Why We Can Believe the Bible and What it Means for Us - Purity 1243
Purity 1243 01/09/2024 Purity 1243 Podcast
Purity 1243 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the last light of day fading on the
horizon and reflected in the waters of the Schodack Creek and the Hudson River
down the road a piece comes to us from yours truly as I was moved to get out of
my car and capture this twilight time moment at the end of the workday yesterday.
Well, It’s Tuesday and I am happy to announce that
another Freedom in Christ course has begun!
Last night I had the honor of introducing myself and the course to men
all across the country, and one in Canada, by explaining why it is perfectly
reasonable to believe that the Bible is God’s message to the people He created.
As the course points out, we can believe the Bible
is God’s Word because of:
· It’s historical accuracy – archaeology confirms the
things that the Bible tells us existed – Sodom & Gomorrah, the Hittites,
and even places written about in the New Testament have all been rediscovered
by archaeologists – proving God’s word is true.
· It’s fulfilled prophecies – what the Bible says
comes to pass – from prophecies about future judgments – like the city of Tyre
in Ezekial 26, and all the things said about the coming Messiah that were
fulfilled in Jesus – the Bible is proven to be a supernatural revelation
because its prophecies come to pass.
· The resurrection of Jesus is Credible – entire books
outside of the Bible have examined the testimony of scripture and other
historical accounts and have determined that Jesus’ death and resurrection are
true historical events.
· The church has never stopped growing – the body of
Christ growing indicates that the Bible is God’s word – we would expect His
followers to increase, and it has. (https://research.lifeway.com/2022/01/31/7-encouraging-trends-of-global-christianity-in-2022/)
· It continues to change lives today -
LIKE MINE! The reason I blog, and podcast is to tell
people that The Bible is true, Jesus is Lord, and He came to set the captives
free! Jesus came to give us peace with
God and an abundant life spent in His presence where we can experience love,
joy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control
in the most unlikely of places – in our lives – here and now.
And that’s where the difference in the freedom in Christ
course lies. Its not intended to be an
academic class. It is intended to be a
repentance process – where the participants learn and agree with what God’s
word says about them, where they develop a relationship with God, and walk free
of the spiritual and personal conflicts they were carrying to walk into the
future unshackled from their false beliefs, pride, rebellion, generational curses,
sin, and unforgiveness.
But in order to experience it, they have to
understand that God’s word is true and to be willing to apply its truth to the
way they live their lives.
Before we started, one of the men asked me if this
was a “beginner’s course” because of the fact lesson one was teaching on why we
can believe the Bible, to which I explained that the course is progressive and
the first step is to “know” that the Bible is true with the implication that
they would progressively start living according to its truth in all the aspects
of their lives.
I’m not talking about some nominal or intellectual
belief that the Bible is a “good book” – I’m talking about God’s message to us
and how if it is His message, we must be open to receiving it and demonstrating
we have received His message by living according to it. Receiving a message
from the Creator of life itself should grab your attention and cause you to
obey it. If we don’t hear the Bible’s call on our lives to action – we have
failed to receive God’s message. Christ gave us the great commission, so are we
making disciples and living for God’s kingdom or are we doing something less
than that? Are we consumed with God’s plan for our lives or are we busy and distracted
with our own plans, ideas, and selfish pursuits?
So it’s a simple lesson, but there is nothing simple
or easy about the implications of what it teaches. If the Bible is true, and we
will be accountable for what it says, how we can do anything less than studying
what it says and trying to connect with the God who wrote it by living according
to its truth?
So for 10 men, the journey has begun. It was supposed to be 12 – we had one no show,
and one who got the time wrong and who couldn’t see the Zoom link that was
included all the class correspondence, proving that even though you might get
the call to pursue our freedom in Christ, it doesn’t mean that you will answer
it. To find your freedom in Christ, you
have to seek the Lord and overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil to find
it.
While I am encouraged that 10 men showed up, I know
that the battle has only just begun and that unless they earnestly seek the
Lord and what He has to give them through this course, more could fall away as
their pride, sin, rebellion, or the spiritual forces of darkness will convince
them that they don’t need what this course has to offer or that they “already
know it” and they will walk away unchanged.
So wherever you are in your walk, keep on walking
and talking with God because if you are not progressing in the pathway to peace
it indicates that you gone astray or are trying to accomplish things in your own
strength. Life transformation comes through the author of life. So seek Him, Find Him, and Live Free.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide,
I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verses come to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.
(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google
search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s
work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This
morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Comfort.
Matthew 8:23-27 (ESV)
23 And when he got into the
boat, his disciples followed him.
24 And behold, there arose a
great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he
was asleep.
25 And they went and woke
him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
26 And he said to them, “Why
are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and
the sea, and there was a great calm.
27 And the men marveled,
saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Today’s
verses fall under the 13th point of our counseling reference guide resource’s
section on Comfort.
13. Jesus rebuked the disciples for their little faith and calmed the storm.
Today’s verses clearly demonstrate that Jesus is God and that we are secure in Christ. We have to forgive the disciples for their fear. Have you ever been on the ocean or a large body of water like the Sea of Galilee? Drowning is an ever-present danger. If you are in the water, you may not get out again. The ocean and seas were associated with death in the ancient world and the dangers of travelling over water should be taken seriously.
So, I get why the disciples were freaking out in the storm. I would have been freaking out. And when they encounter Jesus sleeping through it, they are incredulous toward their fearless leader, because they can’t comprehend how He could be without fear.
But one word from Jesus calms the storm and shows them that He is no ordinary man, has power, and knows something they don’t. Jesus is God and He knows that there is life on other side of death. There is God’s kingdom out there and when you have been accepted into it, there is no reason to fear.
After Jesus was resurrected these scared men went fearlessly into the earth and toward their martyr’s deaths, proclaiming Jesus and the kingdom of God because they understood when we are a part of Christ’s royal family, we have eternal life and death itself is not to be feared. These men of little faith would become men of great faith because they learned through this episode and Christ’s resurrection that what Jesus said was true and they were safe with Him in whatever storms they would 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 are sharing from “According to Your Word:
Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A
Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available online
for less than $10 at many sites.
EVENING READING: MATTHEW 2
“When they … saw the young Child …
[they] fell down
and worshiped Him.” – Matthew 2:11
Paul says, “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). “The young Child” – God manifest in the
flesh!
Is it any wonder the wise men worshipped? They “fell down
and worshipped Him.” Notice how often men fell at the feet of Jesus:
•
“They … fell down” at His birth (v. 11).
•
“They fell on their faces” at His
Transfiguration (Matt. 17:6).
•
They fell down and “held Him by the feet”
at His Resurrection (Matt. 28:9).
•
“I fell at His feet as dead” – at His Glorification
(Rev. 1:17).
There are even more occasions, but at each they fell in
worship, wonder, and awe.
Lord, give me these visions by faith,
that I may similarly worship.[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 YouTube 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
[1]
Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your
Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional
Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
