leaders Following THE LEADER, Christ. – Purity 500

leaders Following THE LEADER, Christ.

Purity 500 08/18/2021   Purity 500 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of this spectacular view somewhere along the trail up the Ha’iku Stairs/Ladder in Oahu Hawaii comes to us from a friend’s epic pilgrimage back in June.  The Ha’iku Stairs are also known as the stairway to Heaven and with this lush view of the Oahu countryside, the blue sky, and the Pacific in the distance it’s no surprise why it is called that!  

I share this pic because it’s awesome and because its Wednesday and I thought it was a nice symbolic representation of ascending the “hump” of mid-week.   Our friend’s God given adventurous spirit led them to follow a couple of friends up this trail to new heights and we are happy they shared their experience!

As we walk out our Christian faith each day, it is a comfort to find out that we are not alone in our journey. The Lord is our ever-present Comforter of course but it is also an encouragement to find other men and women who have been touched by the Lord and who have also been inspired to live a discipled life and who want to bring their faith in Christ with them into all the areas of their lives.   There are others that are following where the Lord calls them.

Yesterday, I was happy to have a short conversation with Mike Henry Sr., the CEO of followerofone.org, a Christian online community that encourages Christ followers to integrate their faith at work by supporting one another in “Marketplace Missions Trips”.  Mike explains what a “Marketplace Mission Trip is in a video I am sharing on the blog today, at : 

https://youtu.be/UWOr96Ur3Yk

 

But it all comes down to being intentional about being plugged into our faith in God each day and acting it out through our prayers, words, and actions at work. The Follower of One community is a place where we can connect with other Christians and can support one another in our “Marketplace Missions.” 

I am a new member of Follower of One and I am encouraging all my friends to join this growing community of Christians who believe that every one of us can be used by God for His purposes and that a community of faith doesn’t have to be enclosed by the four walls of a church building on Sunday morning. To join this exciting online Christian community go to the link that I am sharing on the blog: Join Follower of One by clicking here!

I apologize if all that sounds “pluggy”, but I know that living out our Christian faith provides us with meaning, purpose, and power and I believe that the mission of Follower of One is to help and encourage Christians to draw closer to the Lord, to realize their part in His kingdom, and to experience the new life of freedom and victory that comes though living out their faith in all aspects of their lives. 

I have been a part of so many different Christian communities that have helped me to mature in my faith and while I know that it isn’t always easy to find people with a hopeful vision and hearts of encouragement, I also know that when you do find others whose purpose is to know Christ and to make Him known, the potential for personal growth and service to God is as limitless as the love that the Lord has for us. 

So keep walking and talking with God.  Listen to His voice and follow where He leads. The mission God has for you may not be in another country. Your mission may just begin with a prayer for someone at work, by taking time to listen to a co-worker’s problems, or may lie in being intentional about doing our best job with care and concern for those we encounter. The love of Christ has been given to us. Let’s make it grow by sharing it in with others in all the walks of our lives.  

This morning’s meditation verses are:

1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 (NKJV)
⁴  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
⁵  You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

Today’s verses speak of the safety and the transformative change that Christians have received when they place their faith in Jesus.        

One of the most damaging and hobbling beliefs that is commonly and stubbornly held on to by most Christians is that they are “ JUST sinners saved by grace.”

While all Christians were sinners before coming to Christ and will have some sin in their lives until they are glorified, these verses in the letter to the church at Thessalonica does not identify members of the church by their darkness.  Throughout scripture those who place their faith in Christ are instead identified as “sons of light”, highlighting their righteous position and security as members of God’s royal family.  

This letter speaks about the “Day of the Lord”, the time when Christ will return to judge the earth, and Paul assures the church of their safety from God’s wrath telling the church that “this Day” is to be feared by those in darkness, but not those who are called the “light of the world”, Christians, in Matthew 5:14.  Because we have placed our faith in Christ, we are safe.  

But scripture also calls us to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John: 1:7), and although it acknowledges the fact that we have not obtained a state of sinless perfection (1 John 1:8), it continually encourages us not identify with sin (1 Cor 6:11, 2 Peter 1:9) and to “not sin” (1 John 2:1, 2 Peter 1:10), or as Jesus said, to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

The Christian walk is all about moving forward into our new lives of faith and leaving our darkness behind. The keys to this walk are believing that we have been made new through our faith in Christ and that we are not “JUST” what we used to be but that we are alive, secure, and righteous new creations in Christ.  Our Christian walk can and should progressively demonstrate our new lives in “the light”.     

Our belief in our new life in Christ is fundamental to our experiencing the fruit of the Spirit and the more we intentionally live out our faith on a continual basis the more we will know that what the word of God says about us is true.    

 

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 with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness, continuing in Chapter 12.

 

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $15.00:

When You Are Criticized or Rejected

The thoughts and feelings of rejection that often plague us can be major deterrents to our maturity in Christ. Apart from Christ, we all learned early in life to respond to rejection by taking one of three defensive postures (see Figure 12-A). Even as Christians we can be influenced to react defensively to rejection.

Beat the System

A small percentage of people defend against rejection by buying into the dog-eat-dog world system and learning to compete and scheme to get ahead of the pack. These are the movers and shakers, people who seek to earn their acceptance and strive for significance through their performance. They feel driven to get on top of every situation because winning is their passport to acceptance and significance. They are characterized by perfectionism and emotional insulation and are plagued by anxiety and stress.

Spiritually, the beat-the-system people struggle with the idea of coming under God's authority and have little fellowship with Him. They are prone to controlling and manipulating others and circumstances for their own end, so it is difficult for them to yield control in their lives to God. In our churches, these people jockey to be chairman of the board or the most influential member on a committee. Their motivation may not always be to serve God in this position, however, but to control their world because their sense of worth is dependent upon it. Beat-the-system controllers are often very insecure.

Controlling people's defensive strategy only delays inevitable rejection. Eventually, their ability to control their families, their employees and their churches diminishes, and they are replaced by younger, stronger or more capable controllers. Some survive this midlife crisis, but many who make it to retirement don't enjoy much of it. Studies show that high-powered executives live an average of nine months after they retire. They no longer have any purpose for living.

Give In to the System

"Pastor, I'm a loser," a high-school boy told me dejectedly. He explained that he wanted to be a star football player but had been cut from the team. Instead of being in the spotlight as an athlete, he had to settle for being a member of the pep band. Compared to star quarterbacks, clarinet players were losers. What a sad commentary on American culture!

The largest group of people respond to rejection as this boy did: by simply giving in to the system. They continue their efforts to try to satisfy others, but their failures prompt them to believe they really are unlovable and unacceptable. The system says the best, the strongest, the most beautiful and the most talented are "in." Those who don't fit those categories—which includes most of us—are "out," and we succumb to society's false judgment of our worth. As a result, a large segment of the population is plagued by feelings of worthlessness, inferiority and self-condemnation.

These people also have trouble relating to God. They often blame God for their sad state and find it difficult to trust Him. "You made me a lowly clarinet player instead of a star quarterback," they complain. "If I allow you access to other areas of my life, how do I know you won't make me a loser there, too?"

By giving in to the system's false judgment, these people can only look forward to more and more rejection. The system has rejected them and therefore they find it easy to reject themselves. Any success or acceptance that comes their way will be questioned or doubted on the basis of what they already believe about themselves.

Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.

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

 

God bless you all!

 

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

Decisions, Decisions… - Choose Freedom - Purity 473

 Decisions, Decisions… - Choose Freedom

Purity 473 07/17/2021  Purity 473 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo is the natural progression of yesterday’s photo as the setting sun has sunk into the Pacific horizon from the vantage point of the shores of Kaanapali on the Island of Maui in the great state of Hawaii.  My friend’s vacation photo sharing of that Pacific paradise presented me with a dilemma. When you are given two wonderful shots from more or less the same setting, which one do you choose?   Often in life we are only given the option of one thing or another, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. But on occasion, even though your choice may confound, or even bother those around you, (Are you thinking: What another picture from Hawaii? I wanted something different, today!)”, sometimes you can choose both!

Now I know, I didn’t “really” choose both.  I chose one photo yesterday and I chose the other photo today.   While I could have shared both photos yesterday, somehow that idea goes against my philosophy of “today’s photo’, singular.  And like I have indicated, there is a natural tendency in all of us to want to move one to “something new.”    

But as in other decisions we make in life, we shouldn’t be held in bondage to other people’s opinions, or our own ideas,  and let our preconceived notions always dictate how we act.  Spontaneity includes the possibility of doing the same thing again.  Repeating what we have done before unfortunately won’t recapture the exact essence of our previous experience, but we can still find pleasure and a measure of satisfaction in a repeated activity as long as we temper our expectations with the understanding that our new experience will not be “just like” our previous experience.    

The possible opinions of others around us, or our ideas of what we should or shouldn’t do, hinder us from living freely.   With my silly example of selecting a photo of the day, maybe some people will be displeased. Maybe some people will be thrilled because they wanted to see that sight again.  Maybe others will like this dusky photo better than yesterday’s. But regardless of all those potential varying opinions, that may or may not out there in reality, in each one of our lives we have to choose what we are going to do for ourselves and live with the consequences.  

Sometimes we also have to challenge our own opinions and preferences to grow. While I like to present and experience new things, we all have a tendency to get in a rut of doing things according to the rules and regulations we have established over our own lives. 

 Now, I’m not talking about running down the road of immorality that leads to debauchery land. I’ve taken that trip way too many times before to encourage others to lose their good senses and to jump into something that will bring guilt and shame if not worse consequences.   No, what I am talking about is challenging the preconceptions of what is possible or is more along the lines of “how we always do things” rather than violating what is right according to the word of God.  

One of the first calls from God that is highlighted in the Bible is God’s call to Abraham to leave his people and to go into the land that the Lord would show Him.  I’m sure Abraham had to hear lots of negative opinions from others when He decided to follow the Lord’s call. Can you imagine just one day, out of the blue, telling everyone you knew that you were leaving because God had called you to go somewhere else?  Could you imagine the inner turmoil that you would experience at the prospect of doing that?  

Now, don’t freak out, I’m not suggesting you pack it all up and take off for a destination unknown. I am merely suggesting that you exercise the free will that the Lord has blessed you with to explore the life that God has given you to see what possibilities for growth are available for you to walk into.  I’m not telling you to leave the comforts of your home, I’m asking you to consider leaving the comforts of “doing things the way you always do them” for a way that is guided by the Lord and that leads to victory, freedom, and peace.  

So, enjoy your weekend. Enjoy doing the same old things again but temper those expectations by realizing you can’t recapture the happiness of the past and that’s okay.  You like what you like.  But at the same time, maybe be daring and try something new.

Regardless of what you choose, rejoice over the freedom you have and consider entering the experience of peace and joy that comes when you decide to seek and follow God’s call on your life to live with Him.   

No two walks with God are the same. But when you walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, there may be bumps in the road but regardless of what you run into there will be the peace of God’s presence and the joy that comes from discovering the meaning of your life and growing into the purpose that He has for you.

 

This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NKJV)
⁸ So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

Today’s verse speaks of the deep affection we can have for our fellow travelers on the path of Christian Discipleship, as we not only share what we know but we share our very lives with one another.  

As a teacher of Christian recovery and Christian discipleship, I can tell you that I have a deep affection for all the people I have taught over the years because while I teach a lot about principles of Christian doctrine and Christian living, I like to share how what I am teaching about has impacted my life experiences.

So I tend to share a lot about my life with my brothers and sisters in Christ that I teach. Many have commented on how transparent I am, maybe too transparent.  While I sometimes cringe at the things that I share as they are somewhat personally embarrassing, I do so because I wish to show people that I didn’t just “learn this stuff”, I lived it.  

I wasn’t particularly smart, I just decided to trust the Lord and sought to know more about Him and to apply what I learned to my life.   If you look at the twists, turns, and disasters that I walked through on the path of Christian recovery and discipleship, some may decide that they want nothing to do with it. It costs too much. You lose too much.  

But like the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:8-10, I count all the hardship and losses that I suffered to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord, and as today’s verse indicates, also knowing all the saints that I have met along the way.  

I rejoice when I see other people pursuing their relationship with God and I love to fellowship with them and discuss the things of God and how we are applying our faith to our real-life difficulties, to discuss living an authentic Christian life.   

God is so good that we must share what He taught us but those lessons we teach are that much more valuable when it is played out in the context of community. Whether it’s the community of the local church, a small group meeting, accountability relationships, or just over a friendly meal, community allows us to sharpen our understanding and to care and love one another according to God’s way for our lives. 

So, don’t be a stranger and don’t be a Lone Ranger, draw close to God and draw close to the other people in your life that hear and follow His voice.   It might be Saturday, but Sunday is coming and if you don’t have a other Christians that you can share your life with and have an affectionate longing for, step out in faith, be strong and courageous and find a place where you can worship, learn, and grow.  

 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 with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness, continuing Chapter 8.

 

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $15.00:

Proper Guidelines Lead to a Proper Walk

As far as the devil is concerned, the next best thing to keeping you chained in spiritual darkness or having you live as an emotional wreck is confusing your belief system. He lost you in the eternal sense when you became a child of God. If he can muddy your mind and weaken your faith with partial truths, however, he can neutralize your effectiveness for God and stunt your growth as a Christian.

We have already determined that God wants you to be successful, fulfilled, and happy. It is imperative for your spiritual maturity, though, that your beliefs about success, significance, fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, fun, security, and peace be anchored in the Scriptures.

In this chapter, I want to review each of these belief areas from the foundation of God's Word. Compare these eight descriptions with the eight statements you wrote for the Faith Appraisal in the previous chapter. These descriptions may help you make some vital adjustments that will steer you back to the middle of the fairway.

1. Success. Key Concept: Goals

A few years ago, a young woman flew to Los Angeles from the East Coast to spend a Saturday with me in counseling. She said she had deep spiritual problems. She did, and I was surprised the airplane stayed in the air with her in it. She was hearing demonic voices and was plagued with many problems.

Mattie quoted to me 3 John 2: "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health."

"If God has promised prosperity, success, and health to me, why is my life all screwed up?" she complained.

"There's more to that verse," I said. "Finish reading it."

"Just as your soul prospers," she continued.

I asked her pointedly, "How is your soul doing?" Mattie then told me her sad story. She had submitted to three abortions as a result of illicit sexual affairs; she withdrew from drugs several times; and she was presently living with another man outside of marriage. I felt like telling her, "I think the verse is working."

Success is related to goals. If you rated yourself low in the success category, you are probably having difficulty reaching your goals in life. If you aren't reaching your goals, it is probably because you are working on the wrong goals.

A good summary of God's goal for us is found in 2 Peter 1:3-10:

His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.

Notice that God's goal begins with who you are on the basis of what God has already done for you. He has given you "life and godliness"; justification has already happened, and sanctification has already begun. You are already a partaker of the "divine nature, having escaped" (past tense) sin's corruption. What a great start!

Your primary job now is to adopt God's character goals diligently—moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and Christian love—and apply them to your life. Focusing on God's goals will lead to ultimate success: success in God's terms. Peter promises that as these qualities increase in your life through practice, you will be useful and fruitful, and you will never stumble. That is a legitimate basis for a true sense of worth and success and nobody can keep you from accomplishing it!

Notice also that this list does not mention talents, intelligence or gifts that are not equally distributed to all believers. Your identity and sense of worth aren't determined by those qualities. Your sense of worth is based on your identity in Christ and your growth in character, both of which are equally accessible to every Christian. Those Christians, like Mattie, who are not committed to God's goals for character are sad stories of failure. According to Peter, they have forgotten their purification from former sins. They have forgotten who they are in Christ.

Another helpful perspective of success is seen in Joshua's experience of leading Israel into the Promised Land. God said to him:

Be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success (Joshua 1:7, 8).

Was Joshua's success dependent on other people or favorable circumstances? Absolutely not. Success hinged entirely on living according to God's Word. If Joshua believed what God said and did what God told him to do, he would succeed. Sounds simple enough, but God immediately put Joshua to the test by giving him a rather unorthodox battle plan for conquering Jericho. Marching around the city for seven days and then blowing a horn weren't exactly approved military tactics in Joshua's day!

Joshua's success was conditional on obeying God regardless of how foolish His plan seemed. As Joshua 6 records, Joshua's success had nothing to do with the circumstances of the battle and everything to do with obedience. Success is accepting God's goal for our lives and by His grace becoming what He has called us to be.

Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.

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

 

God bless you all!

 

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

Truth and Love: The Key to Relationships - Purity 445

Truth and Love: The Key to Relationships 

Purity 445 06/15/2021  Purity 445 Podcast

Good morning.

Today’s photo of Lake George comes from a friend’s recent boating excursion with their child as they decided to dedicate the day to seeing the beauty of the lake and to spending some quality one on one time with their son.  As awesome as a day on the lake can be by oneself, it can be even better when two people can put their troubles and personal agenda’s aside and just take delight in the sights to behold and in one another’s company. 

God is a personal God and He designed us to be in relationship with one another. Relationships can be beneficial because they can help us meet each other’s needs, but they also allow us to share our experiences and love with one another.    By the way, this is what our relationship with God is supposed to look like too. He meets our needs, but He also wants you to share your experiences and love with Him. 

But anyway, all relationships can thrive when the parties are honest with one another and I’m not just talking about facts and figures, I’m talking about thoughts and emotions too. 

Many of our relationship problems come from dishonesty or from misunderstanding one another’s motivations. We can’t read one another’s minds. So taking time to talk with one another about what’s going on in life, and in our hearts and minds, can help us to avoid misunderstandings and bring us closer together.

I attend a group this evening whose core is based on honesty and mutual support. The forum allows for people to take off their masks and to speak honestly about their situations, thoughts, and emotions.   As we have continued to meet and be vulnerable with one another, a real sense of community has developed.

In recovery circles, they say we are only as sick as our secrets. Although all the problems and situations the members of the group are facing haven’t necessarily been solved in the six weeks we have been meeting, I believe that we are all a little bit healthier than where we were when we started, because if nothing else, we have a support that we didn’t have before.  The word says that one of the benefits of confession is healing and the Lord is using our group to make that happen.      

And that’s the key to successful relationships: the truth, according to God, and love.

We can’t be truly honest without God because He is the author of truth.  He determines what is right and true.  However, God is also love. He doesn’t use the truth to hurt us, but He will lovingly guide us to align our lives with His truth because it is the way we were made to be. Living according to His truth is the best way to live.  

Telling the truth is sometimes called “keeping it real” and we can’t be right with God, or each other, and not be real. 

I know from experience that God will make you be real to be right with Him and I also know that to keep the peace and harmony we have with God that we have to keep on “keeping it real” by being honest with Him and continuing to live according to His wisdom.  

Likewise, to keep the peace and harmony we have with others we must find that fine balance of truth and love.  That’s a lot harder with people than it is with God, because people are less than perfect.  We are all on different paths of understanding and maturity and we differ in the amount of truth and love that we are capable of.  Some people don’t have the truth. Some people can’t handle the truth. And others won’t or can’t accept the truth.  

So in all our relationships, we must remember the Lord’s command to love one another. We may have to adjust the amount of truth we dispense but we can always love as Christ did.

Jesus told us to love our enemies but the love we show our enemies may look very different from the love we show to our close friends or family. To keep peace we must use the wisdom and compassion the Lord has given us to find the balance of love and truth in each relationship we face.   

We won’t do it perfectly, but we can learn as we go.  God will show us the way and He will be with us as we take each step into our new lives in Christ.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Today’s verse is every Christians call to action from Jesus Himself.   I

It also shows me that the Lord has a sense of humor as it was only yesterday that my “random” draw of the verse of the day drew Matthew 28:20. So it appears that we are going backwards in the book of Matthew!

But seriously, I believe the Lord interacts with our daily experience because He is sovereign and is in relationship with us. As a sovereign God, He is over and above all creation, directing the course of history for His purposes, and that includes the part we play in His plan too.

As He one day called me out of darkness and unbelief and has since been guiding me to increasing levels of sanctification and understanding, I choose to believe that His presence in my life never ends.   So when I, or you, if you also believe the Lord is with you, receive a Bible verse, message, or theme, that keeps on coming up in our experience, I choose to believe that the Lord is telling me something.  

So what is the Lord telling us?  Well, we are to go make disciples. That means we will have to speak about our faith and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to other people.  We should take every opportunity to let others know, with our words and actions, that we represent the kingdom of God and are ambassadors for Christ. We are to live our lives in a way that people know we are Christians that live by faith. 

I know sharing our faith can be difficult when we focus on how we feel or how we may be perceived by others, but the key to sharing our faith is to just speak the truth about what the Lord has done in our lives and the lives of other Christians that you know.  

Revelation says we overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony, so quote John 3:16 and explain that Jesus was sent to save us. After you do that, tell people how He saved you and what He has done in your life. Leave the results up to God and whether they accept Christ as Savior or not, be pleased that you were faithful to God’s command.   

Our lives of faith are walking expressions of God’s mercy, grace, and love. All we have to do is tell people our story and be prepared to have the Lord use us for His glory.  

 

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 with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness, beginning Chapter 3.

 

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support His work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $15.00:

Theology Before Practicality

The experiences of Claire and Derek illustrate the importance of establishing our Christian lives on what we believe instead of how we behave. We need a firm grip on the truth of God's Word before we will experience much success at practical Christianity. We need to understand who we are as a result of who God is and what He has done. A fruitful Christian life is the result of living by faith according to what God said is true.

The problem is that we try to base our spiritual growth and maturity on practical sections of the Scriptures and spend too little time internalizing the doctrinal sections. For example, Paul's letters tend to fall into two major parts. The first part is generally called the doctrinal section, such as Romans 1-8; Ephes. 1-3; Col. 1-2 and so on. These sections reveal what we need to know about God, ourselves, sin and salvation. The second half of the letters is the practical section: Romans 12-15; Ephes. 4-6; Col. 3-4 and so on. These passages describe what we need to do to live our faith in daily experience.

In our zeal to correct the problems in our lives, we skip the doctrinal first half and jump to the practical second half of God's Word. We want a quick fix, a rule or instruction we can apply like a Band-Aid to make things better. We don't have time to wade through the deep theological concepts of Scripture; we want a practical solution and we want it now.

Perhaps you have already discovered that a Band-Aid approach to daily living doesn't work. Why not? Because you need an adequate foundation of truth to live a practical life of faith. How can you hope to "stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Ephes. 6:11) if you have not internalized that you are already victoriously "raised . . . up with Him, and seated . . . with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus" (Ephes. 2:6)?

How can you rejoice in hope and persevere in tribulation (see Romans 12:12) without the confidence of knowing you have been justified by faith and "have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1)? When your basic belief system about God and yourself is shaky, your day-to-day behavior system will be shaky. When your belief system is intact and your relationship with God is based on truth, however, you will have very little trouble working out the practical aspects of daily Christianity.

Positional and Progressive Sanctification

Most Christians are aware that salvation for the believer is past, present and future tense. By that, I mean we have been saved (past tense; see Ephes. 2:4, 5, 8), we are being saved (present tense; see 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15) and someday we shall fully be saved from the wrath that is to come (future tense; see Romans 5:9, 10; Romans 13:11). We have not yet experienced the totality of salvation, but I believe we can have the assurance of it.

Paul says, "You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory" (Ephes. 1:13, 14). John says, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

In reference to the believer, sanctification is also past, present and future tense. We have been sanctified (past tense, see 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Peter 1:3, 4), we are being sanctified (present tense, see Romans 6:22; 2 Cor. 7:1) and we shall someday be fully sanctified (future tense, see 1 Thes. 3:12, 13; 1 Thes. 5:23, 24). The doctrine of sanctification begins at our new birth and ends in our glorification. Past-tense sanctification is usually referred to as positional sanctification, and refers to the position or the status the believer has in Christ. Present-tense sanctification is referred to as progressive or experiential sanctification.

The positional truth of who we are in Christ is real truth and it is the only basis for the progressive sanctification that follows. Just as the past reality of salvation is the basis for the present-tense working out of our salvation, so is our position in Christ the basis for our growth in Christ. In other words, we are not trying to become children of God; we are already children of God who are becoming like Christ.

It is my firm belief that if we fully appropriated the first half of Paul's Epistles, which establish us in Christ, we would naturally (or supernaturally) live the second half. For a comprehensive study of sanctification see The Common Made Holy, which I had the privilege to coauthor with Dr. Robert Saucy.

Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.

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

 

God bless you all!

 

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, 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

Purity 224

Purity 224 09/26/2020

Good morning today’s photo comes from a friend who set up his “office” at the Rondout Reservoir in upstate NY last weekend.

I am blessed to have so many friends that appreciate getting away from it all and am pleased to share “their views”. So get out there this weekend and keep your eyes open. I know we would all like to see some new places!

I love keeping track of my friends through social media. We all have our separate lives but our friendships and fondness for one another endures through time and distance.

Jesus’ second commandment was to love our neighbors as ourselves and Christ said that we would know His disciples because of the love they have for one another. So when we show our love for our friends we are more like Christ and we realize that love is a part of our faith we should continually practice.

Enjoy your weekend and God bless you all!

 

Purity 222

 

Purity 222 09/24/2020

Good morning,

Today’s photo was captured by a friend who was recently out for a hike and discovered that sometimes we need to look up. When we do we can discover a peace and beauty that we didn’t know was right there available to us.

God put the heavens above us to contemplate something bigger than our immediate surroundings. The beauty and peace that we can experience from the skies above us is only a small reflection of a life that is lived that is in harmony with the One who spoke the universe into existence.

The greatest lesson to be learned in life is that we can have peace with God and live in harmony with Him by accepting Christ as Lord and Savior and walking in His ways.

It can be a hard lesson to learn and perhaps even harder to live out but that’s what we have one another for in the Body of Christ. We support, encourage, and remind one another that God has made a Way and there is nothing to fear in following Him.

I hope to see the familiar, as well as new, faces tonight at Celebrate Freedom as we continue to live a life according to His ways that brings a peace that goes beyond understanding.

Rock Solid Church Basement.

334 Union Street,

Hudson NY 12524.

All are welcome, bring a friend. Turn it around. Celebrate your freedom in Christ, walk in victory!

info.celebratefreedomrocksolidchurch.org

God bless you all!