Walk with Me - Encouraging not Chasing - Purity 626

Walk with Me  - Encouraging not Chasing -  Purity 626

Purity 626 01/12/2022  Purity 626 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a blazing sun peaking through the clouds somewhere along the Florida coastline comes to us from a friend who shared a treasure trove of photos of their recent 12 day holiday get away where they visited Dunedin, Clearwater, St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, and Tampa all for the first time.  I love the stillness that they captured in this photo and because the sun is to the left of center I thought it was a good representation of our being in the beginning stages of getting over the hump of the midweek.  

Yes, It’s Wednesday and after we get past today it’ll all be down hill from there, or at least we can hope.  And for those of us who know their freedom in Christ, we know that we always have a reason for our hope. In Christ we have the assurance of an eternal life in His kingdom and death has therefore lost its sting.  When we know we have a right standing with God and live with this perspective, the problems of this world don’t seem so big because we know that God is with us and will see us through.  

I moderate a Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course Men’s Group each Thursday online and have taught in-person classes in the past.  So people know what I am about and sometimes I am blessed because people will reach out to me to receive counsel.  Tonight I am meeting with a man that has expressed having some measures of success in his Christian walk but seems to still struggle with depression and fear.  

As a teacher, Christian Counselor, and vocal advocate for a lifestyle of Christian Discipleship, I have to be careful when I meet with someone new because I have discovered that all though Christians are all brothers and sisters in Christ we don’t all have the same levels of maturity in our faith because each of our educations, understanding, and experience in Christianity differ. 

Unfortunately, in the past I have felt that I may have tried to teach too much, counsel too much, or encourage too much, because after I have described what worked for me in my faith walk to overcome addictions, depression, and anxiety, the people I have talked to may have determined that “it was just too much” and their lack of follow up proved they, for whatever reason, weren’t on board because they didn’t accept one of the many options I gave to enter into a one-on-one discipleship/accountability relationship, join a class, or to do a periodic email correspondence.  I would offer to cater the encouragement I gave to them at whatever level they wanted but they didn’t accept the invitation.  

Now why didn’t I follow up and pester them until they said yes? Is letting them walk away with out help the Christian thing to do?  

Well, no where in the New Testament do we see Jesus chasing after people saying: “Come on guys, follow me!”   Quite the opposite.  Christ had many hangers on after his miracles and at one point in his ministry his teaching about drinking His blood and eating His flesh sent people heading for the exits.  Did Christ run after them? No, in fact Jesus challenged the Apostles to leave too!

John 6:67-69 (NKJV)
⁶⁷  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
⁶⁸  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
⁶⁹  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

God doesn’t force us to follow Him. We must choose for ourselves. So when someone that we encourage walks away, we can check in to see if they are still interested in coming along beside us but after a while we should accept their “no to be no”  and we can pray for the Lord to convict them and help them.      

As for tonight’s session with this new acquaintance, I plan to take extra time to listen to get to know what their walk is like and to hear some of their history so they can know that I genuinely care about them being set free from their fear and depression.  But I will also encourage them that their freedom is dependent upon their relationship with God more than their relationship with me.  

The One who has the words of eternal life and the One that caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear is the One that can heal them. 

But regardless of the responses I get I will be faithful to encourage everyone who seeks counsel to trust in the Lord to deliver them from their struggles, but I will inform them that their healing and transformation will require them to believe in the Word of God and to apply it to their lives and to faithfully answer the call of the One whose call is simply:

Matthew 4:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹  … "Follow Me..."  

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 John 3:20 (NLT2)
²⁰  Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Today’s verse tells us that God is all knowing and that He is greater than our feelings.  

I love the way the NLT simplifies this verse from the original KJV

1 John 3:20 (KJV)
²⁰  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

When our heart condemns us that is guilt! God being greater than our heart means that He is greater than our feelings!  

This is why I encourage people to consult other versions of the Bible or to consult Bible commentaries to get understanding when they are struggling to know what God’s word is trying to say.  

In the preceding verses (1 John 3:18-19), John is encouraging  us to not just show our love with words but to show it with actions and assures us that our actions will show us that we really are in the Christian faith and that we can be assured of our right standing with God.  

Today’s verse is to answer to the Christian that says : “I know I said I believe and do some Christian things like go to church but I don’t feel like I am a Christian…”   

It tells us that when it comes to our salvation our feelings are not to be trusted, the word of God is to be trusted and believed.  That’s what it means to be saved by faith!  We need to believe it, to trust it, to have faith in it, and live it!   

So if you have doubts about your faith, stand on your confession to make Christ your Lord and Savior and tell yourself: 

“My feelings say that I am no different: But the word of God says in Romans 10:9, that  if I have confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead, I will be saved. I did confess Jesus is my Lord and Savior, I do believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead!  So, I am saved”

In Christ you are accepted, secure, and significant.  But you have to know that and remind yourself of that to feel that.  So I am sharing a link to a PDF of Who I am in Christ from Freedom in Christ Ministries (https://www.ficm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/who-i-am-in-christ05.pdf) that you can meditate on that tells you who you are and that can be used as part of your daily spiritual practice to renew your mind and change your feelings to align with what God says about you.  

We can all feel guilty at times but if we are in Christ, we can simply pray to the Father to forgive us our latest transgressions to take away our guilt and restore our harmonious relationship with God once again.  

So keep walking and talking with God.  Talking to God is reading His word and communing to Him in prayer to seek His wisdom, guidance, and strength continually.  Walking with God is simply realizing that God is with you always and applying His wisdom to your life in the ways that you think and in the ways that you behave.

If you do those two things, you will walk away from guilt, anxiety, fear, and depression as the fruit of the Spirit of peace, love and joy take their place.  God is greater than our feelings and believing what He says about us will give us peace.  

 

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 to share from Dr. Neil Anderson’s . “Restored: Experience Life with Jesus”. Today, we continue sharing from Chapter 4.   

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Neil Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work.

GIVING UP OUR RIGHT TO BLAME

Some people deal with their emotional pain by pointing fingers. “That person violated me” or “I’m suffering because of that person.” While that may be true, it doesn’t resolve the problem. Blaming someone else can be a cover for your own guilt, or it reveals a heart that is more prone to seek revenge than to forgive.

To place the blame on somebody else can be nothing more than an excuse to stay in the bondage of bitterness. The reason that many still feel the emotional pain from the past is because they haven’t forgiven. I can empathize with these people because they have been hurt. But I also care enough to help them realize that bad things happen to good people all the time, and it may happen to them again. I can’t guarantee that a woman will not be sexually assaulted, but I can say that God has a means by which that event doesn’t have to control her for the rest of her life. Nobody can fix your past, but by the grace of God you can be free from it.

Forgiveness is an act of the will whereby we give up our claim to seek revenge for an offense against us. God could have justifiably exercised His wrath against us and all mankind. Instead, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”₇₁ Was it difficult for Jesus to accept His Father’s will? He said to Peter, James, and John, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death,”₇₂ and He cried out, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” The will of our heavenly Father was that Jesus go to the cross, but the grace of God was incredibly evident even in His hour of agony. As Jesus looked down upon those who would crucify Him, He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”₇₃

The Cross reveals the cost of forgiveness and the pain of bearing the penalty of someone else’s sin. At the Cross, Jesus died once for all the sins of the world.₇₄ He paid the penalty for my sins, your sins, and all the sins committed by others against all the people of this world. The victim cries out, “Where is the justice?” It’s in the Cross. Forgiving others would be a moral outrage without the Cross.

In the same manner that God has forgiven us, God wants us to forgive others. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”75 When you face the reality of forgiving others, know that the grace of God will always enable you to do the will of God.

Many Christians try to forgive over and over again, but still feel hurt and confused. They haven’t understood how to forgive from the heart, or they haven’t finished all the Steps, and the process isn’t complete without doing that. Forgiving from our hearts is part of submitting to God, but it will take the rest of the Steps before they are fully ready to resist the devil. People win a major battle going through this Step, but complete freedom doesn’t usually come until the last Step.

GIVE SATAN NO ADVANTAGE

One of the most definitive teachings on forgiveness is in Matthew 18:21-35. Several issues stand out in this passage. First, we are to continue forgiving no matter how many times we have been sinned against. Second, the degree that we have been forgiven by God is far greater than the degree we will ever have to forgive others. Third, repayment is impossible. Fourth, we are to forgive from our hearts or suffer the consequences of being tormented by the accuser of the brethren. If we will not forgive as we have been forgiven, our heavenly Father will hand us over to the torturers (see verses 34 & 35). That’s not because He doesn’t love us; that’s because He doesn’t want us to live in the bondage of bitterness. He wants us to live free and productive lives in Christ. God disciplines those He loves.

Paul warns us about Satan’s entrapment when there is unforgiveness: “Whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes [thoughts].”₇₆ We are not to sin through anger, because that gives the devil an opportunity as well.₇₇

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

 

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

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

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

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Plan on It and Go – Doing All Things Through Christ - Purity 625

Plan on It and Go – Doing All Things Through Christ -  Purity 625

Purity 625 01/11/2022  Purity 625 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a palm tree lined beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida comes to us from a pastor that shared this photo yesterday wishing all his followers on FB to have a Happy Monday and encouraged us all to make it a great week.  After yesterday’s photo of ice covered shores of Lake Ontario, I decided to flip to a southern climate photo to point out that both of these scenes were captured within days of each other and if you suffer from seasonal affective disorder or just “hate the cold and the snow” where you live, you can change your situation and go where snow and icy temperatures aren’t likely to be a part of your winters.  

I know of several friends that resided in New York State and have headed west or south and now enjoy winters free of the white stuff that just happens to be in the forecast today in the form of flurries.  So instead of wallowing in misery of a seasonal depression year after year, make a plan and go.  

Now I know that is a huge step that most of us say will do “someday” but I would just like to point out two things: the brevity of life and the fact that the things we don’t plan for rarely happen.   If we don’t plan to make a change and actually do it, “someday” may never come.

As someone who has been set free of addictions, anxiety, and depression I know that to be healed I had to seek it for myself by seeking the Lord’s help and I “made a plan” to receive it by surrendering myself to God’s will for my life. 

When you know that you are not living right or have habits that cause a fair amount of pain in the aftermath of their pleasures and “know” that you should change your life but feel powerless to change, I would encourage you to go to the Highest power who is over and above all creation: God.  

It was only when I sought the Lord and surrendered to His ways that I was able to have victory over my addictions and to change the way I thought about life.  My thinking before coming to Christ told me that life was meaningless, that I wasn’t good or good enough, and that I lacked the things that would make me happy.   But after I started to accept what the Bible said about who I was in Christ I learned that God has a plan for the eternity, God has a purpose for my life, and I didn’t have to perform to be accepted and didn’t have to seek to manipulate my physical circumstances to have peace and joy.   

I have had several acquaintances through the years that I have walked beside to encourage out of lifestyles of addiction or negative mind states and in every instance where they failed to achieve freedom from their burdens there came a time where they walked away from the supportive environments that would encourage them to trust and follow Him the Lord and instead went back to the world and their old ways of doing things.  

This points out the fact that while it is important to make a plan to change your life, you have to preserve in it and that when we reject the Lord’s ways we end up right back where we were again, if not in a worse state.  

God gives us eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ that means our relationship with God never ends and there is an expectation on his disciples to repent and become conformed to the image of Christ.   We as Christians are to meet that expectation and be transformed in the process.   God doesn’t want you to stay in the same condition that He found you in when you first got saved. He wants you to enjoy an abundant life that is filled with the fruit of the Spirit but in order to make those fruit grow in your life you have to continue to follow Him and grow. 

So as our Pastor friend encouraged us that we had the power “to make it a great week”, I would encourage you that God gives you the power to “make it a great life”! If you want it you have to plan for it and then do it. The way to get there is to get the power that comes through God to strengthen and guide you out of your current situation into where you always wanted to go but never thought you could. 

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
¹³  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

Whether it’s moving out of the snowy weather, or out of addictions and negative mind states, you change your situation but the way you do it is not through your own strength.  You can do a lot but to have long lasting victory and freedom you have to pursue your goals and freedom through Christ who strengthens you.  

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 8:34 (NLT2)
³⁴  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Today’s verse tells us that Christ Himself is at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us and making us free from any condemnation.  

As we stated yesterday, the world, the flesh, and the devil will accuse us, and it works the same way with condemnation.  Low self esteem is the mental health pandemic that is an unseen killer.  Our nation is becoming more and more obese due to people seeking comfort in food rather than seeking the comfort that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

As someone who has had a small measure of victory in the “battle of the bulge” and is still in the process of transitioning to achieve my goal for optimal health, I can tell you that while some eating is mindless habit a lot of it is done to make us feel better because there is a mental dialog going on in our heads that tells us things are hopeless with our weight and that we “don’t care because we are all going to die anyway”.  

These thoughts are the product of low self esteem and are most likely demonically inspired as the enemy loves to condemn people with thoughts that they are “no good, useless, or never going to succeed”.  

But as today’s verse tells us, no one, including ourselves, can condemn us.  If we are in Christ, those condemning thoughts and negative mental dialogs we are running through are lies. We are accepted in Christ. 

And if we are feeding ourselves on condemning thoughts, we will receive negative consequences that affect our emotions and our bodies, just like when we over eat.   

Christ Himself advocates for us and brings us into the kingdom of God. When we get there we have to believe and receive the freedom he gave us by rejecting all accusations and condemnation that come against us and instead stand on the truth of who we are in Christ and live according to God’s ways.  

John 8:36 (NKJV)
³⁶  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

You are free indeed and the best way to experience that freedom in your life is by rejecting all condemnation that may be a mental record you have always been playing in your head or could be the enemy’s repeated attacks.  So renew your mind to agree with who you are in Christ and experience the freedom that comes from a life without condemnation.  

 

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 to share from Dr. Neil Anderson’s . “Restored: Experience Life with Jesus”. Today, we continue sharing from Chapter 4.   

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Neil Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work.

RELEASING BITTERNESS TOWARD GOD

Bitterness toward God is far more common than most people would care to admit. But when they become honest about their anger toward God, another stronghold begins to crumble. They believe God has been unfair and let them down...by failing to answer an important prayer...by allowing them to suffer and not rescuing them...by not endowing them with certain blessings, looks, gifts, abilities, success or financial security.

Obviously, God doesn’t need to be forgiven, because He cannot commit any sin of commission or omission. But we need to destroy “speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God” and take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”₆₈ Satan’s scheme is to turn us against God by raising up thoughts against Him. These deceptive thoughts often sound like God doesn’t love me. He isn’t going to do anything to help me. They cause us to rebel against His Lordship. Satan is defeated when we release God from our own false expectations and stop blaming Him for our own failures and the failure of the Church to adequately equip the saints so they can live a liberated life in Christ.

People don’t always forgive others because of what others did to them; people forgive others for what they think others have done to them. Bitterness isn’t always rooted in reality. It is rooted in their perceptions. Some people put their pastor’s name on their lists for silly reasons like not answering the phone when they called. But the pastor wasn’t home or he would’ve answered the phone! The pastor didn’t do anything wrong, but the person thought he did, so the person needed to forgive him. Roots of bitterness spring up and many are defiled₆₉ because of misunderstandings.

THOUGHTS RAISED UP AGAINST GOD

That is why it is not blasphemous to “forgive” God— because the bitterness is not based in reality but in thoughts raised up against the knowledge of Him. God understands that concept much better than we do because He alone knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. The only way to overcome bitterness is to forgive.

When people have worked through their bitterness toward God, they immediately acknowledge the fact that God hasn’t done anything wrong. It won’t help you to overcome your bitterness toward God by defending Him. First of all, God doesn’t need to be defended. Second, forgiveness starts where people are at. Telling others they shouldn’t feel the way they do toward God or anyone else is futile. They can’t change the way they feel. We’ve participated in a subtle form of rejection when we won’t accept or acknowledge their frustration and pain. If you find “forgiving” God uncomfortable, or if you think it is absolutely wrong, then you might try praying, “Lord, I know You haven’t done anything wrong, but I want to repent of the anger I have against You for....” Angry feelings must be dealt with, or it won’t do much good to go on, because God is your only hope.

Most people won’t submit to God if they are bitter toward Him or think they can’t trust Him. I can only tell you from experience that working through the bitterness toward God brings tremendous healing and restoration. Job is a good example of a believer who repented of anger toward God: “Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.”₇₀ Forgiving others is not a self-righteous activity nor a blaming exercise. It is a humbling and healing experience that faces the hurt and the hate, and then chooses the way of the Cross.

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

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

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

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

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

The Key That Unlocks The Fruit of the Spirit - Purity 621

The Key That Unlocks The Fruit of the Spirit -  Purity 621

Purity 621 01/06/2022  Purity 621 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of another absolutely stunning January sunset over the Hudson River comes to us from yours truly as I knew I just had to pull the car over to capture this sight from the shores of Castleton-On-the-Hudson NY because the light would soon be fading and this wonder would disappear over the horizon.  I am sharing a video I took of this scene on mt4christ.org today if you want to get another “live” view of what I was seeing.  

 Well it’s Thursday, and I normally share a photo of a pathway to encourage people to get on or to keep walking on the path of Christian Discipleship. Technically the Hudson River is a water pathway and I think today’s photo qualifies as a representation of a path to seek the Lord and signifies the wonder and the magnificence that one will experience when they decide to “pick up their cross” and follow Jesus. 

Today I am excited because this evening I will resume teaching Christian Discipleship as I will be hosting a Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course Men’s Group via Zoom!  The possible participants for tonight’s group span the east coast, hailing from as far north as Massachusetts and going as far south as Florida, with other states in between also possibly being represented.  

I say possible participants, because although several men have signed up for the course, they are only participants if they show up at tonight’s Zoom meeting.  I sent out an email this morning to remind and to encourage all the participants to attend tonight’s meeting, saying that a big part of our faith walk as Christians is “showing up”.  

If these men want to learn about and prayerfully experience their Freedom in Christ, it would help them a great deal to show up. Reading books or watching videos on our own can give understanding but I have learned that acts of faith and going into Christian communities to be vulnerable are things God uses to mature us in our faith.   

“Putting your money, where you mouth is” by investing your time and presence to pursue the Lord’s will for your life moves you closer to God and closer to the abundant life in the Spirit that He wants all His children to experience.   

Our friend in the UK, Philip Hand, recently sent me a poem that reflects my sentiments that it is through the Lord that we can find our freedom and that we can reflect God’s glory when we trust in Him and follow where He leads.   Philip’s poem reads:

 

The Key

Let go of your stress

the Lord is our rest.

His presence lifts our heads.

Sorrow and heartache flee,

his love is the key

to the cage that surrounds our hearts.

 

Wonderful is the one who’s crimson pierced hands

holds our lives in the safest of places.

 

The world will see

that we are free

 with the light of the Son on our faces.

-      Philip Hand

So, grab a hold of The Key, our Lord Jesus Christ, to unlock the mystery of life and to find out who you are in Christ, what your purpose in His kingdom is, and how to experience the fruit of the Spirit in your life on a continual basis.  

The peace, love, joy, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control that you are seeking is only found in one place: in a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  To experience it, we have to “pick up our cross” and follow Jesus.  When the Lord calls you to find meaning and purpose for your life, you still have to answer the call. You still have to show up.     

 

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Hebrews 3:14 (NLT2)
¹⁴  For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

Today’s verse speaks of the need for us to persevere in our faith walk and of the rewards to be had.   

One of the  parables of Christ’s refers to the sowing of seed and speaks of some seed that fell on rocky soil that sprang up but quickly wilted and died and others that fell among thorns and were choked out.  

These two types of seeds were explained to be people who heard the gospel and accepted it but who didn’t stay in the faith, pointing to, depending upon your view, either carnal Christians who are saved but aren’t fruitful or it points to false converts, people who say and possibly believe they are Christians but who will be turned away by Christ as someone He didn’t know on judgement day to be cast in the outer darkness of Hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  

Honestly, my interpretation of this parable agrees with what the word says: these seed die and are choked out, so I believe in the second view that people who seem to put their faith in Christ but who walk away from the church and are consumed by the things of this world more than the things of God are spiritually dead and will be lost as their loyalties to the things of this world or their love of themselves over their love for Christ will result in their eternal separation.  

With that said, I also believe that the Lord might not be done yet with some who we would think are unredeemable.  We don’t know how all our stories end yet so we should encourage people to believe in and follow Christ rather than declare that someone is reprobate and eternally lost.  

Knowing these spiritual realities, the author of Hebrews encourages us to be faithful to the end and to trust in the Lord like when we first believed to have the assurance that we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 

We don’t want to fall away or be corrupted by the world, the flesh, and the devil only to discover we really weren’t “in Christ”. 

The key to being faithful to the end is to be faithful today and set the intention to be faithful tomorrow. Our faith is supposed to be a daily spiritual practice and if we keep showing up to connect with God through our spiritual disciplines of gratitude, prayer, Bible study, kindness, and service we will know that “Wow, I really am a Christian!” and we can trust the Lord with our lives and be assured that we will share in all of the things that Christ has for us, both here and now and in His eternal Kingdom. 

So keep walking and talking with God. It’s the recipe for faithfulness and leads to the peace and joy that comes from knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are His children.   

 

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 to share from Dr. Neil Anderson’s . “Restored: Experience Life with Jesus”. Today, we continue sharing from Chapter 3.   

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Neil Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work.

Doctrinal Affirmation

·       I recognize that there is only one true and living God who exists as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is worthy of all honor, praise, and glory as the One who made all things and holds all things together. (See Exodus 20:2-3; Colossians 1:16, 17.)

·       I recognize that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. I believe that He came to destroy the works of the devil, and that He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of them, having triumphed over them. (See John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:15; 1 John 3:8.)

·       I believe that God demonstrated His own love for me in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. I believe that He has delivered me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to His kingdom, and in Him I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (See Romans 5:8; Col. 1:13, 14.)

·       I believe that I am now a child of God and that I am seated with Christ in the heavenlies. I believe that I was saved by the grace of God through faith, and that it was a gift and not a result of any works on my part. (See Ephesians 2:6, 8, 9; 1 John 3:1-3.)

·       I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. I put no confidence in the flesh, for the weapons of warfare are not of the flesh but are divinely powerful for the destruction of strongholds. I put on the full armor of God. I resolve to stand firm in my faith and resist the evil one. (See 2 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:3.)

·       I believe that apart from Christ I can do nothing, so I declare my complete dependence on Him. I choose to abide in Christ in order to bear much fruit and glorify my Father. I announce to Satan that Jesus is my Lord. I reject any and all counterfeit gifts or works of Satan in my life. (See John 15:5, 8; 1 Corinthians 12:3.)

·       I believe that the truth will set me free and that Jesus is the truth. If He sets me free, I will be free indeed. I recognize that walking in the light is the only path of true fellowship with God and man. Therefore, I stand against all of Satan’s deception by taking every thought captive in obedience to Christ. I declare that the Bible is the only authoritative standard for truth and life. (See John 8:32,36; 14:6; 2 Corinthians 10:5; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 John 1:3-7.)

·       I choose to present my body to God as a living and holy sacrifice and the members of my body as instruments of righteousness. I choose to renew my mind by the living Word of God in order that I may prove that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. I put off the old self with its evil practices and put on the new self. I declare myself to be a new creation in Christ. (See Romans 6:13; 12:1, 2; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:9, 10.)

·       By faith, I choose to be filled with the Spirit so that I can be guided into all truth. I choose to walk by the Spirit so that I will not carry out the desires of the flesh. (See John 16:13; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18.)

·       I renounce all selfish goals and choose the ultimate goal of love. I choose to obey the two greatest commandments: to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love my neighbor as myself. (See Matthew 22:37-39; 1 Timothy 1:5.)

·       I believe that the Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and He is the head over all rule and authority. I am complete in Him. I believe that Satan and his demons are subject to me in Christ since I am a member of Christ’s body. Therefore, I obey the command to submit to God and resist the devil, and I command Satan in the name of Jesus Christ to leave my presence. (See Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:19-23; Colossians 2:10; James 4:7.)

There is no way that we can instantly renew our minds. Defense mechanisms and flesh patterns have been learned over time and they have to be unlearned, which will take time. The purpose in this Step is to identify the ways you have been deceived and expose unhealthy ways of thinking and believing. It reveals where you need to grow. You are not hopeless, and you don’t need someone else to do your thinking and believing for you. Such lies have been played over and over again in people’s minds. You must assume responsibility for choosing the truth, regardless of how your emotions feel.

Suppose there is a dirt road leading to your house in the country. If you continually drive over that road the same exact way, ruts will be formed over time. The sun will dry those ruts and make them hard as concrete. The easiest thing is to allow the car to drift along in those ruts. It will be a rough ride compared to the smooth ride that you could have on the surface right beside the ruts. You will immediately feel the resistance on the wheel to return to the ruts in the road when you only make a half-hearted effort to steer out of them.

If you want to get out of the rut, you will have to be totally committed and willing to make deliberate choices. In the same way, if you no longer want to be controlled by the strongholds or “rut thinking” that the world, the flesh and the devil has put in your mind over years, you need to be committed to breaking those strongholds and make deliberate choices based on the truth of God’s Word. You choose; you don’t passively let your old patterns of thinking decide. You take every thought captive in obedience to Christ and choose His truth. This is how we renew our minds—by knowing and choosing the truth, and by letting the Word of Christ richly dwell within us. (See Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:16.)

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

 

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

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

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

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Walking out of the Woods – Leaving Things Behind and Seeking Him – Purity 613

 

Walking out of the Woods – Leaving Things Behind and Seeking Him – Purity 613

Purity 613 12/28/2021  Purity 613 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the of white clouds and blue skies over weather stripped ice coated trees on the edge of Waite Road in Easton NY comes to us from yours truly and my afternoon stroll from this past Sunday.  Let’s face it the weather in upstate New York hasn’t given us too many blue skies as of late, heck they didn’t even last for the duration of that day, so I may be sharing more views from Sunday’s walk in the days ahead.   

Well it’s Tuesday, and I am sharing today’s photo because of its simple beauty and to represent that “we aren’t out of the woods yet” in so many ways.  

Spiritually, as Christians, even though we just finished celebrating Jesus’ coming as a babe in a manger on Saturday, we are still awaiting His second coming where he will come to rule and regain as King. 

In terms of the days on the calendar, we are quickly moving out of December and 2021, but we still have a few days until we get there and still have time to possibly get some business finished and resolve some things before the new year. 

In terms of the season, we may be past the winter solstice and the darkest day of the year and will experience increasing light that will peak at the spring equinox on March 20, 2022, but we still have to walk through a few months of winter to get there.    

And as the news will tell you, although many measures have been instituted to try to control “Covid-19”, and now all of its derivatives, we are apparently still not out of the woods yet of the pandemic according to the media.  Yesterday’s post spoke of my concerns of whether or not people’s fear of death would ever allow us to be “out of the woods” of Covid-19 protective measures and tried to encourage that we seek the Lord and speak of the protection and eternal life that comes through faith in Christ to a world that desperately needs it but that may claim to know better.

In truth, our lives are continuous, and we will always be in the process of leaving or entering wilderness periods in our lives as we face the changing situations that come with the passing of days.  

As we are bearers of the message of God’s light and truth that has been revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, sometimes it is extremely challenging to continue walking out our faith and speaking the truth of hope that only comes through Jesus. 

Christians are villainized as ignorant, unloving, intolerant, unscientific, hateful, backwards, and legalistic for the message of the exclusivity of Christ to save and for agreeing with what the word of God defines as sin.    

As much as we would like to please others and just to “get along” with everyone, Christ’s example shows us that we are to stand for the Truth of God’s word and not compromise our convictions. 

The bad news is that, even though we have been forgiven and made spiritually alive because our faith in Jesus Christ, we can still make mistakes and falter in the things we do and the words we say.  

However, the good news is that when we make mistakes we can take corrective action and seek to reestablish our harmony with God by asking for His forgiveness once again and choose to turn again to His truth and His ways for living. 

This process of seeking to know God and to make Him known in the ways we think and act, and the many adjustments that we will make as we progress into the future, is what is referred to as ‘walking in the Spirit” or “being conformed to the image of Christ”. 

It is not always clear sailing of the high seas of Christian Discipleship, and we often find ourselves in conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil as we try to walk it out our Christian faith.     

Jesus promised persecution to His followers. So we can expect to be bruised and battered on occasion as we go, but as Christ’s disciples we really don’t have a choice but to continue on and to speak the truth in love knowing that the world will hate us because it hated Jesus too.  

So today I would just encourage us all to think about the final days of this year and if possible use the time that remains before the new year to resolve issues that we would like to leave behind in 2021 and seek to prepare ourselves for the hope of yet another “new beginning” in 2022. 

We may be able to put somethings to rest. We may be able to get rid of somethings that weigh us down that we don’t want to carry anymore.  We may be able to take some steps into a direction that leads to increasing freedom and victory.   

Although we can’t control the situations and people in our lives, we can control what we put our hearts, minds, and efforts to.  I would encourage you that the best plan for your life involves coming into agreement with what the word of God says and seeking the purpose that God has for your life.  

Christ encouraged us to look past this world and seek His heavenly Father’s ways for living. 

In Matthew 6:33 (NKJV), Christ told us to
³³  … seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

“All these things” was referring to the things we need in life, and our seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness would result in us receiving them. 

In Matthew 7:7 (NKJV), Jesus again encouraged His disciples to:
⁷  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Christ encourages us to actively seek and ask for what He has for our lives and, as this verse indicates, when we seek and ask for it, God will give it to us.   

So look at the remaining days of 2021 and contemplate what needs to be left behind to draw closer to what Lord has for your life.  As a fellow disciple of Christ, I encourage you to know that what Christ said is true and that when you seek and ask for it you will receive all the things that God has for you.  

So although we might not be out of the woods yet in many ways, keep walking and talking with God because His ways are the best ways, and He will guide you out of the wilderness and bring you to where you should be.

 

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is: 

Ephesians 1:22 (NLT2)
²²  God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.  

Today’s verse makes it clear that Jesus is in control, and it reminds us that is a good thing for the church.  

Jesus proclaimed the truth of this verse in one of the concluding verses of Matthew’s gospel, when He said in:

Matthew 28:18 (NKJV)
¹⁸  … "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

This spiritual reality will become clear and will ultimately come to bear when Christ returns to reclaim and judge the earth but the truth of this reality exists here and now and can be experienced when we come into a covenant relationship with Jesus and share in His authority as Christians. 

That’s why this verse in Ephesians speaks of the fact that Christ’s receiving authority over all things is for the benefit of the church.  It is for the benefit of the church because we can claim and utilize the authority that Christ has over all things.  

While God may bless us by using Christ’s authority to answer our prayers to give us the desires of our hearts or to give us the gifts of the Spirit, the most profound way that the church can benefit from Christ’s authority over all things is in the area of personal sanctification. 

Christ’s authority is used for God’s purposes, not our personal desires.  So while we might not be successful in claiming Christ’s authority over all situations and in influencing other people because of our lack discernment or wisdom, the word of God states that our sanctification is God’s will for our lives.  

So we can claim the victory over sin and death that Christ’s authority has given us to conquer our fear of death and to align our thoughts and behavior to be more like Christ’s.   

Exercising Christ’s authority over our lives is just a matter of knowing who we are in Christ, believing what the word of God says, and applying it to our lives in our thoughts and actions.  

We most benefit as the church when we exercise Christ’s authority to be more like Him and to encourage others to join His kingdom and us as we seek to do His will for our lives.     

So claim the authority that Christ has intended for our benefit and use it for good in our lives and for God’s purposes. 

 

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 to share from Dr. Neil Anderson’s . “Restored: Experience Life with Jesus”. Today, we continue sharing from Chapter 1.    

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Neil Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work.

SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH FAITH

The only way we can enter into this new life is by putting our faith and trust totally in God and relying on the work of Christ alone to save us. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”₂₁ If you have never received this free gift from God, why don’t you do so right now? God knows your heart, and you can respond to Him by praying:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. I acknowledge that I have sinned and that I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus came to give me eternal and spiritual life, and by faith I now choose to receive You into my life as my Lord and my Savior. By the power of Your indwelling presence, enable me to be the person You created me to be. I pray that You would grant me repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, so that I can experience my new identity and freedom in Christ and be transformed by the renewing of my mind. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. Amen.

The Apostle John wrote, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”₂₂ “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.”₂₃ Jesus instructed His disciples to address our prayers to, “Our Father who is in heaven,”₂₄ which also means that we are His children. Knowing who you are as a child of God is critical for your growth in Christ and in becoming the person God intends you to be. No person can consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with what they believe about themselves. That is why the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.₂₅ Our heavenly Father wants us to know that we are His children.

Yet Jesus came not only came to die for our sins and give us new life in Him, but also to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.₂₆ He gave us life, and this life gives us our true identity as children of God. He meets our needs of acceptance, security, and significance as follows:

IN CHRIST

I am accepted:

John 1:12            I am God’s child.

John 15:15          I am Jesus’ chosen friend.

Rom 5:1               I have been made holy and accepted by God (justified).

1 Cor 6:17            I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit.

1 Cor 6:20            I have been bought with a price-- I belong to God.

1 Cor 12:27          I am a member of Christ’s body, part of His family.

Eph1:1                I am a saint, a holy one.

Eph 1:5               I have been adopted as God’s child.

Eph 2:18              I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.

Col1:14                I have been bought back (redeemed) and forgiven of all my sins.

Col 2:10               I am complete in Christ.

I am secure:

Rom 8:1, 2           I am free forever from punishment (condemnation).

Rom 8:28             I am assured that all things work together for my good.

Rom 8:31F           I am free from any condemning charges against me.

Rom 8:35F           I cannot be separated from the love of God.

2 Cor 1:21            I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.

Col 3:3                 I am hidden with Christ in God.

Phil 1:6                I am sure the good work God has started in me will be finished.

Phil 3:20              I am a citizen of heaven.

2 Tim 1:7             I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Heb 4:16              I can find grace and mercy in time of need.

1 John 5:18         I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I am significant:

Matt 5:13             I am salt and light for everyone around me.

John 15:1-5         I am a part of the true vine, joined to Christ and able to produce much fruit.

John 15:16          I have been handpicked by Jesus to bear fruit.

Acts 1:8               I am a personal witness of Christ’s.

1 Cor 3:16            I am God’s temple where the Holy Spirit lives.

2 Cor 5:17            I am at peace with God, and He has given me the work of making peace between Himself and other people. I am a minister of reconciliation.

2 Cor 6:1             I am God’s co-worker.

Eph 2:6               I am seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

Eph 2:10              I am God’s workmanship.

Eph 3:12              I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Phil 4:13              I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

All these statements are true because of our union with God. This new life in Christ, which is our union with God, is most often referred to in the Bible as being “in Christ” or “in Him.” For every verse in the Bible that talks about Christ being in God’s children, there are ten verses that talk about God’s children being “in Christ.” For instance, the six chapters of the book of Ephesians contain forty references to being “in Christ.” In total, there are 27 books in the New Testament. The first four are historical and are called the gospels, which describe the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The fifth book of Acts is an historical book depicting the life of the early church and the work of the Apostles, who also wrote the rest of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These Epistles provide instruction for the church, which is the living body of Christ. The entire Bible was written over a period of 1400 years by forty different authors who all wrote under the inspiration of God. The Bible is therefore the authoritative Word for life and practice of all God’s people. After Jesus was resurrected, He appeared to His disciples and hundreds of others who were still alive when the New Testament was being written.₂₇ He was with them for around fifty days, and then went home to Heaven. He now sits at the right hand of God the Father, which is the spiritual throne and the seat of authority for the universe.

After Jesus was glorified in Heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to all those who believe in the finished work of Jesus. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit came at the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which marks the beginning of the Church. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth₂₈ and dwells in every believer the moment they are born again spiritually. The Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth, and that truth will set you free.

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

 

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

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

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

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship