Hey Universe? – Let me tell you about my Jesus! – Purity 650

 Hey Universe? – Let me tell you about my Jesus! –  Purity 650

Purity 650  02/09/2022  Purity 650 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of yesterday’s sunset over the frozen Hudson River from the vantage point of my back yard in Stuyvesant NY comes to us from yours truly as the sun’s dwindling light over the horizon seemed to be calling me to peak around my house and to capture the moment.  Part of me wanted to remove the propane tanks and the decorative well from the photo in some way but I decided to share this photo as is because “it was what it was” and “it is what it is” and whatever inspired me to capture this photo told me that appreciating beauty isn’t always about focusing on the things that are perfect and that life is a beautiful thing that may have some things that may not be pretty but can be useful or necessary all the same.  

The propane tanks fuel my generator so if the power goes out those unsightly tanks are deeply appreciated and the decorative well while it serves no functional purpose has a charm of its own and does cover up the not so picturesque cylindrical hub that actually is the well to my home.  

Well, it’s Wednesday again and while I didn’t share a mountai to represent making it to the mid-week hump, I think I caught the setting sun more or less in the middle of this photo to visually represent the week’s mid-way point.    

You know that “pull” or call  that took me out of the “middle” of going into my house at the end of yesterday’s workday and the view that I found reminds me of something I saw one of my friends post on FB a few days ago.   

This friend apparently had car trouble on a particularly cold day and was sharing a post to report it in which they stated, “Hey universe!” bordered by a couple of middle fingers emoji to express their displeasure with these unfortunate circumstances.  I know they are a follower of Eastern Mysticism, and I was amused because while their “pseudo religion/philosophy” of life would normally explain the outcomes of their life as a result of their ”karma”, their misfortune was not accepted with patience or lovingkindness and their response seemed to be less than “enlightened” and not to be in “harmony with the universe.”   

Now while my friend blamed his misfortune on the impersonal universe, I would like to point out that in capturing today’s photo I could have also easily fallen into the trap of personalizing the universe as I enjoyed a pleasant experience with God’s creation, where I could have wrongly assigned a divine status to the universe itself, elevating the creation over the creator.   

As someone who was lost in the form of Eastern Mysticism known as Buddhism for years, I personally know the real danger of doing away with God in light of living with a world view of cosmic cause and effect where there are no judgements of right and wrong and where “things just happen” in some mystical form of “what goes around comes around”.   

For those who feel that Christianity fails to address “karma”, I would say that the facts of a Sovereign God who created and shapes the destiny of His creation and rewards those who diligently seek Him and who judges and punishes the wicked, with Bible verses that tell us that we “reap what we sow”, more than adequately answers the questions that Eastern Mysticism, and systems of belief that make a god out of the universe, bring up.  

When I meet people from our western culture that fall into these pantheistic belief systems, I usually get the idea that they were disappointed in, or not adequately taught the truth that, Christianity teaches, which accurately displays the personal God who developed a redemptive plan and gave us a tangible expression of His “personhood” in Jesus Christ.  

I know when I was lost in Buddhism, I was so mad at God and viewed Him as cold, judgmental, and uncaring that I decided for myself that He didn’t exist and that I would only focus on the good I could see in His created order rather than deal with His reality and my sin.       

But the Lord reached me through a radio message that told me the truth about Jesus and what God’s plan for mankind means in light of the gospel. It means God is alive, holy, and good and He loves us.     

When I run into friends that don’t believe, like I didn’t, I so want to express to them how our relationship with God isn’t about our performance or pleasing some angry uncaring God. Our relationship with God is a love relationship and the one in the wrong in that relationship is us. We have run from God, and He sent Jesus to show us what He is like and to save us from ourselves.   

Jesus told His disciples, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.  Jesus’ love, care, holiness, power, and goodness reflect the truth about God. 

So if you are angry at God, or just doubt His existence, look at Jesus and you will know what He is like.  

For those of you who are shouting “Hey universe”,  I want to share the lyrics to “My Jesus” by Anne Wilson to assure you that God is good, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The song’s chorus says:

 

… He makes a way where there ain't no way
Rises up from an empty grave
Ain't no sinner that He can't save
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
His love is strong, and His grace is free
And the good news is I know that He
Can do for you what He's done for me
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
And let my Jesus change your life

… Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Amen

The love of God has changed my life. Jesus has saved me and led me out of the darkness of my life that was full of shame, guilt, anger, fear, depression, and confusion. The Bible tells the story of God and how He sent His Son to show mankind who He is and how He loves us and wants us to be set free from sin and death.  

Stop screaming to “the universe” and look to the God who created it and thank Him for all the good you have ever known because He provided it and then ask Him to show you who He is and what your purpose in life is supposed to be.  

God loves you and merely asks that you walk with Him to see all there is to see and the beauty that awaits you just around the next corner when you answer His call and open your eyes to see Him.   

 

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

This morning’s meditation verse is:

2 Corinthians 5:6 (NLT2)
⁶  So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.

Today’s verse speaks of the confidence we can have when we are walking by faith and of the assurance that there is a future fulfillment of being at home with the Lord that we can look forward to.    

The previous verse in this passage of scripture speaks of the fact that God has prepared us for the glorification of our dying bodies by giving us the guarantee of the Holy Spirit.  

When we place our faith in Jesus, we receive spiritual life and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who testifies to our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16), meaning, yes indeed, we have been saved, we have been forgiven, we are really Christians, and have all the promises of God given to us.   

That’s why we can be confident.  Our lives change the moment we trust in Jesus, and we experience the new life in the Spirit progressively as we continue to believe the truth of the gospel and start following the Lord by applying His wisdom and ways to our lives.  

If you don’t “feel” like a Christian, it’s probably because you don’t believe it or doubt it and it is almost certainly because you are not living like one.   

So grab a hold of that confidence, by grabbing a hold of your identity in Christ and by turning from the world’s ways and embracing God’s way for living.   

When you do that you will enjoy the benefits of the assurance of your salvation and the fruit of the Spirit in your life.  

But today’s verse also addresses our life with God in eternity. So yeah, due to the nature of the world and the temporary state of our physical bodies, we will suffer here on earth even though we are walking in the Spirit.  

Negative circumstances and people can bring us down.  The state of our health can cause us pain and discomfort.  While we can rise above a lot of these sufferings through the practice of our faith, today’s verse encourages us that these suffering will one day end when we eventually find our home with the Lord where we will receive glorified bodies and where there will be no more pain, weeping, or death.    

So be confident knowing that you have the Spirit of God in you to empower your walk through life  but also rejoice that no matter how good or bad we have it on the earth, the Lord will one day welcome us to a more glorious state when we are welcomed into His eternal kingdom where we will know what it is like to finally be home, for good!  

 

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 begin sharing from Chapter 8.  

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.

CHAPTER EIGHT - OVERCOMING ANCESTRAL SINS

The last issue that needs to be resolved is related to ancestral sins that are passed on from one generation to another and spiritual attacks that come from the enemy. This step is crucial for those who come from very dysfunctional families or families involved in cults or the occult. This step breaks the final links of bondage that have chained you to your past. You cannot passively take your places in Christ; you must actively choose to accept yourself as a new creation in Christ and take your place in the family of God.

THE INFLUENCE OF HERITAGE

Unless we make concerted efforts to do otherwise, we will perpetuate the habits, customs, and traditions passed on in our families for generations. The families we were born into and the way we have been raised shaped our present beliefs and behaviors. Some of those family traits can be very good, and others not so good. Jesus said, “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”₁₄₈ Our personalities and temperaments have been mostly established by the time we are five years old, and nobody has contributed more to our early development than our parents.

This generational connection is clearly observed in cycles of abuse. The abused become abusers. This cycle is passed on genetically, environmentally and spiritually. First, we can be genetically predisposed to certain strengths and weaknesses. However, that does not make us alcoholics, or drug addicts, or gay. We took on those traits by the choices we make, but some may be more vulnerable than others due to genetic differences.

Second, the environment we were raised in is the biggest contributor to our development. This process of learning is more caught that taught. The actions of our parents have spoken louder than their words. If you were raised in a home where pornography was left around the house, you will struggle with lust more than the person who was raised in a morally responsible home. Mental strongholds are formed primarily from the environments in which we were raised. By environment, I mean the friends we had, the neighborhoods we played in, the churches we went to (or didn’t go to) and the parents (or single parent or guardian) who raised us.

The third contributor to our development is spiritual. In the Ten Commandments, God said, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”₁₄₉ God blesses those who are obedient to His covenant to the thousandth generation but the iniquities of those who are disobedient are passed on to the third and fourth generations.

 

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

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

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

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

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 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

Light My Fire and Move Me into doing Uncommon Things – Agreeing to Walk in the Spirit - Purity 628

 

Light My Fire and Move Me into doing Uncommon Things – Agreeing to Walk in the Spirit -  Purity 628

Purity 628 01/14/2022  Purity 628 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a roaring fire on what was a 16 degree night last weekend comes to us from a friend who did the uncommon thing of having a campfire meal of steak and local vegetables on a January night where few would follow his example. But the company of their significant other and the heat of the fire seemed to enough to warm their bodies and hearts as they felt cozy with what they called “low key relaxation”.  I would have said it was low degree relaxation.  But seriously,  I have a lot of respect for people who do the uncommon thing and don’t let their surrounding circumstances prevent them from enjoying their lives.  

Well, it’s Friday and we can thank the Lord for the day and the weekend ahead and I invite you to consider doing something with your weekend that isn’t common.

Last night I had the honor of leading a Zoom meeting with a group of men who have all decided to do what has become an uncommon thing.  They have decided to follow the Lord’s will for their lives by trusting Him to help them to overcome their personal and spiritual conflicts to experience their freedom in Christ. They begun the Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course from Freedom in Christ Ministries and although we are only in our second week, one of the participants already has given a testimony of achieving a victory over a personal struggle because they put into practice what they learned from the course.   Before ending the meeting last night I encouraged all the men that they could experience their freedom and have similar victories if they would apply the teachings, which are based on the word of God, to their lives.  

I also encouraged them with the knowledge that when they came to faith in Christ they received the Holy Spirit, and He communicates with us in three ways:

1.    Communion – When we come to the Lord in prayer, worship, or Bible Study and we feel the presence of the Lord or especially close to God the Holy Spirit is manifesting His presence and moving us into closer relationship with God by revealing things about God that we didn’t fully grasp or understand. 

2.    Conscience – After coming to Christ, sinning ain’t like it used to be! Our consciences tell us that our sinful behaviors are in opposition to who we are in Christ. And if we commit ourselves to follow the Lord, we have a heightened sensitivity to sin and have a motivation to forsake it. The Holy Spirit is the one that is convicting our consciences to turn to God’s ways.

3.    Intuition – Who ever said that our faith walk was one sided communication?  If we are walking in the Spirit, we will receive intuitions that will lead us to do good works or do uncommon things like talk to someone about Jesus or to pray for someone.  The leadings of the Holy Spirit never lead us into sin. They lead us to do good things or to impart knowledge to others and when we follow the Spirit’s lead we never regret it because we have the assurance that, regardless of the results, we were faithful to the Lord’s call. 

I encouraged the men that although the choice to follow the Lord may result in negative responses from the world, and even family and friends, their choice to agree with the Lord about how they should live and actually apply it to their lives may be uncommon but it will be the choice that leads to the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. 

To end the meeting we read through the Who I Am in Christ resource (https://www.ficm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/who-i-am-in-christ05.pdf)  that is a list of statements that proclaim the truth of God’s word about our condition of being accepted, secure and significant when we are in Christ.  I read the scripture references for each statement and discovered that for many of the verses there was a condition to the promises that God would fulfill. The condition was to be faithful and to live according to the Lord’s ways. The condition was to follow Him.   

Many times Christians live mostly in the world and rest on God’s forgiveness of their sins and remain unchanged and struggle with the same things they did before coming to Christ.     

Christian Counselor, J.E. Adam’s note on Proverbs 28:9  provides some hard truth regarding seeking the Lord’s favor in prayer when your heart is not His or if you are not following Him. He writes:  

“It does no good to urge an unbeliever to pray about his problem. Because biblical counselors seek change that pleases God, nothing that an unbeliever does (short of repentance) will be accepted by Him (cf. 2:14b, 22; Rm 8:8). The prayer of rebellious believers is likewise ineffectual (1 Pe 3:7).”

I hate to be blasé about this but to quote the NY State Lottery: “You have to be in it to win it.”   

So in order to experience the abundant life that Jesus wants us to live, we have to do the uncommon thing and stop living for ourselves and start to live according to our new Identity in Christ.  

So light the fires, and kick the tires, and make a decision to follow the Lord every day, It doesn’t have to be complicated, It starts with the decision to surrender some of our time to draw close to Him in prayer and Bible study and to continually meditate on who we are in Christ to shape our thoughts and our behaviors to be conformed to the image of Christ. 

When we do that we will experience the peace, love, joy, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience, and self-control that the Lord has already poured into us with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We just have to start living like we should as a child of God to see those fruit grow in our lives.  

So do the uncommon thing and keep walking and talking with God.  People might think you have gone off the deep end but, brothers and sisters can I tell you, that’s where the living waters of the Holy Spirit really flow and they will move you to the abundant life you always wanted but never thought you could have.    

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

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Proverbs 28:13 (NLT2)
¹³  People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

Today’s verse tells us of the mercy we receive that comes to us from God when we confess them to Him. 

Brothers and sisters, if you are new to the Bible and want to take a crack at the Old Testament, I would recommend reading the Book of Proverbs. It is loaded with pithy spiritual nuggets of truth that are definitive about the way we should go if we want to live in harmony with God.

No matter how rich and famous you may be, if you conceal your sins and do not confess them and bring them under the atoning work of the cross by making Jesus your Lord and Savior, you will not prosper.

The verse for evangelism, John 3:16, is a beloved promise for the believer but is a harsh warning for those who don’t. 

John 3:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

That one word, perish, says it all.  If you conceal your sins, or don’t believe in sin, it doesn’t matter, you ultimately will not prosper; you will perish.  

But as today’s verse points out, God has made a way for us to receive mercy.   By putting your faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, you are forgiven and are mercifully given a place n God’s eternal kingdom as an adopted child of God.  

This verse also has real life application as well. Hey, we are not perfect, and we will make mistakes and do things we shouldn’t.  If we hide what we have done we will be tormented by guilt, shame, and fear but if we confess what we have done we may receive mercy here on earth.  

Confession, as we taught yesterday, means to agree with God.  So in our daily lives, if we mess up or do something stupid we need to throw ourselves under the bus, rat ourselves out, and tell the truth with the full knowledge that we may have to suffer some negative consequences, but if we do that we will be honoring the Lord’s will for our lives to repent and we can have the conviction and motivation to forsake the ways that led us astray.   

But there is a way not to suffer.  Don’t do anything you will need to conceal or confess! There is great freedom when you have nothing to hide and nothing to confess. So follow the Lord and know how good His mercy feels when you apply His wisdom to 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 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.

GETTING TO THE EMOTIONAL CORE

As you pray through your list of names, stay with each individual until you are sure you have dealt with all the remembered pain—what he or she did, how he or she hurt you, how he or she made you feel (rejected, unloved, unworthy, dirty, etc.). This process is important because facing specific issues is what enables you to get to the emotional core, where the damage was done and the healing takes place. Forgiving superficially results in superficial freedom and healing.

Many people have sincerely tried to forgive but weren’t able to because they didn’t understand the real source of their bitterness and the subsequent lies they have believed about themselves. Feelings of abandonment would fit into this category. Forgiving someone for hurting you may only be dealing with the symptom. You may need to ask yourself, “What specifically happened to me?” “How did I respond at the time?” and “How has it affected me today?” Anger, sadness, and depression are only the emotional consequences of what happened.

Physical, emotional, spiritual, and sexual abuse can also severely damage your self-concept. Your identity becomes wrapped around the abuse. A rape victim may feel like a whore, and the emotionally battered person may feel worthless. Forgiving the person for making her feel like a whore or feeling worthless will not get it done. She would need to forgive like this: “I forgive that man who raped me, for forcing me to have sex with him against my will, and for violating my body, which is a temple of God, when I wanted to glorify God in my body. And I renounce the lie that I am a whore or that my body is dirty.” (More will be said about this kind of renunciation in Step Six.) Or you may need to pray,

 “I forgive my mother for saying I will never amount to anything and for constantly putting me down by saying ___________________ (be specific), because it made me feel ___________________ (state how it made you feel, i.e. incompetent, inferior, worthless, etc.). I renounce the lies that I have believed about myself. I am not the terrible person my mother said I was; I am a child of God, and I choose to believe what God says about me.”

Hurtful experiences in early childhood shape our self-perceptions. It is common to hear people tearfully pray: “Lord, I forgive my father (or mother) for beating me, for never caring about what was happening in my life, for not believing me when I told him about the sexual abuse. I forgive him for what he said and did that caused me to feel dirty, unloved, and worthless.” Such negative programming contributes to a distorted sense of self. Forgiving others connects them to a loving Father who sees them as His children, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.

Mental strongholds are torn down as people forgive those who have offended them. They have lived under the condemnation of those labels for years. For the liberated Christian, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”85 Lies are exposed so they can live according to the truth of who they really are in Christ.

PREPARING YOUR HEARTS

Bitterness is like swallowing poison and hoping the other person will die. It is to the soul what cancer is to the body. If you knew that you had a form of cancer that could be removed by surgery, wouldn’t you say to the doctor, “Go for it! Get it all!”? Bitterness, like cancer, affects every part 

of your being. Forgiving from your heart those who have hurt you is God’s way of removing the cancer.

Tragically, this cancer of the soul is a communicable disease that can be spread to others. That is why the Word of God says, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”86 Entire families and churches can be defiled by roots of bitterness.

God may bring to mind offending people and experiences you have totally forgotten. Let Him do it even if it is painful. Remember, you are doing this for your sake. God wants you to be free. Don’t rationalize or explain the offender’s behavior. Forgiveness is dealing with your pain and leaving the other person to God. Positive feelings will follow in time; freeing yourself from the past is the critical issue right now.

Don’t say, “Lord, please help me to forgive” because He is already helping you. Don’t say, “Lord, I want to forgive” because you are bypassing the hard-core choice to forgive, which is your responsibility. Stay with each individual until you are sure you have dealt with all the remembered pain—what they did, how they hurt you, how they made you feel (rejected, unloved, unworthy, dirty, etc.).

Are you ready to forgive the people on your list so that you can be free in Christ and so that those people and your past no longer have any control over you? If you are ready, then for each person on your list pray aloud as follows:

Lord, I choose to forgive ____________________

(name the person) for_______________________

(what they did or failed to do), which made me feel

________________________________________

(share the painful memories).

 

 ---------------------------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

Anchors Away! – Wherever You Go, Go with God – Purity 479

Anchors Away! – Wherever You Go, Go with God      

Purity 479 07/24/2021 Purity 479 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of a sunrise paddling enthusiast comes to us from our friend “across the pond” on the south sea seafront on the shores of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom.  I love the abiding sense of peace that this photo conveys and I’m just so happy to see my friend taking advantage of the summer season and going where his joy flourishes. 

It's Saturday so we made it to the weekend, and it is my prayer that all my friends out there will also take advantage of the season and find a place where your joy can flourish. 

As for me, I have a confession to make, unlike my usual process, I had to compose today’s encouraging words last night because I am hitting the road early this morning and couldn’t chance running late because I have a boat to catch. A friend has graciously invited me to go boating on Lake George today and I look forward to the experience with real excitement and anticipation.         

I haven’t been to Lake George in years, and I will be glad to see it again and I’m not sure how the day will go but I plan on thanking the Lord for all that I encounter and will keep myself open to wherever He leads me.  

So open yourself up to the possibilities that God presents to you this weekend. Let the people in your life know you appreciate them. And let them know that God has a plan for all of us and if we are His through faith in Jesus Christ, it’s a good one.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

Today’s verse speaks of the spiritual reality of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in those who put their faith in Christ.  

Jesus Christ was sent to earth to reconcile sinful men with God.  To become “joined to the Lord”, man must put their faith in Christ. When that happens The Holy Spirit comes and indwells us, quickening our formerly “dead” spirit, making us spiritually alive, giving us “new life”.  

Notice the small letter “s” in the word spirit in today’s verse. This shows us that it’s not just the Holy Spirit in us, it indicates that believers each have their own “spirit” that has been made alive.  Our individual spirit now resides “with Him”, meaning God in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Because The Holy Spirit is God, He is omnipresent, meaning He can be everywhere at once. So The Holy Spirit can indwell each and every Christian and still be present and active throughout the world at the same time.  I know, pondering this stuff can blow your mind. This is the complex spiritual reality that is alluded to in today’s verse.

Through salvation by faith in Jesus, we are joined to the Lord and are one with Him in spirit.  

As I often teach and try to explain, the Holy Spirit communicates with our spirit in three ways:

1.    Conscience – We have an increased sensitivity to sin; sin becomes less enjoyable because of the Holy Spirit’s communicating conviction to us

2.    Intuition – We become sensitive to His guidance and are led into all truth and into the good works that God has prepared for us.

3.    Communion – We enjoy a special fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit when we worship Him or study His word. For we are to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, and the Holy Spirit gives us revelation from God’s Word to help us grow.       

Theses interactions with the Holy Spirit, is the means through which we can “walk in the Spirit” or “live by faith in the Holy Spirit”.   These interactions with the Holy Spirit can lead to a deepening of our relationship with God because they provide an experiential knowledge of God in our lives.   

Some may say: “I don’t know what you’re talking about MT! Why don’t I feel any of this stuff?”  

There can be several explanations for not experiencing this fellowship of the Spirit but the most obvious reasons for not feeling close to God include:

1.    No real profession of faith - Have you really made Jesus your Lord Savior? Did you verbal express it and feel joy at your “salvation”? We don’t go by feelings but there should be some change in you after coming to Christ.  

2.    Active Sin – Thoughts and Deeds that do not agree with the word and will of the Lord disrupt our harmony with God.

3.    Demonic Interference – The enemy actively tries to keep unbelievers spiritually blind and dead. And they love to deceive and oppress those who are saved from experiencing their freedom and living out their purpose in Christ.

4.    Spiritual Apathy – Some believers either through ignorance, immaturity, or preoccupation with the world do nothing to mature in their understanding or faith.

As people living in the world system that tries to live independently of God, with the direct influence of Satan and spiritual forces of darkness, the enemy can play a part in all these reasons but the other player in this spiritual drama of life and death is ourselves.  So do our problems reside in us or the enemy? 

The bad news is that we can’t always be sure, but the good news is that the remedy in either case is the same.   We are to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior, repent of our sin, and seek the Lord’s wisdom and His ways for our lives.   

I have had conversations recently with people who have “lost that loving feeling” of the Holy Spirit in their lives and they have stated that they feel His Presence has departed because they have “quenched” the Spirit.  

I have recommended confession and repentance as a remedy, but they state that “it didn’t work” and they feel utterly dejected.  

While there can be dry seasons in our faith walk, the only answer is to keep walking. I got the impression that the person was still tied to their sin.  This may seem unkind, but I got the feeling they had said “Sorry” and expected everything to go back to normal instantly, without true repentance. 

The Holy Spirit is omniscient, that means He knows everything.  He knows when you are sincere, and He is the One who can lead us into true repentance. So we must surrender to the Lord completely. Half measures aren’t going to work.  

So if you want a deep relationship with the Lord, you have to keep knocking, you have to keep asking, you have to keep praying, and you must walk the away from darkness that is keeping you from Him.   Let go and Let God, as they say. 

And remember, The Holy Spirit is in you. So one possibility for the feelings of separation is that you are being deceived by the enemy. There is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1) so if you are feeling condemned those are lies you are listening to.  

Confess your sin and agree with what God says about you and do the rest of what Romans 8:1 says – do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.   If you do that, the devil’s condemnations can’t touch you.  

So no matter where you are on this path of Christian Discipleship, keep your head up, turn from your old ways, and keep walking and talking with God.   

 

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

7. Security. Key Concept: Relating to the Eternal

Insecurity means depending upon temporal things that we have no right or ability to control. Do you realize that God is shaking the foundations of this world? Insecurity is a global problem. Some tough days are ahead for this fallen world. It doesn't take a genius to determine that. An exploding population and decreasing natural resources indicate we are fast heading on a collision course.

Our security can be found only in the eternal life of Christ. Jesus said no one can snatch us out of His hand (see John 10:27-29). Paul declared that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (see Romans 8:35-39) and that we are sealed in Him by the Holy Spirit (see Ephes. 1:13, 14). How much more secure can you get than that?

Everything we now have we shall lose some day. Jim Elliot (a missionary who was killed along with four other men by the Auca Indians in Ecuador, South America, in 1956) said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Paul said, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:7, 8).

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

Surf’s Up: Overcoming the Waves of Adversity - Purity 458

 Surf’s Up: Overcoming the Waves of Adversity

Purity 458 06/30/2021   Purity 458 Podcast

Good morning  

Today’s photo comes to us from a friend who joined their son for some sunrise surfing on one of the beaches of near Jacksonville Florida. They shared this beautiful view this past Sunday with the instruction to “Make it a great day.”  

As I already documented, my Sunday was great, as I officially graduated with my master’s degree in Christian Counseling and the blessings kept coming as I continued to receive congratulations yesterday. So as we walk out of the month of June, I would like to again thank all who recently wished my happy birthday and congratulations on my graduation. Great days are made even greater when we have friends and family to share them with. So, thank you!

As our friend was surfing Sunday, it appears that we in upstate New York, and people elsewhere across the country, have been riding the crest of a heat wave as the last few days have seen record high temperatures all over the country but just as Wednesday is the hump in the middle of our week, it looks like it will all be downhill from here as our local forecast predicts temperatures going back down to a high of 70 degrees on Saturday.

No matter how hot or turbulent our lives can be at times, if we walk with God, we know that we can lean on His strength to see us through the waves of adversity that can come our way.   In my experience, it has been in the worst of times that the Lord really shows that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Suffering loss, trials, and heartaches is often a lonely road as friends and family only have a limited amount of capacity to help you. They have lives of their own and their own set of problems and concerns to deal with. So it is no fault of their own when they are less than perfect in offering help or support.    

That’s why it is critical to have a relationship with the Lord. There will be times when we will walk through challenges by ourselves. A lot of the problems we will face are consequences of things we have done, or failed to do, and when push comes to shove the responsibility falls to us to get ourselves out of the messes we have made.  In those times we will need the comfort, assurance, love, strength, and guidance that only a comes from a covenant relationship with God. 

I hate to get specific to those who like a more general spiritual outlook, but the truth is that the promises of God for a new and eternal life are conditional upon faith in Jesus Christ.   The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is also contingent on faith in Christ. 

And for those who don’t know, our reception of the Holy Spirit, adoption into the kingdom of God, and a new identity in Christ are the game changers that give peace in the midst of the most turbulent waves of change we will face.  

While most of us can adapt and overcome problems and trials in our own strength by gritting our teeth and putting our noses to the grindstone, the big questions of life will never be answered through man’s limited knowledge or individual efforts.  

The questions of life beyond death must be addressed. Ultimate meaning and reality must be considered.   Otherwise, we are micromanaging our lives, problem solving and planning from one moment to the next without true meaning or purpose. 

You can even make short- and long-term plans for every eventuality that you can imagine for life here on earth but unless you secure the Truth, the Way, and the Life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, your best laid plains will be as castles made of sand that the wind and waves of life will wash away, eroding your limited conception of what life is along with the pride that held your dusty kingdom together.   

So stop fighting the waves all by yourself. Seek the Lord’s answer and you will see the cross of Christ.  The cross bridges the gap between God and man and provides those who place their faith in Christ with the ability to rise above the waves of this world. 

With your eternal destiny secured in Christ, you trade your castles of sand for the kingdom of God. The spiritual reality of your new life in Christ gives you the ability to ride the waves of adversity with strength, patience, and skill.  So let go and let God bring you through and to a place where their will be peace and life everlasting.

 

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 10:9 (NKJV)
⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Today’s verse is the cliff notes for evangelism.  Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved. Enough said.   That’s Pretty Straightforward, I think, but I would highlight the two aspects of this simple instruction that will make the difference between a true and a false conversion.  

“Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus” means two things. 

First, it means that we must “speak it”. We must make a public confession of our faith. “Hey guys! Jesus Christ is Lord. I’m a Christian!.. Please don’t hurt me.”

Yeah, outside of areas of the earth where there is heavy-duty persecution, there should be no uncover Christians.  To quote my high school history teacher, Mr. Burley, “Say it Loud and say it proud!”   You have to, and should be proud to, say that Jesus Christ is Lord.  

Second, confess means to “agree with”. That means that you are not just saying something and not meaning it.  Your saying Jesus Christ is Lord is not just lip service. It means that you are making Jesus the Lord of your life with the implication that you will obey your Lord and Master.  

“Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” is also integral to the promise of salvation.  

“In your heart” points to a sincere heartfelt conviction that you not only believe the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection, but you also believe in the spiritual meaning of the resurrection and that God’s redemptive plan applies personally to you.   

So not only do you believe the resurrection happened, but you also believe the resurrection happened to you as those who place their faith in Christ are crucified to death and raised to life with Him.   

So if you evangelize, make sure that the people you speak to understand the implications and spiritual realities that are inherent in their act of confession. Reciting a sinner’s prayer is not more spiritual than saying the pledge of the alliance to the Untied States if people don’t agree that Jesus is Lord and don’t believe in their heart that they are resurrected with 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 continue with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness, continuing Chapter 5.

 

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:

What the Spirit-Filled Walk Is

If the Spirit-filled walk is neither license nor legalism, then what is it? It is liberty. "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17).

Our freedom in Christ is one of the most precious commodities we have received from our spiritual union with God. Because the Spirit of the Lord is in you, you are free to become the person God created you to be. You are no longer compelled to walk according to the flesh as you were before conversion. You are not even compelled to walk according to the Spirit, but you are inwardly bent in that direction. You have the choice to walk according to the Spirit or to walk according to the flesh.

Walking according to the Spirit implies two things. First, it is not sitting in the Spirit. Walking by the Spirit is not sitting around in some holy piety expecting God to do it all. Second, it is not running in the Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is not an endless round of exhausting activities in which we are trying to do it all by ourselves. Thinking we will become more spiritual if we try harder is a typical error of many believers. If Satan can't tempt us to be immoral, he will simply try to make us busy.

How much fruit can we bear if we try to do it all by ourselves? None! Apart from Christ we can do nothing (see John 15:5). How much gets accomplished in the kingdom of God if we expect God to do it all by Himself? Not much! God has committed Himself in this age to work through the Church (see Ephes. 3:10). We have the privilege to water and plant, and God causes the increase (see 1 Cor. 3:6-9). If we don't water and plant, nothing grows.

A pastor was working in his garden one day when one of his deacons paid a visit. "My, the Lord sure gave you a beautiful garden," the deacon said. To which the pastor responded, "You should have seen it when God had it by Himself."

This truth is illustrated by Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

In His youth, Jesus was a carpenter. In those days, carpenters didn't frame houses; they fashioned wooden doors and yokes. Jesus metaphorically used those products to describe the spiritual life. For instance, Jesus is the door to spiritual life (see John 10:9), and a yoke is a wooden beam that fits over the shoulders of two oxen. How well does the yoke work if only one person is in it? You would be better off not having it on you. It only works if two are yoked together and pulling in the same direction.

A young ox is trained by putting it in a yoke with an old seasoned ox who "learned obedience from the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). The typical nature of the young ox is to think the pace is too slow and to run ahead, but all it would get is a sore neck. "Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary" (Isaiah 40:30, 31). Some young oxen will be tempted to drop out, but life goes on and the debts pile up. Others will be tempted to stray off to the left or the right. Then one day the young ox thinks, This old ox knows what he is talking about and how to walk; I think I will learn from Him.

I once owned a rather dumb dog named Buster. I bought a choke chain and sent Buster off to dog obedience school with my son. It didn't work. So one day I thought I would take Buster for a walk. I said "walk" not "run." So I put the choke chain on Buster and off we went. I was the master and I knew where I wanted to go on this "walk." Buster just about choked himself to death trying to run ahead, but I was determined to be the master and walk at my pace. Then he would stop and sniff a flower or some gross thing, but I kept on walking.

"Did that dumb dog ever learn to walk by its master?" you ask. No, it never did, and I have met a lot of Christians who haven't either. Some try to run ahead of God and burn out. Others fall into temptation and stray off to the left or the right. Some just drop out even though their Master is saying, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). We can find rest for our souls if we learn to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.

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