal
attitudes, habits and preferences that are at odds with God’s standard of
holiness. Literally, the text indicts the character of “the age of this world.”
There is a stark contrast between the character of “this age” and “the age to
come.” John R. W. Stott aptly describes the character of “the age of this
world”:
Both
words “age” and “world” express a whole social value-system which is alien to
God. It permeates, indeed dominates, non-Christian society and holds people in
captivity. Wherever human beings are being dehumanized—by political oppression
or bureaucratic tyranny, by an outlook that is secular (repudiating God),
amoral (repudiating absolutes) or materialistic (glorifying the consumer
market), by poverty, hunger or unemployment, by racial discrimination, or by
any form of injustice—there we can detect the subhuman values of “this age” and
“this world.”
This
influence begins at birth with values that are passed on from the parents and
extended family. It is reinforced all throughout life, both formally and
informally, through the educational system and the media as well as through
peer pressure. It continues to be transmitted through patterns of thinking,
traditions, customs and even institutions. This is not to say everything in
society is evil. But there is much in society that leads away from God.
“The ruler of the
kingdom of the air,” the second evil influence Paul delineated, is a powerful
supernatural being in charge of a whole host of evil spirits often thought by
the ancients to reside in the air. This ruler is more precisely a “spirit,” and
Paul portrayed his method as very immediate and direct: “He is now at work in
[or among] those who are disobedient.” It would be inaccurate to say all who
disobey God are “possessed” by an evil spirit. Yet Paul was clear that this
evil agent and his emissaries exert a very close and personal kind of influence
over individuals. This spirit exerts a powerful, compelling influence, although
many English translations miss this description. When Paul said the ruler is
“at work in,” he used a word that was part of his vocabulary of power and could
be translated, “The spirit who is now powerfully at work in …” The GNB
translates the phrase, “the spirit who now controls the people.” Notice that
Paul emphasizes here the work of the evil spirit in people as opposed to
institutions.
The final evil
influence that Paul drew attention to is what he termed “the flesh.” This is
Paul’s favorite expression to convey the inner drive of people to act in ways
deviant to the standard of God’s righteousness. It points not only to the inner
motivating force behind actions that are associated with the body, such as
sexual sin, but also to aspects of the thought life as well, such as envy and
anger. This inner impulse to do evil is set in contrast to the new impulse to
live with moral integrity provided by God’s gift of the Holy Spirit (see Gal
5:19–23).
Paul, therefore,
presented the true character of evil influence in all three of its
manifestations. The source of evil tendencies is both internal and external to
people as well as supernatural. Individuals possess an internal inclination
toward evil, and their environment (peers, media, societal norms, and so forth)
also strongly influences them. Such a perspective linking the categories of
“the world, the flesh and the devil” was also integral to the thought of James
(see Jas 3:15) and John (1 Jn 2:15–17; 3:7–10) and, presumably, common in the
early church.
Paul’s teaching
suggests that the explanation for our behavior is not to be found exclusively
in human nature or in terms of the world’s influence. Similarly, an exclusively
demonic explanation for deviant behavior is unduly myopic. Rather, we should
explain behavior on the basis of human nature, environment and the demonic—all
three simultaneously. One part may play a leading role, but all three parts
need to be considered. Paul’s theology at this point has significant
implications for those involved in counseling ministries. Yet we also need to
see it as extremely relevant for our church life.
The demonic side
receives the strongest emphasis in Ephesians and Colossians, while the flesh is
more prominent in Romans and Galatians. The general situations of the readers
of each book may have something to do with their particular emphases. If the
readers of Ephesians and Colossians tended to need help in dealing with their
past involvement in occultic practices, this fact would explain why the demonic
side is stressed more strongly in those two letters.
In the final
analysis, however, Paul regarded Satan as the chief opponent of Christ and his
kingdom. The demonic explanation for evil behavior needs to be seen as the
thread that ties together all the evil influences. In practice Satan exploits
the depraved tendencies of the flesh and exercises a measure of control over
all levels of a social order.
Through the cross of
Christ Christians gain their freedom from these compelling and enslaving
influences. His death and resurrection resulted in the “age to come,” breaking
into the present age. Believers now share already in many of the blessings and
resources of the age to come. Through the cross of Christ our flesh was
crucified, and we can live under the guiding and enabling impulses of the Holy
Spirit. Finally the cross of Christ marked a decisive victory by God over the
powers of evil. Through union with Christ believers can resist Satan and be
victorious over his kingdom.[1]
---------------------------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
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Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class
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My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via
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and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
Encouragement for the Path of
Christian Discipleship
[1]
Clinton E. Arnold, Powers of Darkness:
Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters (Downers Grove,
IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 1992), 123–126.
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