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Showing posts with label Recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recovery. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Monster – Progressing in the Flow = Purity 601

Monster – Progressing in the Flow =  Purity 601

Purity 601 12/14/2021  Purity 601 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the Hudson River at dusk comes to us from yours truly as I was blessed to have this view to gaze upon at the end of another Manic Monday yesterday at my modest home that has been affectionately named “River House”.  I just love where the Lord has placed me and how I can enjoy the way the river just “goes with the flow”.

In my new job function as a telephone repair man, I diagnose the problems that are affecting customers telephone service by isolating the “trouble” to a specific point in the telephone cable and try to “fix” the problem by trying to find away around the problem.  I’m sort of the  “quick fix” guy meaning if there is a way to bypass your issue, I can fix it.

Imagine a phone line as a rope from me to you. The rope between me and you is actually several smaller ropes that are tied in knots that make up one long continuous rope.  When something goes wrong, one of those smaller ropes “breaks” and I have to follow the path of rope and figure out which “rope broke”.  When we discover the problem, we can either fix the problem with your original rope section or we can tie a new rope to replace that section entirely.  As a “quick fix” guy, I don’t have the tools or equipment to “fix your original rope”, so I look for a “new rope” to bypass your rope’s problem area.

For phone service, the “number of ropes” between start to finish is usually one or two, sometimes three. Yesterday, I had a trouble where there were “three ropes” between start to finish and as I diagnosed the problem, I discovered that we had 3 broken ropes! I had to find a new pathway for each section of the customer’s pathway to reestablish service.  It was a drawn out process, but we established a new pathway that worked.  

When I am looking for “new ropes” between points I have equipment that can tell me many different things, but I have gotten in the habit of streamlining the process by quickly eliminating the many choices by only looking for good pathways. If there is the slightest problem with a possible pathway between points, that pathway is eliminated from consideration. 

I don’t continue testing that pathway to look at its’ other attributes or qualities.  I don’t question “why” this pathway doesn’t work. My training and experience have taught me what a “good” path and a “bad” path looks like. 

The more I perform my current job function the more I “know” what will work and what won’t.   At the first sign of trouble, options are eliminated until I find a path that will work or until I exhaust all options and have to refer the trouble to a technician who has specialized equipment to pinpoint the trouble and the “fix the original” rope rather than bypass the problem.

In life I have discovered that we waste a lot of time trying to “fix our original” ropes rather than “bypassing” the bad ropes (or decisions) and going to a “new rope” or new path that works.   

Our lives are like a flow chart of decisions and predictable outcomes.  

In my history with alcohol, I had an immense flow chart regarding whether I would choose to drink, what I would drink, when I would drink, how much I would drink, and then the various outcomes that would result from my decisions to drink.  And brother let me tell you, through the 26 years of my drinking, from age 17 to 43, I worked every possible avenue of the alcoholism flow chart. 

I followed new pathways and tried every possible combination of routes to find the pathways that had the fewest negative outcomes and at several points in my life I thought I had found the “secret”  to better life through chemistry.  I worked out the right conditions of how I could drink, enjoy a pleasant level of drunkenness, and not suffer too much. 

The problem was that my habit wouldn’t be tamed.  I could “travel” the approved paths of alcohol for a time but eventually would have an overwhelming compulsion to “go rogue” and to run down paths that broke the “rules” of moderation and balance.  

Of course beyond the flow chart of decisions involving alcohol, there was a whole spectrum of emotions and thoughts that drove that behavior.  When you are addicted, its like you are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And no matter how long you can be Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde will find his way out, usually on holidays or special occasions for maximum embarrassment, shame, pain, and discord.   Skillet’s song “Monster”, described it pretty well saying:

“The secret side of me, I never let you see

I keep it caged but I can't control it

So stay away from me, the beast is ugly

I feel the rage and I just can't hold it

It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls

It comes awake and I can't control it

Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head

Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin

I must confess that I feel like a monster

I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun

I must confess that I feel like a monster”

Thankfully,  in 2010 I heard a gospel message that caused me to realize that God didn’t expect me to clean up my act to make peace with Him. All my mistakes and all my sins could be forgiven by placing my faith in Christ.  I put my faith in Christ and decide to follow the One who saved me no matter where it would lead.  

The Lord doesn’t force you to do anything. He wants your love and obedience to be freely given.  So after awhile of studying the word, going to church, and still working that alcohol flow chart,  Pastor Bob Costello started a recovery ministry at my local church, and I was presented with a “new path” for the rest of my life.  Amazingly, when the Lord called me to follow it, I did.

Instead of working that alcohol flow chart, and wondering why all those pathways didn’t work, the Holy Spirit encouraged me to bypass it all by saying no to alcohol in all of its forms and choose to walk out my life and my faith on the path of Christian discipleship.  

That mess of decisions that flows from the choice to drink was bypassed as the Lord gave me the strength and guidance to live in a new way and as I walked away from alcohol and into my freedom in Christ, I continually discovered that following the Lord would cause me to walk away from other regrettable decisions and the negative emotions that accompany them.    

The path of Christian Discipleship also gave me the solid foundation of my new identity in Christ upon which I could stand and know my true self-worth as an adopted child of God.  Instead of walking through the emotional flow chart that caused me to be anxious, angry, or fearful, agreeing with what the word of God said about who I am in Christ moved me to experience the fruit of the spirit of peace, love, joy, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. 

The Truth, the Way, and the Life that you receive when you come to faith in Jesus Christ is not behavior modification or agreeing with positive affirmations, it is realizing and manifesting the transformation that has already occurred when you received new spiritual life and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.      

So while we will have to volitionally decide to renew our minds by believing what the word says about us and lean on the Lord’s strength and guidance to repent and turn from our former worldly ways; the process of transformation has already been accomplished. 

Our efforts of following the Lord’s way are merely the steps that we need to take in order to grow into what we already have the potential to be.  Our transformation is not immediate perfection, our lives of faith are lives of progress as we go from “faith to faith” and “glory to glory”.  

So keep walking and talking with God. He will warn you about the paths that “don’t work” and will guide you in the way that you should go.  The Lord works all things together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose.  If you love Him, He is calling you to walk away from those old paths that lead to guilt and shame and is encouraging you to “flow” into a life that is defined by peace, love, and joy. So progress into the “flow” of where the Spirit will lead you and continue to discover the new life of freedom and victory that He has for you. 


Today’s Bible verse is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Isaiah 44:3 (NLT2)

3  For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.

Today’s verse points to a future fulfillment of the reception of the Holy Spirit for the nation of Israel.  

When Christ came into His earthly ministry he eventually informed His disciples that he must someday depart from them, but it was better for them because they would receive the Holy Spirit.   The original Apostles were all children of Israel, and they had the Holy Spirit poured out on them at the Day of Pentecost and the church grew and has never been the same since. 

All believers in Christ receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and are given a new everlasting spiritual life when they place their faith in Jesus.  

The prophetic meaning behind today’s verse was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, is fulfilled with every new convert to Christianity, and will ultimately be completely fulfilled as the last of the tribulation saints come to faith in Jesus Christ just before His glorious return to reclaim the heavens and the earth for God’s kingdom.  

For those who have received the Holy Spirit and who have experienced His presence and the flow of His fruit into their lives, they can confess that their lives before Christ were as parched fields in a dry and dusty land but when the living waters of the Holy Spirit flowed into their lives, their thirsts were quenched by goodness of God and the new life that He has for them.  

So if you are feeling dry, ask for the Holy Spirit to refill you with His anointing and receive it by faith.  God gives good things to His children, but you have to have faith that He rewards those who diligently seek Him, and you have to ask.   

So seek Him and ask Him to be with you and empower you to go the way you should go.  The Holy Spirit is with us always and is faithful to move us into our purpose for God’s kingdom with love, strength, and power that comes when you ask His Spirit to fill you.  

 

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 A.W. Tozer’s Advent Devotional – From Heaven,  for Day 18, as this current resource series will lead us to Christmas Eve.

 

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Tozer’s books for your own private study and to support his work.

DAY 18

TRUSTING IN GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

REVELATION 22:20

Have you ever heard of a person eagerly reading an interesting book, then suddenly deciding to abandon it without reading the last chapter? The last chapter ties together the threads of the narrative; it summarizes the arguments; it climaxes the action. You and I would agree that to close a book without reading the final chapter would be to read without purpose and without satisfaction.

I have had people tell me that although they read the Bible, they stop short of Revelation—the final “chapter.” Imagine! That particular Bible book announces itself as the revelation of Jesus Christ. It forecasts the consummation of all things and introduces the new order. How can readers form a balanced understanding of God, sin, unbelief, and divine judgment if they ignore so important a book? In these crisis days of world government, no Christian can afford to ignore the climactic Revelation.

We may take one of only two stances in regard to this prophetic “unveiling”—this portraying of the future return of Jesus Christ to this earth, to this world that once rejected Him as Messiah and crucified Him at Calvary. We may ignore it, in effect despising it and jeering at the prospect of a future divine intervention affecting the entire world. Or we may embrace it, cheering for the promised victory of a righteous Ruler, the coming King of kings.

Those who ignore Revelation take their place with the many who believe a humanistic view of life is sufficient: that men and women are responsible captains of their own souls. They take their place with the defiant multitude who shout the age-old refrain: “We will not have this Man to rule over us!”

Those who take Revelation seriously are convinced of an actual heavenly realm as real as the world we now inhabit. They are persuaded that the day of consummation nears when “the kingdom of the world” becomes “the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ,” who “shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

Living in this generation, we are fully aware that the competitive world and our selfish society have brought many new fears to the human race. I can empathize with those troubled beings who lie awake at night worrying about the possible destruction of the race through some evil, misguided use of the world’s store of nuclear weapons. The tragedy is that they have lost all sense of the sovereignty of God! I, too, would not sleep well if I could not trust moment by moment in God’s sovereignty and omnipotence and in His grace, mercy, and faithfulness.

The prevailing attitudes of fear, distrust, and unrest permeating our world are known to all of us. But in God’s plan some of us also know a beautiful opposite: the faith and assurance found in the church of Jesus Christ. God still has a restful “family” in His church. As believers we gladly place our confidence in God’s revelation of Himself. Although the material world has never understood our faith, it is well placed in the Scriptures. The Bible tells us many things we could learn in no other way.

This amazing Revelation—the final section of the holy Scriptures—tells us plainly that no human being and no world government or power will have any control or any say in that fiery day of judgment yet to come upon the earth. John’s vision of things to come tells us clearly and openly that at the appropriate time the direction and administration of this world will be taken away from men and women and placed in the hands of the only Man who has the wisdom and power to rightly govern. That Man is the eternal Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation describes the age-ending heavenly and earthly events when our Lord and Savior is universally acknowledged to be King of kings and Lord of lords. All will acclaim Him victor. God’s Revelation leaves us with no doubt about that.

In our present period of time, however, there is little recognition of God’s sovereignty or of His plan for His redeemed people. Go into the marketplace, into our educational institutions, and—yes—even into our popular religious circles, and you will find a growing tendency to make mankind large and to make God small. Human society is now taking it for granted that if God indeed exists, He has become our servant, meekly waiting upon us for our will.

In the face of this kind of human thinking, I want to make a case for the committed Christians in this world. We are the true realists. We confess that we do not hold the powers of life and death in our own hands. We have sensed the importance of John’s vision in the Revelation. We are assured that God is alive and well and that He has never abdicated His throne. While others may wonder and speculate concerning God’s place in the universe, we are assured that He has never yielded to any of His creatures His divine rights as Lord of man and nature.

It is for this reason that the Christian believer, related to God by faith, is assured of final victory. Even in the midst of earthly trials, he or she is joyful.

Tozer, A. W. (2016). From heaven: a 28-day advent devotional. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

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

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

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

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

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

 

Saturday, December 4, 2021

The Relapse that Wasn’t Worth it - Changing From my Old “Corduroys” to be a “Better Man”- Purity 593


The Relapse that Wasn’t Worth it - Changing From my Old “Corduroys” to be a “Better Man”- Purity 593

Purity 593 12/04/2021 Purity 593 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of spectacular December sunset sky comes to us from the vantage point of a friend’s front porch in West Liberty, Kentucky.  It’s a beautiful view but as nice as it is our friend has decided that they want to see the sky from different vantage points all over the country because despite relocating to Kentucky from New York earlier this year they have decided to sell their recently acquired home and to exchange it for an RV to travel the highways and bi-ways of our country to see and capture more of the beauty of God’s creation that surrounds us.  

I can relate to that restless spirit to “come and see” as it has led me to seek the Lord and follow wherever He leads. My walk of faith has been an all inclusive trip that has included diving deep into God’s word and the teachings of the saints who have tried to unpack its wisdom; as well as an experiential journey that has led me to perform the good works that the Lord has prepared for me in my local communities as well as traveling to distant lands both nationally and internationally to answer His call.  

As much as we may look to the outside for our meaning and purpose for God, He also calls us to renew our minds and to turn from our worldly ways and to adopt His way for living our lives.  This inward transformative work can be a daunting task and as frustrating a process as changing the ways we how we think and act may be at times, the rewards of repentance are worth it.     \

I have indicated in my continuing testimony my ongoing victories over my former addictions to alcohol, drugs, and sex and know that the process of recovery and repentance can be one marked with victories and defeats as sometimes our best efforts are dismantled by our own weakness.  

While I was able to walk away from illicit and illegal drugs, one of which is now legal, in my own strength with the strong crutch of alcohol still holding me up, to be completely sober I needed the Lord’s strength.  

In 2015, my church started a recovery ministry and when they did I knew that it was time to finally trust the Lord to take away that crutch of alcohol that I was bound to. I walked strong in recovery for two weeks but then due to corrupting influences of a former relationship and due to my own weakness, I relapsed at a “rock and roll” weekend of excess at an old resort near Hunter Mountain, in Greene County.  

After two days of throwing off my restraint and indulging in alcohol, cigarettes, and magic mushrooms, (in for a penny in for a pound right?), I woke up Sunday morning heavily convicted and angry at my failure.  I was mad that this relapse “wasn’t even worth it!”

I had thrown away two weeks of sobriety for a “not so great time” with people I didn’t know who seemed ravaged by the effects of their decades of addictions, doing the same things and singing the same songs over and over again since high school.  They hadn’t grown in their maturity or learned from the suffering caused by their vicious cycles and seemed to be condemned to keep repeating them, to never escape from the lifestyle that would continue to destroy their health and possibly cost them their souls if they never turned to God.

So I was ashamed and felt guilty but unlike in times of the past, where I would have sheepishly lamented of the uselessness of trying to fight my addictions, I was filled with righteous indignation and recommitted myself to surrender to and to follow the Lord completely on the road to recovery.

As a forgiven saint, there was grace for my failure. God wasn’t going to disown me. Christ had paid the cost for all of my sins and that includes the one I haven’t done yet.  My relationship with God wasn’t over and when I asked for forgiveness and recommitted myself to Him that morning, I knew that He was with me forever and that no matter what missteps I make in life He will never leave me or forsake me and that instead He will encourage me to keep following Him into the life that He wants for me, a life defined by the fruit of the Spirit rather than the sins of the flesh. 

From that day in March of 2015, I have continued to surrender to and to follow the Lord and to walk in victory.  My latest battle has been with my food addiction to processed foods and particularly sugar filled treats and candy.  

I have made great advances in that fight this year but since October I have “given myself grace” to indulge in the occasional “cheat day”.  Unfortunately, while a reasonable person may be able to be measured in their choices to step off the path of righteousness, I have that addict’s philosophy to go for broke when I indulge.  Like an alcoholic who is incapable of seeing the point of only having a few drinks and figures if they are going to drink they most certainly are going to get good and hammered, when I give in to have some candy or other treat I usually have a lot.  

Just like an addict, my little indulgences on holidays and “special occasions” have led to more “special occasions” and to me secretly grabbing unapproved foods and hiding my activities.  Last night, it was Friday night, and I because I had been on my eating plan that is sugar free for several days decided that I was going to make it a “cheat day” and went overboard by eating several servings of candy. 

This morning I feel like I did back in 2015. I feel that my relapse wasn’t even worth it! The sweets didn’t satisfy, and  I pray that this will be a turning point from which I have a renewed conviction to not “keep going to the well” that has proven to be poisoned.  

Food addiction is particularly difficult because we have to eat but when we avoid processed foods and eat the foods that God created and that have not been enhanced or corrupted by the hands of men, we feel healthier.  So I am “outing” myself once again with the intention of picking myself back up and walking into the healthier life that God would have me live. 

There is grace for our failures and there is even room for the enjoyment of all of hat the Lord has provided but when we throw off restraint in a reckless way like I do, we need to recognize that the way of victory may require cessation rather than moderation. If we can’t just enjoy a reasonable amount of something, it might be more reasonable for us not to have any.  

Our walk of life is one in which we can take corrective action and when we see the same patterns of failure coming again and again, its time to get off the merry go round, ask the Lord to forgive us for our weakness, and to ask Him to strengthen and help us to go the way that we should go.  

As I was considering this message some lyrics from some old Pearl Jam songs from their Vitalogy album came to mind and of course my aged brain had confused them and made two songs to be one.   I had melded the lyrics of “Better Man” and “Corduroy” and was taken by how some of the themes in those songs reflected my past and my intention to be a “Better Man”. 

Corduroy is sort of an anthem of rebellion and independence that speaks of not wanting to “hear from those who know” and not “wanting to be held in your debt” with the result of ending “up alone like I began.”

“Better Man” is actually a song about abuse, telling the tale of a woman who is trapped in a relationship with a man, and although she “dreams in colors” and “dreams in red”, “She lies and says she’s in love with him”, lamenting that she “Can’t find a better man, Can’t find a better man…”

Both songs are meaningful I guess because I was that independent spirit that would do things his way to point of my own detriment and that I know what it is like to feel trapped in cycles of addictions and abusive relationships but because of God I have a new hope.  

I don’t have to “…be damned, All alone like I began”.  God has saved me and encourages me to walk further into the life He has for me.  I don’t have to earn it.  I “Can’t buy what I want because it’s free.”  

God has called me out of the darkness to be the “better man”  that I never thought I could be. 

And even though I know this latest slip up was only candy and there is grace for it, I know that with God’s strength I can be a better man and no longer have to give in to these food binges that only result in a feelings of sickness, shame, and futility.    

I also know that my battle is not just my own.  There are others who are trapped in bad relationships and addictive patterns. And if my testimony can help even one person to seek the Lord and find their freedom in Christ, I simply must continue to “take my lumps” and keep walking towards the light and to become the better man that God has already given me the power to be. 

So keep walking and talking with God. Our journey of faith doesn’t end and the rewards for faithfully pursuing repentance and the Lord’s will and purpose for our lives is worth it.


Today’s Bible verse is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:


Lamentations 5:19 (NLT2)
19  But LORD, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation.

 

 

Today’s verse continues the theme that we have been discussing over the last few days: that God is eternal and does not change.  God remains the same forever and His throne continues from generation to generation. 

In my limited time each day I generally don’t have time to read the resource that I share on the blog after I speak about the meditation verse of the day. To be honest I sometimes don’t read the shared resources I post in their entirety at all but know they could help someone else.

Today I took a moment to read from A.W. Tozer’s advent devotional before I wrote the first part of today’s message, as I have decided to be intentional about making it a part of my preparations for this year’s Christmas celebration.  I enjoyed what I read and I feel that it is a fitting commentary for today’s verse.  So instead of sharing my thoughts I would direct all who read this to continue on, and for all who hear this on the podcast to forgive me if I studder through this most excellent text:    

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 A.W. Tozer’s Advent Devotional – From Heaven,  for Day 8, as this current resource series will lead us to Christmas Eve.

 

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Tozer’s books for your own private study and to support his work.

DAY 8

LIGHT FOR THE DARKNESS

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. PSALM 119:105

This revelation of Jesus Christ has to do with His relationship to the Father, to the human race, and to the church. It has to do with His relationship to Israel, to the nations, to our enemy the devil, and to the coming judgment.

Ministers faithful to the Word of God have always said that Christ can be found on every page of the Bible. In the Revelation, we see Him dominating the eternal future. The message of the book is the almost overwhelming portrayal of Christ’s victory, bringing about the final destruction of Satan and all of his works.

Part of our Christian restfulness comes from the fact that we are in the hands of a loving God who has already existed throughout all of the tomorrows. Because all time is in God, the flow of time never concerns God. He never has to run in an effort to catch up with the movement of time. The end of time is seen by God just as easily as the beginning of time.

That is why the Bible tells us that God knows the end from the beginning. That is why a godly man like John, caught up in the Spirit of God, could be shown the outline of future events. They were future to him, and they are future to us. That is because we are in the stream of time. They are not future to God because He is not in the stream of time.

Revelation is the only New Testament book that may be classified as “predictive” in its character and content. (It has been interesting to me to find in the writings of Blaise Pascal, the great 17th-century scientist and religious philosopher, his conclusion that no true prediction of mankind’s future can be found anywhere but in the Christian Scriptures.)

About the predictive quality of the Scriptures we ought to be in agreement. If there cannot be any valid foresight, no revelation from God, nothing to warn us or prepare us for tomorrow, this life on earth would have to be considered a gloomy business indeed. Thankfully, we have a definite word, a promise upon which we can lean. Peter, one of God’s special spokesmen, expressed it this way:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 PETER 1:19–21

As Christian believers, we are assured that no matter how dark it becomes around us, God will faithfully provide the illumination of His Spirit. The Old Testament offers in the release of Israel from Egyptian bondage a fitting illustration. When God was moving toward the climax of that deliverance, the darkness of night covered Egypt, but, miraculously, there was light in the dwellings of all of the Israelites. So, too, there is light even now for us who are Christian believers concerning our future. God’s Word is a light that shines in a dark place until the morning star rises in our hearts.

 

Tozer, A. W. (2016). From heaven: a 28-day advent devotional. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

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

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

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

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

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Monday, November 15, 2021

Hello, Darkness My Old Friend – A New Day, A New Life - Purity 576


Hello, Darkness My Old Friend – A New Day, A New Life - Purity 576

 Purity 576 Podcast

Purity 576 11/15/2021

Good morning

Today’s photo of a raccoon peaking over the horizon of the tree line at the rear of a property in Picayune, Mississippi comes to us from friend who referred to this visitor as their “backyard friend”.  As cute as they may be raccoons are also known as “trash pandas” in some circles because of their penchant for knocking over trash cans  and making a mess as they seek to satisfy their appetites for table scraps.  This little “backyard friend”  may not be a welcome site to those who have experienced the results of their nocturnal adventures and have decided that their cute looks don’t outweigh the trouble they cause.  

In recovery circles, those who have overcome undoubtedly have some “friends in low places” that they had to leave behind because no matter how cute and friendly they were their friendship wasn’t worth the trouble they caused.   Likewise abusive relationships, which began in love, have to be abandoned when it is clear that the abuser refuses to change and to come under the authority of an accountability system that will end their abusive ways.  

People locked in addictive cycles or patterns of abuse may refuse help or attempts to change, and that is their decision, but those who have suffered because of their associations with them can also decide that their relationship with their abuser or fellow addict will end and that their new lives without them will be free of the “trash” that their old addicted or abusing friends continually brought into their lives.

It's Monday, so it’s the beginning to another work week and quite possibly the beginning of a new life for each of us as we may have grown sick and tired of being sick and tired.  When we go around the merry go round of this world long enough, we may begin to see that the things the world promises to make us happy or to ease our pains are a lie.

When we have suffered long enough with addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex, or food, we see that these things were never intended to fulfill us and that something is missing in our lives. 

Likewise, no matter how healthy or unhealthy as our interpersonal relationships are, we may come to a point where we see that our relationships also fail to completely fulfill us. 

When the things and people of this earth fail to satisfy us, we should realize that the thing that is missing in our lives is God.  

God has given us life and made us in His image to enjoy the gift He has given us and to represent Him.  When we ignore God and do things according to our ways and desires, we will eventually suffer loss and pain and question why things have to be this way.  

Instead of seeking for meaning and truth with our lives, we only sought to avoid pain and seek pleasure not realizing that our temporary nature would never allow us to find lasting satisfaction. 

Our plans to avoid pain and suffering and only have pleasure through our best efforts were short sighted because they ignored our fundamental nature and the higher meaning behind our existence. In our attempts to “build ourselves up” or have a “good life” or a “good time”, we failed to consider the Creator’s plans and intentions for us.    

Of course we are often not alone in our search for happiness and will surround ourselves with people who agree with our philosophies of life but just because we get someone to agree with us doesn’t mean that our ways are the right way. 

At one point in a previous relationship, I realized that I had made some very wrong assumptions about life and felt like I had led myself and the people I was with into a dead end. Like a group of survivalists in a zombie apocalypse movie, we had decided to ignore the signs of danger or got caught up in meeting our desires and foolishly had chosen a path that would lead to our death and destruction.   

Having seen the light and a way out, I had turned to tell the others in my party that I had found a way out but discovered that they were either unwilling or incapable of going with me.

At that point, I had a decision to make. I could stay with my friends in the darkness and continue to ignore the danger we were in and enjoy meeting our desires until our eventual demise or I could choose the hard path of escape where I would have to not only leave my friends behind but also choose to leave behind some things that I considered to be a part of me as a person: some tangible personal possessions and some intangible things, like the ways I thought about life, about myself, and about the roles I had within relationships that would have to end.  

The One who showed me the light was God and I could choose to go with Him and live or choose to stay where I was and eventually die.  He assured me that His was the way that was right and that lead to life more abundantly, but I was still free to choose which way I would go.  

I chose to put my trust in Jesus Christ and have followed Him ever since.  The going hasn’t always been easy, and I have had to suffer many loses on the path to a new life, but He has never left me in my struggles, and He has brought me continually out of the darkness that I was in.  

My old friends who live in the shadows beckon me to come back sometimes and I may find myself occasionally listening to their siren song and may even slip up and make a misstep or two as I walk but God has won my soul and my love and when I fall down, I get back up and keep walking in His direction.  

The meaning of life is to make peace with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ and then endeavoring to discover what God’s will and purpose for our life is.

His will is clear in scripture: our sanctification: to be more like Him, to walk in His ways for living. 

His purpose for us is also clear: to love Him and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Scripture also states that He has prepared good works for us to walk into. 

So although the specifics of our lives here on earth aren’t spelled out for us, we have the freedom to grow in the things that are clear in scripture and to discover what God has for us on the journey of our lives. 

Our current physical location should clue us in because we can only do and walk into the path that is before us.  So walk in the Lord’s way for your life where you are and if you feel that you aren’t where you should be, ask the Lord to guide you in the way you should go and get moving in that direction.  

It’s a new week, it’s a new day, and when you keep walking and talking to God it can be a whole new life.  So take the steps today to draw closer to Him into the life He has for you.

You may have to leave your personal darkness and your friends in the shadows behind but the only life you will have in the future will be in the Lord’s presence.

So choose to live and start walking towards that One that works everything for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.


Today’s Bible verse is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.  

This morning’s meditation verse is :

Psalm 119:50 (NLT2)
50  Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.

Today’s verse reminds us that God’s promise can revive us and give us comfort.  

There are many conditional promises in the word of God, like:

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)
19  And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

And

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

Well there are two good ones: That God will supply all you need and that you will not perish and have everlasting life.  

If you notice these promises are conditional on having a relationship with Jesus Christ.  So you have to believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior and put your faith in Him but when you do you are forgiven of all your sins, made spiritually alive, and adopted into God’s royal family. In Christ, we receive everlasting life, and all our needs are met.   

So as today’s verse tells us, God’s promise can revive us and give us comfort in all our troubles.

 

The assurance of our salvation, eternal life, and our unbreakable relationship with God should give us joy and hope to fuel our life’s journey.  If we remember God’s promises, and there are lots more to discover in His word,  we can be revived daily and be comforted if trouble comes our way.   

God is with us. He loves us. He will never leave us or forsake us. So be revived by these truths and by His presence and keep walking and talking with the One who will comfort you all the days of your life.

 

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 sharing from June Hunt’s “Evil and Suffering… Why? Is God Fair?

 

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

G. What Is the Problem of Good?

The Bible says, "Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil" (Romans 14:16). If the problem of evil is an argument for atheism, then the problem of good is an argument for theism. Simply stated, the problem of good is that God must exist in order for ideas such as goodness, fairness, love, and equality to have any meaning. The problem has 5 parts:

1. If there is no God, then nature is supreme.

God is by definition the "supernatural creator of the universe." If there is no supernatural creator of the universe, then nothing is left except nature. Thus the laws of nature are supreme.

2. If there is no God, then nature operates by the principle of "survival of the fittest."

Nature is therefore, cold, harsh, and indifferent. The "fit" creatures that adapt to their environment survive. Those that don't adapt, perish. Thus, that which is smarter, stronger, prettier, quicker, or in any other way more fit to survive are more valuable.

3. If there is no God, self-preservation is the only ethic in "survival of the fittest."

In "survival of the fittest," self-preservation is the law of the land. If one can flourish by deception, then deception makes him "fitter" than others. If one flourishes by violence and brute strength, then strength makes him "fitter" than others. If murder, rape, theft, genocide, betrayal, or hatred contribute to survival and prosperity, then the act becomes "good."

4. If there is no God, concepts such as goodness, fairness, love, and equality are irrelevant to self-preservation.

Self-sacrifice toward others plays no part in self-preservation. Under this model, self sacrifice—or being "nice" to others—is not "good" since it will not benefit oneself. Because all acts of self-preservation are "good," there is no such thing as a crime. Love is an illusion, unless it is the kind of love that is self-seeking. Equality is meaningless unless it refers to making oneself equal to those who otherwise would be "fitter" than oneself.

5. Conclusion: If there is no God, then concepts such as goodness, fairness, love, and equality are illusions.

People search in vain for any basis for goodness, fairness, love, and equality apart from God. "Survival of the fittest" has been used to justify everything from slavery to genocide. Naturally, these practices are abhorrent to most people. This innate sense of goodness, fairness, and love is a powerful argument for the existence of God. Because we personally desire the virtue of goodness and because it is desired around the world, such goodness reflects the image of God.

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)

 

Argument: "A God of love cannot be at the same time a God of wrath. These 2 attributes are incompatible."

Answer: Love and wrath are not incompatible and can certainly exist at the same time within the same person.

  • A mother who intensely loves her baby will, at the same time, have wrath against a child molester who intends to harm her baby.
    —She might even have wrath against her own beloved child for being disobedient and for being disrespectful to her.
  • When you read that "God is love," the Greek word for "love" used here is agape, which means an unconditional commitment to seek another's highest good.
    —God is never without His love for you.
  • God's wrath is in response to sin and is expressed against anything that seeks to harm you or any other object of His love.
    —This truth was illustrated in the Lord's defeat of the Egyptian army as they pursued the Israelites in order to destroy them.

Recorded in Exodus ...

"The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.' But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.... In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling." (Exodus 15:9-10, 13)

 

Question: "Did God know that Adam and Eve would sin?"

Answer: Because God is all-knowing and all-present, He is not bound by time. He knew that Adam and Eve would disobey Him. Yet He chose to create them and to give them free will so that they too could make choices. They would not be His pre-programmed robots. Scripture is clear that God's plan for the salvation of mankind was in His mind even before the creation of the world. (Robots would not need salvation.) The Bible says ...

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12)

 

Question: "Couldn't God have made a world without evil?"

Answer: Yes... however, He also knew that a world of limited moral freedom would actually be an inferior world because virtues are defined by their opposites.

For example, a person can be selfless only if selfishness stands in opposition to it.

  • —Being selfless implies the possibility of being selfish.
  • —It is in overcoming self-centeredness that character is developed and virtue attained.

Although creating a world that became corrupted by evil required God's sacrificing His Son in order to defeat that evil, in His omniscience God knew that such a world would be the best world in which to prepare people for the best of all worlds—heaven itself ...

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.... And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.'" (Revelation 21:1, 3)


Biblical Counseling Keys - Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling Keys: Evil and Suffering... Why?: Why God? Why?.

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

 

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship