Labels

Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

The Essential Oil of Gladness - Purity 721


 The Essential Oil of Gladness - Purity 721

Purity 721 05/03/2022 

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a stunning sunrise breaking through the clouds and blue sky of morning over the crashing surf on the shores of Vero Beach, Florida comes to us from a friend who visited the Treasure Shores State Park back on March 14th. This sight was so stunning it inspired are friend to not only share the photo on social media but as this short poem to accompany it: 

"A brand new day

Bout to begin

With salty air upon your skin

 

A new sunrise

invokes a feeling

It shines a light

sends darkness reeling

 

Increasing light

As day commences

A symphony

for all your senses"

 

I love the sentiments of light casting out the darkness and the hope of a new day that is invoked through my friend’s prose. I also love the sensory focus as our friend’s words indicate that this experience included different aspects that encompassed all of their senses and obviously inspired their imagination.  

Well, it’s Tuesday and as the light of a new day will bring us into the second day of the work week, for some of us anyway, I am reflecting on how our walk of faith is all encompassing and how the light that the Lord brings into our life can send the “darkness reeling” regardless of the sights, sounds, or feelings of our present circumstances.  

Recently, as I reflected on the amazing journey that the Lord has led me through in my life and how I had certain hopes and expectations that didn’t come true I remarked how I was SO GLAD, that the Lord had His will be done instead of my own.  

For example, I had originally planned to try to keep my former house, with its high mortgage, because let’s face it sometimes we would rather suffer through with what’s familiar rather than be forced to do something new. But due to an error in our calculations, that hope was dashed and can I tell you, I am SO GLAD that I had to move on because it resulted in my finding a new home of my own “down by The River” and everyday I look out and see the Hudson, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord has brought me here.  

Similarly, when I was newly divorced I had considered a couple of relationships with Christian women that I thought may be “wife material”. My loneliness and lack of insight even caused me to be a little obsessed with the idea of being with one particular person to the point that I even had dreams that we would be married and serving the Lord together. But in each instance those hopes and dreams turned out to be false visions as the Lord revealed to me that these women weren’t for me.  

For a while I was convinced that my lifestyle of Christian discipleship might require a life of monkhood but then through the Lord’s providence, TammyLyn came into my life out seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe out of the middle of nowhere anyway, as Easton NY is a little off the beaten track.  So again, even though my previous interests were dead ends and I was convinced I would be happy all by myself, I was SO GLAD that I was wrong and the Lord brought a Christian woman into my life who could love me for me, and for who I am in Christ, and the man I am trying to be as I seek out my purpose in God’s kingdom.

So yeah, we can be SO GLAD, over the prayers that aren’t answered sometimes because we don’t necessarily know what is best for us or what God has planned, or how He works all things, and I mean all things, as His word tells us, He works all thing together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  

So obviously with those various disappointments in my journey, I didn’t know what the Lord had in store for me and I could have been bitter over my misfortunes.  

But you know what? I wasn’t!  Why?  Because every day, I thanked the Lord for saving me and providing me with what I had.  Whether it was sunny and bright or snowy and dark, I put on the garment of praise and experienced the Lord’s presence with me on a continual basis as I prayed for strength, guidance, and to be used by Him for His kingdom cause whatever that would be.    

Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV) talks about how the Lord can console us, It says:
3  To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

Putting on that “garment of praise” – the act of praising and thanking the Lord every day regardless of seasons or circumstances, will lift that “spirit of heaviness” and will give us “beauty for ashes” and give us joy even in the face of bitter disappointment and traumatic losses.   

For the Lord wants to show us that in Him we are never defeated and we are never alone. Standing on our identity in Christ and praising and thanking the Lord gives us the power overcome and when we walk in the Lord’s ways and are firmly rooted in His righteousness, in Christ and in holiness, we glorify the Lord through our faithfulness.  

Psalm 45:7 (NKJV) says
7  You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

 

Although this Psalm has messianic themes that point to Jesus, it also points to the fact that when we choose the Lord’s path of righteousness over the worldly ways of wickedness, we will be anointed with the oil of gladness” more than our worldly neighbors who don’t know the hope and joy that come through faith in Jesus Christ and through the process of growing in the fruit of the Spirt when we walk in the Spirit.   

 

Walking in the light in the company of our Lord is the Way that leads to an abundant life that will encompass and excite all of our senses and just happens to be the path that leads to life forevermore.    SO keep walking and talking with God, and one day regardless of times of trouble or days of disappointment  you will be SO GLAD to discover all the things the Lord has been working together for your good.  

______________________________________________________________

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

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Psalm 147:6 (NLT2)
6  The LORD supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

Today’s Bible verse reminds us of the support that the Lord has for the humble and the dusty demise that awaits the wicked.  

In this world, you may have heard the adage that “nice guys finish last” or “only the good die young”  and wonder what’s the point of trying to do the “right” thing when so many people benefit from following the world’s ways where the ends justify the means. 

Well, today’s verse assures us that we have the Lord’s support when we remain humble and that the ones who follow the wicked ways of the world will perish.  All the money, power, and posssions that we can accumulate through legitimate or illegitimate means will mean nothing when the Lord calls us to answer for our lives.  

Those who humble themselves, admit their sin, and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ will be forgiven and welcomed into God’s kingdom but those who are wise in their own sight and think that their status in the world, their good works, or their worldly power and influence will deliver them into a state of grace will be sorely mistaken. As the Lord Jesus says of those who haven’t humbled themselves to His Lordship:

Matthew 7:23 (NKJV)
23  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

So acknowledge the authority of the Lord and humbly follow His ways.  When we do that He will support us but when we cut corners or do things our way, we will be exposed for our wickedness and brough down lower than the dust.

 

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 John Piper’s “Don’t Waste Your Life”.  

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase John Pipers’ books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available on many websites for less than $5.00.

5 - Risk Is Right—Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It

If our single, all-embracing passion is to make much of Christ in life and death, and if the life that magnifies him most is the life of costly love, then life is risk, and risk is right. To run from it is to waste your life.

What Is Risk?

I define risk very simply as an action that exposes you to the possibility of loss or injury. If you take a risk you can lose money, you can lose face, you can lose your health or even your life. And what’s worse, if you take a risk, you may endanger other people and not just yourself. Their lives may be at stake. Will a wise and loving person, then, ever take a risk? Is it wise to expose yourself to loss? Is it loving to endanger others? Is losing life the same as wasting it?

It depends. Of course you can throw your life away in a hundred sinful ways and die as a result. In that case, losing life and wasting it would be the same. But losing life is not always the same as wasting it. What if the circumstances are such that not taking a risk will result in loss and injury? It may not be wise to play it safe. And what if a successful risk would bring great benefit to many people, and its failure would bring harm only to yourself? It may not be loving to choose comfort or security when something great may be achieved for the cause of Christ and for the good of others.

Risk Is Woven into the Fabric of Our Finite Lives

Why is there such a thing as risk? Because there is such a thing as ignorance. If there were no ignorance there would be no risk. Risk is possible because we don’t know how things will turn out. This means that God can take no risks. He knows the outcome of all his choices before they happen. This is what it means to be God over against all the gods of the nations (Isaiah 41:23; 42:8–9; 44:6–8; 45:21; 46:8–11; 48:3). And since he knows the outcome of all his actions before they happen, he plans accordingly. His omniscience rules out the very possibility of taking risks.

But not so with us. We are not God; we are ignorant. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. God does not tell us in detail what he intends to do tomorrow or five years from now. Evidently God intends for us to live and act in ignorance and in uncertainty about the outcome of our actions.

He says to us, for example, in James 4:13–15:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

You don’t know if your heart will stop before you finish reading this page. You don’t know if some oncoming driver will swerve out of his lane and hit you head-on in the next week, or if the food in the restaurant may have some deadly virus in it, or if a stroke may paralyze you before the week is out, or if some man with a rifle will shoot you at the shopping center. We are not God. We do not know about tomorrow.

Exploding the Myth of Safety

Therefore risk is woven into the fabric of our finite lives. We cannot avoid risk even if we want to. Ignorance and uncertainty about tomorrow is our native air. All of our plans for tomorrow’s activities can be shattered by a thousand unknowns whether we stay at home under the covers or ride the freeways. One of my aims is to explode the myth of safety and to somehow deliver you from the enchantment of security. Because it’s a mirage. It doesn’t exist. Every direction you turn there are unknowns and things beyond your control.

The tragic hypocrisy is that the enchantment of security lets us take risks every day for ourselves but paralyzes us from taking risks for others on the Calvary road of love. We are deluded and think that it may jeopardize a security that in fact does not even exist. The way I hope to explode the myth of safety and to disenchant you with the mirage of security is simply to go to the Bible and show that it is right to risk for the cause of Christ, and not to is to waste your life.

“May the Lord Do What Seems Good to Him”

Consider the context of 2 Samuel 10. The Amalekites had shamed the messengers of Israel and made themselves odious in the sight of David. To protect themselves they had hired the Syrians to fight with them against the Israelites. Joab, the commander of Israel’s forces, found himself surrounded with Amalekites on one side and Syrians on the other. So he divided his troops, put his brother Abishai in charge of one troop of fighters, and led the other himself.

In verse 11 they pledged to help each other. Then comes this great word in verse 12: “Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” What do these last words mean, “May the Lord do what seems good to him”? It means that Joab had made a strategic decision for the cities of God, and he did not know how it would turn out. He had no special revelation from God on this issue. He had to make a decision on the basis of sanctified wisdom. He had to risk or run. He did not know how it would turn out. So he made his decision, and he handed the results over to God. And this was right.[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/channel/UCTxjSNstREpuGWuL0bF3U7w/featured

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 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)

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship


[1] John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003), 79–82.

Friday, January 28, 2022

Mercies New Every Morning! - I Am not Ashamed! – Purity 640


Mercies New Every Morning! - I Am not Ashamed! –  Purity 640

Purity 640 01/28/2022  Purity 640 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a setting sun over what looks like a frozen field of snow is actually a winter’s view of the Hudson River as I stopped in Castleton to capture this scene on the way home from work last evening.   

It’s the last Friday in January of 2022 and just like that we are quickly exiting the first month of a new year and as slow as the beginning of this week seemed to be on Tuesday evening here we are at the end of another work week and soon to enter into a new month this Tuesday.   

That’s the great thing about God’s created order, time keeps marching on and as the word tells us His mercies are new every morning. That means that everyday we can rejoice in the hope of a new day and because of the Lord’s “great sidereal movement over which time is commonly reckoned” we can be assured that no matter what troubles we may be going through in this life we are one more day closer to moving out of them with each new morning.    

God’s created order should be a great comfort for us as every aspect of our existence can be seen as evidence for God’s presence and care for us.  The universe screams that there is a God and that He has created an environment in which we can live and thrive and while the conditions of this world may be cold and forbidding at times God has poured His wisdom into man to discover ways to not only survive but to prosper in the face of circumstantial adversities.  

So as we move through the last day of the work week, let’s take some time today to thank the Lord for helping us to progress to this moment in our lives and take some time to reflect on how we are doing physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Let’s use this weekend to examine our experience in January and evaluate what is working and what may need to be changed.

God encourages us to have an abundant life that is filled with peace and joy but the key to finding it is to recognize His sovereignty and to align ourselves with His wisdom and ways for our lives.  

As preparation for some ministry work that I have planned for tomorrow, I decided to do a spiritual check up by praying through the Steps to Freedom in Christ this morning. The Steps have us look at our pasts and resolve any issues on our hearts by renouncing the things we shouldn’t have done, asking for God’s forgiveness, and by committing ourselves to follow Him with a renewed mind, heart, and spirit from this point forward.  

The process allows us to remove any residual bitterness that we may have on our souls that result from less than perfect interactions with our “neighbors” by forgiving those who have “sinned” against us and by releasing those negative feelings that resulted for our being “offended”.   As you walk through life, you can pick up all kinds of little offenses and when you release them in prayer to God, you can be amazed just how burdened you were and didn’t realize it!

So this morning I am rejoicing over my relationship with God and all the people in my life because I have sought forgiveness from God, forgiven others for anything they had knowingly or unknowingly done against me that made me feel hurt, offended, or rejected, and now realize once again the tremendous gift that my relationship with God has given me. 

My relationship with God through my faith in Christ has set me free and the continual practice of my faith gives me the opportunity to keep enjoying the gift of a new eternal life that I have received.  

So if you are feeling blah, and are wondering what’s so good about life, repent and go to God to receive the mercy of His love that can give you a renewed spirit when you simply are honest with Him and seek it.  

The battle of our lives as Christians is to keep the hope of our faith alive because the world, the flesh, and the devil all seek to drive us to despair with their false promises of fulfillment.   So fight the good fight of faith by reminding yourself of who you are in Christ and of just how good God is.   

If you want to know how to fight, Deeper Walk International has a free online conference on Spiritual Warfare tonight and tomorrow and I am sharing the link on the blog today. (https://deeperwalkinternational.org/product/free-spiritual-warfare-conference/)

Dr. Neil Anderson and other Christian teachers will be addressing the reality of the spiritual world of darkness that endeavors to lead us into despair and will be teaching on how we can experience and maintain our freedom in Christ.  So if you need knowledge and understanding, seek it and learn how to fight for and win the abundant life that God has for you to experience.  

So keep walking and talking with God because it is through our relationship with Him that we can experience the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  Enjoy the mercies of a new morning and walk in the hope that comes from living by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.   

When you experience the joy of your salvation and the peace that knows that nothing can separate you from God’s love you will not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and will boldly speak about the Lord’s goodness and the power that He gives us to overcome.  

 

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

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 1:16 (NLT2)
16  For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

Today’s verse speaks of the power that the good news of Jesus Christ can have on our lives and the boldness that it provokes in us to speak it.  

The good news of Jesus Christ is for every man, Jews, and Gentiles, and it is every man’s responsibility in life to find peace with God and the only way to be reconciled to Him is through Jesus.     

As today’s verse tells us, this good news has the power to save but in order to be saved we must believe.  We don’t earn salvation we receive it through faith in Christ alone.   That’s why it is good news! We don’t earn salvation we receive it by believing that Jesus is the Messiah and that by our placing our faith in Him as Lord and Savior we are given a new life of significance, security and acceptance as adopted children of God. 

“Everyone” means everyone.  Everyone who believes is saved. So no matter what you have done or where you have come from, God extends the invitation to be saved and to live forever with Him to those who seek His truth put their faith in Jesus.   

If you have believed on the Lord Jesus, you are saved and that should fill you with the joy and peace of the Lord and cause you to boldly proclaim that good news to a world that desperately needs it.    

So feel he power and love of your salvation, let it work in you to give you peace and to motivate you to live for God and His purpose for your life.  Do not be ashamed of the glorious gift of your salvation. Instead be a light in the darkness, that burns bright for the cause of Christ, to seek and save that which is lost and to reconcile men to God through His beloved Son.  

They say that if you see something you should say something. Well in Christ we have seen death turned to life and light shine in the darkness.  So be not ashamed, be bold and speak the good news of Jesus Christ!       

 

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 to share from Dr. Neil Anderson’s . “Restored: Experience Life with Jesus”. Today, we continue sharing from Chapter 6.   

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

AVENUES OF PRIDE

People come from diverse backgrounds, but pride, rebellion, and self-sufficiency are consequences of the Fall and common to all humanity. The whole aim of Satan is to get self-interest recognized as the chief end of man. Satan is called the “prince of this world” because self-interest rules this world. The iniquity that is passed on from one generation to another is a distortion of, and preoccupation with, self-will. This self-will is the chief characteristic of the false prophet and teacher. Peter says they “indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties.”130 They operate from independent spirits and won’t answer to anyone. An even more sober scenario is given in Matthew 7:20-23:

So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness [iniquity].”

Strongholds of pride are not only passed on from one generation to the next, but each new generation will develop its own basis for pride by seeking fame and fortune in the worldly system in which it is raised. Self-glorification can come by accumulating wealth, garnering social status, acquiring academic degrees, and even obtaining biblical knowledge. There is nothing wrong with having wealth, social status, academic degrees, or biblical knowledge—if they are obtained by the grace of God for the purpose of doing His will.

Pride is the chief characteristic of the world: “For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.”131 All temptation is an attempt to get us to live our lives independently of God. When we give into such temptation, we unwittingly serve the world, the flesh, or the devil. We have been deceived into thinking we are benefiting ourselves, but such temporal gratification quickly fades away. Jesus counters by sharing the way of the Cross, the foundational principle for our lives in Christ, which is the repudiation of the old natural life and embracing the new joyful union with the resurrected life of Christ.

Though the immediate evidence of pride is self-centeredness, the root of pride is self-exaltation. It is at this point that we are most like the evil “god of this world.” Self-exaltation expressed by subtle attitudes of pride and self-righteousness will keep a person from humbly admitting the need for Christ’s righteousness. Such pride is an open invitation to the god of this world, which may render impossible the ability to carry out even the best of our intentions. Notice how this proved to be true in the life of Peter.

Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”132 Notice that Jesus didn’t say He would not permit Satan to sift Peter like wheat. He just said He would pray for him, that he would be able to help others if he repented.

What right did Satan have to ask permission of God? The previous context reveals that a dispute had arisen among the apostles regarding who was the greatest. Such pride can coexist with the best of intentions. Peter said, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death.” Sadly, he had already forfeited his right. Before the cock crowed, Peter denied his Lord three times.

 

 ---------------------------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. 

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 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)

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Macy Day’s Parade and the Brand New Hope on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Purity 585

Macy Day’s Parade and the Brand New Hope on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams –  Purity 585

Purity 585 11/25/2021  Thanksgiving - Purity 585 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of the boat launch at the Martin Dunham Reservoir in Grafton NY comes to us from yours truly as I went “off road” for a moment on Monday to capture it and to experience the peaceful stillness of being alone in nature right in the midst of a busy workday.  

Today is Thanksgiving and while most of us will be gathered with friends or family to enjoy a holiday meal, my thoughts turn to those who will be flying solo.  I have a friend who did just that and is enjoy their solitude at a resort in Aruba where the fare is more likely to be jerk chicken than Tom Turkey.  But I also know of others that will be in solitary environments today that will be far less tropical and exotic.   

While we can surround ourselves with others, or choose to be isolated with all our familiar comforts, or take it on the road to some tropical resort to manipulate the conditions to give us peace and happiness, unless we have peace within and can maintain it regardless of circumstances we are apt to experience depression despite our best efforts.  

We can also choose to overindulge with food or alcohol to try to comfort ourselves. With the legalization of marijuana in NY state, you even have the option of making Thanksgiving a “green day” with a freedom that was unavailable in the past.  

As a “Christian with a past”, I can testify that I tried all of the above with zeal but can tell you that all my “experimentation and research” has concluded that substances, no matter how elicit or benign, do not provide lasting satisfaction or fulfillment. Substances will not make you happy and are literally a dead end and many will lose their lives today because of the direct effects of substances or due to their influence on one’s health or decisions.   So be safe.  

I have Green Day on the brain this morning, not because I am going to “blaze up”. But because as I started to write this I was thinking of two of their songs.   

As I contemplated those who will be alone this Thanksgiving I thought about the lyrics from Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and how I once thought that they adequately described my life when the song came out in 2004. They say:

“I walk a lonely road

The only one that I have ever known

Don't know where it goes

But it's home to me, and I walk alone

I walk this empty street

On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Where the city sleeps

And I'm the only one, and I walk alone

I walk alone, I walk alone

I walk alone, I walk a-

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating

Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me

'Til then, I walk alone”

It’s a great song, but the problem was that I wasn’t walking alone. I had a wife and a family at the time, a good job at least financially speaking, and didn’t want for anything.  But regardless of the promise of the American Dream to bring happiness, those relationships and all the things I had didn’t bring fulfillment.  I still felt alone.

I also didn’t have a relationship with God as I had suffered through some traumatic losses and chose not to believe in a personal God.  Even though I said I didn’t believe, I was trying to find peace in Eastern Mysticism and Monastic practices that sought to control my experience through meditation and changing my perspective.  Even though I found a measure of peace through those efforts, it was a lonely road and even though I would have never admitted it at the time, my searching and working for peace and meaning were evidence that I really wished that “Someone out there” would find me.   

It being Thanksgiving in 2021, I also thought of Green Day’s Macy’s Day Parade and its somewhat prophetic, melancholy but hopeful lyrics.  The song starts out declaring that:

“Today's the Macy's Day parade

The night of the living dead is on its way”

With the dystopian reality that is present and increasing in the “land of the free”, with:

·        “areas of mandatory, and truly useless, PPE”

“Do you feel lucky, punk? Well do ya? Better mask up!”

I thought Covid was over?

It’s never over! Unless we say it’s over!

·       and now with the mandates that will force people to receive medical treatments to retain employment, by our government and those faceless but oh so politically correct corporations who in the Spirit of Nazi Fascism are making Americans truly understand that “freedom isn’t free” and that your personal choices can and will affect where you can pursue your financial happiness.  

With all of that and the political divide in our country going on it does indeed feel that the “night of the living dead is on its way” and if we consider the disengagement of people who are captivated by their cell phones we could make a case that – the night, dawn, and day of the dead has already come.  

But before I get too grim on “Turkey Day”, too late?, Let’s move on to the more hopeful parts of Green Day’s Thanksgiving Holiday song that could inspire us to look past the present days of confusion and past all the things that the world tells us will make us happy. The song goes on to say:  

“Give me something that I need

Satisfaction guaranteed

'Cause I'm thinking 'bout

A brand new hope

The one I've never known

'Cause now I know

It's all that I wanted”

The Brand New Hope, who is Jesus Christ,  found me in my darkest days of walking down the boulevard of my broken dreams as I walked “alone and now I know that my wish for “Someone out there” to find me has been granted. 

Because of the reality of life and death, the only satisfaction that is guaranteed is going to have to be one that goes from here to eternity. That guarantee is found in John 3:16, that says:

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

When you put your faith in Jesus, you receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and your everlasting life begins.   In Christ, you are forgiven of all your sins and are reconciled to God.  In Christ, we become adopted sons and daughters of the Creator of all things and receive meaning and purpose for our lives as we are called to represent and serve God’s kingdom through sharing His love though good works and by making disciples.   

It's Thursday, and I shared today’s photo because it features a pathway of sorts and I do that to encourage people to get on the path of Christian discipleship that starts with faith in Jesus Christ and continues into God’s will and purpose for our lives.  

So as we gather together to give thanks for all that we have in life today, or if you find yourself alone, remember that in Christ you are never alone for God will never leave us or forsake us when we decide to walk with Him.  

Whether you are in Christ or are just wishing that “Someone out there” would find you, I encourage you to keep seeking the Lord because the peace that God wants you to have doesn’t lie in substances to consume, things to accumulate, or even in our earthly friends and family.  

Ultimate satisfaction that is guaranteed requires a search for the Truth, the Way, and the Life that God has provided.   Christ came to save us and make us new.  So keep walking and talking with God and He will show you where to go and when you find your place in his kingdom you will realize that you have found all that you wanted.  

God bless you all and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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

This morning’s meditation verses are:

Romans 11:28-29 (NLT2)
28  Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
29  For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.

Today’s verses speak of the harsh spiritual reality that the very people that received the word and blessings of God the Father have turned a blind eye to the Messiah’s coming and that “outsiders” like you and me, us Christians, have benefited from it.  

However, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still loved by God and the word of God indicates that all the true spiritual sons of Israel will see the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and make Jesus their Lord and Savior someday,  the ones that will live anyway.

Yeah, Revelation paints a disturbing picture that reminds us that only those who stand with Jesus will stand for all eternity and scripture indicates that we must be spiritually born again through faith in Christ to become the children of God.  

That’s enough end times for now. Let’s focus on the good news for today. Although Christ’s return is the best news, the future fulfillment of His coming kingdom and turmoil and devastation that will usher it in may make us lose our appetites this Thanksgiving. 

Instead let’s focus on the thing that can sustain us today and everyday until the day of the Lord: the love of God and the fact that His “gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.”  

When we make Christ our Lord and Savior, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence as children of God.  Nothing we do will change our relationship with God, we are forgiven of all we have ever done or will do, and nothing can separate us from His love, even when we fall into sin or make other colossal errors in judgement.

But enough about me, ha ha, God’s gift of salvation to us is guaranteed and His call on our lives to be fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ is continuous.   So let the love of God rule in your heart and mind to give you peace and to empower you to courageously offer the truth of the gospel to others and to discover and to answer the Lord’s call for your life.

 

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

 

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

 

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

D. What Does "Theodicy" Mean?

If it is true that "Life is full of suffering, and then you die," what is the purpose of living at all? This life, however, is but a fleeting training ground for the life to follow—eternal life that will go on forever. God will use the sufferings in this life for our eternal good if we choose to rely on Him.

While this is not the best of all worlds, it is the way to the best of all worlds! Only by giving control of our lives to our Lord and Savior in this life can we be given the next life God has prepared for us.

"Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

  • The word theodicy is a theological term used in apologetics (a defense of the faith) to vindicate the goodness, justice, and existence of God in the face of all the evil and injustice in the world. Those who are convinced that God is absolutely just know that His reputation is not at stake and can state with absolute confidence...
        "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you." (Psalm 89:14)
  • The Greek word theos means "God," and the Greek word dike carries the idea of "justice." As you increasingly come to know the Lord God, you increasingly have confidence in the character of God.
        "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)
  • Theodicy is a logical defense of the goodness of God despite the existence of evil in the world. Because logical reasoning can be effective in presenting truth to those who have not heard the truth, we are told...

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." (1 Peter 3:15-16)


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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship