Less Light? - Dancing in the Dark - Purity 570
Purity 570 11/06/2021 Purity 570 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of the last light of sunset over the Oswego River in downtown
Oswego NY comes to us from Celestial Blue Photography who captured this shot on
Friday night before we were given back the hour that we had “lost” when we sprung
forward into daylight savings time way back on March 14th.
My question is: can’t we just leave well enough alone?
I don’t particularly care for bright mornings and was doing just fine
with the sun at the latter half of our days. Now when we get out of work this
evening the daylight will be dwindling if not completely gone!
This transition of daylight savings time could cause us to think that
there is less light and the idea of things getting darker could cause us to be
drawn into despair. Also, seasonal
affective disorder is a thing!
So take lots of vitamin D and invest in a sun lamp if you know you
struggle with depressive tendencies that come with the “darkening days”, but I
would also suggest that you do two things that will give you a foundation upon
which you can stand every day to have peace and joy even if the sunsets at 4:41
pm, as it is scheduled to do so today.
1.
Put your faith in Christ and recommit yourself to following Him
every day.
Our relationship and peace with God come through faith in Jesus Christ.
If we have put our faith in Christ and remind ourselves to follow His lead and
example for life we can not only be assured of our eternal security beyond this
life, or when He returns to establish a new heaven and a new earth, but we can
be assured that our conduct and direction for life is what it should be.
When we consider the big picture, the little things don’t bother us so
much. When we consider the things of God, the things of man are put in their
proper perspective. Jesus has given us eternal life and His ways are righteous
and good. So rest in that truth and walk in His ways.
2.
Thank the Lord for all the blessings of your life every day. Make
gratitude a daily and continual practice.
It’s November so the focus in a couple of weeks will be on the American
holiday of Thanksgiving, but we should not only be thankful on a single feast
day each year. God has not only provided us with everything we have which
includes:
· Our minds, with its
intellect, creativity, insights, perspective, and sense of humors
· Our bodies – with its
health and the abilities to move, perform work, exercise, sense pleasure and
feel pain
· Our relationships – the
love of family, friends, and pets, those who help, teach, inspire, or challenge
us
· Our environment – our
nations, weather, natural beauty, and resources to live
But He has given us the ability to think about and meditate about them
to give us peace.
So if we think about all the different facets of our lives and about all
the things we do have rather than the things we may not have, we can be
anchored in contentment and have joy over the abundant lives we already are
living.
So even though it may seem like there is less light in the world because
of this transition with the clocks, let me assure you that there is a light
that shines in the darkness that can never be extinguished. The
light of the hope we have in Christ shines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and
365 days a year.
Jesus gives us peace with God and victory over sin and death. We need not fear where all this going for we
are assured that all things work together for good for those who love God and
are called for His purposes.
So remind yourself of the love God has for you and the love you have for
Him and that your life is in the palm of His hand and that He has a purpose for
you, even in what you may consider to be a simple life.
So rejoice in the hope you have in Christ that is available to stand in
every day. Knowing that you are secure because of your faith in Christ and
realizing all the blessings you have each day, can fill you with joy even in the
worst circumstances and cause you to dance even in the dark.
Today’s Bible verses
are drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verses
are:
Deuteronomy 11:16-17 (NLT2)
16 “But be careful. Don’t let
your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the LORD and serve and worship other gods.
17 If you do, the LORD’s anger will burn against you. He
will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to
produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the LORD is giving you.
Today’s verses encourage God’s people not
to turn away from the Lord and promises dire consequences for those who do.
We have to be careful when we go to the Old Testament for inspiring
verses because verses like today’s verses in Deuteronomy were spoken to a
certain people at a certain time and while we can draw general principles of
faith from all of Scripture we have to realize when some of it doesn’t necessarily
apply directly to our situation.
The history of God’s chosen people in
the Old Testament, the nation of Israel, details God’s interactions with them
in which He selects them, blesses them, and seeks to instruct them in how they
should live through His revelations to the prophets who were used to compose the
word of God.
God warns his people more than once to
obey His commands and not to go and “worship other gods”. But unfortunately,
the nation of Israel would forget how the Lord blessed them and would go astray,
and even though there were always some that remained faithful to the Lord at
all times, the nation as a whole was judged and afflicted with negative
circumstances time and time again and that eventually lead to the destruction
of their country and their exile to the Babylonian kingdom. So the negative consequences in today’s verse
were very real promises that were fulfilled a few times in the history of Israel.
But because God is faithful, He restored
the nation of Israel and used their people to bring forth the Messiah, Jesus
Christ, through whom all people can be saved and made righteous.
So while Christians may think that today’s
verses don’t apply to them because the context refers to the nation of Israel,
the general principle of following the Lord’s instruction of not turning to
other gods and suffering negative effects for doing so should still be heeded.
The Bible teaches us that God is sovereign
and that we are to worship no one and nothing else. It also documents how people who would turn
from worshipping the one true God would suffer in all kinds of ways.
So we too as Christians should be true
to the Lord and worship and follow Him only.
Our lives before Christ were hopeless and full of the futility of trying
to find meaning and lasting peace and happiness without God. The word of God and our own experience before
Christ should teach us that it is not wise to worship other gods or to decide not
to follow the Way, The Truth, and the
Life that we found in Christ.
So heed the warning and thank God that
He was gracious to show you the Truth and make you a part of His royal
family. Live a life of faith in Jesus Christ
and be like an Old Testament prophet by warning those you encounter in the
world, with love and concern, that there are very real and dire consequences
for those who disparage God’s offer of the grace and mercy that He makes
available in Jesus Christ.
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 begin sharing from June Hunt’s “Evil and Suffering… Why? Is God Fair?
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work.
Evil and Suffering... Why?: Is God Fair?
By June Hunt
Introduction
If honest, we have all said in our hearts, Why? It's just not fair! God,
why would You allow...? The why's in life are bewildering on this
side of heaven and require a true knowledge of and deep faith in the character
and the heart of God.
At times life is simply not fair! In fact, most people have muttered, "Why?
Why would God allow something so cruel... so evil?" Where was He?
Doesn't He care? Left unanswered or incorrectly answered, these questions often
become the basis for denying the existence of God or rejecting the goodness of
God—or both. We can give thanks that God has given us insight into truth
through His Word and His dealings with humanity. This truth not only validates
the existence of God, but confirms the goodness of God. Nowhere in Scripture is
the fairness of God more poignantly addressed than in the book of Job. In spite
of his severe losses, Job posed a profound question—a question for all of us to
consider in times of tragedy.
"Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10)
I. Definitions
In the space of about 5 minutes, Job and his wife had lost all of their
immediate family—every one of their sons and daughters—and all of their wealth
and their entire livelihood. They went from plenty to poverty, from wealth to
want, from happy to heartbroken. How would you respond to the stark realization
that you had just lost everything of value to you in this world? Would you view
God as fair? Would you consider Him good? Like Job's wife, you might be tempted
to say,
"Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9)
A. What Is "Evil"?
A mass murderer, a cruel torturer, a child abuser—all represent what we know
and hate about evil. Some people say, "Well, I may not know how to define
evil, but I know it when I see it!" Is this true? Consider the following
definitions:
- Evil is
the corruption of good...
- —The
absence of good, when good should be present
"Turn from evil and do good." (Psalm 37:27) - —The
departure from the way life ought to be
"God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:14)
Illustration:
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate fruit from the tree that God said was
forbidden to them, they experienced an irrevocable separation from the way of
life they had previously known. (Read Genesis chapter 3.)
- Evil is
a moral choice of bad over good, arising from badness of character. In
Greek, the word kakia,
which suggests "badness in character," means "wicked,
depraved" and "morally reprehensible" and
therefore represents...
- —A
violation of the will of God
"Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." (James 1:21) - —A
perversion of the Word of God
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20)
Illustration:
"The evil one," Satan, perverted the Word of God when he tempted
Jesus in the wilderness.
"The devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the
highest point of the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw
yourself down. For it is written: "He will command his angels concerning
you, And they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your
foot against a stone." Jesus answered him, 'It is also written: "Do
not put the Lord your God to the test."'" (Matthew 4:5-7)
- Evil is
that which causes evil. The Greek word poneros denotes "evil that causes evil,"
an evil that causes pain and suffering, as seen when...
- —An
evil person causes evil
"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." (Matthew 12:35) - —An
evil spirit causes evil that leads to an evil generation
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." (Matthew 12:43-45)
Illustration:
An evil King Manasseh caused evil to spread throughout the whole of Judah.
"Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has
done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin
with his idols." (2 Kings 21:11)
Question: "If God made all things, doesn't that
mean He created evil?"
Answer: No.
Realize these significant truths:
- Evil is
not a thing, but rather is—a condition resulting from the improper
use of or perversion of a good thing.
- Evil
exists in something else, something it corrupts—corrupted goodness.
—A good knife can be used by an evil man to commit murder. - Evil is
the absence of good. It is an intruder brought in by human beings. Evil
was not created by God. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God by eating
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, evil was introduced to
God's world.
—Evil is not the opposite of good but the absence of good. - Everything
God created was good, but the intentional wrong choices of Adam and Eve
resulted in an aberration of the good things God had created...
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)
Question: "Does God cause evil?"
Answer: No.
God cannot ever cause evil. God cannot do anything that is contradictory to His
character. The Bible clearly teaches that God is good. Since evil is the
corruption of good, it is impossible for God to do anything evil...
"You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked
cannot dwell.... Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.
Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not
seen God." (Psalm
5:4; 3 John 11)
Question: "Why should I believe in a God who
allows evil?"
Answer: The
often unspoken question behind this question is Does God really care that I
am hurting?
The answer to both questions can be clearly seen in God's actions.
- God cares
about your hurts to the extent that He willingly suffered in order both to
identify with you and to save you.
—The beauty of Christ's crucifixion is that God—on your behalf—voluntarily suffered at the hands of evil people. - Although
evil and pain are the result of human choices and not the result of God's
choices, God does not subject His creation to something He is unwilling to
endure Himself.
—When you undergo loss, rejection, illness, or pain, remember that God knows how you feel from His own personal experience... and He hurts with you.
Realize, when God became a man, He entered fully into fallen humanity and
thus fully experienced the suffering of humanity, except that He was without
sin.
"In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom
and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation
perfect through suffering." (Hebrews 2:10)
Biblical Counseling Keys - Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling Keys:
Evil and Suffering... Why?: Why God? Why?.
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