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Thursday, November 30, 2023

Low “Causeless” Depression and Praising God Always – A Mindful of Christ Encouragement - Purity 1211

Purity 1211 11/30/2023 Purity 1211 Podcast

Purity 1211 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the silhouettes of trees on the edge of farmland on Waite Rd with the light of sunrise on the horizon comes to us from yours truly as I captured this haunting sunrise scene while out walking the dog this past Sunday morning.

Well, It’s Thursday and I share this pathway photo that is mostly “off road” as a visual encouragement to get on or to stay on the path of Christian discipleship and to remind us of all that no matter how dark things may get there is always hope when we have faith in Jesus, the light of the world.

Sometimes I wonder if it is really necessary to continue sharing the same messages that encourage people to know who they are in Christ and to make their lives an ongoing spiritual practice where their hearts and minds are directed towards the things of God and where they literally walk and talk with God in their daily lives. “Keep on Walking and Talking with God” isn’t just some quaint phrase of general encouragement, it's an exhortation to be taken quite literally. I know I say that quite often and the reason I do is because a deep personal relationship with God is what can help you to overcome the pains and difficulties that we face with life here on earth.

And I keep saying that because I see what happens when Christians don’t do it. They make foolish choices. They fall into sin. And sometimes, they just become incredibly depressed under the “unbearable lightness of being”.

Mentioning that phrase is not a recommendation of the movie or book with that title by the way. I don’t recall the story or plot but I’m pretty sure the people in it were not trying to be the people God created them to be by living as followers of Jesus Christ. That sentiment “the unbearable lightness of being” comes from an atheistic worldview that whimsically appreciates the beauty in the world amongst the tragedy, but subtly sells the lie that there is no ultimate meaning to life so you might as well live it up and give into whatever sensual desires you have, even if they are sin.

It’s a lie. But with the mundanity of life and the suffering in the world – it’s easy to get drawn into it. Laments like “Why do things have to be this way?” or “Why am I not happy?” or “Oh what’s the point.” Can subtly erode our peace and cause us to “just feel low” and make us experience what we may think of as “Causeless Depression” – where we just feel down - where nothing is wrong but where we are incredibly sad or “just low”.

The Christian Disciple’s remedy for depression is the affirmation and appreciation of who we are in Christ and the realization that God has a plan, and that life has meaning. If we are depressed we need to remind ourselves of God in our life and draw into His presence. Our thoughts impact our emotions, so we need to think about and talk to the Lord. We can take our depression to Him and come away with joy. However, we may have to do more than hope and pray and meditate on the truth. We may have to do something drastic and proclaim the truth in song. We need to praise the Lord despite the storm, the tragedy, or just that seemingly “unbearable lightness of being”.

Right after Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness – a pretty low time in which he had victory, why?, because he combatted the enemy with the truth of God’s word – hello? Anyway, after that, He was “filled with the Holy Spirit’s power” and went into the synagogue in Nazareth and read from Isaiah 61, which said:

Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)
¹⁸ "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Jesus then said:

Luke 4:21 (NKJV)

²¹ Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

We don’t have to feel oppressed or depressed. We who have placed our faith in Jesus can experience the freedom (the liberty) Christ has given us, every day. And the scriptures that Jesus read from give us a clue of how we can experience it. After the “acceptable year of the Lord”

Isaiah 61:2-3 (NKJV) goes on to say

² …. And the day of vengeance of our God;

That refers to Christ second coming, where He will make everything right and exact vengeance on wicked…

But the text than says:

Isaiah 61:2-3 (NKJV)

….To comfort all who mourn,
³ To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

And so this text indicates that we can take off “the spirit of heaviness” with the garment of praise. To receive our beauty for ashes, and oil of joy for mourning – we are subtly directed to praise the Lord.

We are forgiven, free, and have eternal life in Christ. The big old bad world isn’t so bad in the light of that truth, but we have to resist the devil and fight the world by speaking the word of God and proclaiming it in song! Paul tells us to do this in

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NKJV)
¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

That’s how we live in the Spirit and take off the spirit of heaviness, We praise.

I was inspired to write this because I encountered a Christian who has been suffering from a “seemingly causes less depression” and they experienced some relief through praise. In their case, I commended their efforts, but they admitted to not being out of the woods yet and still felt “low”. So I recommended they go through the Steps to Freedom in Christ – to proclaim their faith and to confess and renounce any and everything in their life that may be giving the enemy a foothold in life. Although I gave them a copy of the Steps to Freedom in Christ months ago, they never prayed through them. So I recommended doing that and to continue meditating on who they are in Christ and to PRAISE THE LORD in song.

I was also encouraged that other Christians who are in the encouragement business agree with me and am sharing Mindful of Christ’s Word for Wednesday from this week, where Lauren Roskilly encourages us to “Always Praise God” Referencing:

Job 1:20 (ESV)
²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped

Lauren writes:

“Praise God Always

Job, is a man who went through all kinds of trouble and trials, he had his family, livelihood and much more taken away from him. He was, what some may deem, “at rock bottom!” Imagine if you went through everything Job did.

How would that make you feel?

Angry? Depressed? Grief? Sad? Lonely? Anxious? Hurt? Rejected?

And I wouldn’t blame you! Job felt most of these too, well, he is human as well!

BUT despite all of this and how he felt about his situation, he still knew the Lord; Job, fell to the ground and worshipped.

But remember, He wants us to worship Him at all times and through all things; the good and the bad. Life is full of ups and downs, so it’s helpful to remember that trials and problems are to be expected. We are on a sinful earth, after all! But, the one thing in this world that is consistent, good, perfect, and awesome is God, the Father, the Creator, and His Son, Jesus, our Savior and He is worthy to be praised.

So, next time you are feeling, what we might deem to be, negative emotions, or are going through particular trials, I challenge you to throw on the worship music & praise the Lord.

Here’s a playlist I prepared earlier ‘Mood Boosting Worship Songs.’ (https://mindfulofchrist.net/mood-boosting-worship-songs/) Enjoy!

Blessings

Lauren x”

Thank You Lauren! “Praising the Lord” is the proper response to negative emotions and negative circumstances, even with serious hardships like the one's Job experienced. When we place our focus on God and follow Him, praise will come spontaneously sometimes – but we may have to really put forth an effort to do it. So do it! Praise and worshipping the Lord is the appropriate response for knowing the LORD, so always remember that God is bigger than all the situations in the world or even “causeless depression” and when we draw close to Him, He will lift us up and give us beauty for ashes and joy where there was only pain.

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.

( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )

This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

Ezekiel 34:1-16 (ESV)
¹ The word of the LORD came to me:
² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
³ You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.
⁴ The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.
⁵ So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.
⁶ My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.
⁷ “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
⁸ As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep,
⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
¹⁰ Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.
¹¹ “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
¹⁴ I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.
¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
¹⁶ I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Today’s verses fall under the fourteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

14. God condemns and warns unfaithful shepherds.

Today’s verses are a warning to false teachers and a reminder to us that God came to save the lost by sending the Good Shepherd in Jesus Christ.

This passage tells us that God sees everything and that He will repay those who don’t follow Him and abuse his sheep. It tells us of His great love to “leave the 99” to save the one lost sheep, that Jesus talked about in the gospels.

Some people wrongly think that God was different in the Old Testament than He was in the New Testament but passages like this really show that God has always been the same. He is holy, just, and loving and while He will condemn and warn the wicked, and will judge and punish them who die in their sins, He also calls all of us to repentance and seeks to save us because of His love for His sheep.

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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 are sharing from “God is in the Manger- Reflections on Advent and Christmas” – By Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for less than $10 at many sites.

God is in the Manger – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

ADVENT WEEK ONE - WAITING

DAY SEVEN

God’s Holy Present

Serve the opportune time.” The most profound matter will be revealed to us only when we consider that not only does the world have its time and its hours, but also that our own life has its time and its hour of God, and that behind these times of our lives traces of God become visible, that under our paths are the deepest shafts of eternity, and every step brings back a quiet echo from eternity. It is only a matter of understanding the deep, pure form of these times and representing them in our conduct of life. Then in the middle of our time we will also encounter God’s holy present. “My times are in your hand” (Ps. 31:15). Serve your times, God’s present in your life. God has sanctified your time. Every time, rightly understood, is immediate to God, and God wants us to be fully what we are.… Only those who stand with both feet on the earth, who are and remain totally children of earth, who undertake no hopeless attempts at flight to unreachable heights, who are content with what they have and hold on to it thankfully—only they have the full power of the humanity that serves the opportune time and thus eternity.… The Lord of the ages is God. The turning point of the ages is Christ. The right spirit of the ages is the Holy Spirit.

Dear parents … I don’t need to tell you how much I long for freedom and for you all. But over the decades you have provided for us such incomparably beautiful Christmases that my thankful remembrance of them is strong enough to light up one dark Christmas. Only such times can really reveal what it means to have a past and an inner heritage that is independent of chance and the changing of the times. The awareness of a spiritual tradition that reaches through the centuries gives one a certain feeling of security in the face of all transitory difficulties. I believe that those who know they possess such reserves of strength do not need to be ashamed even of softer feelings—which in my opinion are still among the better and nobler feelings of humankind—when remembrance of a good and rich past calls them forth. Such feelings will not overwhelm those who hold fast to the values that no one can take from them.

Letter to Bonhoeffer’s parents, written from

Tegel prison, December 17, 1943

For I hear the whispering of many—

terror all around!—

as they scheme together against me,

as they plot to take my life.

But I trust in you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

My times are in your hand;

deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

Let your face shine upon your servant;

save me in your steadfast love.

Psalm 31:13–16^{^[1]}

---------------------------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

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These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

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 Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), 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)

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

^{^[1]} Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas, ed. Jana Riess, trans. O. C. Dean Jr., First edition. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 14–15.

Friday, October 6, 2023

Wanderlust and Finding “My People” on the Road - Purity 1165

Purity 1165 10/06/2023

Purity 1165 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the fading light of sunset reflected in the waters of Cranberry Lake as the Autumn landscape fades into darkness comes to us from Lisa Warner who shared this twilight time scene from her visit to Wanakena NY on social media back on October 1^st.

Well, It’s Friday and as the sun will set on the first full week of October this weekend I am SO GLAD that I decided to make it special, truly momentous, as I took to the skyways and highways yesterday to make the spiritual pilgrimage to the Deeper Walk International Break Through Conference in Hobart Indiana!

Although every trip has its costs in time and finances, those who like to travel know that the costs pale in comparison to the thrills and benefits of boldly going out into the world to unfamiliar places to see thing you have never seen or to revisit people and places you love that you haven’t seen in a while.

I have to admit that although I find his story to be quite tragic, I was a huge Jack Kerouac fan in my youth because my dream has been to be a writer of sorts since childhood and because Kerouac’s wayward prodigal explorations really spoke to my wanderlust spirit that craved an “authentic life experience” – to live with passion, to break out of the confines of my humdrum suburban life, and to experience all that life had to offer. I had a deep desire to find the meaning of life and was willing to go wherever to experience it. However, my explorations to see the world was somewhat tempered by fear and so I looked to “suck the marrow out of life” by searching for meaning and love in all the wrong places with euphoric experiences brought on by alcohol, drugs, sex, and the occasional road trip. That was a dead-end path of course, although, regardless of the futility of following such a path, it can serve as a good lesson in what not to do! But that is a lesson best learned quickly.

Kerouac's final chapter – that of living his last years with his mother, dying of an abdominal hemorrhage caused by heavy drinking at the age 0f 47, and leaving behind three ex-wives, a daughter he had met only twice, and an estate of $91.00, despite his fame – tells us that a pathway of desire and chaos is no way to live our lives.

While it is nice to travel and enjoy ourselves we shouldn’t make “exciting experiences” an idol. The YOLO philosophy (that you only live once – so you better live it up) can be help you to boldly go where you might not normally go, but we have to make sure we don’t go too far and that our travels don’t take us into darkness.

And although I have had a pretty broken road to learn this truth, I can now tell you from experience that when it comes to meaning, purpose, and finding an enduring peace, the path of Christian discipleship is the way to go. When you surrender your selfish - darker - desires for a life of following the Lord’s call to know the truth and to be set free you can rejoice in the “full Immersive experience of life” by going about the earth but living in God’s kingdom at the same time. When you combine the physical realities of life with the spiritual realities of who you are in Christ, you can experience joy and peace regardless of the circumstances you encounter.

Hey, don’t get me wrong, but Hobart Indiana isn’t necessarily a heavenly destination – in fact, as my wife and I drove down the section of I90 between Chicago and Merrillville Indiana I couldn’t help but think that the atmosphere was pretty depressing, as that industrialized pathway looked like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie from the 80’s and I wondered if Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was shot in the Midwest!

But after I walked into Deeper Walk’s Conference last night, I forgot all about the long travel day and the was positively elated to be amongst “my people”, Christians whose experiences of heart-focused discipleship and conscious contact with God have resulted in personal freedom and victories the likes of which the Kerouac’s of this world could never dream of that has produced a mutual desire and vision to help others to experience a deeper walk with God. While none of our stories are the same, we all have God and the freedom that He has given us in common and the joy by our gathering was evident in the spirit of worship that descended upon us as we the first night drew to a close.

I was overjoyed to see that several of my fellow cohort classmates had made the trip and was positively exuberant as I greeted them with hugs. My “client experience” Prayer Minister, Christy Edge, was in the building and I hugged her. Lisa Nirva, our Cohort’s teaching assistant was there, I hugged her. I gushed adoration and appreciation over Dawn Whitestone – Deeper Walk’s SOM Director – and Nik Harrang – Deeper Walk’s Director of Operations and my cohort leader – as I was awestruck by simply being in the same room with people whom I have only met online who I consider to be true heroes for the cause of Christ and our faith doing simple tasks like making coffee and trying to meet in greet the masses there.

However, my deepest praise fell on Dr, Marcus Warner as I tried to express how very honored I was to meet him in person and express to him how much I appreciate his work for the body of Christ. I have been reading Warner’s books and watching His teachings and webinars for a while now and I was in awe being able to meet him and watch him teach in person.

While it was joyous and somewhat surreal seeing all my online friends and heroes in one place in the flesh, and I still have to say hello to more today, I at least had some level of expectation of what that would be like but one of the biggest thrills of the night was something that was totally unexpected.

As I made my way into the auditorium last night, I was shocked to see a familiar face among the crowd that I had no reason to expect to see at the conference, and frankly to ever see again but there he was- another online “friend” now visible in the flesh!

Before joining the Deeper Walk SOM, I was an online course facilitator for Freedom in Christ Ministries and as I walked into the auditorium last night I saw one of my former “students” in the flesh! “Sam” is a doctor who lives in California, and he went through the Freedom in Christ course that I hosted online in the Fall of 2022 and last night he told me that the Freedom In Christ course set him on a journey to “keep walking and talking with God.” and that my comments in the class led him to discover Deeper Walk International and to join their SOM this year! It was absolutely awesome to see how Sam’s journey is continuing and I was humbled to know that I was used by God to be a small part of it.

Sam and I were total strangers from different sides of the country with different careers and life experiences but our common desire to follow the Lord led to us meeting and now reuniting a year later. I’m not sure where Sam is going and I’m not sure where I am going but I’m pretty sure that both of us would tell you that a life living in the Spirit on the path of Christian Discipleship is way that leads to meaning, purpose, peace and joy!

So ask the Lord to help you and guide you and if you are bold, be like Isaiah and ask God to “send me” – you – to the life that He has for you, and when He speaks be equally bold to follow where He leads. The life you can have in Christ is waiting for you to step out in faith and to follow it. The wonderous life the Lord has for you is available so put one foot in front of the other and go get it!

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.

This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Assurance of Salvation.

Job 19:25-27 (NLT2)
²⁵ “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.
²⁶ And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!
²⁷ I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!

Today’s verses fall under the first point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Assurance of Salvation.

1. Job had assurance.

Today’s verses encourage us that we can have confidence that the Lord has saved us and that we can look forward to the day when we can meet our Redeemer face to face.

Talk about a deeper walk with God and an unshakeable faith in Him! Job’s life experiences – His relationship with God- before everything fell apart in his life – told Him that the Lord was real and that He could be trusted. Although we don’t know how Job knew that His redeemer lives, the faith of Job testifies that something happened in Job’s life that caused Him to fear God, shun evil, and offer burnt offerings to the Lord continually.

Job’s “religion” wasn’t just the product of “tradition”. Job’s faith wasn’t one of “mental assent” or going through the motions of religious practices because He just had an “inkling” that God must exist. No – his actions before His testing reveal that somehow Job really believed in and knew the Lord experientially. While Job could have just been “covering his bases” with those burnt offerings over some form of superstition or to manipulate God to get a good result, His comments here in chapter 19 – show us that Job’s faith wasn’t based on the prosperity he enjoyed or general spiritual principles. Job’s comments reveal that He had an experience that told him that God was real and that He could trust that God would someday reclaim the earth – you don’t get that from general revelation.

And just like Job could be assured of His salvation, we can be assured of ours. Jesus is a historical fact and if we believe what God’s word says about Him, we can be assured that we will be saved – because of our faith in Him – and that we will be with Him for all eternity – because of Jesus’ resurrection and because He said so.

Assurance comes from knowing God, putting your faith in Christ, and believing what God’s word says. So seek the Lord – trust in Jesus- and know that your Redeemer lives, and you will one day see Him rule over the earth – because He said so.

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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 The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3)

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

28 -The Spirit Preserving

Preservation in Holiness

The chief end for which God sends the Spirit to indwell His people is to deliver them from apostasy: to preserve them not only from the everlasting burnings, but from those things which would expose them thereto. Unless that be clearly stated, we justly lay ourselves open to the charge that this is a dangerous doctrine—making light of sin and encouraging careless living. It is not true that if a man has once truly believed in Christ, no matter what enormities he may commit afterwards, nor what course of evil he follow, he cannot fail to reach Heaven. Not so is the teaching of Holy Writ. The Spirit does not preserve in a way of licentiousness, but only in the way of holiness. Nowhere has God promised His favor to dogs who go back to their vomit, nor to swine which return to their wallowing in the mire. The believer may indeed experience a fearful fall, yet he will not lie down content in his filth, any more than David did: “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand” (Ps. 37:24).

That many Christians have persevered in holiness to the last moment of their lives, cannot be truthfully denied. Now their perseverance must have been obtained wholly of themselves, or partly of themselves and partly by Divine aid, or it must have been wholly dependent on the purpose and power of God. None who profess to believe the Scriptures would affirm that it was due entirely to their own efforts and faithfulness, for they clearly teach that progress in holiness is as much the work of the Spirit as is the new birth itself. To say that the perseverance of the saint is due, in part to himself, is to divide the credit, afford ground for boasting, and rob God of half His rightful glory. To declare that a life of faith and holiness is entirely dependent upon the grace and power of God, is but to repeat what the Lord told His disciples: “without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5), and is to affirm with the Apostle, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Cor. 3:5).

Yet it needs to be pointed out that in maintaining His people in holiness, the power of God operates in quite another manner than it does in the maintenance of a river or the preservation of a tree. A river may (sometimes does) dry up, and a tree may be uprooted: the one is maintained by being replenished by fresh waters, the other is preserved by its being nourished and by its roots being held in the ground; but in each case, the preservation is by physical power, from without, entirely without their concurrence. In the case of the Christian’s preservation it is quite otherwise. With him God works from within, using moral persuasion, leading him to a concurrence of mind and will with the Holy Spirit in this work. God deals with the believer as a moral agent, draws him “with cords of a man” (Hosea 11:4), maintains his responsibility, and bids him, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12, 13).

Thus there is both preservation on God’s part and perseverance in holiness on ours, and the former is accomplished by maintaining the latter. God does not deal with His people as though they were machines, but as rational creatures. He sets before them weighty considerations and powerful motives, solemn warnings and rich rewards, and by the renewings of His grace and the revivings of His Spirit causes them to respond thereto. Are they made conscious of the power and pollution of indwelling sin? then they cry for help to resist its lustings and to escape its defilements. Are they shown the importance, the value, and the need of faith? then they beg the Lord for an increase of it. Are they made sensible of that obedience which is due unto God, but aware, too, of the hindering drag of the flesh? then they cry, “Draw me, we will run after Thee.” Do they yearn to be fruitful? then they pray, “Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits” (Song. 4:16).

His understanding having been savingly enlightened, the believer desires to grow in grace and the knowledge of his Lord, that he may abound in spiritual wisdom and good works. Every affection of his heart is stirred, every faculty of his soul called into action. And yet this concurrence is not such as to warrant us saying that his perseverance depends, in any degree on himself, for every spiritual stirring and act on his part is but the effect of the Spirit’s operation within him, “He which hath begun a good work in you will finish it” (Phil. 1:6). He who first enlightened, will continue to shine upon the understanding; He who originally convicted of sin, will go on searching the conscience; He who imparted faith will nourish and sustain the same; He who drew to Christ, will continue to attract the affections toward Him.^{^[1]}

---------------------------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 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

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

^{^[1]} Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).

Monday, September 4, 2023

Faith in the Day of Disaster - Purity 1138

Purity 1138 09/04/2023 Purity 1138 Podcast

Purity 1138 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of my canine pal Harley standing in rolling fields of green over an ethereal sunset sky comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene yesterday after t the beauty of the moment was something I didn’t want to leave behind and decided to extend our evening’s walk by going down the farm road that normally marks the point we turn around and go back home. .

Well, It’s Labor Day, and because of the holiday I was able to spend the night at my Countryside home in Easton for one more day and when last night’s sunset was so breath taking I didn’t want to see it end. But even though I extended my time in the sun by going an extra half mile or so, and walked along at a leisurely pace, there really was nothing I could do to stop the coming of the night. As much as I may have wanted to hold on to that golden moment of joy, no matter what I wanted things were going to change. I could have sat down in those rolling fields and refused to leave but sooner or later the darkness of evening would come. If I was putting my faith in the weather to stay the same or if I was putting my faith in myself or Harley to keep the good times rolling, I would have been sorely disappointed.

However, I have put my faith in Jesus and have accepted the fact that God is in control. Therefore, I respect His created order, understand the consequences of a world broken by sin, and put my ultimate trust in God to uphold me. I don’t trust the weather, other people, or even myself to give me life, meaning, or purpose. Because the world has been broken by sin, bringing in death and the depravity of man, I understand that this world is falling apart, things are in continual change, and there is no limit to the pain that mankind can inflict upon one another, knowingly and unknowingly, as we journey through life. If we are putting our trust in the world, society, other people, or ourselves, there will come a day of disaster that will show us the error of our misconceptions and will expose just how deceived we were to think we could live in God’s created order and put our trust in anyone but Him.

I was reading John 6 this morning and was impressed by how Jesus continually alluded to the fact that He was here to do the Father’s will.

John 6:38-40 (NKJV)
³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Here Jesus made it clear that although we are to put our faith in Him, He was here on a mission: to do the Father’s will. Although Jesus’ is the way to have peace with God, Jesus trusted in the Father’s plan and demonstrated His trust by accepting that He would be hated and rejected by the world and would be killed by the very people He was sent to save.

John 6 begins with the feeding of the 5 thousand, where Jesus multiplied a few fish and some loaves of bread miraculously to feed people who had gathered to see signs and wonders and who desired to have a Messiah who would rule and reign and take care of all their earthly needs, on demand.

Despite Jesus’s healings and providing a miraculous meal, the majority of this crowd still didn’t believe in Jesus. Later this crowd who had followed Jesus would call for the authorities to crucify Him because He didn’t continue to meet their expectations, showing us just how quickly things can go wrong. One day you’re followed by adoring masses, and the next they are calling for your death!

But Jesus didn’t trust in the crowds. Jesus didn’t trust in His disciples. Jesus didn’t trust in His earthly family. Jesus didn’t even trust in His own abilities. Jesus trusted in the Father. And even though things fell apart relatively quickly, and Jesus had some real anguish over what He had to face, He trusted in the Father and had a measure of peace even as He went to the cross to die.

If Jesus had put His faith in anything else He would have been shattered in the day of disaster. If Jesus had put His faith in the crowd or the religious leaders, He would have been devasted by their betrayal. If Jesus had put His faith in His disciples, He would have been disappointed to watch them turn tail and abandon Him. If He had put faith in His mother, He would have seen that although she was there to watch Him die, she was powerless to save Him. If Jesus had put His faith in His own human strength, He would have seen how futile any efforts at escape would have been and that His body would have failed under the torture of the cross.

But Jesus didn’t trust in those things, He trusted in the Father. Jesus never stopped “walking and talking with God” and right up to the end He obeyed His Father’s will and trusted in Him. Jesus knew the Father and His faith in Him and His purposes allowed Him to endure the pain of death to accomplish His will.

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection teach us who we are to put our trust in and how to carry ourselves through life, trusting God and obeying His will. If we fail to obey the Father’s Will and put our trust in anything else than Jesus, we will one day see how foolish we were to trust in earthly things and how they will fail us.

In the ministry of recovery and freedom that I have been called to, I have witnessed time and time again the negative consequences of trusting in anything but Jesus. Whether you are the biggest reprobate sinner who is actively going against God’s provisions for righteous living or if you are an “upstanding citizen” who enjoys the love and respect of your fellow man, if you are putting your trust in anyone but the Lord, a day of disaster is coming that will break the foundations of the things you trusted in.

For the wanton sinner, criminal or addict, it might not be surprising that your delinquent ways, lawbreaking associates, or the substances worshipped will let you down. Even someone with a cursory understanding of right and wrong and cause and effect can understand the logic behind “if you do bad, you will experience bad”. A lot of the counsel I provide comes down to “making good choices” because the principle of “we reap what we sow” is so easy to give evidence for. So do what is right, and the “good seed” will grow into a “good life”.

Now that is not the only advice I give because I know that “our good deeds” are not enough to guarantee that we will experience a good life and they certainly can’t guarantee eternal safety.

More than once, I have counseled individuals who have suffered pain, tragedy, and loss and who are rocked by the fact that they had to suffer even though they did “everything right”. They weren’t a “big sinner”, criminal, or addict, and yet tragedy, disease, betrayal, and loss came their way all the same. They saw themselves as a “nice guy” or a “good girl” and tried to live a “good life” only to suffer all the same.

In scripture, Job was an upstanding citizen like no other and He suffered tremendous loss. If Job was trusting in His “doing everything right”, or in his abilities as a successful man, or in his family He would have been left without hope.

But even though Job didn’t understand why He suffered the loss of possessions, the death of his children, and his physical health, he trusted in the Lord and in the midst of his suffering worshiped God while his less-than-faithful wife, encouraged him to curse God and die.

Job’s wife didn’t have faith in the Father the way that Job did and when calamity came her world was torn asunder filling her with confusion and bitterness. While she welcomed death, Job knew the Father and trusted Him, proclaiming:

Job 13:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵ Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

Job walked in God’s ways and was blameless and only sought to defend his “own ways” at the implication that God was causing him to suffer because of his sin. Job declared his complete trust in God and knew God’s ultimate purposes would be done by saying later:

Job 19:25-26 (NKJV)
²⁵ For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;
²⁶ And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

This ultimate trust in God is the only thing that will give us peace in the “day of disaster”. When we suffer loss, when people betray or disappoint us, and everything falls apart those with faith in the Lord know to continue to trust in Him and lean on His strength and ultimate salvation.

With faith in the Lord, the universe is a cold and heartless place where you will suffer the loss of everything you have acquired and every relationship that you have made on earth. When you trust in the world, other people, or your own talents and ability to “keep you safe” or to make you happy, the day of disaster will come leaving you hopeless.

But for the Christian, we put our faith in God and His kingdom to come, and even though the circumstances of this world may cause us to suffer greatly, when we put our hope in Jesus and walk with Him day by day, we know that we are not alone and that he will never leave us or forsake us.

While I didn’t suffer as much as Job, I have suffered great loss at different times and seasons of my life, and I know from experience the great difference that a living relationship with God can make in how we face the day of disaster. Without a knowledge of God and faith in Christ, the world is a chaotic place of confusion and death that is destined for destruction. But when you know that “your Redeemer lives” and you will see Him stand at last on the earth, you realize that all is not what it appears to be and that nothing is lost that hasn’t been given to us by God and that it is only because of Him that we have anything and that it is only through the love of Him that we can have peace and life.

So batten down the hatches and do your best to make “good choices”, but don’t forget to seek the Lord and His will for your life. Walk in His ways and stay in His presence because when the day of disaster comes your way, you’re going to need the solid rock of the God who never changes to stand on and to uphold you.

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.

( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )

This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Alcohol & Drug Abuse

Genesis 9:20-23 (ESV)
²⁰ Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.
²¹ He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.
²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

Genesis 19:30-38 (ESV)
³⁰ Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.
³¹ And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
³² Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.”
³³ So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
³⁴ The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.”
³⁵ So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
³⁶ Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.
³⁷ The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day.
³⁸ The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

Today’s verses fall under the tenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Alcohol & Drug Abuse.

10. Drunkenness breaks down morals.

Today’s passages clearly demonstrate the tendency of drunkenness to break down morals. “Partying naked” Noah ended with shame and Lot’s drunkenness led to incest. When inhibitions and awareness are compromised by drunkenness, the sinful desires go unchecked and break down everything that we know about right and wrong.

So as we go into this Labor Day holiday, let’s not fall into drunkenness and the sin that is waiting walk through the door when we open it with drunkenness.

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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 The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

23 - The Spirit Witnessing

The Holy Spirit is first a witness for Christ, and then He is a witness to His people of Christ’s infinite love and the sufficiency of His finished work. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify (bear witness) of Me” (John 15:26). The Spirit bears His testimony for Christ in the Scriptures; He bears His testimony to us in our renewed minds. He is a Witness for the Lord Jesus by all that is revealed in the Sacred Volume concerning Him. He bears witness to the abiding efficacy of Christ’s offering: that sin is effectually put away thereby, that the Father hath accepted it, that the elect are forever perfected thereby, and that pardon of sins is the fruit of Christ’s oblation.

The sufficiency of the Spirit to be Witness for Christ unto His people appears first, from His being a Divine Person; second, from His being present when the Everlasting Covenant was drawn up; third, from His perfect knowledge of the identity of each member of the election of grace. When the ordained hour strikes for each one to be quickened by Him, He capacitates the soul to receive a spiritual knowledge of Christ. He shines upon the Scriptures of Truth and into the renewed mind. He enables the one born again to receive into his heart the Father’s record concerning His beloved Son, and to give full credit to it. He enables him to realize that the Father is everlastingly well pleased with every one who is satisfied with the Person, righteousness, and atonement of His co-equal Son, and who rests his entire hope and salvation thereon. Thereby He assures him of the Father’s acceptance of him in the Beloved.^{^[1]}

---------------------------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 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

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

For those who require the assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

^{^[1]} Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).

Labels

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Low “Causeless” Depression and Praising God Always – A Mindful of Christ Encouragement - Purity 1211

Friday, October 6, 2023

Wanderlust and Finding “My People” on the Road - Purity 1165

Monday, September 4, 2023

Faith in the Day of Disaster - Purity 1138