King Me! Walking in the Spirit - Purity 957
Purity 957 02/03/2023 Purity 957 Podcast
Purity 957 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a positively blazing sunset on the horizon over the waters of the Hudson River comes to us from yours truly as I took this “no look” shot will driving through Castleton NY on the way home from work yesterday. Although I obeyed the local traffic laws, I didn’t keep both hands on the wheel! So don’t try this at home, kids!
Well, It’s Friday – Thank the Lord God Almighty, and
I share this awkward sideways view of the world, as an encouragement to look
for the beauty in life where you live it and to appreciate where God has put
you in life, right here and right now, regardless of the circumstances.
I appreciate where God has put me so much that I am
sharing the February 1st sunset photo just outside my home that I
was going to share yesterday before I changed my mind and decided to share Dave
Baun’s “better pathway” photo from the land down under – for “pathway Thursday”.
Beyond my normal gratitude and appreciation for my
home and scenic commute, I am particularly thankful for them today because I
don’t expect to see them again for quite some time.
My employer is sending me on the road to Syracuse NY
for training for the next 8 business days and because I weekend with my wife in
Easton, I won’t see these views again until my return trek on February 15th!
February is the shortest month of the year and in
many ways even though we are only on its third day, the month is all but gone for
me in one sense as I am only scheduled to my normal work responsibilities for two
days, the 16th and 17th, before I take all the remaining
days off for a “mid-winter recess vacation”!
Granted I will be learning new
skills at training for the next 8 business days, but its training, presumably
indoors, and even though “February” will usually “make me shiver” – it will
only be able to do that in a work environment for 2 days! Two days!
I feel like a short timer in the jail or the service
before retirement: “I can do two days standing in my head!”
I am no big fan of working in winter’s cold and although
I am not thrilled with being forced to Syracuse for training, I can’t help but
feel blessed as “things have worked out” – Sovereign God – to where I will only
be outside working in the elements for 2 days for whole month of February.
I feel like a “checker” and the Lord has used me to do a
Triple jump to get me to the other side of February’s board when the game has
just begun, and all I have to do is sit back and watch it happen! “King ME!” -
Not to mix metaphors, but with the Superbowl coming up next weekend,
its like it’s “First Down and March to GO! And the Lord just lite up the scoreboard
with a “Hail Mary” – oh boy – sending me beyond February’s goal line with little
or no effort on my part. Talk about Blessing and Grace!
When we are walking and talking with God good things,
amazing things, come to pass. It doesn’t
happen all the time but when it does happen, it’s hard deny that God’s fingerprints
are all over our lives.
That’s why we have to be God conscious and rest in
an attitude of gratitude. Not only should we always give thanks to the Lord for
opening our eyes to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we should be thanking Him continually for shaping
the events of our personal lives.
When we remember that God is always in control, we
can see that He is guiding us and blessing as we go. When we remember we are not alone in this
walk through life and that God is “setting things up for us”, we will see his
invitations into good works and
blessings and will be able to rejoice, as they happen, as we respond by walking
into the things God has for us.
Of course, we have to be careful. Sometimes when we walk
in the Spirit, we think we can almost “call the next shot” as we imagine where
our current pathway is going only to discover that our expectations and reality
were not on the same time line. So be
positive, be hopeful, but remember that our joy does not come from the
convergence of circumstances, it comes from our peace with God. The blessings are a bonus so don’t get it
twisted by trying to push God’s hand to take you where you want to go because
you run the risk of being disappointed and becoming dissatisfied with your current
“blessed” condition. Don’t take what you
have for granted while looking for better things.
So even though I know my schedule indicates that I
am going to chill in February, in a good way, I will be doing my best to stay
grounded in contentment from moment to moment, from day to day, and enjoy the
good aspects of some unasked for and unexpected changes in my normal
routine.
I hope you see the dynamics of what it means to walk
in the Spirit here. Thanksgiving,
gratitude, hope, trust, contentment, and joy.
Rather than lamenting over the fact that I won’t see the beloved views
from my place “down by The River” and on
my commute up 9J, I am deciding to embrace what “God has arranged” and be open
to “What’s Next?”. Even though it seems
like I can see the end from the beginning, I know that God is the only One who
can do that and that He will determine things regardless of what is forecasted
or scheduled by man.
So my friends, let’s rejoice over the day that the
Lord has made, enjoy each moment as it passes today, and find joy in
anticipating what the weekend will have instore for us but to take the time as
we go to appreciate where we are now.
So keep walking and talking with God, and have a
great weekend!
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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:
1 Peter 5:10 (NLT2)
10 In his kindness God called
you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have
suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he
will place you on a firm foundation.
Today’s Bible verse remind us that out of His kindness, God
has given us eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ and that even
though we may suffer here on earth, God’s word indicates that God will restore,
support, and strengthen us as we go and will place us on a sure foundation.
I am not a master builder guys but the sure foundation that
we have is Jesus Christ and because of Him we can always find a firm place to
stand in life: our identity in Christ.
We are new creations in Christ. We are given eternal life, wait for it!
And so today’s verse covers the here and now, the moment to
moment steps through this life and it covers our safety when we step into
eternity.
The power of our faith lies in our connection to God and our
new identities in Christ and our belief – our faith- in the reality of these
things. The restoration, the support,
and the strength that we receive from the Lord comes from our faith that He is
good and will provide for us.
I know it sounds trite but “if you believe it, you receive it”
turns out to be very true for the Christian because we are standing on the sure
foundation of the One who has all authority on heaven and on earth. God, Jesus,
and the Holy Spirit are for us and will give good gifts to those who place their
faith in Christ, and believe it.
The gospels are full of situations where Jesus said thing
like “Your faith has made you well”. That
plays out as true for us – in terms of being restored, comforted, supported,
and strengthened through God’s power in our spirit when we surrender to His
will and ways.
John 8:36 (NKJV) says
36 Therefore if the Son makes
you free, you shall be free indeed.
If you believe that Jesus has set you free, you will be restored, feel supported, and feel strong in the Lord. If you believe Jesus has set you free, you will realize you are free and you will start to live out your freedom which will only confirm what you believe!
So that’s our faith here on earth, an interactive relationship with the living God in which He pours His power – His restorative power, His supporting power, and His strengthening power – into those who believe and ask to be filled.
Now we don’t perfectly know what God’s plans are, we don’t know when we will be called into eternity, which is when the ultimate restoration, support, and strengthening takes place, and we know the realities of life, people tend to get old and die, so we need to draw to the Lord to help us here on earth but at the same time accept those times when we suffer knowing that God has given us a sure foundation to stand on in all times and season until the day He calls us home.
So thank the Lord for His kindness that
saved you, and that will empower you or give you the strength to endure until
you see Him face to face.
___________________________________________
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 A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’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
SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
By ARTHUR W. PINK
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN REPROBATION continues
Ere passing to the
next verse let us summarize the teaching of this and the two previous ones. In
v. 19 two questions are asked, “Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet
find fault? For who hath resisted His will?” To those questions a threefold
answer is returned. First, in v. 20 the apostle denies the creature the right
to sit in judgment upon the ways of the Creator—“Nay but, O man who art thou
that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it,
Why hast Thou made me thus?” The apostle insists that the rectitude of God’s
will must not be questioned. Whatever
He does must be right. Second, in v. 21 the apostle declares that the
Creator has the right to dispose of His creatures as He sees fit—“Hath not the
Potter power over the clay, of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honor,
and another unto dishonor?” It should be carefully noted that the word for
“power” here is exousia—an entirely different word from the one translated
“power” in the following verse (“to make known His power”), where it is duaton.
In the words “Hath not the Potter power over the clay?” it must be God’s power justly exercised which is in view—the
exercise of God’s rights consistently
with His justice—because the mere assertion of His omnipotency would be no
such answer as God would return to the questions asked in v. 19. Third, in vv.
22, 23 the apostle gives the reasons why
God proceeds differently with one of His creatures from another: one the one hand,
it is to “shew His wrath” and to “make His power known;” on the other hand, it
is to “make known the riches of His glory.”
“Hath not the potter
power over the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and
another unto dishonour?” Certainly God has the
right to do this because He is the Creator. Does He exercise this right? Yes, as vs. 13 and 17 clearly show us—“For
this same purpose have I raised thee
(Pharaoh) up.”
V. 22. “What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and
to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath
fitted to destruction.” Here the apostle tells us in the second place why God acts thus, i.e., differently
with different ones—having mercy on some and hardening others, making one
vessel “unto honour” and another “unto dishonour.” Observe that here in v. 22
the apostle first mentions “vessels of wrath” before he refers in v. 23 to the
“vessels of mercy.” Why is this? The answer to this question is of first
importance: we reply, Because it is the “vessels of wrath” who are the subjects in view before the objector in v.
19. Two reasons are given why God makes some “vessels unto dishonour;” first,
to “shew His wrath,” and secondly “to make His power known”—both of which were
exemplified in the case of Pharaoh.
One point in the
above verse requires separate consideration—“Vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.” The usual
explanation which is given of these words is that the vessels of wrath fit themselves to destruction, that is,
fit themselves by virtue of their wickedness; and it is argued that there is no
need for God to “fit them to
destruction,” because they are already
fitted by their own depravity, and that this must be the real meaning of this expression. Now if by
“destruction” we understand punishment,
it is perfectly true that the non-elect do
“fit themselves,” for every one will be judged “according to his works;” and
further, we freely grant that subjectively the non-elect do fit themselves for destruction. But the point to be decided is,
Is this what the apostle is here
referring to? And, without hesitation, we reply it is not. Go back to vs.
11–13: did Esau fit himself to be an
object of God’s hatred, or was he not such before
he was born? Again; did Pharaoh fit
himself for destruction, or did not God harden his heart before the plagues were sent upon
Egypt?—see Ex. 4:21!
Rom. 9:22 is clearly
a continuation in thought of v. 21, and v. 21 is part of the apostle’s reply to
the question raised in v. 20: therefore, to fairly follow out the figure, it must be God Himself who “fits” unto
destruction the vessels of wrath. Should it be asked how God does this, the answer, necessarily, is, objectively,—He fits the non-elect unto
destruction by His fore-ordinating decrees. Should it be asked why God does
this, the answer must be, To promote His own glory, i.e., the glory of His
justice, power and wrath. “The sum of the apostle’s answer here is, that the
grand object of God, both in the election and the reprobation of men, is that
which is paramount to all things else in the creation of men, namely, His own
glory” (Robert Haldane).
V. 23. “And that He might make known the riches of
His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory.”
The only point in this verse which demands attention is the fact that the
“vessels of mercy” are here said to be “afore
prepared unto glory.” Many have pointed out that the previous verse does not
say the vessels of wrath were afore
prepared unto destruction, and from this omission they have concluded that we
must understand the reference there to the non-elect fitting themselves in time, rather than God ordaining them for
destruction from all eternity. But this conclusion by no means follows. We need
to look back to v. 21 and note the figure which is there employed. “Clay” is inanimate matter, corrupt, decomposed,
and therefore a fit substance to
represent fallen humanity. As then
the apostle is contemplating God’s sovereign dealings with humanity in view of the Fall, He does not say the
vessels of wrath were “afore” prepared unto destruction, for the obvious and
sufficient reason that it was not until after
the Fall that they became (in themselves)
what is here symbolized by the “clay.” All that is necessary to refute the
erroneous conclusion referred to above is to point out that what is said of the
vessels of wrath is not that they are fit
for destruction (which is the word that would have been used if the
reference had been to them fitting themselves
by their own wickedness), but fitted to
destruction; which, in the light of the whole context, must mean a sovereign ordination to destruction by
the Creator. We quote here the pointed words of Calvin on this passage: “There
are vessels prepared for destruction, that is, given up and appointed to
destruction; they are also vessels of wrath, that is, made and formed for this end, that they may be examples of God’s
vengeance and displeasure. Though in the second clause the apostle asserts more
expressly, that it is God who prepared the elect for glory, as he had simply
said before that the reprobate are vessels prepared for destruction, there is
yet no doubt but that the preparation of both is connected with the secret
counsel of God. Paul might have otherwise said, that the reprobate gave up or
cast themselves into destruction, but he intimates here, that before they are
born they are destined to their lot.” With this we are in hearty accord. Rom.
9:22 does not say the vessels of
wrath fitted themselves, nor does it
say they are fit for destruction,
instead, it declares they are “fitted to
destruction,” and the context shows plainly it is God who thus “fits” them—objectively by His eternal decrees.[1]
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tomorrow------------------------
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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of
God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 101–105.
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