Seeing the Love and Wisdom of God in Our Experience – Purity 670
Purity
670 03/04/2022 Purity 670 Podcast
Good
morning,
Today’s photo of a simply
magical sunset at Hallet Cove Beach in South Adelaide, Australia comes to us
from Dave Baun Photography as Dave shared this wonder a day ago with the
insight that “There isn’t much that compares to that feeling when you just stop
and take in a good sunset, Even better when it’s an awesome sunset! This one
was epic and very close to home too – beat that!”
Dave is a transplanted American who was led
to find the love of his life on the other side of the world in Australia. His
work in photography and his personal story is an endearing and enduring
testimony of the goodness of God. His
wife Liisa Grace shared their story with me last year and if you want to read
it for yourself and to see the video of Dave’s proposal and their wedding I am sharing
the link to the post from last year that tells it all on today’s blog entry (https://www.mt4christ.org/2021/04/this-is-testimony-of-my-australian.html).
I’m sharing it all today because it is Friday
and I am extremely thankful for all that God has done in my life and because I
am in the midst of living out my own providential love story as I truly believe
that God brought TammyLyn and I together and we are being reunited again this
evening.
Romantic stories and epic sunsets aside, no
matter what your current relationship status is I want to remind you of the
greatest love of all, the love that God has for us that was demonstrated by
Christ coming to earth and paying for our sins so we could be reconciled to and
have peace with God. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the love story that just
keep on going as those who believe and choose to follow the Lord discover that God
is with them wherever they go and that He invites them to experience the fruit
of the Spirit in their lives.
Last night, I heard more testimony about
the love of God as the participants of the Freedom in Christ course I
facilitate spoke about how the Lord was moving in their lives as they have made
the decision to learn more about their relationship with God and to apply the
lessons they are learning to their experience.
One man, who had taken the course
independently a year ago, marveled over how he stepped out in faith and led a
men’s Bible study at his local church this week and how the man he was before
going through the course wouldn’t have even been at a Bible study, let alone
leading one.
The regular leader of the group was out of
town this week and my friend boldly filled in their stead and used one of the
resources from the Freedom in Christ course in his teaching to encourage the
other men to have a true Biblical view of who God is.
Often Christians can have a distorted view
of their heavenly Father because of how their earthly fathers treated them. The
“My Father God” list from the Freedom in Christ Course is a series of
renunciations of the lies that are believed about God and the accompanying proclamations
of who God really is based on the truth of God’s word. For example, the first
couplet says:
I renounce the lie that you, Father God, are distant and
uninterested in me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God, are always
personally present with me, have plans to give me a hope and a future, and have
prepared works in advance specifically for me to do.
One of the men in the Bible study had apparently
had a negative view of God, stating that he felt that sometimes “God had given
him a snake, when he had asked for a fish”.
So with this man in mind, my friend handed
out copies of the “My Father God” list to all the men at the Bible study and
had each man read one of the couplets out loud until the list was completed.
My friend reported that He could see the
Holy Spirit at work in the process, as many of the men seemed visibly affected
as they felt the power of the truth of who their heavenly Father is being proclaimed. Our friend reported feeling great joy at the
results and stands in awe of what the Lord has done in his life and what He did
at the Bible study this week.
If anyone would like that “My Father God”
list, I am sharing a link to a blog post I shared that contains it (https://www.mt4christ.org/2021/10/freedom-in-christ-lesson-7-handling.html).
We invite you to review it or to share
it to help yourself or others draw closer to your heavenly Father.
Another
man in the Freedom in Christ course, shared how this week’s lesson on
forgiveness hit close to home and how he too got to apply what he had learned in
the course to his experience.
This man shared how he and a family member
had been separated in their relationship because of their personal differences of
opinion regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. One party was vaccinated, and the other
wasn’t. The vaccinated party refused to let the unvaccinated party visit them
or their family.
This disagreement kept them divided and as
time progressed the relationship was becoming defined by bitterness as neither
wanted to budge. The division even permeated to other family members who weighed
in with their opinions about how the two parties had been divided!
But by the grace of God, my friend, who
still believes in his stance on vaccinations, was motivated by the lesson on
forgiveness to seek it and to reconcile their relationship. Both parties agreed
to meet and they both offered their apologies and proclaimed their desires to
re-establish the relationship that this rift has caused. Both parties still hold their respective opinions,
but they have made the decision to forgive and to move forward cautiously to
mend the many broken fences and hurt feelings that this episode has caused.
I could see that my friend is still dealing
with the fall out from what has happened and encouraged him to keep going to
where God would lead Him in love and I offered my prayers for a complete resolution
to the problems that still exist in the various relationships that were
affected by this problem.
As I teach and encourage people in pursuing
their freedom in Christ, I remind them often that our walk of faith is not about
perfection its about progress. Perfect resolutions and instant fixes can happen
but often the peace that the Lord has for us is experienced more often after a
process of growth and maturity.
But I know the benefits that come from
exchanging our worldly ways of pride for the humble ways of a Christian
disciple that are instructed by the word of God. And I know that when we take a
step towards God, He takes two steps toward us with open arms and if we keep
walking and taking with God, we will discover that wonders of His loving
embrace as we realize that we are finally with Him and that He has always been
with us.
So as we walk into this last day of the
work week thank God it is Friday and draw closer to the things He has for you
by making the decision to walk with Him, every day.
This morning’s meditation verses are :
Galatians
5:22-23 (NLT2)
22 But the Holy Spirit
produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness,
and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Today’s Bible verses define the fruit of the Spirit that can grow and flourish in our lives when we decide to walk in the Spirit.
As my testimony of the two men in the Freedom in Christ course shows us, when we decide to apply the wisdom of God’s word to our lives it can have dramatic results.
Our first friend got to experience goodness and joy as He was faithful to share the truth about our Father God at his men’s Bible Study.
Our second friend got to experience a measure of peace, and probably an increase in patience, as he gently reached out to reestablish a relationship that was divided by the bitterness of unforgiveness.
“Walking in the Spirit” is the process of living according to God’s ways. It is a process where we challenge the way we think and behave as the world has taught us “that it’s a jungle out there” and that there are “ways that seem right to a man” but the word of God reveals that the ways of the world are in opposition to Lord and lead to death.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and the process of adapting our minds and behaviors to follow the wisdom in the book of Romans, and the other 65 books of the Bible, takes some time. In order to truly walk in the Spirit, we have to open our hearts to develop our emotions and our love for God as well as renew our minds and change our behaviors.
But when we make the counterintuitive choice to actually believe and practice what the word of God teaches us, we discover that these fruit of the Spirit will grow in our lives.
I recently came across a teaching that clarified that the “fruit” that we are to produce in our lives isn’t just the good works that we will perform. As Christians we are supposed to be confirmed to the image of Christ and that indicates that our character is to be transformed. The fruit we need to produce is a character that reflects the fruit of the Spirit. The process is know as sanctification and when we are in Christ, we are in that process.
So keep walking in the Spirit. Challenge and reject the ways of the world and instead choose to follow the Lord and see how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will naturally grow in your life.
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from June Hunt’s Codependency: Balancing an Unbalanced Relationship.
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 his work. This resource is
available on many websites for less than $5.00.
E. Recovery Step #3: Get on the Road to Interdependent Relationships
We all love to see pictures of babies and then to see their stairstep growth
into young adulthood. Built within little, immature children is the ability to
grow to maturity. Why should it be any less for immature adults? They too can
move from their immaturity and develop mature relationships.
Once we understand the goal of each developmental stage for reestablishing
healthy relationships, we can set out to accomplish those goals—without the aid
of earthly parents. Many have done this by "taking the hand" of the
heavenly Father and allowing Him to "re-parent" them. You too can do
this by having a plan and then working your plan with the caring support of
others. It is an enormously important journey with enormously gratifying
rewards. This is the journey God intended for you to take from the beginning.
"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right
hand." (Isaiah
41:10)
- Make it
your goal to develop an intimate relationship with God and to form
interdependent relationships with significant people in your life.
- —Commit
to becoming actively involved in a group Bible study and in group prayer.
- —Commit
to reading God's Word on a daily basis and memorizing Scripture.
- —Commit
to finding an accountability group and a Christian "relationship
mentor" who will be available to you, spend time with you on a
regular basis, be honest with you, and coach you in your relationships.
"Let us not give up meeting together... but let us encourage one
another." (Hebrews
10:25)
- Make a
plan to move toward maturity in your relationships.
- —Ask
God to help you discern where you are stuck in the relationship
developmental stages.
- —Ask
your mentor or another wise person to help you identity your relationship
needs (for example, sharing, problem-solving, listening, negotiating).
- —Ask
your accountability group to hold you accountable to establish appropriate
goals in order to meet each of your relationship needs.
"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:4)
- Make your
relationship with your parents complete.
- —Choose
to resolve any unhealthy patterns with your parents. Break any unhealthy
bond and, if possible, establish mature, adult bonds with each parent.
- —Choose
to not be emotionally enmeshed, needy, or controlled by your
parents. If necessary, separate yourself emotionally until you can
respond in a healthy way with "no strings attached."
- —Choose
to identify and process your "family of origin" problems,
forgive your offenders, and grieve your losses. Say, "That was then;
this is now."
"Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath,
for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." (Romans 12:19)
- Make a vow
to be a person of integrity in thought, word, and deed.
- —Learn
to free yourself of any family secrets—refuse to carry them any longer.
- —Learn
to listen, to say no, to set boundaries, to give and receive, and
to ask for what you need from people.... Then practice, practice,
practice these new, healthy patterns.
- —Learn
to feel your feelings, to express hurt, and to withdraw and think about
what you need to do or say. Write out your action plan; rehearse it; then
do it.
"Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope
fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient
children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in
ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you
do." (1
Peter 1:13-15)
- Make a new
job description.
- —My
job is to discern the character of a person and to respond accordingly
with maturity.
- —My
job is to be a safe person for my friends and family and to be present
and attentive in my relationships.
- —My
job is to take care of myself and to be responsible for myself without
hurting, punishing, attacking, getting even, or lying to myself or to
others.
"I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my
conscience will not reproach me as long as I live." (Job 27:6)
- Make a new
commitment to yourself.
- —I
will let go of the "old," self-centered me because I am growing
into a "new," Christ-centered me.
- —I
will exchange the lies I've believed about myself for God's truth about
me according to His Word.
- —I
will no longer betray myself by making immature choices, and I will
redeem my past, bad choices by making good, mature choices.
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- Make
maturity, not emotional relationships, your highest goal.
- —Focus
on forming friendships in which you are free to learn, grow, and mature,
not emotional attachments that lead to roller-coaster relationships.
- —Focus
on any potential relationships that might trigger your codependent
tendencies and guard your heart from the emotional highs and lows.
- —Focus
on building relationships with trustworthy, mature Christians whose goal
is Christlikeness.
- —During
a severe time of trial, David's dear friend, Jonathan...
"... helped him find strength in God" (1 Samuel 23:16)
Biblical Counseling Keys: Codependency: Balancing an Unbalanced Relationship.
---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”,
"Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts,
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These teachings are also available on the
MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTxjSNstREpuGWuL0bF3U7w/featured
Email me
at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be
encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Facebook
Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean
(https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
Encouragement for the Path of Christian
Discipleship