Focusing on What You Do Have! Lie Down and Just
Breathe - 28 Day Joy Challenge – Day 15 – Purity 1071
Purity 1071 06/17/2023 Purity 1071 Podcast
Purity 1071 on YouTube: Coming Soon!
Good morning,
Today’s photo
of the light of the setting sun pouring through a massive cloud formation over
Hallett Cove in South Australia comes to us from Dave Baun Photography (https://www.facebook.com/DaveBaunPhotography) who
shared this heavenly scene back on April 17th commenting at the
time: “Since I was stuck in the car for last night’s sunset, here’s one from
not long ago.” Well, I don’t know what
the sunset that Dave missed may have been like, but I love the fact that he
decided to get over whatever disappointment he may have felt by sharing what he
was able to capture previously! Rather than lamenting over his missed
opportunity, Dave focused on what he did accomplish and shared a photo that may
have otherwise been put aside unseen. Just
like how his photo highlights how something good (the sun light) overcomes something
we would consider not so good (that huge cloud formation is rather dark and
foreboding), Dave’s decision to share
this photo (something good) overcame the “something bad” of Dave’s missed
opportunity.
Well, It’s Saturday and even though the local
forecast in my neck of the woods states a 90% chance of showers for today (something
we could see as bad) , I, like our
friend Dave, am going to focus on the “something good” of a couple of days off
of work in the presence of my beloved wife – that I do have – and not let what
could be disappointing circumstances of the weather steal my peace or temper the
joy I can have over all the things I have been blessed with that are unaffected
by the current or forecasted atmospheric conditions.
While a trip
to a local beach to go swimming doesn’t seem to be in the offering today, there
are options out there – museums, art galleries, malls, - for indoor activities
if we feel the overwhelming urge to “DO SOMETHING” or we could decide to rest
and rejoice over the humble comforts of home and recharge our batteries by “Doing
Nothing”.
At this
early hour, I don’t know if we will do Something or Nothing with our day, but
regardless of where the day takes us, I can already report that the day has
been a success because of the things I “do have” and “did do” this morning.
As I am
always “selling” or encouraging all who read or hear these messages- I stress the
importance of a DAILY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE – a time of prayer, meditation, and Bible
Study with the Lord – that can give you peace and joy every single day. I have already prayed, read a chapter of the
Bible (I usually do two, but I am in the New Testament now and I don’t want to
skim through the teachings and life of Jesus too quickly!) reminded myself of who
I am by reading, proclaiming, and
meditating on the Who I am in Christ List
and the Overcomer’s Covenant, and practiced a little bit of gratitude – so I am
“feeling pretty good” as I have grounded myself in the truth of who God is,
what He has provided, and who He has made me to be!
I also
gained a measure of peace with a few minutes of quieting and focusing on my
breath.
And that brings us to our current series
where I am walking through the 28 Day Joy Challenge, (https://4habits.org/) because we are encouraging
ourselves and others, you, to “find peace” in our lives by increasing our
capacity for joy and by building our emotional resilience through simple
practices of quieting and appreciation.
The 28 Day
Joy challenge is based on Dr. Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey’s latest book,
The Four Habits of Joy-Filled People, and you can sign up to take it for free,
and purchase a variety of books from Warner and Coursey on topic of Joy, by
going to https://4habits.org/.
So let’s
jump into Day 15, which will direct us to kick back, relax, and just
breathe.
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Day 15 - Just Breathe
Welcome to Day 15
of the 28 Days to Joy Challenge!
Today’s
Encouragement:
The first few times
you practice calming your mind and body, it is not unusual to have racing
thoughts and increased anxiety because you are not used to being still. Hang in
there! It will get easier with practice as you figure out what works for your
mind and body to be more peaceful.
Today’s Practice:
Exercise 15
Today we will
practice breathing and noticing what helps us more effectively quiet and rest.
- How This Exercise
Will Benefit You:
One overlooked
aspect of growing more joy is resting. Rest grows our capacity, so we increase
our joy levels.
- Exercise Steps:
For this practice,
grab a book and find a quiet spot where you can lie down. Place the book on
your stomach and breathe deeply in a way that makes the book rise and fall. Try
to rest and breathe for three to five minutes. You can even play relaxing music
if you like. Notice how it feels to quiet your body and breathe deeply.
Have fun with this
exercise. We pick up tomorrow with more joy practice!
When I read today’s joy practice instructions I was taken
back a little as I had to decide how exactly I was going to do this. In fact, I
have to honestly confess I had a moment’s temptation to pretend we did it or to
alter the instructions!
You see the instructions tell you to “lie down” and
while I could easily do that on my bedroom floor or in my bed at River
House, things at my countryside home are
a little different. I do my prayer,
Bible Study, meditation, and blog in the cramped confines of the office space
that TammyLyn arranged for me to have in the small room off of the master
bedroom that served as her closet before I came along. While I guess it would have been physically
possible to lie down on the floor, I have done it before, its current state is
a little overcrowded and so I was left wondering if I was actually going to do
today’s practice as instructed or not!
I contemplated just slipping into bed again next to
TammyLyn for the 5 minutes of focused prostrated breathing but feared that I
may disturb her sleep or end up falling asleep with her.
I contemplated using the couch in the living room,
but that area of the house is seldom used and is sometimes a way station for “the
things being organized” or waiting to be given away, and there are two child gates
– stacked one on top of the other to keep the pets out of that room and off the
furniture and I didn’t know what the state of the living room was ( a quick
check later revealed it is quite “ocupado” with some stuff) and I didn’t want
to deal with the child gates to gain access anyway.
But because I want to be true to the 28 Day Joy
Challenge- by actually doing the practices, I decided to just grab a pillow and
my phone as a timer and lay down on the kitchen floor to “get er done” and that’s
what I did.
Although I initially wondered whether I would be
able to get any peace lying on the kitchen floor, I just followed the
instructions. I grabbed a book – The Joy Switch by Chris Coursey, as a matter
of fact, put it on my stomach, and just focused on my breath and the book going
up and down with my rhythmic respirations.
I remember losing focus once with some distracting thought that I can’t
recall but after that I just relaxed and “just breathed”.
My mind was clear, my body relaxed, as I kept my
attention on my breathing. It was a peaceful easy feeling for sure but after a
time I wondered “how long has it been” and checked my phone to discover that I
had elapsed the 5 minute mark by 17 seconds!
I felt good over successfully completing today’s challenge and even
contemplating pushing it into “extra innings” by lying back and doing a few
more minutes but decided against it because I wasn’t too comfortable on the
kitchen floor but fIeared that I might fall asleep all the same. Plus I hadn’t done my Bible study yet and
wanted to get back to Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount where I had
paused yesterday.
But I can say? Today’s joy practice of “just
breathing” was a success and I was glad for the 5 minutes of peace.
So what about you? Are you actually going to lie
down and just focus on your breath like the instructions tell you?
It may seem silly, but there is no benefit to just “understanding”
that focusing on the breath or taking deep breaths can help you to relax, give
you peace, and increase your capacity so you can increase your joy levels, to realize those benefits you actually have
to do the exercises.
So let me encourage you to actually do what the instructions
tell you to do and be diligent to complete the 28 Day Joy challenge because the
work you do today may very well help you to establish the habits of being a
joy-filled person and give you an enduring sense of peace and joy that stays
with you regardless of which way the wind blows with the weather or the
circumstance of your life.
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For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will
provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This
morning’s meditation verses are:
Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT2)
7 “Keep on asking, and you
will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on
knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks,
receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will
be opened.
Today’s verses are the words of Jesus that encourages us to be persistent in our relationship with the Lord by assuring us that if we believe and keep seeking the Lord’s will for our lives by asking, Seeking (HELLO), and knocking we will receive, find, and have everything we need opened up for us.
Hey quick – walking in the Spirit report- as I have indicated in the past, my blog isn’t really planned out in advance, and I often find it interesting of how the content of the message and the things that come up from the various resources I share just seem to naturally flow together. As I shared above, my personal Bible Study has led me through the entire Old Testament and has me in the beginning of the New Testament. And even though I didn’t mention it yesterday – I studied Matthew 6 – and yesterday’s verse of the day from the NLT promise book for Men – was Matthew 6:33 where Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to us. And today – I studied Matthew 7 and today’s verses are Matthew 7: 7-8! Which tells us again to Seek the Lord.
Some would say that this confluence of my personal Bible Study, with the randomly selected verses from our devotional resource, and the continuity of the message of these subsequent verses, would indicate that we are “tracking with the Spirit!” Just saying, when these little “coincidences” happen we should be encouraged and know that because our Sovereign God is moving all things towards His purposes, we just might be doing something right, as it seems that God is bringing common themes together to get our attention and to let us know that He is with us, and we appear to be with Him!
We stress seeking the Lord on this blog. In fact my wife’s podcast (which is currently on hiatus because of her schooling to become certified as a Special Educations Teacher) is called Ask, Seek, Knock, and so is the FB community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) that she created where we share our encouragements.
But the reason we stress asking, seeking, and knocking is because we have discovered the truth of these verses. When we ask, when we seek, when we knock, we have received, found, and had doors open to us – in amazing ways.
I don’t point people to the path of Christian Discipleship because we should all be “good little boys and girls and “do what is right”. I mean, we should, but the reason we do what is right, is because of our interactive relationship with the living God! We are in relationship with God – there is asking and receiving, seeking and finding. We ask and He answers. He leads and we follow.
And notice above that I didn’t say that He will give you everything you “want”, but did say that “we will receive, find, and have everything we need opened up for us” when we are persistent in following Him.
So be persistent, ask, seek, and knock – and “do it again” – and wait and see what the Lord will do in your life when you love Him and trust Him enough to seek Him and follow where He leads.
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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
9 -The Work of the Spirit
The
Spirit’s Operation in the Non-elect
Let us, then, now point out a few of the
Spirit’s general and inferior
operations in the non-elect, as distinguished from His special and superior works in the redeemed.
1. In restraining evil. If God should leave
men absolutely to their own natural corruptions and to the power of Satan (as
they fully deserve to be, as He will in Hell, and as He would now but for the
sake of His elect), all show of goodness and morality would be entirely
banished from the earth: men would grow past feeling in sin, and wickedness
would swiftly and entirely swallow up the whole world. This is abundantly clear
from Genesis 6:3, 4, 5, 12. But He who restrained the fiery furnace of Babylon without quenching it, He who prevented
the waters of the Red Sea from flowing without
changing their nature, now hinders the working of natural corruption without mortifying it. Vile as the world
is, we have abundant cause to adore and praise the Holy Spirit that it is not a
thousand times worse.
The world hates the people of God (John 15:19):
why, then, does it not devour them? What is it that holds back the enmity of
the wicked against the righteous? Nothing but the restraining power of the Holy
Spirit. In Psalm 14:1–3 we find a fearful picture of the utter depravity of the
human race. Then in verse 4 the Psalmist asks, “Have all the workers of
iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not
upon the Lord.” To which answer is made, “There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the
righteous” (v. 5). It is the Holy Spirit who places that “great fear” within
them, to keep them back from many outrages against God’s people. He curbs their
malice. So completely are the reprobate shackled by His almighty hand, that
Christ could say to Pilate, “thou couldest have no power against me, except
it were given thee from above” (John 19:11)!
2. In inciting to good actions. All the
obedience of children to parents, all the true love between husbands and wives,
is to be attributed unto the Holy Spirit. Whatever morality and honesty,
unselfishness and kindness, submission to the powers that be and respect for
law and order which is still to be found in the world, must be traced back to
the gracious operations of the Spirit. A striking illustration of His benign
influence is found in 1 Samuel 10:26, “Saul also went home to Gibeah: and there
went with him a band of men, whose hearts God
(the Spirit) had touched.” Men’s hearts are naturally inclined to rebellion,
are impatient against being ruled over, especially by one raised out of a mean
condition among them. The Lord the Spirit inclined the hearts of those men to
be subject unto Saul, gave them a disposition to obey him. Later the Spirit
touched the heart of Saul to spare the life of David, melting him to such an
extent that he wept (1 Sam. 24:16). In like manner, it was the Holy Spirit who
gave the Hebrews favor in the eyes of the Egyptians—who hitherto had bitterly
hated them—so as to give earrings to them (Ex. 12:35, 36).
3. In convicting of sin. Few seem to
understand that conscience in the natural man is inoperative unless stirred up
by the Spirit. As a fallen creature, thoroughly in love with sin (John 3:19),
man resists and disputes against any conviction of sin. “My Spirit shall not
always strive with man, for that he
also is flesh” (Gen. 6:3): man, being
“flesh,” would never have the least distaste of any iniquity unless the Spirit
excited those remnants of natural light which still remain in the soul. Being
“flesh,” fallen man is perverse against the convictions of the Spirit (Acts
7:51), and remains so forever unless quickened and made “spirit” (John 3:6).
4. In illuminating. Concerning Divine
things, fallen man is not only devoid of light, but is “darkness” itself (Eph.
5:8). He had no more apprehension of spiritual things than the beasts of the
field. This is very evident from the state of the heathen. How, then, shall we
explain the intelligence which is found in thousands in Christendom, who yet
give no evidence that they are new creatures in Christ Jesus? They have been
enlightened by the Holy Spirit (Heb. 6:4). Many are constrained to inquire into
those scriptural subjects which make no demand on the conscience and life; yea,
many take great delight in them. Just as the multitudes took pleasure in
beholding the miracles of Christ, who could not endure His searching demands,
so the light of the Spirit is pleasant to many to whom His convictions are grievous.[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 You Tube 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)
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
“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]
Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham,
WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).