A Real Pain in the Assumption – A Fall, Truth, and
Consequences - Purity 574
Purity 574 11/12/2021 Purity 574 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of sunrise, or is it sunset, at Sunny Isles Beach in Florida
comes to us from a friend named Grace who enjoyed a “quick weekend” getaway
there last weekend.
Unlike, my friend’s surname that describes God’s unmerited favor and his
“quick weekend” vacation, I find myself on an extended weekend that has been
“blessed” to me as part of a measure of discipline for failing to report an
incident at work in a timely fashion.
On October 1, 2021, I suffered a trip and fall at work because of my
failure to stay aware of my surroundings. I had just gotten off the phone to
report the damage on the scene of a pole break and was distracted when I
tripped over a guy wire which was still attached to the downed telephone pole
and drawn tight over a guardrail on the side of the road causing me to go
“boom” on my bottom in a jarring fashion.
Although I fell hard, I sprang up immediately and hoped that I would
“walk off the pain” which was significant. Because I was embarrassed by my
clumsiness, had plans for the weekend, and didn’t want anything to keep me from
them, I left work that day without telling anyone of the injury I had suffered in
an official capacity, again, with the hopes that I would just “walk it
off”.
Weeks passed and the pain in my rear, hip, and knee, which occurs mostly
while seated and particularly when driving,
hadn’t gone away and actually seemed to be getting worse. So fearing I
may need surgery and wanting to be honest, I confessed to my employer about my
on the job injury just in case my fall had unforeseen and far reaching effects
on my health. My report was received
with compassion and understanding by my local manager but there was also
concern over my failure to make the report in a timely fashion.
Apparently, there was reason for the concern as our corporation has a
safety compliance plan for its associates and there are negative consequences
for failing to report an incident when it happens. I found out Wednesday evening that I was
being placed on the safety compliance plan for 6 months and was receiving a one
day suspension from work without pay for not reporting the incident
immediately.
In the world we can assume that if we do the right thing eventually or
tell someone we are sorry that all will be forgiven. But that is an assumption
that assumes a measure of mercy and a suspension of justice on your behalf that
might not be forthcoming.
So while we may receive grace and mercy from God because of our faith in
Jesus, the institutions to ensure justice on the earth may make you pay a cost
for what you have done or failed to do.
So the bottom line is that I am not going to work today and will miss a
day’s pay for my sin of not telling the truth in a timely fashion.
Although I have been forgiven of all my sins because I have placed my
faith in Jesus Christ, I am still not free from the consequences of my sins and
because I “withheld the truth of my fall from the local authorities” because of
my pride and selfishness I will suffer financially and get a day off and 6
months on a safety compliance plan to think about what I have done and to
endeavor to “be safe”.
Although my local manager showed compassion and concern for my
well-being, the corporate policies that govern this situation seems to put the
emphasis on my irresponsibility, making me accountable for my failure to
utilize my training that has taught me to perform a “pre-job survey” whenever I
am in the field, to be diligent to be aware of the dangers of slips, trips, and
falls”, and to report incidents immediately.
As heartless as the consequence may seem to some, the corporate policies
here actually point to the truth that “accidents don’t just happen”. Much of
the pain and suffering that befall us here on earth is a direct result of our
failure to utilize the gifts of perception and wisdom that God has given us.
The basic tenants of “ always look where you are going” and “always tell
the truth” were violated here and frankly I consider myself fortunate that I
didn’t suffer a worse fate for my errors in judgement.
However, as bad as I may feel in my rear and in my conscience for my
failures, I also know that my failure doesn’t define who I am as a person and
although I made some mistakes it doesn’t change who I am in Christ.
I will suffer the consequences and will pay the cost for my mistakes
here on earth, but I know that I am still loved and accepted by God and that
there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus meaning that while I should
learn from my mistakes in this latest life lesson, I need not feel condemned by
it.
My mistakes can have some real life consequences to my body, wallet, and
relationships here on earth, but they cannot and will not affect my self-worth,
my identity in Christ, and my relationship with God.
God doesn’t expect us to walk perfectly throughout this life. He knows
we will make mistakes. He knows that our failures to walk in wisdom will cause
ourselves and others to suffer negative consequences and pain.
But God offers us forgiveness for all our errors in judgement, mistakes,
and even our blatant violations to His principles of living, our sins, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ’s sacrifice on the cross covers a multitude of sins and when we put our
faith in Him we are not only forgiven but made righteous and accepted
unconditionally into God’s kingdom for all of eternity.
So if you fall into sin or make some mistakes, do the right thing, and
confess them immediately so you can possibly receive mercy, pay the costs, and
most importantly represent the kingdom of God by being honest, responsible, and
accountable for what you have done.
You may suffer negative consequences for “missing the mark” here on
earth but because of your relationship with God through your faith in Jesus
Christ, you never have to feel condemned for them after you have confessed and
repented.
Our standing as sons and daughters of God are never in question with God
after we put our faith in Jesus, but the harmony of our relationship to our
heavenly Father does need to be maintained by confessing and repenting of our
mistakes when we mess up.
After we confess and repent, our harmony with God reestablished and
although we may face the condemnation of our fellow man and the authorities on
the earth, we can have peace in our hearts because we are assured of our forgiveness
and relationship with God.
So even though I am out of a day’s pay, I will enjoy the consequence of
a long weekend by not dwelling on my mistake or fall but focusing on the God
who loves me and accepts me with open arms when I confess and turn from my
errors and endeavor to walk with Him.
Thank God it is Friday and Thank God for His Love, Mercy and Grace that
saved a wretch like me and who continues to encourages us to pick ourselves up
and walk with Him even after we fall.
Today’s Bible verse
is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is :
Philippians 1:6 (NLT2)
6 And I am certain that God,
who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally
finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Today’s verse assures us that we are a
work in progress and that the Lord will see to it that we will be “finally
finished” someday.
If you are anything like me, you were
far from perfect on the day that the Lord revealed the truth of the gospel to you,
and you made Jesus your Lord and Savior.
After 38 years of doing things my way,
I had made a lot of decisions and lifestyle choices that disregarded many
tenants of common sense and especially biblical morality.
But God showed me His grace and accepted
me for who I was, warts and all by welcoming me into His kingdom on a spring
day back in March of 2010 when I placed my faith in Jesus Christ.
However, just because God found me in a
sinful lifestyle, didn’t mean He wanted me to stay there. The word of God tells
us that His will for our lives is our sanctification. We are to be holy as God
is holy, but God understands that although we are made spiritually alive and given
the victory over sin and death the moment we are saved, it will take some time
for us to show the fruits of our repentance with tangible signs of our
sanctification.
And ultimately the work of our
glorification, in which we will receive glorified, perfect bodies and souls, that
are sinless and Christlike, is a work that won’t be finished until Christ
returns.
So today’s verse encourages us to keep
walking and talking with God because the good work the Lord has begun in us can
continue and is guaranteed to be completed when Jesus comes back.
When we understand this plan for our
lives, we can have relief and hope. We can simultaneously take hope and relief
in the fact that we don’t have to stay in the loathsome state that the Lord found
us in at salvation and that we are not expected to become perfect by our own
efforts.
We can make progress in our sanctification
by turning from our sinful ways and adopting the Lord’s wisdom to our lives,
but we can also rest in the fact that we are never expected to be perfect, because
that is a work that Christ must complete in us.
So we can enjoy the fruits of the
Spirit that come with our efforts at progressive sanctification but also rest
assured that we can always rely on the Lord’s forgiveness and grace when we
stumble and that He will never leave us or forsake us and will eventually transform
us into glorified saints when He ushers in the new heaven and new earth at the
end of this age.
So enjoy the journey of washing off the
muck and mire of your former life through your cooperative efforts of
sanctification with God where every day becomes another day where we draw
closer to Him but at the same time we can have peace in knowing He will do the
final work of making us perfect as He is perfect, making us glorified to give
Him glory.
When we keep walking and talking with
God we become all the more certain that the good work He has begun in us will
be completed by Him.
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.
E. What Is the Problem of Evil?
The very presence of evil in our world presents a major problem to many
people who acknowledge God and His involvement in the world ... people who know
the claims about God—that He is morally perfect, all-powerful, and all-knowing.
The premise is that evil cannot coexist alongside a good, all-powerful, and
all-knowing God because they are mutually exclusive of one another. Therefore,
skeptics conclude that the presence of evil in the world negates the presence
of a good, all-powerful, and all-knowing God. The problem involves 3 components
and 3 assumptions:
If God is all-good and all-powerful, why does He allow evil?
- There
are 3 components contained in answering this classic question.
- #1
God is all-good.
- #2
God is all-powerful.
- #3
Evil is present in the world.
- The 3
assumptions are...
- #1
If God is all-good—He would want to prevent evil.
- #2
If God is all-powerful—He could prevent evil.
- #3
If God is all-knowing—He could anticipate evil and
therefore stop it!
- If any
one component is missing, then you don't have a problem.
- #1
If God is not all-good, the problem vanishes. God is a
"cosmic demon" who causes evil.
- #2
If God is not all-powerful, the problem disappears. God is too
weak and powerless to stop evil.
- #3
If no evil is present in the world, the problem evaporates.
Evil (sin and suffering) is mere illusion.
- However,
all 3 components are true, based on the Bible...
- #1
God is good... and He gave people free will, which is good.
"The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." (Psalm 92:15) - #2
God is all-powerful... and He can do anything that is
logical, but it is illogical for Him to both grant free will and
constrain it.
"I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do." (Isaiah 46:10-11) - #3
Evil and its effects (sin and suffering) are present in the
world... because people chose to exert their God-given free will and
disobey God.
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
Biblical Counseling Keys - Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling Keys:
Evil and Suffering... Why?: Why God? Why?.
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