I Don’t Have to Read the Bible– Lies of the Enemy #11– Purity 1023

I Don’t Have to Read the Bible– Lies of the Enemy #11– Purity 1023

Purity 1023 04/21/2023 Purity 1023 Podcast

Purity 1023 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of “Tranquility at Lake Nottely” comes to us from Fred Dimmick who shared this beautiful collaboration between God and man on social media on April 19^th.   Apparently, Lake Nottely is a “man made” lake and is one of many reservoirs of the Tennessee Valley Authority. It is located entirely in Union County, Georgia, within the Chatahoochee-Oconee National Forests. The lake was formed in 1942 by the damming of the Nottely River and it extends 20 miles upstream to the town of Blairsville. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nottely ).  So man dammed Nottely River to “make the lake” to help with flood control but you don’t get the lake without the river (God’s creation) and we don’t get that sense of “tranquility” without that sunset and we don’t get that underlying peace without the presence of God.    

Well, it’s Friday, let’s thank God for that too, and Fred’s photo has me thinking of the countryside home I will return to this evening and of the possibility of finding some tranquility out in God’s creation as the wife has scheduled a hike to Crowne Point  tomorrow. I have never been there, but I am trusting TammyLyn to lead me to something good and look forward to the trip.   

My research this morning shows me that there is a “Crown Point Historic Site” (https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/34/details.aspx) on the shores of Lake Champlain, but I’m honestly not sure if that is our destination or not, but I was able to download a couple of PDF maps to my Abobe cloud if I discover there is no other Crown Point in the Great White North and want to be able to find my way.  While I usually would just spontaneously “Go and See”, it can also be nice to know where exactly you are going and having a map or a guide to give you the heads up on the lay of the land.  It’s good to know the truth about what you will experience.  

And speaking of the truth, that brings us to continue in our current series, which is an examination of some of the common lies that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, steal our peace, or to influence us to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives.  And so today, because I am thinking about guidance,

Today’s big lie is:

Lie # 11:  I Don’t Have to Read the Bible.

How many people that you know who claim to be “Christians” have said those words to you?  I pray its not many, but the hard truth is that a recent article by Stephen Presley on Religionunplugged.com (https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/4/8/no-one-is-reading-the-bible) indicates that there has been a “dramatic decline in Bible reading” quoting a study from the American Bible Society that noted ““an unprecedented drop in the percentage of Bible users in the United States” noting that  “nearly 26 million Americans reduced or stopped their interaction with Scripture in the past year.”

So more people are drawing away from reading God’s word, which would cause us to question “Do I Have to Read the Bible?” 

While the last thing I ever want to do is to create a legalistic requirement or checklist of “things you must do to be a Christian”, I would point to scripture to show that the study of God’s word should be a fundamental aspect of our faith.  

Before I present the verses (and another link to Open Bible . Info), I just want to tell you that when I was born again in 2010, I really had a sense that the Lord did indeed actually save me because I suddenly had a real desire to be a “real Christian” which was accompanied by a new found passion to know God more by reading His word.  I have been reading the Bible ever since.  I’ve read it several times in various translations and have consuledt numerous commentary’s and other Christian books and I have greatly benefitted from knowing what the Bible says and applying its wisdom to my life.  Which naturally brings me to the first verses that come to mind, when I seek to encourage others to read the Bible:

James 1:22-25 (NIV2011)
²²  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
²³  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Head knowledge is one thing, but the Bible was meant to be a guidebook to living. It’s purpose is to draw us close to God, cause us to make Christ as our Lord and Savior, to teach us how God would want us to live our lives, and to tell us of what is it to come in the future.  Spoiler alert : Jesus is coming back.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT2) tells us
¹⁶  All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
¹⁷  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

God gave us His word to teach us what is true, to do what is right, and to equip us for life.   Some people turn the word Bible into an acronym to remind us that it is our “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth to highlight its purpose.    

Hebrews 4:12 (NLT2)  tells us
¹²  For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

The Bible is a living word and it speaks to our hearts to guide us in the way we should go.   It’s the best way to hear God’s voice.  

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) tells us
¹⁷  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Our faith comes through the word of God. The good news about Jesus that causes us to believe is, surprise, Bible based.  So our faith came by hearing what the Bible had to tell us about Jesus. Most of what know about Jesus is contained in its pages.  So this living word saves us but it also assures us that we have been made new and are transformed by its study.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) tells us
¹⁷  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

And

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) tells us to
²  … not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Our minds, hearts, and lives are to be transformed by the truth of who God is and who we are in Christ which is all found in the Bible.  

So here’s a link to open Bible.infos 59 verses about Bible reading, https://www.openbible.info/topics/reading_the_bible  to encourage you to not stand on your freedom to “not read the Bible” but to be further assured that God gave us His word to help us.     

We might be lazy, prideful or stubborn but we should also know the enemy, Satan, is delighted when Christians don’t read the Bible or know what it says.  So to combat that first person lie from the enemy that tells you “I don’t have to read the Bilbe”, turn the tables on the spiritual forces of darkness by saying: “Yeah, I don’t have to read the Bible but God invites me to read His word so I can hear Him speak and that’s a conversation that I definitely want to be a part of! I will read the word of God and do what it says!”   

So keep walking and talking with God, and pick up the Bible regularly to see what He is telling you there.    

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

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

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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verses are:

Colossians 3:9-10 (NLT2)
⁹  Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
¹⁰  Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

 

Today’s verses contain the proof text of what I consider to be one of the first things a Christian Disciple should commit themselves to when they decide to “be a real Christian”.   Stop lying!

 

Satan is the Father of lIes (John 8:44) and so thr last person we want to resemble as Christians is the devil so we seek to encourage all who read this today to speak the truth in all things – stop lying to each other.  

 

After being a habitual liar to cover up my shortcomings or sins for most of my life, it was a great relief to make that decision to stop lying.  When the Lord put this conviction on my heart I was far from perfect, still am far from perfect, but because the Holy Spirit in me convicts me to tell the truth, I have had the humbling but freeing experience of “ratting myself out” when I invariably would make some foolish decisions.  

 

When you are “throwing yourself under the bus” regularly because you want to walk the walk as well as talk the talk of being a Christian, by telling the truth, you eventually learn to stop the shady behaviors that normally have to cover up to.  

 

Telling the truth helps us to “know our Creator” and to become more like Him. Comically, I would and still sometimes do regrettable or foolish things and usually confess them shortly after because I couldn’t bear to remain in deception’s shadow. The Holy Spirit convicts me to “do what is right” now like all the time! And so I am increasingly honest in my actions as well as my words.  Not perfect mind you, by the deep relief that comes from living in the truth a I usually instruct anyone that I disciple to “stop lying” because of the joy that I have found that comes from knowing that you have nothing to hide and you are living in harmony with the Lord.

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we continue sharing from 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

APPENDIX I

THE WILL OF GOD concludes..

 

Again; God commands us to be perfectly holy in this life (Matt. 5:48) because this is right in the nature of things, but He has decreed that no man shall be perfectly holy in this life because this is best, all things considered, that none shall be perfectly holy (experimentally) before they leave this world. Holiness is one thing, the taking place of holiness is another; so, sin is one thing, the taking place of sin is another. When God requires holiness His preceptive or revealed will respects the nature or moral excellence of holiness; but when He decrees that holiness shall not take place (fully and perfectly) His secret or decretive will respects only the event of it not taking place. So again, when He forbids sin His preceptive or revealed will respects only the nature or moral evil of sin; but when He decrees that sin shall take place His secret will respects only its actual occurrence to serve His good purpose. Thus the secret and revealed will of God respect entirely different objects.

God’s will of decree is not His will in the same sense as His will of command is. Therefore, there is no difficulty in supposing that one may be contrary to the other. His will, in both senses, is His inclination. Everything that concerns His revealed will is perfectly agreeable to His nature, as when He commands love, obedience, and service from His creatures. But that which concerns His secret will has in view His ultimate end, that to which all things are now working. Thus, He decreed the entrance of sin into His universe though His own holy nature hates all sin with infinite abhorrence, yet, because it is one of the means by which His appointed end is to be reached He suffered it to enter. God’s revealed will is the measure of our responsibility and the determiner of our duty. With God’s secret will we have nothing to do: that is His concern. But, God knowing that we should fail to perfectly do His revealed will ordered His eternal counsels accordingly, and these eternal counsels, which make up His secret will, though unknown to us are, though unconsciously, fulfilled in and through us.

Whether the reader is prepared to accept the above distinction in the will of God or not he must acknowledge that the commands of Scripture declare God’s revealed will, and he must also allow that sometimes God wills not to hinder a breach of those commands because He does not as a fact so hinder it. God wills to permit sin as is evident, for He does permit it. Surely none will say that God Himself does what He does not will to do.

Finally, let it be said again that my responsibility with regard to the will of God is measured by what He has made known in His Word. There I learn that it is my duty to use the means of His providing, and to humbly pray that He may be pleased to bless them to me. To refuse so to do on the ground that I am ignorant of what may or may not be His secret counsels concerning me is not only absurd, but the height of presumption. We repeat: the secret will of God is none of our business; it is His revealed will which measures our accountability. That there is no conflict whatever between the secret and the revealed will of God is made clear from the fact that the former is accomplished by my use of the means laid down in the latter.^[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), 255–257.

I Have to Earn It – Lies of the Enemy #9– Purity 1021

I Have to Earn It – Lies of the Enemy #9– Purity 1021

Purity 1021 04/19/2023 Purity 1021 Podcast

Purity 1021 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a view of the mountains of Georgia along part of the Appalachian Trail comes to us from Fred Dimmick who shared this scene from his visit to Hogpen Gap, Georgia on social media a couple of days ago.     

I’m sharing Fred’s photo to mark our arrival at the midweek summit of “humpday” and as a reminder that in order to experience some good things in life you are going to have to “step up” and work for it.  

In my limited research of Hogpen Gap this morning I discovered that it was along the Appalachian Trail and there is more than one way to get there. One hike listed the distance as a mile, another from Neels Gap to Hogpen Gap gave a round trip distance of 16.1 miles. So how much walking of climbing you want to do is up to you, but I didn’t see any ways to get there by doing nothing.  To experience the view Fred experienced, you have to get up and work for it. 

Whether it’s worth the trip or not would be up to you, my journey there would require me to get to Georgia first, so that won’t be on the to do list in the near future, but I understand that to experience this view it would cost me something. It would require time, money, and physical effort to hike my way there and I don’t get to experience it unless I’m willing to pay the cost.  

This is a basic concept of life here on earth. If you want something, you are going to have to set goals and work for it.   And believe you me, some things are definitely worth the sacrifices and hard work that it will take to experience them.  

However, as much as this is true, the enemy, Satan and his associate demons of the kingdom of darkness, just love to twist the things that are true to lead us astray and to steal, kill, and destroy our peace if not our very lives.  

And so that brings us to our current series, which is an examination of some of the common lies that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, steal our peace, or to influence us to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives.

 

So today’s big lie is:

Lie # 8:  I Have to Earn It.

This is the lie from the pit of hell that kept me out of the kingdom of God and the joy of my salvation for most of my life.  

I was raised in a liturgical church setting and although I knew that “Jesus died for our sins” and was well acquainted with the fact that I was a sinner, I never had any hope that what Jesus did on the cross had the power to save me.  My church tradition gave me the impression that I had to have faith in Jesus but I also had to “be a good person” and if I didn’t walk straight and behave myself I might very well find myself in hell at “the hour of my death”.  Even though our church supposedly believed in Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, I don’t recall any one ever proclaiming the joy or assurance of their salvation. 

As a sinful youth and young adult, I knew I wasn’t “good” and even though I tried to stay out of trouble for the most part, my heart wasn’t really into following any rules that would get in the way of me doing what I wanted.  That included theft – “you want something? take it, just don’t get caught.”   That included vandalism- “let’s break it! Let’s destroy it! Let’s just not get caught. Look out, the cops!”  That included sex, “I don’t care what they say at church, a man has needs and I am not ready to get married, just don’t hurt anyone – get consent – and by all means do get anyone pregnant!   That included drunkenness –“What I can’t drink? Since when? Watch me! Whatever… I’m sorry I’m not a saint!”  

So you can see, why I didn’t think I could ever earn my way to heaven. Not only was I not working towards it, I was actually doing things that would indicate that I was NOT a Christian, I was not a “good person” and unless the Lord actually did recognize “one baptism for the forgiveness of sins” (I was baptized, right mom?) I was on the highway to hell.   

Because the emphasis of my liturgical church was on the fact that I was a sinner and I had to “be good and obey”, I eventually decided that there was no God and “religion” was the creation of man in his efforts to control his neighbor.   

It was ignorant view born of my desire to sin, but because there seemed to be a performance aspect to Christianity that I seemed powerless, and frankly unwilling, to attempt to meet, I walked away from church and God.  

The enemy’s lie that “I have to earn it” made me hopeless of having a relationship with God. I just couldn’t do it and I knew that if God was mean enough to crucify His own Son, who didn’t do anything wrong, there was absolutely no hope for me.    So I decide not to play His game, because I knew I would lose and so I gave up on God.

But the Lord didn’t give up on me and in 2010 He directed my path, when I was as far removed from Christianity as I could possibly be, to hear a gospel message on the radio in which I finally heard and understood the truth,  Through a “chance” encounter, I heard the truth that I didn’t have to earn it.  I didn’t have to “be a good person” to be accepted by God. I didn’t have to “make up for” all the things I had done wrong.  I didn’t have to work for my salvation or forgiveness of sins.  That radio message from David Jerimiah was all about the love of God and how it was expressed through Jesus paying for our sins on the cross.  

I didn’t have to pay for my sins or earn my salvation. Christ had paid the cost and God’s grace made that payment cover all the sins of the world, including mine. My past, present, and future sins were paid for by Jesus and all I had to “redeem” that payment was to put my faith in Him as my Lord and Savior.  

I was simply amazed at the simplicity and the love of God’s gift to us and because He revealed this to me I was joyfully and tearfully compelled to accept it and dedicate my life to Him that day.  

I had believed a lie based on the truth of an earthly principle, that I had to earn my place in God’s kingdom and was deaf and blind to the truth in God’s word that tells us otherwise.  

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV) tells us
⁸  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹  not of works, lest anyone should boast.
¹⁰  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  

We are not saved by works! We are saved THROUGH FAITH and BY GRACE. IT IS A GIFT OF GOD.   And the “good works” are something we do AFTER we are saved. The good works are something God prepares for us to do – as evidence that we are His workmanship!  Our salvation leads us to do good as representatives of God.  

Anyone who thinks we have to “work” to be saved, has it backwards. We don’t’ have to earn it. Salvation is a gift from God and we only need to accept it.   

Smarter men than I have missed this fact. Martin Luther beat himself bloody and spent hours in his monstery’s confessional trying to be absolved of every sin, real or imagine and was utterly without hope.  But then He examined the original Greek language of the New Testament scriptures and made a startingly discovery – we are saved by faith!

He testified later of seeing the truth in God’s word through Romans 1:17. He said:

“At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’”  There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.  And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith.”   (https://steadfastlutherans.org/2019/02/martin-luthers-discovery-the-late-medieval-background/)

We don’t have to earn it. We don’t have to earn our forgiveness, our acceptance, or our place in God’s kingdom. It comes by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, and is a gift of God.  

Now we should “study to be approved” after we are saved. We should study God’s word to renew our minds and be transformed into He wants us to be but in many ways that too, our sanctification, comes by faith – by simply knowing who we are in Christ and living like it.  

So don’t believe the lie that “ I have to earn it”, instead understand that Jesus paid the cost and did the work for you, and all we have to do is enjoy it and follow Him into the pathways of peace to the abundant life that He gave to us. Rejoice you have been saved by faith, believe it, receive it and live it.

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

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

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

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Titus 1:2 (NLT2)
²  This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.

 

Today’s verse reminds of the benefits of knowing the truth.  This actually goes well with today’s message on salvation by grace and through faith.  I encourage Christians to study the Bible.  Why? If we are saved by grace and through faith in Jesus what do I need the Bible for? 

 

Well today’s verse tells us why. This “truth” in today’s verse indicates not only the gospel message of Jesus’ atoning work, it also indicates the word of God – the Bible because verse 1 of Titus 1, Paul states that “this truth” “shows them how to live godly lives.”  

 

Paul was a big Bible scholar – He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees by his own admission but he understood all the Bible knowledge didn’t mean anything if it didn’t lead you to Christ.  However, like wise and paradoxically, he understood that a life that was redeemed by faith in Jesus needed the wise of counsel of the Scriptures to guide us in the way of the Lord.  

 

Not only would the knowledge of the truth, help them to lively godly lives, it would also give them the confidence that they have eternal life, as God’s promises in the Old Testament all make sense in light of the Messiah’s coming.  Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah and not only encouraged people to put their faith in Him, He also encouraged their repentance – changing their minds from their worldly ways to follow the word of God and His example.   

 

When we have the confidence that the promises of God apply to us and that we have received eternal life, we are moved to follow the One who saved us and gave us life. We are compelled to follow Jesus.

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

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

CONCLUSION continues

 

It now remains for us to offer a few closing reflections and our happy task is finished.

God’s wisdom in the government of our world shall yet be completely vindicated before all created intelligences. God is no idle Spectator, looking on from a distant world at the happenings, on our earth, but is Himself shaping everything to the ultimate promotion of His own glory. Even now He is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and Satanic opposition but by means of them. How wicked and futile have been all efforts to resist His will shall one day be as fully evident as when of old He overthrew the rebellious Pharaoh and his hosts at the Red Sea.

It has been well said “The end and object of all is the glory of God. It is perfectly, divinely true, that ‘God hath ordained for His own glory whatsoever comes to pass.’ In order to guard this from all possibility of mistake, we have only to remember who is this God, and what the glory that He seeks. It is He who is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—of Him in whom divine love came seeking not her own, among us as ‘One that serveth.’ It is He who, sufficient in Himself, can receive no real accession of glory from His creatures, but from whom—‘Love,’ as He is ‘Light’—cometh down every good and every perfect gift, in whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning. Of His own alone can His creatures give to Him.”

“The glory of such an one is found in the display of His own goodness, righteousness, holiness, truth; in manifesting Himself as in Christ He has manifested Himself and will forever. The glory of this God is what of necessity all things must serve—adversaries and evil as well as all else. He has ordained it; His power will insure it; and when all apparent clouds and obstructions are removed, then shall He rest—‘rest in His love’ forever, although eternity only will suffice for the apprehension of the revelation. ‘God shall be all in all’ (italics ours throughout this paragraph) gives in six words the ineffable result” (F. W. Grant on “Atonement”).

That what we have written gives but an incomplete and imperfect presentation of this most important subject we must sorrowfully confess. Nevertheless, if it results in a clearer apprehension of the majesty of God and His sovereign mercy we shall be amply repaid for our labors. If the reader has received blessing from the perusal of these pages let him not fail to return thanks to the Giver of every good and every perfect gift, ascribing all praise to His inimitable and sovereign grace.

“The Lord, our God, is clothed with might,

The winds and waves obey His will;

He speaks, and in the shining height

The sun and rolling worlds stand still.

Rebel ye waves, and o’er the land

With threatening aspect foam and roar,

The Lord hath spoken His command

That breaks your rage upon the shore.

Ye winds of night, your force combine—

Without His holy high behest

You shall not in a mountain pine

Disturb the little swallow’s nest.

His voice sublime is heard afar;

In distant peals it fades and dies;

He binds the cyclone to His car

And sweeps the howling murky skies.

Great God! how infinite art Thou,

What weak and worthless worms are we,

Let all the race of creatures bow

And seek salvation now from Thee.

Eternity, with all its years

Stands ever-present to Thy view,

To Thee there’s nothing old appears

Great God! There can be nothing new.

Our lives through varied scenes are drawn,

And vexed with mean and trifling cares;

While Thine eternal thought moves on

Thy fixed and undisturbed affairs.”

“Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Rev. 19:6).^[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), 251–252.

Members of One Body in Our Whole Existence - Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 33– Purity 1005

 Members of One Body in Our Whole Existence - Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 33– Purity 1005

Purity 1005 03/31/2023 Purity 1005 Podcast

Purity 1005 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a red sunset fading into the horizon over an unknown location comes to us from a unknown FB friend who shared this scene on social media back on July 24^th, 2020.  Hey if that’s you, let me know and I’ll update the blog to give credit to where credit is deserved.  

Well, It’s Friday and it is the last day of March 2023! And I don’t know about you but the if seems like the month “marched” by on a triple time pace, tomorrow’s April  1^st and that’s no joke.  The month flew by so fast that I forgot to give credit where credit was due to the Lord and celebrate my 8^th “sober birthday” as I really repented and started to trust and follow the Lord with my life back in February of 2015 when I went in to recovery.

What your 2 months off then MT? 

Well, no I don’t count the beginning of my recovery, I count my “sober life” and true freedom in Christ by the day of my only and last relapse.   Relapse may be a part of recovery but it really doesn’t have a place in freedom.  So I humbly admit that while my recovery journey started in late February, I relapsed in March but was so angry at myself for throwing away what amounted to 2 weeks of sobriety, that I prayed to the Lord for forgiveness and the strength to never drink alcohol again. And the Lord has been faithful to deliver me the addictions that were firmly entrenched in my life for over 25 years and He has continued to increase my freedom, by giving me victory over sexual immorality, and by increasing the fruit of the Spirit in my life ever since.  

And now the Lord has called me to lead others to freedom through a new recovery ministry at Starpoint Church starting in May. With all that I have received from the Lord, I am humbled and excited by the opportunity to serve the body of Christ and to help whoever I can to find their freedom in Christ.  

So Happy Belated 8^th Sober Birthday to me! Thank You God, Thank You Jesus, and Thank You Holy Spirit.   

Okay, you know one of the things that have led to my continued victory and freedom in Christ is my daily spiritual practice, of prayer, gratitude, Bible study and “journaling” in this blog. So let’s keep the victory parade marching on by confidently walking into the 33^rd day of Lent, and the 33^rd day of our current series, the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

As a reminder, and as we will say each day of this journey, we take 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 take this journey of repentance seriously, we will not only see the days and seasons change, the Lord will use it to change us too. 

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 33

Bonhoeffer writes:

“Every act of self-discipline by a Christian is also a service to the community.

Conversely, there is no sin in thought, word, or deed, no matter how personal or secret, that does not harm the whole community.

When the cause of an illness gets into one’s body, whether or not anyone knows where it comes from, or in what member it has lodged, the body is made ill.

This is the appropriate metaphor for the Christian community.

Every member serves the whole body, contributing either to its health or to its ruin, for we are members of one body not only when we want to be, but in our whole existence.

This is not a theory, but a spiritual reality that is often experienced in the Christian community with shocking clarity, sometimes destructively and sometimes beneficially.”

Biblical Wisdom

For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. Romans 12:4-5

Questions to Ponder

• What do you think Bonhoeffer means by an “act of self-discipline”?

M.T. Clark:  I can’t be completely sure of course, but I think Bonhoeffer means the acts of a Christian disciple when he speaks of “acts of self-discipline”.   Those acts would include forsaking sin (crucifying the flesh), prayer, Bible study, worshipping and serving at the local church, being a good steward to what is entrusted to us, being responsible, being honest, being accountable, solving problems, communing with the Lord, and helping others. If we are disciplined in these areas, we are walking in the Spirit but please don’t see this list as “to do list of rules”. To be effective these “disciplines” must be motivated by love for God, otherwise they are the acts of self-righteousness that may have much to do about ourselves and little to do with God.   Our faith isn’t about “being good” or faith is about being His.  

• How can an individual’s sins “harm the whole community”?

M.T. Clark: Compromise and sin can spread. Because “brother Joe” is doing it, I can do it.  Greasy grace or cheap grace as Bonhoeffer would say causes us to absolve ourselves of any wrong doing and to continue a lifestyle of sin. The negative consequences of sin are far reaching individually and to others. Thus an individual’s sin can harm the whole community.

• What are the implications of Bonhoeffer’s assertion that, “we are members of one body not only when we want to be, but in our whole existence”?

M.T. Clark: Bonhoeffer’s statements are point to the fact that we are “forever changed” when we come to faith in Christ, we are new creations through and through even if our behaviors, attitudes and actions would make us wonder.  The implication here is that people categorize their lives to be a “good Christian” on Sundays or when they feel like it and will decide to be “normal” people the rest of the time but our new lives in faith don’t afford us a double life and the things we think, do, and say reflect the body of Christ at all times because we are now in Christ. So we should “want to be” who we are in Christ and live according to it at all times.

Psalm Fragment

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Journal Reflections

• Reflect on your experience in your community of faith. Does it feel like a living body of which you are a member? Explain.

M.T. Clark: My community of faith is a lively, Bible believing body of believers. Our church provides lively service to worship the Lord at, sound biblical teachings, and opportunities to serve in the church and in local community through various ministries.  It feels like a living body. But like many large churches, there are many members of the body that only attend services and who seem rather disengaged when it comes to worshipping the Lord at those services. Unfortunately, “spectator Christians” are present in every community of faith and while it is a blessing to think that so many people at the local congregation are members of the body of Christ, I fear that a good portion of those attending church services, may be shocked when they are exposed as false converts when they meet the Lord.  So seek out your salvation with fear and trembling and make sure that you are in the faith. If your faith hasn’t changed your life, you might want to ask why.

• How might you better serve “the whole body”?

M.T. Clark:  I think the best way that you can serve the whole body is to seek the Lord and make sure you are a part of it.  When you seek the Lord and find Him and discover who you are in Christ, your love for God will compel you to find your purpose in Christ and that will best serve the “whole body”, as we will be doing the Lord’s will and not our own.

Prayer for Today

Holy God, thank you that you have made me a member of the Body of Christ; help me keep healthy that I may not harm the whole body.

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.*** 

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we continue sharing from 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.

1. It deepens our veneration of the divine character

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty as it is unfolded in the Scriptures affords an exalted view of the Divine perfections. It maintains His creatorial rights. It insists that “to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him” (1 Cor. 8:6). It declares that His rights are those of the “potter” who forms and fashions the clay into vessels of whatever type and for whatever use He may please. Its testimony is “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11). It argues that none has any right to “reply” against God, and that the only becoming attitude for the creature to take is one of reverent submission before Him. Thus the apprehension of the absolute supremacy of God is of great practical importance, for unless we have a proper regard to His high sovereignty He will never be honored in our thoughts of Him, nor will He have His proper place in our hearts and lives.

It exhibits the inscrutableness of His wisdom. It shows that while God is immaculate in His holiness He has permitted evil to enter His fair creation; that while He is the Possessor of all power He has allowed the Devil to wage war against Him for six thousand years at least; that while He is the perfect embodiment of love He spared not His own Son; that while He is the God of all grace multitudes will be tormented for ever and ever in the Lake of Fire. High mysteries are these. Scripture does not deny them, but acknowledges their existence: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33).

It makes known the irreversibleness of His will. “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18). From the beginning God purposed to glorify Himself “in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end” (Eph. 3:21). To this end He created the world and formed man. His all-wise plan was not defeated when man fell, for in the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8) we behold the Fall anticipated. Nor will God’s purpose be thwarted by the wickedness of men since the Fall, as is clear from the words of the Psalmist “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain” (Psa. 76:10). Because God is the Almighty His will cannot be withstood. “His purposes originated in eternity, and are carried forward without change to eternity. They extend to all His works, and control all events. He ‘worketh all things after the counsel of His own will’.” (Dr. Rice). Neither man nor Devil can successfully resist Him, therefore is it written, “The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble” (Psa. 9:1).

It magnifies His grace. Grace is unmerited favor, and because grace is shown to the undeserving and Hell-deserving, to those who have no claim upon God, therefore is grace free and can be manifested toward the chief of sinners. But because grace is exercised toward those who are destitute of worthiness or merit grace is sovereign; that is to say, God bestows grace upon whom He pleases. Divine sovereignty has ordained that some shall be cast into the Lake of Fire to show that all deserved such a doom. But grace comes in like a drag-net and draws out from a lost humanity a people for God’s name, to be throughout all eternity the monuments of His inscrutable favor. Sovereign grace reveals God breaking down the opposition of the human heart, subduing the enmity of the carnal mind, and bringing us to love Him because He first loved us.^[1]

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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^[1] Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 225–227.