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Showing posts with label Resurrection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resurrection. Show all posts

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Bible Study with the Cincotti's - Communion and Resurrection - 04/09/2023


 Today's Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti. 04/09/2023

Listen to our Bible Study Discussion at: Communion and Resurrection Podcast

Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube: 


Communion and the Resurrection

 

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  I Cor. 10:16

 

I love the word “communion.” We see two words, “common” and “union” therein. Consider; unity, community, communication.

 

When we enter “Holy Week” we find two bookends of new                institutions; the supper, and the resurrection.

 

On what we call “Maundy Thursday” Jesus instituted the practice that we continue in, as a church.

         The last supper is more appropriately the last Passover.

         Jesus breaks the unleavened bread and calls it His body.

                  This is not incidental. The broken bread symbolizes His broken body. He passes a piece of it to each of the disciples. They eat it, and a piece of the whole is in each of them. But we mustn’t misunderstand the analogy. When we receive Christ, we don’t receive a small piece of Him, but all of Him.

         SS. 6:3, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”

The question should never arise, “how much of Jesus did I receive?” but we should always ask ourselves, “how much am I willing to submit?”

 

        Jesus calls “the cup” (the new wine) His blood, and establishes a, “new covenant.” Lk. 22:20, “This cup is the new covenant in My                                                blood, which is shed for you,

Lev. 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.”...And...

Gen. 4:10,The voice of you brother’s blood cries out to Me”

 

We are instructed by Jesus to remember these things as               often as we celebrate this meal.

The resurrection is something new. The people Jesus rose up from the dead were more accurately resuscitations. They all died again.

Rom. 8:29 calls Jesus, “the firstborn among many brethren.”

Rom. 6:10 says, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”

 

On the first day of the week Jesus instituted, by example, the resurrection which was a controversial subject in Judaism.

 

Rom. 6:5, For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.

 

         I wanted so much for the phrase “united together” to mean       communion. For the sake of accuracy, it means: planted together, closely united to; planted together.

If you’ve ever seen a corn field; that’s communion.

 

Every aspect of God’s economy is to draw us, and sometimes drive us, and even bind us together in unity with Christ and one another.

 

God’s aim is, “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.                                                                                          Jer. 31:33

 

Jesus expressed it this way, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us…Jn. 17:20

 

Three meals mentioned in Scripture of covenant grace are:

         1) The Passover, which points ahead to Christ, the redeemer

         2) The Lord’s Supper, a bloodless meal that points to the cross

         3) The marriage supper of the Lamb, Rev. 19:9 anticipated.

 

Happy Resurrection Day! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!Rev. 22:20


-----Join us for another Bible Study Next Week -------

or

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

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

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

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

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

My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)

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

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Who Christ Really is for Us Today - Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 40 – Purity 1012

(Photo credit: Paulette Hodges) 

Who Christ Really is for Us Today - Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 40  – Purity 1012

Purity 1012 04/08/2023 Purity 1012 Podcast

Purity 1012 on YouTube: Coming Soon!

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the last night’s post sunset twilight time comes to us from a FB friend who captured this scene near presumably near their home in Germantown NY and shared it on social media last evening , commenting that there was “no filter needed”. 

Well, It’s Holy Saturday and I am sharing a link to gotquestions.org’s biblical answer to the question of “What is Holy Saturday?” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Holy-Saturday.html ) to let the curious, like I was, know what happened on the day in between Christ’s death and resurrection.  

Spoiler alert, while Christ’s disciples mourned his loss, the Pharisees, remembering Jesus’ claim that He would rise from the dead, were asking Pontius Pilate for a guard to put on Christ’s tomb to keep anyone from breaking in.  

However, as we all know, the Resurrection was an “inside job” and no amount of Roman soldiers was going to stop Jesus from breaking out of that tomb to show the world that He was who He said He was, the Messiah – The Son of God and God the Son – and that even the grave could not hold Him down!

But on Saturday, the pharisees, the Romans, and may even some of the disciples, believed that Jesus was dead and gone – but just in case his enemies put a guard on him.  So “Holy Saturday” became a day of waiting  even those who didn’t believe in Him and some Christians will observe today in somber reflection remembering Christ’s death, and the death of other Christians who have gone into eternity before us, to acknowledge the loss but it will an acknowledgement and remembrance that will be tempered with a hope and a promise.  

We can mourn the loss of Christ and the departed saints today, but we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection tomorrow and still have the hope and the promise of Christ’s return to earth to rule and reign forever and the resurrection of all His faithful followers still to come.   

So whether you choose to use Holy Saturday to remember the loss or to rejoice over the resurrection and the hope of Christ’s promised return, I hope you enjoy this day of waiting and have a wonderful Easter or Resurrection Sunday tomorrow.

But speaking of mourning our losses, it may be hard to believe but we have officially arrived at the last day of Lent, and the last day of our current series, the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with Day 40.

As a final reminder, and as we have said each day of this journey, we took this path to mark the season of Lent and to draw closer to God in anticipation of the celebration of Easter, knowing that if we took this journey of repentance seriously, we would not only see the days and seasons change, the Lord would use it to change us too. 

And the Lord did use this walk to change us. We are at the very least were well over 40 days older (no Lent days on Sundays remember?), but if your walk has been similar to mine, the last 40 plus days has helped to deliver you from some of the darkness and chaos of winter and into a new life of spring.  It was February 24th when I started doing this devotion on the blog, on DAY 3 of Lent, yup started late and didn’t know I was going to walk this out officially until Day 5, but it gave me a rest I desperately needed and gave me wisdom and encouragement that I didn’t have before.  This lent I have been a little more disciplined with my health and have seen some major moves of God with the Freedom in Christ course and some new insights and personal revelations through the study material, cohort community, and prayer minister that the Deeper Walk School of Prayer Ministry’s curriculum required me to see to “experience being a client.  This season of Lent just proves to me again the reason why I do this blog – share the knowledge that we are to continually lean on and learn from the Lord and if we keep “waking and talking with God” we will continue to grow and mature as we experience the grand adventure of the new life the Lord has given us to live.   

So if you are coming in late, you can walk out this 40 day journey with Bonhoeffer for yourself, at your own pace.

You can sign up to get this devotional yourself by going to the Biblegateway link on the blog ((https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/40-Day-Journey-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/today)) . 

Day 40

Near the end of his life, Bonhoeffer was reported to have said the following:

“What bothers me incessantly is the question…who Christ really is for us today?”

Biblical Wisdom

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the son of Man is?” and they said, “some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets?” he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46

Questions to Ponder

  • What is the relationship between who Jesus was two thousand years ago and “who Christ really is for us today”?

M.T. Clark: Well, We are going to have to go with Scripture on this one and proclaim that:

Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

And that just as Jesus was close and personal to his disciples two thousand years ago, He is close and personal to His disciples today.  To be with Jesus back then, you had to follow Him. He had places to go and people to see and if you wanted to know Him you had to follow Him. Likewise today, if we want to know Him we have to follow Him and we shouldn’t be surprised to discover that He has places for us to go and people for us to see.  The presence of the Christ in our lives is a tangible reality that requires our “asking, seeking, and knocking” for His wisdom, guidance, love, and strength but the good news is that if we seek Him, we will find Him. So if you don’t know Him or have experienced His presence, keep seeking Him – in His word, in prayer, and by walking and talking with Him – and surrendering yourself to His will for your life.

  • Is there a difference between asking who Christ is for us and who Christ is for me? Explain.

M.T. Clark: While Jesus is the same for all of us – our Lord and Savior, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Our God and Brother, who Christ is “for me” will be a little different for each of us because He will heal our individual hurts and empower us with individual talents for our individual purpose for the body of Christ and the kingdom of God.  We are one body, but we are not all the same, and Christ will be “different” to each of us as our relationship with Him will be highly personal.  

  • How do we go about answering the question about “who Christ really is for us today”?

M.T. Clark:  Again, I would point to Christ being who He said He was and the fact that He doesn’t change and that if we want an answer to the question of “who Christ really is for us today?”, we have to consider who we “really are” for Christ today.

If Christ is someone you only visit a couple of times a year, or just on Sundays, at a church service, He really isn’t going to be much for you. But if we are continually seeking to know Him more through consulting His word and seeking His guidance in prayer and conforming ourselves to His image in the way we live our lives, He is “really” going to be “really real” to us and He is going to really be the answer to everything in our lives. So if you want to know “who Christ really is for us today?”, you might want to ask yourself \:

“Do I really “believe this” (John 11:25-26)? Do I really believe that He is the resurrection and the life? Am I really following Him? Am I for real, in my faith?”

Psalm Fragment

“Be still, and know that I am God!
   I am exalted among the nations,
   I am exalted in the earth.” 
Psalm 46:10

Journal Reflections

  • If someone asked you who Christ really is for you today, how would you answer?

M.T. Clark: If someone asked me who Christ really is for me today, I would tell them that, Jesus is:

·       My Lord and Savior

·       My reason for Hope

·       The One who Recued me

·       The One who gave me life

·       The One who paid for my sins

·       The One who forgives me

·       ‘The One who loves me

·       The One who has answered all my questions

·       The One who has never left me of forsaken me’

·       The One who walks with me every day

·       The Other in the Fire

·       My Brother, My Lord, and My Friend

And that’s not all, but that’s some of who Christ really is for me, today, and every day.

  • You have finished a 40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer. How was the journey? What did you learn from Bonhoeffer? Has your understanding of what it means to be a Christian to follow Jesus changed? If so, how? What will be different in your life of faith for having taken this 40-day journey?

M.T. Clark: The Journey was great! I am a huge Bonhoeffer fan and admirer. If you didn’t know, I am so zealous about his book, Discipleship (The Cost of Discipleship) that I did a rather amateurish walk through it on YouTube (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYr9n4D1yfkpmfKHjeP5auLNK4e27Y8AX)! So doing the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a “no brainer” when I discovered it on Biblegateway. 

My understanding of what it means to be a Christian and to follow Jesus is always changing as the Lord blesses those who seek to learn from Him and that surrender themselves to His will for their life.  I was blessed every day through this study with Bonhoeffer’s writings, the scriptures, prayers, and these questions.

What will be different because of the study? Well, it’s now on the blog, the podcast, and YouTube now so I pray that others find it and decided to be inspired by it to follow the Lord and I am sure that the Holy Spirit will reserve the right to glean from the things I have learned from it to encourage myself and others in the future. 

As for me, I was on the path of Christian discipleship before I found the study and will just keep going the way the Lord directs me. Every ending on this path is merely a new beginning, and so come Monday I will see what is next but I will always remember that the season of Lent in 2023 was spent with the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  

Intercessions

Pray for all those who will read this book, that their journey with Bonhoeffer might lead them closer to Christ.

M.T. Clark:

Lord,

I thank you for the writings and faithful example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and pray for all who have walked out this devotional through the blog and the podcast with us, and to all who will go on to do the devotional on Biblegateway or who will read the book, that their journey with Bonhoeffer might lead them closer to Christ and to inspire to live out their Christian faith for all to see the abundant life that comes to all who learn from and follow Jesus.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Prayer for Today

Loving God, for where I have been and for where I am going on my journey with Jesus, I give you thanks and praise.

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. 

 

(40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Copyright © 2007 Augsburg Books, imprint of Augsburg Fortress.)

***As we are being provided with Bible verses from the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we will are taking a break from sharing a verse of the day from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”. We plan on resuming that normal installment of the blog following Easter.*** 

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

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. Pink’s “The Sovereignty of God.”

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available on many websites for less than $20.00.

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

By  ARTHUR W. PINK

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE VALUE OF THIS DOCTRINE continues

 

We shall now consider the Value of the doctrine in detail.

8. It evokes a song of praise

It could not be otherwise. Why should I, who am by nature no different from the careless and godless throngs all around, have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and now blest with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Him! Why was I, that once was an alien and a rebel, singled out for such wondrous favors! Ah! that is something I cannot fathom. Such grace, such love, “passeth knowledge.” But if my mind is unable to discern a reason my heart can express its gratitude in praise and adoration. But not only should I be grateful to God for His grace toward me in the past, His present dealings will fill me with thanksgivings. What is the force of that word “Rejoice in the Lord alway” (Phil. 4:4)? Mark it is not “Rejoice in the Saviour,” but we are to “Rejoice in the Lord” as “Lord,” as the Master of every circumstance. Need we remind the reader that when the apostle penned these words he was himself a prisoner in the hands of the Roman government. A long course of affliction and suffering lay behind him. Perils on land and perils on sea, hunger and thirst, scourging and stoning, had all been experienced. He had been persecuted by those within the church as well as by those without: the very ones who ought to have stood by him had forsaken him. And still he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord alway”! What was the secret of his peace and happiness? Ah! had not this same apostle written “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). But how did he, and how do we, “know” that all things work together for good? The answer is, Because all things are under the control of and are being regulated by the Supreme Sovereign, and because He has naught but thoughts of love toward His own, then “all things” are so ordered by Him that they are made to minister to our ultimate good. It is for this cause we are to give “thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). Yes, give thanks for “all things” for, as it has been well said “Our disappointments are but His appointments.” To the one who delights in the sovereignty of God the clouds not only have a ‘silver lining’ but they are silvern all through, the darkness only serving to offset the light—

“Ye fearful saints fresh courage take

The clouds ye so much dread,

Are big with mercy and shall break

In blessings o’er your head.”[1]

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

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

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

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

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

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

My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)

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

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

 



[1] Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 233–235.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

The Chosen: A Picture of Real-Life Discipleship to Follow - Purity 471


 The Chosen: A Picture of Real-Life Discipleship to Follow  

Purity 471 07/15/2021  Purity 471 Podcast

Good morning  

Today’s photo of the Towpath Trail near Lock 19 of the Historic Erie Canal in Vischer Ferry NY comes to us from a friend who decided to get out and stretch their legs with their daughter one evening back in June. Considering the green peaceful tranquility of the Towpath Trail, it’s no surprise that our friend referred to the as their “happy place”.  

Well, it’s Thursday again and as is my habit I just had to share another photo that featured a pathway as I will be teaching a discipleship class tonight at Rock Solid Church in Hudson NY, and I wish to encourage others to pursue a deeper relationship with God by choosing to seek to know Him more by walking on the path of Christian Discipleship.   

Unfortunately, I have discovered that there are Christians who genuinely love the Lord but who have some real questions and concerns about their faith that are not addressed in their weekly church services and that their questions remain unanswered as they try to balance living by faith and living in the world.  Their desire for understanding is just repressed as they press on with their lives encouraging themselves to “just obey” or to “just do what works” because they don’t have anyone that they feel will be able to explain how to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, or they would be a bother to those they inquire of, or they would ask someone only to receive platitudes or an attitude that would be accusatory and would result in forced service.     

The result of this lack of a discipleship platform or relationship is either frustration, with Christians “trying to do everything right” by the sweat of their own brow, or hopelessness, resulting in Christians living much like they did before coming to Christ because they really believe living by faith is only for the “super spiritual saints” who have “real faith”.  

Unfortunately, very few Christians know what discipleship is and our world’s dog eat dog attitudes keep us from being vulnerable to one another and asking for help so instead of coming together to encourage one another in our walk and our understanding, we put on masks of Christian wholesomeness once a week and then just do our own thing because we don’t trust one another with the truth of our lives.  We don’t know what discipleship looks like, so we just do “us”.  

While I have a love/yikes relationship with the show, “The Chosen” I think that one of the things that the show gets right is the complexity of the discipleship relationships between the Apostles. Seasons 1 & 2 of The Chosen have put flesh to the pages of scripture, and developed their own speculative narratives, by presenting a picture of the human frailties of Christ’s disciples.  The disciples don’t always get along. They fight. They argue. They insult one another. They struggle to understand what Jesus is trying to teach them and they don’t know where His leadership is leading them.     


But they all somehow know that Christ won’t lead them astray and that they really have no choice to follow Him because of who He is, the Messiah.   And as much as the Apostles may dislike one another at times, they have one thing in common: Jesus and their desire to follow Him. So after the arguments and disagreements are settled, they encourage one another to keep going, they help one another in their work, and they teach one another what they have learned.       

Following the Lord’s will for our lives and loving our neighbors as our selves is not easy, but when we receive the Lord’s love and pursue Him out of love, we reflect His earliest disciple’s lives who surrendered themselves to share their lives and all their knowledge of the Lord with others.

Tonight, I teach about how part of pursuing the Lord involves recognizing the enemy and how the lure of obtaining power and special knowledge can lead people to follow false prophets and fall into darkness.  If you are not local, you can catch the class later tonight on the mt4Christ247 podcast.    

Instead of following some new age teaching, we need to draw close to one another and to the Lord and choose to only seek the truth comes from His word. For His word is truth and if you know the Truth, the Truth will set you free.                

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Mark 12:26-27 (NKJV)
26 But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken."

Today’s verses are the words of Jesus who assures us that our lives are not extinguished at death and that God knows us personally. 

This passage is a part of Jesus’ response to some Sadducees who decided to ask about the continuity of marriage relationships after death. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, so their convoluted question was posed with a spirit of skepticism and was most likely intended to simultaneously trip up Jesus and prove their point.  

However, the thing with Jesus is that in the scriptures his answers often confound the one’s asking the questions.  

In these verses, Jesus not only confirms that the dead will rise but He also indicates that aspects of our soul, our personal identities, and personalities, will transcend death.  What we see on earth as dead and gone is alive and living with God and is awaiting the Day that Christ will lead the resurrected saints to judge and reclaim the earth.   

If you’ve read your Bible, you know that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all have their unique histories, faults, and personalities.  By Christ affirming that God claimed that He is the God of these patriarchs of the faith, He was not only acknowledging their spiritual heritage as His people, but He was also telling us that the uniqueness that make each one of us who we are, remains intact and that God knows each of us personally.  

By concluding by telling the Sadducees that they are “greatly mistaken”, Jesus confirms that there will be a resurrection of the dead.

So, any atheistic dreams of blinking out of existence are dismissed from Christ Himself. 

But we need not fear Jesus’ words for He is the way to life everlasting.  He is calling all men to place their faith in Him and as today’s verses show us, God knows us personally and He wants everyone of us to be in that number when the saints go marching in.   

 

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, concluding Chapter 7.

 

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:

The Goal Is to Become the Person God Called You to Be

It should be obvious by now that God's basic goal for your life is character development: becoming the person God wants you to be. Sanctification is God's goal for your life (see 1 Thes. 4:3). Nobody and nothing on planet Earth can keep you from being the person God called you to be. Certainly, a lot of distractions, diversions, disappointments, trials, temptations, and traumas come along to disrupt the process. Every day you will struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil, each of which are opposed to your success at being God's person.

Paul teaches that the tribulations we face are actually a means of achieving our supreme goal of maturity: "We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:3-5).

James offers similar counsel: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4).

The word "exult" means heightened joy. To be under tribulation means to be under pressure, and perseverance means to remain under pressure. Persevering through tribulations results in proven character, which is God's goal for us.

Suppose a Christian wife asked for help because her husband had just left her. What kind of hope could you give her? Would you say, "Don't worry, honey, we'll win him back"? That is a legitimate desire, but is a wrong goal that could lead to manipulation and control. Attempts to manipulate him to come back may be the same kind of controlling behavior that caused him to leave in the first place.

It would be better to say, "I will help you work through this crisis (perseverance) to become the person God wants you to be (proven character). If you haven't committed yourself to be the wife and mother God has called you to be, would you now? You can't change him, but you can change yourself, which is the best way to win him back anyway. Even if he doesn't come back, you can come through this crisis with proven character, which is where your hope lies."

She may rightly ask, "What if the problem was 90 percent his?" She doesn't have any control over that. By committing to change herself, she is responsibly dealing with what she can control. Her transformation may be just the motivation her husband needs to change himself and restore the relationship.

Trials and tribulations reveal wrong goals, but they can actually be the catalyst for achieving God's goal for our lives, which is our sanctification—the process of conforming to His image. During these times of pressure, our emotions raise their warning flags, signaling blocked, uncertain, or impossible goals based on our desires instead of God's goal of proven character.

Someone may say, "My marriage is hopeless," and then try to solve the problem by changing partners. If you think your first marriage is hopeless, be aware that second marriages are failing at a far higher rate. Others think their jobs or churches are hopeless. So they change jobs, only to discover their new job or church is just as hopeless. They should hang in there and grow up. Now, there may be legitimate times to change jobs or churches, but if we are just running from our own immaturity, it will follow us wherever we go.

Is there an easier way to being God's person than through enduring tribulations? Believe me: I have been looking for one. I must honestly say, though, that it has been the dark, difficult times of testing in my life that have brought me to where I am today. We need occasional mountaintop experiences, but the fertile soil for growth is always down in the valleys of tribulation, not on the mountaintops.

Paul says, "The goal of our instruction is love" (1 Tim. 1:5). Notice that if you make that your goal, then the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy (instead of depression), peace (instead of anxiety) and patience (instead of anger). The following poem from an unknown author expresses well the message of this chapter:

"Disappointments—His appointment,"

Change one letter, then I see

That the thwarting of my purpose

Is God's better choice for me.

His appointment must be blessing,

Tho' it may come in disguise,

For the end from the beginning

Open to His wisdom lies.

"Disappointment—His appointment,"

No good will He withhold,

From denials oft we gather

Treasures of His love untold.

Well He knows each broken purpose

Leads to fuller, deeper trust,

And the end of all His dealings

Proves our God is wise and just.

"Disappointments—His appointment,"

Lord, I take it, then, as such,

Like clay in the hands of a potter,

Yielding wholly to Thy touch.

My life's plan is Thy molding;

Not one single choice be mine;

Let me answer, unrepining—

"Father, not my will, but Thine."

 
Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.

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

 

God bless you all!

 

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

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

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship