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Showing posts with label 1Thessalonians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1Thessalonians. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Forgiveness and the License to Love – Purity 584

Purity 584 Podcast


Forgiveness and the License to Love –  Purity 584

Purity 584 11/24/2021  Purity 584 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of the surf and fading sun from the shores of Myrtle Beach comes to us from a friend’s late October trip there to get some R&R with some family which included “getting high” via a helicopter tour of the South Carolina shore area.   

Don’t freak out but it’s official Thanksgiving Eve!  Yep it’s that day when people all across the country will be taking planes, trains, and automobiles to reunite with family and friends to celebrate our national holiday of feasting in the spirit of gratitude.  As some will be travelling today, others will be cleaning the house and making deserts and other treats in preparation of tomorrow’s festivities.  

As we travel and meet up with friends and family tonight and prepare our homes for tomorrow’s day of thanks, I would encourage my friends to also prepare their hearts as we come together and will officially be entering the Holiday season as Santa will be coming to town as part of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  

Let’s be sure to prepare ourselves emotionally and mentally for tomorrow by reminding ourselves that the people we will be seeing and who may be testing our patience at times are our loved ones and that we will not have them in our lives forever.  

If we remember the brevity of life and all that we receive through our relationships, we can appreciate our family and friends and be thankful for them in our lives.

Let’s also be aware that some of the people in our circle may not be so thankful because of recent traumatic losses and other difficulties of life.   

Try to be compassionate with those who are suffering by being present with them and sensitive to their needs for patience, understanding, and love.   Reach out to those who have suffered losses in the last year to let them know you are thinking about them and offer to spend some time with them or to help them in whatever way you can. 

And finally let’s also endeavor to listen to the commands of Jesus in the Lord’s prayer to “forgive those who trespass against us”.   

A lot can happen in a year in our relationships and the changing circumstances of our lives.  Our relational interactions are not always smooth and by the time Thanksgiving rolls around we could be harboring a lot of bitterness, envy, or offense because of what people have said, done, or caused us to make us feel criticized, rejected, or unaccepted in some ways. 

This morning as I started to prepare for a holiday meal for me and my children and was gathering the documents I need in order to pick up the license for my upcoming marriage, I felt convicted in my spirit to “get right with God”.   

Through all the changes and twists in turns of my life in the past several months, there has been many instances where I have felt offense or sensed difficulties in several of my relationships. 

The Holy Spirit convicted me to get cleansed of any bitterness or animosity that I was holding on to that was subtly influencing how I was feeling about various people in my life.

So this morning I pulled out a copy of The Steps to Freedom in Christ and decided to recommit myself to following the Lord by doing a spiritual housecleaning that includes forgiving others from the heart.  

As I went through the various prayers I was amazed at how much I had to process with the Holy Spirit as the list of people I need to forgive was quite extensive! Any slight, offense, or less than harmonious feelings toward others came to the surface and regardless of whether I was sure of someone’s intentions or not, I put them on my list and forgave each and every one of them.   

People don’t always react the way we expect them to or support us in the ways we would like and while we may adjust to disappointments and overcome to move on, those offenses and disappointments that we experience can build up and cause us to make our view of the other people suffer. 

Instead of forgiving our friends and family that offend us, we re-categorize them as people who “don’t really love us” or as people we can’t trust.   It is one thing to protect ourselves and to be aware of other people’s limitations and it is another thing to draw away from them relationally and hold attitudes of contempt towards them.   As much as we may think we are protecting ourselves by keeping others at arm’s length, those feelings of bitterness or attitudes of rejection that we are holding onto towards others actually hurt us.  By not forgiving from the heart, we hurt ourselves. 

So to thoroughly enjoy tomorrow’s holiday of Thanksgiving and to walk into the holiday season beyond with joy, choose to forgive from the heart all those who have offended you in the past year by following this simple prayer drawn from the Steps to Freedom in Christ.  Make a list of all the people you need to forgive and then for each one pray:  

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I choose to forgive _(person’s name)____   for ___ (the offense)___ because it made me feel _(share the painful feelings – hurt, rejected, unaccepted, belittled, angry etc. )__.

After you have gone through everyone on your list, pray the following prayer:

Lord Jesus,

I choose to not hold on to my resentment. I relinquish my right to seek revenge and ask you to heal my damaged emotions. Thank You for setting me free from the bondage of unforgiveness. I now ask You to bless those who have hurt me. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,  Amen.  

When we forgive others and release them from our feelings of resentment, we set our selves free to live and love the way God wants us to.   We are never more like God when we choose to forgive. 

Forgiveness gives us a license to love. 

Chances are that you picked up some bitterness and resentments over the last year and the Lord can give you the power to unburden yourself of them and to experience a renewed sense of peace and freedom. So keep walking and talking with God, and you will continue to discover the new and abundant life is something we can progressively experience when we walk in His ways.  


Today’s Bible verse is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NLT2)
23  Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
24  God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

 

Today’s verse speaks of the spiritual reality that the work done in us to make us holy is performed by God.  

One of the biggest spiritual misunderstandings that exists in the world and in some parts of Christendom is the idea that we have to work to be approved by God.   

Ephesians 2:8-9 make it clear that we are saved by grace and that our salvation is not a reward for the good things we do. Our salvation is a gift from God, a gift we don’t really deserve.   Our salvation is a work performed by God.  

Likewise the process of sanctification, where we become holy, is also a gift from God.   Today’s verse tells us that God will make us holy because He is faithful, not us.  

After coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we are made spiritually alive by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are given eternal life and the power to say no to sin.  

As much as we may pride ourselves on our newfound abilities to overcome the sin that had entrapped us, we should realize that we are only exercising the gift that the Lord has given us and that we should thank Him for the power we now have.  

Our power of sanctification lies in faith.  We have an increased ability to overcome sin and negative mind states that is directly proportional to our belief that we have been given the victory. If we believe it, we receive the victory over anything that would entrap us or hold us back.  

While we must agree with what God has said about us in His word as His adopted children, and we must act according to that truth, it is still God who is the One who gave us the power to be sanctified.

God will make our sanctification happen because He is faithful. If you are His, He will perform your sanctification even if it isn’t realized until your glorification.  Your sanctification is going to happen one way or another, whether you resist it or not. 

But the thing is that our faith is not a religion, our faith is a relationship. So because God has already given us the victory and promise of sanctification, we can choose to cooperate with God and experience our sanctification sooner rather than later.  While we won’t necessarily be sinlessly perfect, we can enjoy an increasing measure of sanctification if we decide to live according to God’s word.  

So thank the Lord for the gift of our ultimate sanctification. Rejoice! But while your rejoicing, make the decision to accept your gift of sanctification now by turning from the world’s ways and by living for God and His kingdom by believing what God’s word says and by choosing to live by it.  

The gift of sanctification is ours.  So let’s open it up by believing God’s word and walking in the way we should go.    

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

 

Today we continue sharing from June Hunt’s “Evil and Suffering… Why? Is God Fair?

 

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 her work.

 

C. Key Questions and Answers about Salvation

Question: "Since the greatest good for mankind is that all people be saved, how can a good God send anyone to hell?"

Answer: God does want everyone to be saved. However, for people to be saved, they must freely choose to put their faith in Christ.

  • Because God has given you free will, it would be impossible for Him to force you to place your faith in Him.
  • People cannot be free and forced at the same time because that is a contradiction, making it an absolute or intrinsic impossibility.

While God desires that no one should perish, God has given you the free choice to repent of sinful ways and yield your life to Him. The Lord Jesus lamented ...

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." (Matthew 23:37)

 

Question: "Why are some people saved and others lost?"

Answer: God's desire is that everyone would come to salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This point is made plain in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Yet God will not force Himself on anyone. Everyone has the opportunity to accept or reject His free gift of eternal life. God clearly states ...

"You will seek me [God] and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

 

Question: "Would God send someone to hell who never heard of Jesus Christ?"

Answer: All human beings receive "a candle of light" from God.

  • If you refuse to respond to the natural revelation of creation made by a God of intelligent design, your heart could become darkened and you may not be receptive to more light.
  • If you respond to general/natural revelation of creation, He will illumine the revelation of Himself. Light rejected brings darkness and judgment. Light received brings the promise of more light. (Read Psalm 9:10; Psalm 19:1-6; Jeremiah 29:13; Luke 12:47-48; John 3:19-20; Romans 1:18-20; 10:14-15.)

"The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men ... The Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." (Titus 2:11; 1 Chronicles 28:9)

 

Question: "How can a good God send people to hell who do not want to go there?"

Answer: Those who go to hell choose to go there by the decisions they make regarding God and their relationship to Him. God then honors those choices because He cannot do otherwise. C.S. Lewis wrote, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in hell, choose it."

"The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment." (2 Peter 2:9)

Question: "Wouldn't a fair God give people a second chance to believe in Him after death?"

Answer: God gives second and third chances—in fact, He gives many opportunities in this lifetime. But realize...

  • Salvation is based on faith—choosing what is unseen, not what is seen.
  • After death, you immediately see the consequence of your choice because the Bible says when Christians are "absent from the body," we are "present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV). Death eliminates the need for faith.
  • "Saving faith" willingly bows the knee to Christ when the option is available to do otherwise.
  • Even up to the last minute on earth, everyone has the option to receive Christ. However, at death, every knee will bow, without an option to do anything else. In order be totally fair, God plainly communicated His plan in the Bible. There are no first or second chances in the next life. Hebrews 9:27 says ... "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."

Question: "How can I escape suffering throughout eternity?"

Answer: No one can escape evil and suffering in this life (John 16:33). You can and should expect trials and tribulations, problems, and pain. Yet God, because of His compassion, promises to be your "ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

But make no mistake: Your suffering is designed to be temporary—to come to an end. While there is a suffering that lasts throughout eternity, He has a plan to save you from that suffering. Eternal suffering takes place in the "eternal fire"—a place called hell (Matthew 25:41).

  • Those who never want to be with God in this life have, in fact, already chosen to live without God in the next life. And those who choose not to live God's way in this life have, in fact, already chosen not to accept God's way into the next life.

His perfect plan, however, is that we all escape such suffering.

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

Biblical Counseling Keys: Evil and Suffering... Why?: Why God? Why?.

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

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” 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. 

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Friday, October 1, 2021

Blue, do they have a prayer? – Checking the Clues 3 - Purity 538


 

Blue, do they have a prayer? – Checking the Clues 3   - Purity 538

Purity 538 09/30/2021  Purity 538 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of  a pink and orange sunrise sky comes to us from a friend who was up early and decided to share their view near their home in upstate New York on social media this past Monday.  If that all sounds a little vague, it is because although I thought I recalled the particular friend that shared this photo, this morning I find myself with somewhat of a mystery on my hands as I am not sure of the friend, or possibly ex-friend that shared this photo.    

Recently, I decided to “downsize” my FB friends list to “tighten my circle” to just include actual friends and acquaintances or people who I have had some interactions within the recent past.

Last night at my discipleship class, we discussed how the world can cause us to feel insignificant or offer ways to feel significant. 

The number of your FB friends is one barometer that we could use to make ourselves feel better about ourselves. Last week I had approximately 700 friends. While that number might seem high to some, I know others that have over a thousand friends, some with over two thousand.  So by that standard I could either feel pretty good about myself or feel like I wasn’t as good as others.  But honestly, did that number make me a better person or more loved?  No, it didn’t.

Because I recently have found the person who will be my significant other for the rest of my life and I was aware of the shallowness of “friendships” that made up those 700 friends,  I decided I wanted to feel a little more insignificant in the world’s eyes I guess and unfriended around 300 people or things since last week.  And you know what? I don’t feel like I am half the man I used to be by that almost 40% decrease in “friends” because my value is determined by God and who I am in Christ. 

God doesn’t care about the number of friends or followers you have He just cares that you make Jesus your friend, Lord, and Savior.  And when you do that He also cares that follow Him. 

So this morning as the namesake of the kid’s show, Blue’s Clues, has been tromping through my imagination, as we investigate the “clues” that would reveal that someone was a “real” or authentic Christian, I was joined by our blue and furry friend during my morning prayers.        

Blue’s murmuring indicated that  the topic of prayer would be the next “clue” that we look for and examine to determine if it could help us determine if someone who claimed to be a Christian actually was a Christian.   

As a reminder, this search for the “clues” of authentic Christian faith, was motivated by the desire of several friends to find a Christian life partner.  We are not to cast stones or disparage the practices or lack of spiritual practices in the other members of the body Christ.  Everyone’s relationship with God is highly personal and we have the liberty in Christ to choose to worship and relate to God in the ways we choose.  We are not creating a check list of necessary things that “make” someone a Christians. We are merely looking for ways to discern how someone’s profession of faith compares to their practices.  Are they for real?

Christ said that we would know His disciples by their fruit and so in our search for a life partner we want to be sure that the fruit growing in our potential partner’s lives are being watered by the word of God and not by the dry cisterns of the world.  

Discipled Christians, Christians who are “walking in the Spirit”. or believers living by a Christian worldview or lifestyle can have a wide variation in their prayer practices.  

     

So in our evaluation of our supposed “Christian” friend, we should observe and question the role of prayer in their lives.  Looking and not asking is probably the best tactic to get your initial impression of someone’s prayer life.   So what do you see?

Do they pray? Do they talk about prayer? Do they have a regular prayer practice? Do they pray at church? Do they pray over meals?   

The presence of unprompted or noncompulsory prayer or a verified prayer practice outside of corporate gatherings in someone’s life could be an indicator of authentic Christian faith.  While charlatans may go to great lengths to appear holy in front of the grandstands, they may reveal themselves by having little or no prayer in their lives when nobody is looking.      

Do they offer to pray for others?  And if they do offer, do you get the impression that they are actually praying for them?   

People who believe in the power of prayer will generally offer to pray for others and when they offer, they will add the person to their prayer list or pray for the other person immediately.  If people are not offering to pray for others, we could question whether they actually believe in prayer, or the God who answers them.   

Do they pray out loud? If they prayer out loud, what do their prayers indicate about what they know and believe about God?

Jesus warned us about people who pray out loud and in public because they may just be doing so to appear spiritual to others, feel good about themselves, or seek to manipulate people.  The content of the verbal prayers can reveal quite a bit about what the person believes theologically and can even give us insights into their personality, sincerity, and intelligence.  

Do they pray silently? 

Perhaps the hardest to draw any conclusions from are those who pray silently. Silent prayers could indicate an intense and devoted faith or could just be an outward expression of an empty practice.  If you see someone praying silently with their eyes closed and you catch them “peaking” and looking around and then closing their eyes again, you may have discovered a sign that the person isn’t as devout as you thought they were.    

So what do all these things say about someone’s faith? 

While we can gain some real insight into the possible levels of devotion and maturity of the person we are observing, only God can know their hearts.  Just because someone hasn’t developed a robust prayer life doesn’t mean they don’t have faith in Christ.  

So we shouldn’t judge someone too harshly because of the observations we glean from their prayer life, but we shouldn’t dismiss what we see either.  God gave us eyes to see and minds to make conclusions based on our observations and we would be wise to use what He has given us to make wise decisions when it comes to committed relationships.

After you have gathered some data on the person’s prayer life through your observations, the best way to know feel about prayer and their faith in general is to discuss it.  When you talk about prayer or any aspects of faith with someone, listen what they say, how they say it, and also consider what they are not saying. Our conversations with others can give us great “clues” as to who they are and what they believe. 

So prayer, or lack of prayer, in someone’s life could be a great “clue” to tell you whether someone is an authentic Christian but before making any quick judgements about someone’s faith and character look for other “clues” that will solve the mystery of whether this “Christian” who has come into your life is for real and the one who will walk with you toward the Lord for the rest of your days.      

 

This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NKJV)
8  But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Today’s verse encourages us to put on the armor of God and to be serious about our Christian walk.   

Ephesians is usually the scripture that is pointed to when we mention the armor of God but as we can see in today’s verse, Paul uses similar language in Thessalonians to encourage us to walk by faith.   

The breastplate of faith and love and the hope of salvation that is to be our helmet demonstrate that our hearts and minds are to be covered by the truth of who we are in Christ.  The faith we have in God’s love and His promise to save us are the means by which we can walk through this world with peace and confidence.  

God’s love for us and the promise of salvation makes us accepted, significant, and secure and the Apostle Paul is directing us to “clothe ourselves” with these aspects of our faith every day. 

The command to be sober indicates that we should take our faith seriously and really live it out.  For the application of our faith to our lives is how we can experience the fruit of the Spirit.  

So keep walking and talking with God. Remind yourself of his love for you and the fact that you have the hope of salvation ever since you placed your faith in Christ. So we have the hope of salvation for ourselves, but we can also share that hope with the world around us.   

 

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

Today we continue to share from June Hunt’s The Blended Family’s God’s Recipe for Success.

 

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 her work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $5.00:

II. Characteristics

The French, known for their exquisite breads and pastries, have a saying, "Mauvaise brioche, mauvaise maison." If the dough is not good, nothing else will be either. Making a good brioche is not difficult, but it requires patience and a basic understanding of the properties of the dough. Brioche dough is unusually heavy from the weight of so much butter and eggs. It takes longer to rise than ordinary bread, and the dough will be very sticky and hard to work with. Failures are inevitable when you're learning to make brioche, as well as when you are learning the properties of blended families and how to work with them. Relationships get sticky and hard to deal with. But as any chef will tell you, failure is the beginning of wisdom and understanding.

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established." (Proverbs 24:3)

Stages of Blended Family Adjustments

A. Fantasy Stage... Unrealistic Expectations

  • The dream of gaining happiness and wholeness through a new marriage
  • The dream that I won't make the same mistakes I made in my first marriage
  • The dream of marrying a model parent who will love my children
  • The dream that I will love my spouse's children as my own
  • The dream that our love is enough to conquer all problems

B. Factual Stage... Reality Sets in

  • The dream of a unified family life is not reality.
  • The guilt, jealousy and anger from former relationships are damaging to the new relationships.
  • The children are mourning their lost parent and are not accepting the stepparent.
  • The transition to a new family becomes more difficult than expected.
  • The problems seem too difficult, accompanied by a strong temptation to give up.

 

Argument:

"You're not my mother."

Answer:

"You are so right. However, I am the mother in this home."

 

Argument:

"You're not my dad. I don't have to do what you say."

Answer:

"Your mother and I have talked about this, and we have agreed that this decision is best for you."

C. Fruitful Stage... growth and Maturity

  • The realization that a blended family is not ideal; there will always be a unique set of family problems
  • The realization that mistakes will be made, but God uses mistakes to build character and strengthen the family unit
  • The realization that it is going to take the cooperation of both partners to overcome difficulties and make the marriage work
  • The realization that it takes time, and it may be years before there are any signs of unity or smooth functioning relationships
  • The realization that God will use this blended family as a source of spiritual growth, a means of healing the past and a demonstration of His unconditional love

Question: "I have two children by another marriage, and my husband has three. His thirteen-year-old son lives with us, and I have an eleven-year-old son and a fourteen-year-old daughter. This is the second marriage for both of us. We seem to constantly disagree on discipline issues. It seems that my children have to make the most adjustments. My husband rarely disciplines his son, yet he is very critical of my children and their behavior. This is causing a lot of anger between us, and I am not sure our relationship will survive. How can we overcome the serious differences that are dividing our family?"

Answer: It is common for each spouse to put his or her child's interests first. But when the children's interests are first, over that of the other spouse and his or her children, it becomes a recipe for dissension. Although blended families such as yours tend to be very difficult, there is hope. Both you and your husband must be willing to agree on appropriate behavior and discipline for all the children. Do absolutely nothing until you can apply the policy to which you both agree. Ultimately, you will begin to discipline by taking each other's feelings into account. As you learn to agree in other areas of conflict, you will begin learning how to act in the interests of all family members.

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4)


Biblical Counseling Keys: The Blended Family: God's Recipe for Success.

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

 

 

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” 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. 

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Monday, September 27, 2021

Happily Ever Monday? – Can’t I just Chill.. in Christ? - Purity 534

Happily Ever Monday?  – Can’t I just Chill.. in Christ?    - Purity 534

Purity 534 09/27/2021   Purity 534 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of the waters of Lake Ontario comes to us from a friend who in part celebrated their birthday by visiting the scenic wonders at Chimney Bluffs State Park in Wolcott NY on Saturday. I share it today because of its scenic beauty and because the peaks and valleys of the bluffs on the shores of Lake Ontario can represent the ups and downs that we will experience in life that make us wonder what our ultimate purpose is.  

Yesterday in our Bible study discussion Arthur and Suzanna Cincotti and I discussed the concept of giving God glory and how, because He is the author of all creation and will determine the course of all existence through history, and as the Westminster Catechism (https://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/shorter-catechism/) affirms, the chief end of man, our purpose, is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. 

While that is man’s stated end, or purpose, the concept may seem overly spiritual, sentimental, or just confusing and is often simplified as “living a good life” of being personally responsible and morally upstanding, for the most part.  So even for those that want to “glorify God” and enjoy Him forever, this purpose could just be seen as an underlying subtle part of our normal lives with its traditional goals of finding a career, a life partner, and having a family.  

These traditional goals are prominent in our lives because they are integral in providing us with the means to support ourselves and a measure of our need to feel accepted, significant, and secure.   We may spend years pursuing the goals of achieving a certain career position or in finding that life partner that will “complete” us and building a family. 

We pointed out yesterday in our discussion that these goals are good and can lead to a thriving life of success and familial happiness but if God is not honored in that life journey, all the accomplishments and close personal relationships that were enjoyed will prove to be of little value as the person finds themselves separated from God and consigned to the outer darkness of Hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

So obviously we recommended a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ to remedy this situation. But as I have thought about our life’s purpose today, I am pondering the question of next steps, for those who are saved and who have reached their goals in life and ministry.  

Because of the dissolution of my marriage in 2018, I had to face the challenges of building a “new life” for myself by finding a new home and a direction for the rest of my life, all the while having to work and try to direct my children.  The Lord has been with me and provided for everything I needed in that regard.   

As I walked alone, the question of the possibility of a new life partner was always an “out there” possibility which I didn’t make any overt attempts to pursue but at the same time was one that I hoped would materialize some day and one that I remained open to receive.  

The Lord has graciously sent a beautiful faithful woman of God into my life and even though it took me some time to realize she was “right here in front of me” I finally woke up and have been overcome with joy as we have not only confessed our love for one another but are eagerly anticipating being married.  So to paraphrase Sammy Sosa’s “baseball has been very, very, good to me”, in my Christian walk , God has been very very good to me!

I am thrilled that my “happily ever after” is on the horizon, but as we all know life is not a fairy tale and “happily ever after” even in the Disney universe, now, usually results in a sequel!

Because life is continuous our journey doesn’t end. So even though we can accomplish some life goals and actually experience receiving the desires of our hearts, we still must go forward in our life. 

The question for the Christian is: Now that you have gotten what you were hoping for, what do you do next?  Do you stop your walk on the path of Christian Discipleship to set up house and relax with a new ministry of offering thanks and praise from the comforts of your couch?   Can we just chill… in Christ?

I absolutely love the song “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol that asks the question:

“If I lay here,
If I just lay here,
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
 

Now that I have found the love of my new life in Christ with Tammy Lyn can I just spend the rest of my days with the purpose of just loving her in Christian wedded bliss, forsaking all other activities?

As appealing as that might sound, the harsh realities of Monday morning help us with answering that question.   We still must provide for ourselves. We still have to work. We still must deal with the challenges of changing circumstances. 

And because we are in the world, as Christians we are called to do more than just chill…  in Christ.  Sure, I have found the love of Christ and now have found the person who I am certain will be the love of my life… but other people out there haven’t secured their place in God’s kingdom and are walking in darkness and the suffering that I knew all too well for most of my life. 

So while I may want to lament over another Monday morning and the fact that, while I have found the love of my life in Tammy Lyn, we still have miles to walk before we can be married and live together, I need to remember that God didn’t bring me into His kingdom for my personal happiness.

God calls us into His kingdom to represent Him on earth and to share His love. We are to use our lives to glorify God and to endeavor to expand His kingdom by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ through our words and actions.  

So don’t be down in the dumps because its Monday and we have to go back to the grind and leave the good times of the weekend behind.  God has given us eternal life and we should rejoice over that regardless of the day, or the circumstances of our lives.  

He has provided for us and blessed us, so we can rejoice over that too.  But we should never become so “happy” that we forget that the people of the world desperately need God and they need to know the truth of how they can be reconciled to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. 

So keep walking and talking with God. Rejoice over all He has done for you but be sure to shine a light in the darkness by representing His kingdom by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, any way you can.

 

This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV)
13  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

Today’s verse speaks of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the practice of thanksgiving.  

As Christians, we have been saved from God’s wrath and our just punishment because of Jesus Christ. If we were to spend the rest of our lives suffering, we would still have ample reason to thank God!

And even if we went through various trials and sufferings for the rest of our days, the likelihood is that no matter what we suffered, our suffering could somehow have been worse.  Even those who have been prisoners of war or consigned to concentration camps have been able to recognize that some days were better than others and they were able to find things to be thankful for in the most horrible and abysmal circumstances.

So as we recommend for all Christians, begin, or continue, the daily practice of giving thanks to God for: who He is, what He has done in general, and what He has done for you specifically.     

Today’s verse also speaks of the fact that the “good news” is not something that man made up but is God’s plan for the redemption of men and that we are to share it with others.  This verse indicates we are to present the gospel with the Word of God in order to let God “effectively” use us to bring people to believe in Him and be translated into His kingdom.   

So thank the Lord everyday for your salvation and all He is, and for all He has done for us in general, and for what He has done for you personally.

Let your thanksgiving draw you closer to the Father and motivate you to share His love with the world that dearly needs it.   

 

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

 

Today we continue to share from June Hunt’s Boundaries: How to Set Them, How to Keep Them.

 

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 her work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $5.00:

G. How to Respond When Boundary Lines Are Crossed

According to Bill Rodgers, Jacqueline Gareau's public response to crossed boundary lines has been "amazing." "She doesn't have any ill feelings to Rosie at all," Bill further shares. "To lose this moment is pretty hard to deal with. She just kept cool under fire. She never said anything terrible about Rosie. She didn't say anything negative about the BAA [Boston Athletic Association]. She was just cool, and she's the same way today."

Considering Jacqueline's incredible athletic accomplishments, it is "amazing" that she has been so genteel toward someone described as a genuine cheat. She wins nine marathons, competes on the Canadian Olympic team, wins the extremely fatiguing Mount Washington Road Race three times, and is named Canadian Marathoner of the 20th Century.

Jacqueline manifests a forgiving heart toward Rosie, a vital virtue in Scripture. . . .

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."

(Matthew 6:14)

We all have physical, moral, and personal boundaries that should not be violated. Do you know your specific boundaries? Do you know how to respond when your boundary limits have been trampled? Do you know where to draw the line?

To help identify your boundaries, pay attention when your emotions are intense, dark, shaming, or guilt-ridden in response to something someone has said or done to you. . . . Your boundaries are being crossed.

The following responses will help you educate those in your life who are verbally and emotionally crossing the line.

"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

(Proverbs 27:6)

• Inform:

"Do you realize that you are speaking loudly?"

"Do you know how your words are sounding?"

"Do you know that you are saying things that are making me feel uncomfortable?

• Identify:

"Please lower your voice."

"Please stop using that kind of language." "Please explain your anger."

• Implore:

"Stop insulting me with your words." "Stop these painful outbursts."

"Stop hurting me in this way."

• Insist:

"You must stop speaking to me in that tone of voice."

"You will have to change this way of communicating with me." "You may not continue to hurt me in this way."

• Instruct:

"This is how I want you to speak to me."

"When you communicate with me, this is what I expect..."

"When vou (name behavior). it hurts me. This is what I want vou to do."

• Invite:

"I am open to working this out when you can be reasonable."

"I care about you and our relationship, but I need you to change your ways when communicating with me."

"I am willing to go to counseling with you if you agree."

• Impact:

"I am now leaving in order to protect myself."

"Because this behavior is unacceptable to me, I am going to distance myself from you for a time."

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." (Proverbs 29:25)


Biblical Counseling Keys: Boundaries: How to See Them - How to Keep Them.

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

 

 

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship