You Will Always Struggle with This! – Lies of the Enemy #27– Purity 1039

 

You Will Always Struggle with This! – Lies of the Enemy #27– Purity 1039

Purity 1039 05/09/2023 

Purity 1039 on YouTube: Coming Soon!

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a tranquil lake scene that highlights a mountain like reflection of the  sky comes to us from a currently unknown Facebook friend who shared this photo on social media on or around April 16^th.  At present I don’t know who the photographer is, I was almost certain it was Fred Dimmick or one of the other “usual suspects”, but my limited search this morning failed to confirm the source. So if this beauty of a shot is yours and you want me to give credit where credit is due, let me know and I will edit the blog post to give you my thanks and apologies.   

Well it is Wednesday, and I used today’s mountain like reflection to represent the arrival to another hump day, and as I will be launching a new Christian recovery ministry tonight ( the Celebrate Freedom Growth Group at Starpoint Church meets tonight at 6:30pm) I am also using it in the hopes that the Lord will use this group to “move mountains in people’s lives.

And just like I wish to give credit to where credit is due with today’s currently unknown photographer, I also would point out that the freedom I have frim my previous “hurts, habits, and hang ups” is only because of God. If the Lord didn’t call me out of the darkness of a false religion and my lifestyle of the sins of the flesh, I would have never gotten sober and found the freedom and continuous peace and joy that I have today.  

While I had seasons in my pre-Christ existence where I managed to stop drinking for a few months, I was “powerless to control my tendency to do wrong thing” and because I “wasn’t that bad… all the time” I remained in the bondage of my addictions and mired in denial.  

One of the sayings about being a drunk is:  “I don’t have a drinking problem. I drink. I get drunk. I fall down. No problem.  So brazen is this form of denial, you can even get that saying on a T-Shirt (in multiple colors, long sleeves, short sleeves, tank top, sweat shirt, or pullover hoody)  – You can be a drunk for all seasons. You can boldly display your depravity, where what should be your shame, becomes your pride. What should be your bad habit, becomes your identity.   

Rather than taking your alcoholism for the serious problem that it is, it becomes a joke.  But I know from experience, the tears of a clown when there is no one around, and how the high times of drunkenness and drug addiction are surrounded with desperation, anxiety, anger, and confusion.   Being an addict is no laughing matter… and even though the people locked in addiction know they have a problem don’t necessarily know they can be free from it. They may have heard that their addiction is hereditary or and they will “always struggle” with the things that they deny are a problem.  

And this brings us to our current series the “Lies of the Enemy”, which is an examination of some of the common lies, sometimes sneakily whispered into our minds as “first person” statements, that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, lose our peace, cause division, or influence us to not follow the Lord with the way we live our lives.  So with this current situation in mind, I present   

Today’s big lie is:

Lie #27:  You will ALWAYS struggle with this!  

This LIE is so pervasive that mental health professionals, doctors, and pastors who are supposed to encourage healing and the ability to be well have been known to say it.  In some circles, addiction is considered a chronic addiction, and to be fair, I guess in some ways it is, meaning that now that I have a huge amount of evidence that proves that I “have a problem with drugs and alcohol”, it will be wise of me to never partake of those things again.   

When I talk about being free of addiction and that we don’t have to struggle with “this” anymore – I don’t mean that all has been cured and I can resume with “social drinking” or “casual sex”  again – I suppose I could give it a try but knowing what I know about alcohol, drugs, sexual immorality, myself, and God – I know that those habits are wrong and that I can find my peace and have my needs met in legitimate rather than illegitimate ways.  

I reject the lie that I will always struggle with “this” because I don’t struggle anymore and as hard as it may be to believe I’m serious when I say that. Temptations to drink, to do drugs, or to be sexually immoral are so few and far between in my life now that they are practically nonexistent and if any fleshly suggestions try to come into my mind, they are quickly dealt with and rejected as a fleshly impulse or a temptation from the enemy. 

Alcohol, drugs, and sexual immorality are things that I don’t do or even entertain in my mind anymore  because I know:

 A: they are sin,

B: I know the negative consequences involved with them from experience,

C: they are not who I am anymore and

D: they would disrupt the harmony that I have with the Lord. 

When you know all these things, in your heart and mind,  those sins of the flesh become “non-negotiable negatives” – as in their rejection has become so natural, and the thought of them are so abhorrent, that I don’t even have to “Just say no.” because they have become logical impossibilities for me.  Its not a matter of debate because there are no circumstances that I can conceive of that I would desire to ever do those things again.  

Of course, this is not my doing, this is the result of the word of God renewing my mind and that of the Lord turning my heart of stone into a heart of flesh because He called me out of the darkness and compelled me to trust and follow Him.    

We don’t have to “always struggle with this” but to be healed and free we have to exchange our broken lives of darkness for the life of hope, love, joy, peace, and light that the Lord has for those who follow and live for Him.

So don’t believe the lie that you will always struggle with this. Instead decide to “always follow the Lord” into the abundant life that He has for you.    

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

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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 :

Acts 1:8 (NLT2)
⁸  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Today’s verse are the words of Jesus who testifies of the power we receive when we walk in the Spirit and decide to be His witness. 

When we put our faith in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit and when we decided to follow Him we can live through His power and the transformation that comes to our lives will cause us to be witnesses of His goodness, mercy, love, and power.

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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  “Satan, Demons & Satanism: A Sinister Reality” By June Hunt.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and to support her work.  This resource is available online for $7.99 (https://june-hunt.myshopify.com/collections/keys-for-living/products/keys-for-living-on-satan-demons-satanism_ ).

Satan, Demons & Satanism

A Sinister Reality

by June Hunt

IV.  Steps To Solution

Remember on early television broadcasts how the “bad guys” always wore the black hats? You could tell who would win by the color of their clothes. In Revelation 3:4, the Bible tells us that the followers of Christ will be robed in white. In contrast, followers of Satan are known for wearing black. The Bible also tells us who wins in the end … and it’s not the boys in black. Satan has already been defeated. He is trying to defeat as many of Christ’s followers as possible before he meets his ultimate end—the lake of fire.

“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

(Matthew 25:41)

A.  Key Verse to Memorize

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

(1 Peter 5:8)

B.  Key Passage to Read and Reread

1 John 3:7–10

“Do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”^[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 podcasts

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

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

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

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

For those who require the assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge     

“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, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

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^[1] June Hunt, Biblical Counseling Keys on Satan, Demons & Satanism: A Sinister Reality (Dallas, TX: Hope For The Heart, 2008), 14.

Live in Victory - The Joy of Champions - Purity 965

Live in Victory - The Joy of Champions - Purity 965

Purity 965 02/13/2023 Purity 965 Podcast

Purity 965 on YouTube: Coming Soon!

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the sun shining bright through a less than clear windshield over I90 West about a mile east of Exit 32 comes to us from yours truly as I decided capture the sun while speeding towards Syracuse because I wasn’t sure if it would be there when I got there with minutes to spare before sunset.  

Well, It’s Monday and it turns out the sun was in Syracuse when I got there yesterday but any inclination to capture sunset photos from my hotel’s parking lot was not.  The drive out west wasn’t terribly long but all I wanted to upon arrive was to grab my bags, get to my room, and relax.   It was Superbowl Sunday after all and even though I hadn’t really watch any significant amount of football all season, I felt that old familiar pull to watch the big game.   I didn’t have much of an opinion on which team I liked better.  The truth is that I have friends or acquaintances that are fans of both the Eagles and the Chiefs and so I wasn’t sure who I would root for. I had picked the Eagles to win in my family’s Yahoo pick ‘em league earlier in the week but when I saw that ALL (literally all) the Fox pregame commentators picked the Eagles to win, I suddenly found myself emotionally invested in the underdog – the Chiefs.  So I decided to root for them.

But I am not the football fan that I used to be, by half time – with the Chiefs down by 10 points and the Chiefs quarterback limp jogging off the field after being injured on a play late in the 2^nd quarter, I decided to avoid the emotional roller coaster and probable disappointment and decided to call it a night and go to bed before the third quarter was even under way.   I had hoped that the Chiefs would win, I guess, but with Patrick Mahomes injured it looked like they were destined to lose.   

But I awoke to discover that the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes had other ideas.  I haven’t watched any of the highlights yet but apparently the Chiefs overcame the half time deficit and are champions once again.  

As I stated- I haven’t watched the highlights but I know that Patrick Mahomes has led his team in come from behind wins before and apparently he did it again.  And that is one aspect of the experience of our lives that I would like to encourage us all with on this Monday morning – drawing from

2 Peter 1:2-4 (NLT2)
²  May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
³  By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
⁴  And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

So whether you have overcome and experienced freedom and victory before or if you are striving to overcome in certain areas for the first time, let me encourage you that God has given us everything we need to do it because He enables us by sharing His divine nature.  

So whether you are continuing an ongoing victory parade or find yourself back to the drawing board let me encourage you by telling you that our victory lies in Christ and abiding in Him.  

The world, the flesh, and the devil can tempt us and draw us away from the people God created us to be.  Superbowl Sunday is one of our man made feast days that is a veritable trap of over indulgence, possible sin, and strife as a sporting contest that should give glory to God is inflated with pride and surrounded by vice. Many people may be not at work today because of hang overs from too much food or drink. Dejected Eagles fans could be depressed, bitter, or angry as all the hopes and emotions they invested in someone else’s achievements were not realized.   And elated Chief fans may be filled pride until next year over a victory that someone else has won.  

The only vicarious achievement that we can truly share in is the victory that Christ has won for us through His death and resurrection and when we put our faith in Him not only do we have the victory over death and the grave, we receive the power to be transformed and set free from the sins and negative emotions that so easily beset us.   

Not only is the joy of the Lord are strength because of our salvation, we can be joyful because Christ gives us the power to overcome.  

Philippians 4:11-13 (NKJV)
¹¹  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
¹²  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
¹³  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So whether this Monday finds you high or low, remember to be content and that Christ has given us everything we need to live a godly life.  

Whether we have to dig ourselves out of a deficit, maintain the freedom and victory, or to boldly take on new challenges, the Lord enables us to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  We can overcome our sinful desires and have a life that is defined by peace, love, and joy when we live according to God’s precious promises that are given freely to those who put their faith in Christ and decide to follow Him.   

So, let’s turn the page on last week and any defeats we may have suffered by making the decision today to keep walking and talking to God so we can share in His power. We already have been given all we need to live a godly life so let’s walk in it and experience the abundant life that comes from living in freedom and victory.   Christ has already won the victory, so let’s live with the determination and joy of champions.

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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:

Acts 5:41 (NLT2)
⁴¹  The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.

Today’s Bible reminds us that we should rejoice when we suffer because of our faith in Christ.   

It may seem strange that the apostles would rejoice because they were persecuted by the high council but we have to remember that it wasn’t the suffering and insult they were taking joy in but that they received it only because they represented Jesus and the kingdom of God.  

Sometimes in our walk of faith we can doubt whether or not we are faithful Christians, but when some one treats you badly or rejects you because of your faith in Christ you can rejoice because they are confirming you in your faith!    

As painful as rejection and mild or not so mild persecution can be, we can at least find solace in knowing that our faith is true and that it is what is to be expected as Christ warned his disciples that they would be hated because of Him.   

When we suffer we are in good company, we are not only a part of the fellowship of the saints that have gone on before us who suffered or died because of their faith, we become partners in Christ’s suffering. 

1 Peter 4:12-13 (NLT2)
¹²  Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
¹³  Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

So don’t be surprised if persecution comes but be assured that through it you not only receive a confirmation of your faith, you also have the wonderful joy of seeing Christ’s glory when He comes to rule and reign forever.

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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 SIX

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN OPERATION continues

God’s method of dealing with the righteous: continues

2. God exerts upon His own elect an energizing influence or power.

The apostle prayed to God for the Ephesian saints that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened in order that, among other things, they might know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe” (Eph. 1:18), and that they might be “strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man” (3:16). It is thus that the children of God are enabled to fight the good fight of faith and battle with the adverse forces which constantly war against them. In themselves they have no strength: they are but “sheep,” and sheep are one of the most defenseless animals there is; but the promise is sure—“He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength” (Isa. 40:29).

It is this energizing power that God exerts upon and within the righteous which enables them to serve Him acceptably. Said the prophet of old, “But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord” (Micah 3:8). And said our Lord to His apostles, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8), and thus it proved, for of these same men we read subsequently, “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33). So it was, too, with the apostle Paul, “and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing word of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor. 2:4). But the scope of this power is not confined to service, for we read in 2 Pet. 1:3, “According as His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” Hence it is that the various graces of the Christian character, “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,” are ascribed directly to God Himself, being denominated “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22). Compare 2 Cor. 8:16.

3. God exerts upon His own elect a directing influence or power.

Of old He led His people across the wilderness, directing their steps by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; and today He still directs His saints, though now from within rather from without. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death” (Psa. 48:14), but He “guides” us by working in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. That He does so guide us is clear from the words of the apostle in Eph. 2:10—“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Thus all ground for boasting is removed and God gets all the glory, for with the prophet we have to say, “Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us” (Isa. 26:12). How true then that “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps” (Prov. 16:29)! Compare Psa. 65:4; Ezek. 36:27.^[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 podcasts

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

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

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

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

“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, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

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^[1] Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 122–124.

Into His Light - Calling For Life Beyond the Manger - Purity 911

Into His Light - Calling For Life Beyond the Manger -  Purity 911         

Purity 911 12/10/2022  Purity 911 Podcast

Purity 911 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the Allen Waite Farm at Twilight comes to us from yours truly as I was positively awestruck of the magic of “twilight time” as I descended down Waite Rd in Easton NY to see that the while the land below was shrouded in darkness the last night of day was on the rims of the horizon creating this magnificent silhouette effect when from the ground when you looked up.    I’m sharing two other, out of focus, shots that I grabbed while driving down to my countryside home last night on the blog today if you want to see more.  

I hate to admit that they are blurry as all get out but I share them to demonstrate just how distinct that rim of light on the horizon was and as a warning to us amateur photographers out there to STOP and get out of the car when you see something worth capturing. 

Part of the beauty of the moment was the stark clarity of the silhouettes of the objects from ground view against the twilight sky and because I didn’t actually stop when I took these photos, like I did with the photo of the day, these additional pictures’ beauty pales in comparison to what they were in reality.   But the one with the utility pole looks like a cross, so I figured I would share it and so decided to share the other blurry one as well.  Even though they are both blurry they still show the contrast of the light and the darkness.  

Well, it is Saturday and I am rejoicing this morning because I have reunited with my beloved wife at our countryside home and while there isn’t much on the agenda for this morning and the early part of the day, TammyLyn has planned our late afternoon and “twilight time” hours to be filled with experiences that will continue to prepare our hearts for the celebration of Christmas as we have plans to go to a live Nativity Display and to drive through Washington County’s holiday lights display. 

As to where these events are, you will have to Google them or message my wife, although I have been weekending in the Great White North for over a year now, I am still a Hudson Valley-er and am still learning the lay of the land up here.  

But you know what, that doesn’t matter, because in my wife I have an experienced guide that I trust and can have faith that when she tells me to take a turn that appears to be going further into the middle of nowhere, I don’t question her, well as not as much as I did anyway, and know that she will get us where we need to get to even if I can’t clearly see the final destination or the reasoning behind her “process”. 

Through my relationship and experiences with TammyLyn, I know that she has my best interests at heart and that she would never purposely lead me astray.  She loves me and not only wants to make sure that I have everything that I need, she also wants to give me more than the bare necessities of a dutiful wife, and continually does and says things that makes me fell loved and fills my heart with joy.   When I consider all that TammyLyn and I  have in our marriage, I know that God has brought us together.  

And because of what God has done in our lives individually, and because He has brought us together, we are intentional in keeping Him at the heart of our relationship through simple things like saying grace, going to church together, and for praying for one another daily. 

And this December, to keep Christ in Christmas and to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season, TammyLyn and I decided to use the first 21 days of the last month of the year to read through the gospel of John, one chapter a day, together.  I have done this “21 days in John” Bible study in December before by myself in the past, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to draw close to the Lord, in any season, but feel it is an especially good study to do if the December chill or the secular expressions of holiday cheer has your heart  running cold and your lips whispering “Bah Humbug!”

As much as I absolutely love Christmas and the Biblical narrative of Jesus’s birth, the Christian focus in December on “BABY JESUS”,  away in the manager, the angels, the shepherds, THE VIRGIN MARY, and the other aspects of  “The Nativity” can cause me to want to remind people that “Jesus isn’t a baby anymore!”

As truly awe inspiring and awesome it is to ponder the fact that God became flesh, in the incarnation, and the fact that the divine literally pushed beyond the veil of eternity and broke into our physical reality, I feel that the focus on this one scene of Jesus’ life at Christmas time can perpetually keep immature nominal Christians to be forever “the Babes in Christ” who are more enamored with the glitz and gifts of “Toyland” than the wonders of God’s love that can be experienced through a life of following the Man and Lord, that that precious little baby boy wrapped in swaddling cloths grew up to be.   

As things wrap up on another year, I remember well that the “silent night” of the Christmas Eve church service can be a magnificent moment where we join in the company of family and friends to simply declare that God is good, but just like the way our happiness can fade after opening up our Christmas presents, that magic moment of remembering Christ’s birth can fade as “Christmas is Over” and It’s time to get back to normal.  

Well, Like the born again Ebeneezer Scrooge, yeah Dicken’s Christmas Carol is a SALAVATION STORY, DUH,- ran the streets with the hope that his neighbors know the joy of Christmas every day, I too want to make a case for experiencing the joy of the Lord every day in our lives by encouraging all of us to go beyond the manger, past the shepherds, past the three wise men or kings (not sure if they could be both), and definitely past the virgin Mary, to stand on our own two feet and to walk beyond our “childlike faith” of nominal infancy to pursue the path of Christian Discipleship that THE MAN & LORD JESUS commanded us to walk.       

I know the prospect of actually living everyday like a Christian may be unknown territory for most us. I know when I first got saved, I asked the Lord: “So how do you do that? How do you live as a Christian? Is that even possible in this day and age? Do I want to do that?  

Well, just like deciding to trust a travelling companion’s directions for the first time, it requires faith. We have to believe that the person calling us to follow them has our best interests at heart and that they won’t lead us astray. 

But the good news is that we can trust the Lord. Christ’s coming to earth is evidence of His love for us as:

John 3:16 (NLT2) tells us that:
¹⁶  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

“The world” includes you and me and when we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are given eternal life and when we follow Him, when we obey His commands, when we walk in the Spirit, we experience the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. That means love, peace, joy, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, patience, and self-control will define our lives the more we follow the Lord’s lead.  

So just like the farm, trees, and utility poles on Waite Rd were lost in the darkness of twilight time last night but were revealed when we decided to “look up” and see them in the last light of day,  the Lord wants us to be found by looking at ourselves according to His light. He wants our beauty to be revealed through our faith in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ,  and He wants us to experience the abundant life that He has for us when we decide to “grow up” beyond “baby Christians” and  to walk like the men and women that God created us and called us to be.  

So keep Christ in Christmas, but let’s keep walking and talking with God before then and let’s keep on walking into the sanctified life of a mature Christian disciple into the new year and beyond.  

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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:

Acts 13:38 (NLT2)
³⁸  “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.

Today’s verse is an exhortation and a proclamation that forgiveness of sins is possible through Christ alone.  

This is the GOOD NEWS that many simply can’t believe or won’t believe, or are spiritually blind to.  

Scripture paints a simple yet complicated, another paradox, of salvation. 

It tells us that it is through faith alone that we are saved but that true faith will be shown by the fruit of good works and good character  It tells us that anyone who turns to the Lord in repentance and calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But it also tells us that people are spiritually blinded and that none come to the Father other than those that are drawn by Him.  Paul states that nothing can separate us from the love of God but yet Christ’s parable of the sowing of the seeds and the tares and the wheat seem to indicate that some will believe but will not endure and that there will be real and false believers in the assembly of the saints. Christ warned us about the separation of the sheep and the goats to highlight this and even indicated that these false converts could even be elevated to leadership positions as Jesus warned us about false teachers too!

No one knows the hearts of man but God and when we consider all of these seeming conflicts about “simple faith” we could wonder, like the Christ’s first disciples themselves wondered in

Matthew 19:25 (NLT2) where the word tells us that:
²⁵  The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

Who can be saved? Who can be forgiven? 

Well while pointing out the different aspects of salvation can cause us to see that there may be more to salvation that just saying the words of a “sinners prayer” or believing in a person name Jesus once existed and we sort of like some of the things he said and we like the cozy picture of the manger at Christmas, the preponderance of evidence of scripture clearly confirms that it is through Jesus Christ that we can be forgiven and given eternal life.   

And today’s verse really cuts to the heart of the matter for me. As someone raised in a liturgical church tradition that twisted the gospel to be a combination of faith and works, I knew I was a sinner but I highly doubted that I could be forgiven. I thought I had to ear it some how or I had to be “good” to go to heaven.  

But when I heard, in the message that saved my soul, that forgiveness came because of Jesus only, that my faith in Him would give me the forgiveness that I thought I could never earn,  I finally saw the light of the truth behind all of Christianity: the love of God that sent Jesus to pay for our sins, to die for us, so that we could be forgiven and be accepted and live with God forever.   I rejoiced then and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior through tears of  the grief of repentance and the joy of a new life and am continually reminded of the miracle that happened in my life: I was drawn by the Creator of the universe to be in His royal family forever and ever. – through Christ alone!

So rejoice over your forgiveness that Jesus made possible and keep sharing the good news because this world desperately needs to know that they are loved and forgiven by God and can be accepted into His kingdom when they surrender to the Lordship of Christ.  

We are forgiven. We are free. And We will live with the LORD our God forever and ever, Amen!

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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 Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Discipleship”, also known as “The Cost of Discipleship”

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Bonhoeffer’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 Church of Jesus Christ and Discipleship

Chapter Ten

The Body of Christ, continues

 

Through the Holy Spirit, the crucified and risen Christ exists as the church-community [Gemeinde], as the “new human being.” For Christ truly is and eternally remains the incarnate one, and the new humanity truly is his body. Just as the fullness of the godhead became incarnate in him and dwelled in him, so are Christian believers filled with Christ (Col. 2:9; Eph. 3:19). Indeed, they themselves are that divine fullness by being his body, and yet it is Christ alone who fills all in all.

The unity between Christ and his body, the church, demands that we at the same time recognize Christ’s lordship over his body. This is why Paul, in developing further the concept of the body, calls Christ the head of the body (Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18; 2:19). The distinction is clearly preserved; Christ is the Lord. There are two events in salvation history, namely, Christ’s ascension and his second coming, which make this distinction necessary; these events categorically rule out any idea of a mystical fusion between church-community and Christ. The same Christ who is present in his church-community will return from heaven. In both cases it is the same Lord and it is the same church; in both cases it is the very same body of the one who is present here and now, and the one who will return in the clouds. However, it makes a serious difference whether we are here or there. Thus, both the unity and the distinction are necessary aspects of the same truth.

The church is one; it is the body of Christ. At the same time it is the multiplicity [Vielheit] and community [Gemeinschaft] of its members (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12ff.). The body has many members, and each member, whether it be eye, hand, or foot, remains what it is. That is the very point of Paul’s analogy! A hand does not become an eye, nor does an eye change into an ear. Each retains its own identity. Nevertheless, they all have an identity of their own only as members of the one body, as a community that serves in unity. The unity of the church-community gives identity and meaning to each individual and to the community as a whole, just as Christ and his body give identity and meaning to the church-community. It is at this point that the office of the Holy Spirit is thrown into sharp relief. It is the Holy Spirit who brings Christ to the individuals (Eph. 3:17; 1 Cor. 12:3). It is the Spirit who builds up the church by gathering the individuals, even though in Christ the whole building is already complete (Eph. 2:22; 4:12; Col. 2:7). The Holy Spirit creates the community (2 Cor. 13:13) of the members of the body (Rom. 15:30; 5:5; Col. 1:8; Eph. 4:3). The Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). The church of Christ is Christ present through the Holy Spirit. The life of the body of Christ has thus become our life. In Christ we no longer live our own lives, but Christ lives his life in us. The life of believers in the church-community is truly the life of Jesus Christ in them (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; 1 John 4:15).

In the community of the crucified and transfigured body of Jesus Christ, we take part in Christ’s suffering and glory. Christ’s cross is laid upon the body of the church-community. All sufferings under this cross are Christ’s sufferings. This suffering first takes the form of dying the death upon the cross in baptism; it then is Christians’ “daily dying” (1 Cor. 15:31) by virtue of their baptism. It is, in addition, a suffering that bears an indescribable promise. True, it is only Christ’s own suffering which has atoning power; he suffered “for us” and won the victory “for us.” Yet to those who are not ashamed to belong to the community of his body, Christ, in the power of his suffering, grants in turn the immeasurable grace to suffer “for him.” No greater glory could Christ have granted to his own; no honor could be more astonishing for Christians than to be granted the privilege of suffering “for Christ.” What actually takes place here runs totally counter to the law. For according to the law, we are only capable of suffering the punishment for our own sins. According to the law, we cannot do or suffer anything that would benefit us,^[30] let alone another, and least of all Christ! The body of Christ, which was given for us, which suffered the punishment for our sins, frees us to exist “for Christ” in death and in suffering. Now we are able to work and suffer for Christ, for the sake of him who did everything for us! That is the miracle and grace we enjoy in the community of the body of Christ (Phil. 1:29; 2:17; Rom. 8:35ff.; 1 Cor. 4:10; 2 Cor. 4:10; 5:20; 13:9). Even though Jesus Christ has already accomplished all the vicarious suffering necessary for our redemption, his sufferings in this world are not finished yet. In his grace, he has left something unfinished (ὑστερήμταια) in his suffering, which his church-community is to complete in this last period before his second coming. This suffering will benefit the body of Christ, the church. Whether this suffering of Christians also has power to atone for sin (1 Peter 4:1) remains an open question. What is clear, however, is that those suffering in the power of the body of Christ suffer in a vicariously representative [stellvertretend] action “for” the church-community, “for” the body of Christ. They are permitted to bear what others are spared. “We always carry in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of the Lord Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you” (2 Cor. 4:10–12; see also 1:5–7; 13:9; Phil. 2:17). There is a specific amount of suffering which has been allotted to the body of Christ. To one person God grants the grace to bear a special suffering on behalf of another person. The suffering must indeed be completed, borne, and overcome. Blessed are those to whom God grants the privilege of suffering for the body of Christ. Such suffering is joy (Col. 1:24; Phil. 2:17). In such suffering, believers may boast that they bear the dying of Jesus Christ and Christ’s wounds on their bodies (2 Cor. 4:10; Gal. 6:17). Now a believer is privileged to become the means by which “Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20). Such vicariously representative action and suffering, which is carried out by the members of the body of Christ, is itself the very life of Christ who seeks to take shape in his members (Gal. 4:19).

In all this, we are in the community of the first disciples and followers of Jesus.^[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 podcasts

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

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^[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, ed. Martin Kuske et al., trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss, vol. 4, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 220–222.