Beyond Covid 19, Addiction, and Divorce: Hope for a New Life : Purity 444

Beyond Covid 19, Addiction, and Divorce: Hope for a New Life 

Purity 444 06/14/2021 Purity 444 Podcast

Good morning.

Today’s photo of sunset over Saratoga Lake from the vantage point of Doc Brown’s at Browns Beach Marina in Saratoga Springs comes to us from yours truly as I spent this past Saturday evening enjoying the company of new friends and the festive atmosphere of a Skeeter Creek musical performance.   I haven’t been to an outdoor concert of any size in years and the experience was great on so many levels. 

First, in what I will declare as the dwindling days of Covid-19, it was awesome to be out in public with so many people to enjoy the wonderful weather and good times at an outdoor concert.  The lead singers of Skeeter Creek commented more than once about how good it was to be out performing and getting to see old friends that they had been separated from.  The mini concert was a celebration of life and the general lack of masks made us all remember what things were like before 2020 and gave us the hope that despite the persistent fear that still exists many of us are going to live our lives much like we did before the pandemic.   

Second, it was a personally great for me in terms of my new life and leaving the darkness of addiction behind.  Even though I was in a festive party atmosphere where alcohol was flowing, I honestly felt no temptation to drink and felt comfortable in my own skin.  I was relaxed and was able to dance and sing along with the band as I discovered that I don’t need booze to be uninhibited and enjoy the company of others.  I give all the glory to God, of course, because through the years He has helped me to mature to this level through faith in Christ and the renewing of my mind.  I’m so glad that I went out because this experience proves to me that the Lord really has taken “the hooks of addiction” out of me and I can live the rest of my life with confidence and don’t have to limit where I can go to enjoy life and to share the hope and love that Christ put in me.  

And finally, the experience was good for me relationally, meaning I could go out with no expectations or overwhelming desire to find romance.   To be honest, in the wake of my divorce, my devastated heart cried out for me to fill the void that my divorce from my ex created.  

To be totally transparent, I have already been disappointed a couple of times by what I considered to be adequate candidates for the position of “new wife” as I was politely but definitively rejected.

In hindsight, I am relieved that I didn’t have success because in both cases I had ignored incompatibility issues or had invested myself way too deeply emotionally before establishing an actual relationship.  I was willing to look past red flags to the exclusion of reason or to quote the wisdom of Air Supply’s 80’s hit, I was “making love out of nothing at all.”

So with those disappointments, and some close self-evaluation, I have come to a place where I am comfortable with myself and don’t have to find a romantic partner to be complete.  So while I could appreciate the beauty of the women that were around me at this event, I didn’t feel the need to chase after them as I would have in the single days of my past. I realized that in the past I had to put in much effort to get involved in my romantic entanglements and that because I wasn’t looking for “Ms. Right Now” I was safe from repeating mistakes of the past.

 I was also strangely relieved in the fact that I am not completely irresistible to women and didn’t have to worry because nobody was interested in me anyway.  That’s not false humility, that’s just reality and I’m okay with that.  Again, I would have to give God the glory for bringing me to this place of peace.  From this sense of peace and contentment, I will choose to follow His lead for the rest of my life and will see whether His plan includes a new spouse or not.    

So don’t be afraid to go out and have some fun this summer, but when you do make sure you get right with God and honestly examine where you are in life.  If we start a pursuit of happiness that we think will be fulfilled by experiences or relationships that don’t include God, we will eventually be disappointed as we either compromise who He has made us to be, or we make choices that lack the wisdom and discernment that He can give us when we walk with Him.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Matthew 28:20 (NKJV)
²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Today’s verse is the last verse in the book of Matthew, directly relates to my current ministry, and provides us with eternal comfort.      

In the previous verse, 19, Jesus directs us to go into all the nations to make disciples and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.   

While I have led corporate prayers of salvation/rededication in different settings over the years, no one has reported that my efforts lead them to a saving relationship with Christ.  Also, other than myself, and my kids, in the family swimming pool during the early days of my salvation, I haven’t baptized anyone.  

So while I can’t make the claim that I was integral in “making” disciples, I can say I have been active in teaching “believers” to observe all the things that Christ has commanded us to do over the last 6 years.  

While our previous ministry was deemed a recovery ministry, the reasons why we needed to deviate from calling ourselves a Celebrate Recovery ministry was because from the start our ministry at Rock Solid Church didn’t fit that simple categorization because we included aspects of Christian discipleship that went beyond AA’s 12 Steps or Celebrate Recovery’s 8 principles.   

My participation in the Celebrate Freedom Recovery Ministry, and the transition to the Community Freedom Discipleship Classes at Rock Solid Church has all been motivated by my desire to teach believers in Christ to become disciples of Christ and to experience their freedom in Christ in the process.  

And as Christ’s words in theses verses at the end of Matthew indicate, He calls us all to teach others what He has commanded us to do.   That goes for every Christian.  In Christ we all have infinite value to those around us because what we know has the potential to pull someone from utter destruction or to lead a Christian into a deeper relationship with God.   

So make sure that you speak up when people need to hear the truth or the words of encouragement that the Lord has given you.   His last words in this verse assure us of His presence in our lives even to the end of the age, so we are to take comfort in that promise and do our best to bring others to know it too.

 

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, beginning Chapter 3.

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:

Chapter 3

See Yourself for Who You Really Are

Claire attended a church college ministry I was involved in several years ago. On a physical, material level, Claire had absolutely nothing going for her. She had a dumpy figure and a poor complexion. Her father was a drunken bum who had deserted his family. Her mother worked two menial jobs just to make ends meet. Her older brother, a drug addict, was always in and out of the house.

When I first met Claire, I was sure she was the ultimate wallflower. I didn't think there was any way she could compete for acceptance in a college-aged society that is attracted to physical beauty and material success. To my pleasant surprise, though, everybody in the group liked Claire and loved to be around her. She had lots of friends, and eventually she married the nicest guy in the college department.

What was her secret? Claire simply accepted herself for who God said she was in Christ, and she confidently committed herself to God's great goal for her life: to love people and grow in Christ. She wasn't a threat to anyone. Instead, she was so positive and caring toward others that everyone loved her.

Derek, a man in his early 30s, was enrolled in our missions program at Talbot School of Theology several years ago. I barely knew Derek until he attended a conference where I spoke about the critical importance of understanding our spiritual identity in Christ. The next week he came to see me and tell me his story.

Derek grew up with a father who demanded perfection in everything his son did. Derek was an intelligent, talented young man, but no matter how hard he tried or how well he succeeded, he seemed unable to please his father. The man continually pushed his son for better performance.

Striving to fulfill his father's expectations, Derek earned an appointment to the United States Naval Academy and qualified for flight school. He achieved what most young men only dream about: becoming a member of the elite corps of Navy fliers.

"After I completed my obligation to the Navy," Derek told me, "I decided that I wanted to please God with my life. But I saw God as a perfectionistic heavenly shadow of my earthly father, and I figured the only way I could fulfill His expectations for me was to become a missionary. I'll be honest with you. I enrolled in the missions program for the same reason I went to Annapolis: to please a demanding Father.

"Then I attended your conference last Saturday. I had never heard that I am unconditionally loved and accepted by my heavenly Father and I never understood who I already am in Christ. I've always worked so hard to please Him by what I do, just as I struggled to please my natural father. I didn't realize that I already please Him by who I am in Christ. Now I know that I don't have to be a missionary to please God, so I'm changing my major to practical theology."

Derek studied for a practical theology degree for about a year. Then he had the opportunity to serve on a short-term missions team in Spain. When Derek returned from his trip he burst into my office and excitedly told me about his ministry experience in Spain. "I'm changing my major again," he concluded.

"To missions, right?" I responded with a smile.

"Right," Derek beamed. "But I'm not going into missions because I need God's approval. I know God already loves and accepts me as His child. Now I'm planning to be a missionary because I love Him and want to serve Him."

I told Derek, "That is the fundamental difference between being driven and being called."

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

Purity 440: Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

 

Purity 440 06/09/2021 Purity 440 Podcast

Good morning.

Today’s photo of this desert mountain majesty comes to us from a friend’s recent trip to Cottonwood Arizona.   I love the “red rocks” that you see out west and this formation seems to just keep rising, with its steady ascension and crowning peak.     

It’s Wednesday, and I thought what better way to celebrate getting over the hump and commenting on the high temperatures we have been experiencing, forecasted to be 87 degrees locally, by sharing this mammoth southwestern summit.    

So it looks like today may be hotter uphill climb than we are used to making in early June but by taking the proper precautions and by keeping our eyes on the One who has crowned us in victory, we can crest the peak of this work week and rejoice as we adapt and overcome.    

Man can do a lot in his own efforts, but Jesus said that even what man considers impossible is possible with God. 

So no matter what mountain you may be facing in this hot and dry season, remember to keep walking and talking with God.  He will keep you company along the way and will give you the strength and wisdom to traverse all the peaks and valleys that lie in your path.  

 

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Today’s verse warns us of the consequences of “missing the mark” and reminds us of what we have in our relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. 

 

Romans 6:23 should be in our evangelism tool kit because it tells us the hard facts of life.  Sin is an offense that carries a death sentence. A simple Q & A of the Ten Commandments will show anyone that they have sinned by not perfectly following God’s instructions.  This fact should convict all of us and lead us to ask: How can I be saved? 

 

The answer is simple. God’s gift to us is Jesus Christ as His sinless life, death, and resurrection made a way for our salvation.   The question is: will you accept God’s gift by placing your faith in Jesus? 

 

I hope anyone reading this on the blog or hearing this message will put their faith in Christ and experience the new eternal life that God so graciously gives.  Our purpose for being alive is finding the grace of God.  

 

But we should also consider Romans 6:23 as an instruction on how to live our lives as well as a good evangelical tool.  

 

Once we have been saved by faith in Christ, although we are free from the power of sin, we still have free will and can choose to sin.  

 

Why not sin? Christ paid for them all, you might as well make His suffering worth it by sinning it up right?

 

I wish I could say I didn’t have similar thoughts when I first came to Christ.  I figured God knew me so He would understand that I just couldn’t stop sinning the way I did.  

 

But even though God’s grace had me covered, and still has me covered, those wages of death that sin earns are still felt in the life of a believer.  The conviction of sin is worse for those who have given their lives to Christ because we know that we are “not supposed to be doing this” and that our sin gets in the way of our relationship with God.

 

There was many a morning where I would ask God for forgiveness for the things I did and would feel restored, only to have to do it all over again the next morning as I felt trapped in a cycle of sin that I felt powerless to stop.  

 

Although I had eternal life, I was still receiving my wages of death.  What’s the deal, God?

 

But then I understood that although He found me in darkness, the Lord didn’t want me to stay there.  When I found the truth, I was given the revelation of just how much my sin was hurting me, those around me, and my relationship with the Lord.   

 

I prayed for deliverance several times, but I had to stop crying out to God to do an instant miraculous work and instead had to show my trust of His power to deliver me by placing my faith in Him everyday and by choosing to say no to temptation and yes to His ways.   

 

So, if you are saved but somehow can’t get past a besetting sin, you can overcome by first believing in the new life that you already have and then by leaning on the Lord to carry you away from your darkness.

 

He’s not going to drag you out of the darkness. You must do your part too.  They don’t call it lying in the Spirit, our faith is described as walking in the Spirit.  But just like a toddler learning to walk for the first time needs his parents to hold them up, you are going to need the Lord to hold you up and encourage you in your efforts at righteous living.  

 

After you start taking steps, you will be able to walk further and further distances in your faith as you grow stronger and mature.  So take the Lord’s hand, keep your eyes on Him, and listen to what He says.  He will see you through and will help you to experience the life you always wanted but never thought you could do.   

 

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 in Chapter 2, with the section “New Life Requires New Birth”.

 

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:

New Life Requires New Birth

We weren't born in Christ. We were born dead in our trespasses and sins (see Ephes. 2:1). What is God's plan for transforming us from being in Adam to being in Christ? Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Physical birth gains only physical life for us. Spiritual life, the eternal life Christ promises to those who come to Him, is gained only through spiritual birth (see John 3:36).

What does it mean to be spiritually alive in Christ? The moment you were born again your soul came into union with God in the same way Adam was in union with God before the Fall. You became spiritually alive and your name was written in the Lamb's book of life (see Rev. 21:27). Eternal life is not something you get when you die.

Dear believer, you are spiritually alive in Christ right now. You will never be more spiritually alive than you are right now. The only thing that will change when you die physically is that you will exchange your mortal body for a new resurrected one. Your spiritual life in Christ, which began when you personally trusted Him, will merely continue on. Salvation is not a future addition; it is a present transformation. That transformation occurs at spiritual birth, not physical death.

New Life Brings New Identity

Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who is forgiven and goes to heaven. A Christian, in terms of his or her deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transformed you into someone who didn't exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn't the point; it is who you are. It is not what you do as a Christian that determines who you are; it is who you are that determines what you do (see 2 Cor. 5:17; Ephes. 2:10; 1 Peter 2:9, 10; 1 John 3:1, 2).

Understanding your identity in Christ is essential for living the Christian life. People cannot consistently behave in ways that are inconsistent with the way they perceive themselves. You don't change yourself by your perception. You change your perception of yourself by believing the truth. If you perceive yourself wrongly, you will live wrongly because what you are believing is not true. If you think you are a no-good bum, you will probably live like a no-good bum. If, however, you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you will begin to live accordingly. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess.

The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are. He can't change God and he can't do anything to change our identity and position in Christ. If, however, he can get us to believe a lie, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn't true.

New Life Results in a New Identity

Have you noticed that one of the most frequently used words of identity for Christians in the New Testament is "saint"? A saint is literally a holy person. Yet Paul and the other writers of the Epistles used the word generously to describe common, ordinary, everyday Christians like you and me. For example, Paul's salutation in 1 Cor. 1:2 reads: "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours."

Notice that Paul didn't say we are saints by hard work. He clearly states we are saints by calling. The tendency of the church is to believe that saints are people who have earned their lofty title by living a magnificent life or by achieving a certain level of maturity. In the Bible, believers are described as "saints," which means holy ones (e.g., Romans 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1).

Being a saint does not necessarily reflect any present measure of growth in character, but it does identify those who are rightly related to God. In the King James Version of the Bible, believers are called "saints," "holy ones" or "righteous ones" more than 240 times. In contrast, unbelievers are called "sinners" more than 330 times. Clearly, the term "saint" is used in Scripture to refer to the believer, and "sinner" is used in reference to the unbeliever.

Although the New Testament provides plenty of evidence that the believer sins, it never clearly identifies the believer as a sinner. Paul's reference to himself in which he declares, "I am foremost [of sinners]" is often referred to as contrary (1 Tim. 1:15). Despite the use of the present tense by the apostle, several things make it much preferable to consider his description of himself as "the foremost [of sinners]" as a reference to his preconversion opposition to the gospel. Taking this as a truthful statement, he indeed was the chief of all sinners.

Nobody opposed the work of God more zealously than he did, in spite of the fact that he could boast, "as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless" (Phil. 3:6). For several reasons, I believe this refers to what Paul was before he came to Christ.

First, the reference to himself as a sinner is in support of the first half of the verse in 1 Timothy: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). The reference to "the ungodly and sinners" a few verses earlier (1 Tim. 1:9), along with the other New Testament uses of the term "sinners" for those who are outside salvation, shows that the sinners whom Christ came to save were outside of salvation rather than believers who can still choose to sin.

Second, Paul's reference to himself as a sinner is immediately followed by the statement, "And yet . . . I found [past tense] mercy"(1 Tim. 1:16), clearly pointing to the past occasion of his conversion. Paul continued to be amazed at the mercy of God toward him who was the "worst" sinner. A similar present evaluation of himself based upon the past is perceived when the apostle said, "I am [present] the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor. 15:9). Because of his past action, Paul considered himself unworthy of what by God's grace and mercy he presently was, an apostle who was in no respect "inferior to the most eminent apostles" (2 Cor. 12:11).

Third, although declaring that he is the worst sinner, the apostle at the same time declared that Christ had strengthened him for the ministry, having considered him "faithful," or trustworthy, for the ministry to which he was called (see 1 Tim. 1:12). The term "sinner," therefore, did not describe him as a believer, but rather was used in remembrance of what he was before Christ transformed him.

The only other places in Scripture that could be referring to Christians as sinners are two references found in James. The first, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners" (James 4:8) is one of 10 verbal commands urging anyone who reads this general epistle to make a decisive break with the old life. This is best understood as calling the reader to repentance and therefore salvation.

The second use of "sinner," found in James 5:19, 20, appears to have a similar reference to unbelievers. The "sinner" is to be turned "from the error of his way" and thus be saved from "death." Because this is most likely spiritual death, it suggests that the person was not a believer. In both of these uses of "sinner," James is using the term as it was used among the Jews for those who disregarded the law of God and flouted standards of morality.

The fact that these "sinners" are among those addressed by James does not necessarily mean they are believers, for Scripture teaches that unbelievers can be among the saints (see 1 John 2:19), as there surely are today in our churches. Referring to them as "sinners" fits the description of those who have not come to repentance and faith in God, as the rest of Scripture clearly identifies believers as saints who still have the capacity to sin.

The status of saint is parallel to the concept of being God's called or elect ones. Believers are those who are "beloved of God . . . called as saints" (Romans 1:7; see 1 Cor. 1:2). They are "chosen [or elected] of God, holy, and beloved" (Col. 3:12). They are "chosen . . . through sanctification by the Spirit" (2 Thes. 2:13; see 1 Peter 1:1, 2). God chose them and separated them from the world to be His people. As a result, believers are "holy brethren" (Hebrews 3:1).

By the election and calling of God, believers are set apart unto God and now belong to the sphere of His holiness. We begin our walk with God as immature babes in Christ, but we are indeed children of God. We are saints who sin, but we have all the resources in Christ we need not to sin. Paul's words to the Ephesians are an interesting combination of these two concepts of holiness. Addressing them as "saints," or holy ones, in Ephes. 1:1, he goes on in Ephes. 1:4 to say that God "chose us in Him [Christ] . . . that we should be holy and blameless before Him." By God's choosing, they were already holy in Christ, but the purpose was that they would mature in character as they conformed to the image of God.

As believers, we are not trying to become saints; we are saints who are becoming like Christ. In no way does this deny the continuous struggle with sin, but it does give the believer some hope for the future. Many Christians are dominated by the flesh and deceived by the devil. However, telling Christians they are sinners and then disciplining them if they don't act like saints seems counterproductive at best and inconsistent with the Bible at worst.

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

Purity 392: Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Purity 392 04/14/2021 Purity 392 Podcast

Good morning.

Today’s photo of a flourishing tree springing to life in front of my humble home “Down by The River” was captured this past Sunday by yours truly.   Sunday was overcast and cloudy and a bit chilly compared to the sunny days we had experienced just days before but when I noticed that this tree had begun flowering, I took this picture despite the lack of sunshine and blue skies knowing that I might not have the presence of mind to get a photo of it when the weather improved but I also felt a sense of immediacy that later would be too late, that the joy of my discovery shouldn’t reproduced when the conditions were better.  I also had the idea that the flowers may fade in a day or two and that the enjoyment of its beauty had to be in the moment regardless of the gray skies.  

Okay, as much as I am basking in the beauty of this unidentified tree in front of my house, I have a confession to make.  This tree despite its flowering glory wasn’t so pretty when I moved in. I don’t know what this tree is but it just sort of sprouts branches spontaneously from all over its trunk and last summer I was rather exasperated about the way they just grew out all over the place and hung down obscuring the ground beneath it.   So last summer I frustratedly took some clippers and went to town just cutting off branches to reduce its bulk and while I was doing it I even contemplated getting the chainsaw out and making one decisive and final cut.    

But Sunday morning, I saw one possible reason why this tree was cultivated on the front lawn of my property: it’s springtime beauty. I don’t know if my haphazard “pruning” helped the tree to flourish but I was glad I didn’t get the chainsaw out!

This tree is like us. We might be a mess at times and need our unruly branches to be trimmed and other people may just wish that we would be cut down at times but if we allow God to work in our lives by seeking His strength and wisdom, we can grow and flourish even when the skies are cloudy and gray.   

Sometimes we can flower and flourish when we least expect it. Sometimes our beauty comes forth not through our outward appearance but is displayed by our character and patience in the face of turmoil and trials.  We may think that we are a mess most of the time but our true beauty shines through when we grow.    

So keep walking and talking with God because it may seem like a long and fruitless season most of the time but if we remain faithful and keep walking in God’s direction we will be amazed at how we have grown and flourished even when the sun wasn’t shining.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 13:13 (NLT2)
¹³ Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.

Today’s verse is truly a bummer dude.  Well, at least it can be. I know that in the past it certainly was for me because my understanding of God and grace was rather ignorant and immature.   I was brought into the kingdom of God through the amazing grace of a radio message that spoke of God’s forgiveness and love and I was all in for the forgiveness and love because I desperately needed it after abandoning all semblances of Christianity as I denied Christ and the idea of a personal God and I spent approximately 5 years on the Buddhist path to enlightenment. 

But my real religion was alcoholism, from my teens onward I worshipped at boozes altar through all my transitions from Catholicism to Atheism, to being an Episcopalian, to Buddhism to being a born-again Christian, booze was king.  I thought it was my friend, but it was my master.   

After putting my faith in Jesus Christ in 2010, I was saved and had a real desire to follow the Lord and began reading His word.  That’s when I discovered verses like Romans 13:13 that showed me that although God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness was amazing, He didn’t want me to live in darkness.  

This verse describes my life before Christ: drunkenness, wild parties, sexual promiscuity, immoral living, quarreling, and jealousy.  Unfortunately, it also happens to describe the normal state of the world that I lived in for all my life. If anything the world has gotten worse in these areas as the world has widened the avenues of the flesh by legitimizing and legalizing sexual practices and the use of substances that go outside the way the Lord would want us to live, ways that the Lord would classify as sin and darkness.    

But verses like Romans 13:13 point this out to us and the Holy Spirit can use verses like this to convict our hearts and bring us to repentance.  Our new life in Christ is not realized in the forgiveness of our sins alone. God gave us new life in Christ so we could escape the darkness of our past and the darkness of a world that is headed for judgement.       

Wild parties, drunkenness, and sexual promiscuity may sound like fun but the pain, guilt, and shame that we experience when we live that way is the Lord convicting us in our hearts that this isn’t the way to live.  The fact that these things never satisfy and always result in suffering makes this clear.  

So, as someone who has walked out of the darkness by the power of the Holy Spirit and with a fair amount of blood, sweat, and tears along the way, I want to encourage you that freedom from theses worldly ways of darkness is possible through our faith in Jesus Christ.  

If we look at these behaviors with the light of truth we will discover the lies that they tell and will change minds and hearts about how we think about them.   We can’t love our sin and God.  We must choose between darkness or light. 

By choosing Christ as Savior, we decide to live in the light of His forgiveness, but we also must make the decision to make Jesus our Lord and truly live in the fulness of the light on the new eternal life that He has given us through His death and resurrection.

When we do that we die with Christ and are raised to life with Him.   The power of sin is broken, not because sin is killed but because our old sinful nature is put to death.  IF we accept the death of our old selves and embrace the new life we have been given BY FAITH, we can live out our belief and truly escape our former darkness and walk in the light by the power of the Holy Spirit.      

So keep walking toward that light, leave the darkness behind because if you truly understand that you have already been delivered from it you will rejoice that you have been set free and you never have to go back to those shadows of your former sins again.

I invite all 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 to share from Dr. H. Norman Wright’s “Experiencing Grief

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Wright’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 $5.00:

Chapter 7.
Holes in Your Life

When you lose someone, holes are created in your life. There's a hole at the dinner table, in the seat next to you at church or the restaurant, on the other end of the phone, extra space in the house, less sound in the car. It takes weeks and months before you stop looking, searching, or reaching out in conversation as though the person were still there. Planning a typical routine or vacation now falls out of the routine category.

It's not just the loss of your loved one that is so painful. It's all the other losses that occur because of this one. The way you live your life, love, sleep, eat, work, and worship are all affected. Often the death of your loved one brings up not just grief for what you lost but also for what you never had and what you never will have. There is a loss of the present as well as the future. And this especially impacts your relationships. You may feel awkward around others for whom the one you lost was also a loved one. A death can put distance in some relationships or draw together and connect others in a greater intimacy than before. Death can be either a wedge or a source of confusion.

But like so many other areas of life, what occurs takes choices and courage on your part. Out of this painful chaos there will eventually be glimmers of something new. This is a thought to hold onto and file away since at this point in time this could be the furthest thought from your mind.

You will find that your loved one was the link to certain relationships, and now that the link is gone, some relationships may fade. Others may be too uncomfortable to continue the same kind of relationship. Some may become closer than ever before. You may feel that others are just continuing on without you and you're feeling left behind. Many in grief are thrown by the changes in relationships since no one forewarned them of this possibility.

You may be the one who wants to build or even end some of the relationships. Perhaps some were obligations held together by the other person. You may want to put this entire topic on hold until you're further along on your journey of grief.

Your behavior changes. Many say, "I'm just not myself." That's true. You won't be for some time. You may find yourself phasing out when others are talking. Your mind drifts off since it's difficult to stay focused and attentive. You feel detached from people and activities even though they're an important part of your life. What is upsetting to many is how absent-minded you are. You may cry for "no apparent" reason. It's common to lose your sense of awareness of where you are in losses of both time and place. C. S. Lewis describes this apathy as the "laziness of grief." The feeling, "Oh, what's the use?" is a constant theme. Everything can seem to be such an effort. A man who lost his fiancé in an accident described this state: "I couldn't see one day ahead of me. I became a foot watcher, walking through airports or the grocery store staring at my feet, methodically moving through a misty world. One foot, then the other.... Some days, especially early on, it was the only act of faith I could muster."

Your feelings could be more intense than you could imagine. They come and go with an overwhelming intensity, or they become entrenched as though encased in cement. Many describe them as recurring waves like the ocean. Scripture reflects what we experience.

Oh, my anguish, my anguish!

I writhe in pain.

Oh, the agony of my heart!

My heart pounds within me,

I cannot keep silent.

For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;

I have heard the battle cry. (Jer. 4:19)

Where do all your feelings come from in grief? Even though you may be unaware of it, you are thinking. Grief comes from your thoughts about the one you lost—thoughts about the future without this person and thoughts about this intruder we call grief. Your feelings could intensify because of the surprise and shock you experience over the onset of intense emotions. And all these intense feelings make you wonder if you're going crazy. It's like a mighty hurricane blowing through your life. But before all the feelings, you may experience something else.

Whether the death is expected or sudden, you may experience numbness. The more unexpected and traumatic the loss, the more intense your numbness will be. At first the feelings are muted like muting the sound on your TV. The initial shock of knowing a loved one is dead puts most into a paralyzing state of shock. "This is a period in which no mourner can describe clearly, thanks to nature's protection measures. Afterward, looking back, it is recalled as through a rolling mist which thins out occasionally to permit short glimpses of a distant blurred landscape, partly in sun and partly in blackest shadows. Possibly the key word here is shock."

Shock is like a breaker box in a house. When you have too many lines plugged into the same outlet, the electricity goes out. When you are overloaded by grief, your mind goes into a state of shock that allows you to keep going until you reset the "breakers" in your mind. This happens when you begin to experience and process the multiple emotions that hit you.

It's a natural protection as though someone gave you anesthesia. It insulates you from the intensity of your feelings of loss that you have experienced, but it also may prevent you from understanding the full experience of the loss. This absence is unnerving and brings a sense of unreality. And you may find yourself wandering around aimlessly. How long will this last? It could be hours, days, or weeks. No one else can tell you. Some say they're living in a dreamlike state.

If you didn't experience numbness or shock, don't be alarmed. We all respond differently. Whatever your initial reaction, it's just the introduction to a new play or drama in your life. The next scene will be the most intense.

Experiencing Grief.

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

 

God bless you all!

 

Join our Victory over the Darkness Discipleship Class 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) and Google podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL210NGNocmlzdDI0Ny9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D

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 

 

Purity 385: Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Purity 385 04/06/2021 Purity 385 Podcast

Good morning.

Today’s photo comes from our friends at Community Life Church as they shared this sunrise view from Mike’s Point in Catskill New York as the Catskill Ecumenical Council of Churches held an Easter Morning Sunrise Service at 6:30 am this past Sunday.

You have to love the spirit of unity and the enthusiasm that the six churches of the council displayed in coming together to celebrate Christ’s resurrection as well as the wonderful view of God’s creation in their local community.    

I share photos from friends all over the country and from around the world to show the beauty of God’s handiwork and to highlight the fact that God’s presence is still active in the world and He is seeking to give us the peace and hope that is possible through the work that Christ did during his earthly ministry to bridge the gap between God and man.   

Faith in Christ has the power to save and transform our lives, and having personally experienced God’s love, mercy, and grace, I am not surprised that this group of Christians decided to brave the crisp temperatures at 6:30 am in Greene County to come together to worship the Lord and give Him the glory for their resurrected lives.     

That’s right, when we place our faith in Christ, we share in His death and resurrection. So keep walking and talking to God, because when our faith is certain and our doubts are diminished, we can experience the assurance of life everlasting and the power to endure and overcome the negative circumstances of this life with a peace that goes beyond all understanding.

(An Audio version of this message is available at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, you can also find it on Apple podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154) and Google podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL210NGNocmlzdDI0Ny9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D).) There is more content at the restricted blog. Follow me on Twitter or MeWe for easy access.  Blog M T 4 Christ dot org – This is where the Facebook post ends.)

This morning’s meditation verse is:

John 14:2 (NKJV)
² In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Today’s verse displays some of Christ’s parting words to the Apostles before He was to be crucified.  While the Apostles struggled to understand what Christ was talking about in the moment, we have the benefit of knowing that Christ overcame death itself.  As puzzling as these words were to the Apostles, they are a comforting promise of the reality of the afterlife for all those who have placed their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  

When we trust in the gospel narratives and what they tell us about what Jesus said and how He rose from the dead, we should be not only comforted of a good place to go to when we die, Hello Mansions!, but we should be empowered by the fact that we as Christians have the promise of essentially overcoming death.  

We get to share in Christ’s example as one who clearly died but some how rose to life again.  Christ’s resurrection shows us that, although the people alive at the time may have thought that Jesus was dead and gone, He was actually fulfilling the words of this verse. Although He appeared to be dead and stiff, He was active and alive in the spiritual realm (1 Peter 3:18-22, 4:6, Ephesians 4:8-10) preparing a place for us and announcing the good news of His victory to the faithful departed.    

I always say that context matters and as good as verse 2 is at assuring us of a good place being prepared for us. Verse 3 assures of Christ coming again and receiving us.  

John 14:3 (NKJV)
³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Where He is, we will be also. So whether we see Christ after we pass into eternity, or if He should surprise us with His return to earth while we are still alive, we will be with Him. Jesus is Emanuel- God with us. 

So remember that we have the promise of eternal life and the assurance of His return to reclaim the earth, but we also have the benefit of His presence in our lives of faith and that we can be with Him when we pray, remember His life and words, and when we seek to live according to His example.  He will never leave us or forsake us, and He will be with us always, even to the end of the age. 

I invite all to mt4chritst.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. 

 

Today we will conclude sharing from Dr. June Hunt’s Biblical Counseling Keys on “Alcohol & Drug Abuse: Breaking Free & Staying Free.

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

H. How to Realize the Power of Prayer ... On Behalf of the One Addicted

Josh Hamilton and his friend Johnny Narron are out on the road, and while many of Josh's teammates are having a beer at the hotel bar, the secluded pair are drinking "living water" (John 4:10). Abundantly supplied by their Lord and Savior, Josh and Johnny are studying the Word of God and find themselves refreshed by its truths and precepts. Johnny is determined to keep praying and to keep standing by Josh during every step of his difficult journey.

"I'm there for Josh, always. When he gets antsy, he'll come up to me and say, 'Johnny, let's do a devotional.'" And once again, the two drink "living water" and find their spiritual thirst exceedingly quenched.

As testimony to the tremendous power of prayer, Josh and Katie have founded Triple Play Ministries to handle their numerous speaking engagements highlighting their story of restoration and redemption. And, while conducting Christian baseball camps for kids, Josh explains, "The biggest thing we want to do is to share Jesus Christ with people."

Concerning Josh, Johnny is obedient to the following Scripture, and many, many people are blessed. ...

"As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right."
(1 Samuel 12:23)

As you appeal to God on behalf of your loved one ...

• Pray with thanksgiving for what God has done for both you and your loved one.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

• Pray for God to reveal any harmful responses on your part.

"You desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place" (Psalm 51:6).

• Pray for a sincere love for the struggler and that both of you would love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ..." (Matthew 5:44).

• Pray for strongholds to be broken and for the ground given to drugs to be reclaimed by God.

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

• Pray for faith that, with God, lasting change can occur, and God will be glorified.

"... all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27).

• Pray for the struggler to be filled with the knowledge of God and to live a life worthy of Him and pleasing to Him.

"... we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience ..." (Colossians 1:9-11).

• Pray with consistency and persistence, realizing the supernatural power of God is essential in the life of your loved one.

"... pray continually ..." (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

"If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
(2 Corinthians 5:17)

Our all-American hero, Mickey Mantle, became a new creation as he approached his death. Mickey died at the age of 63, but his final months were not marred by his trademark foul-mouthed, falling-down-drunk behavior. One writer described the "new" Mickey Mantle: "In those last days and weeks, even as his body was breaking down, Mickey Mantle had acquired, quietly and with almost an ethereal elegance, a strength and dignity he did not know he possessed. He faced his own death with that strength and became a new kind of hero."

This new strength and dignity did not come from Mickey Mantle himself, but from the Lord Jesus Christ, who forgave all of Mickey's sins and gave him the free gift of eternal life. ...

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."
(Psalm 143:10)

You may say, "I can't. ... I've tried. ... I just can't do it!"

Well, maybe it's true that you don't have the stamina to stop ... and stay stopped.

But understand that Christ hasn't called you to stay sober alone.

The Bible reveals this secret ...

"Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."
(1 Thessalonians 5:24 NASB)

— June Hunt

·  For further information on drugs see U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, "Drug Information" (Washington, D.C.: DEA, n.d.), http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/concem.html and National Institute on Drug Abuse, "Commonly Abused Drugs" (Washington, D.C.: NIDA, n.d.), http://www.drugabuse.gov/DrugPages/DrugsofAbuse.html.

See Jay Johnson, Jane Carlisle Maxwell, and Marian Leitnerschmidt, A Dictionary of Slang Drug Terms, Trade Names, and Pharmacological Effects and Uses (Austin, TX: Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 1997), http://www.tcada.state.tx.us/research/slang/terms.pdf.

Biblical Counseling Keys - Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling Keys: Alcohol & Drug Abuse: Breaking Free & Staying Free.

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

 

God bless you all!

 

Join our Victory over the Darkness Discipleship Class 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) and Google podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL210NGNocmlzdDI0Ny9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D

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