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Thursday, May 25, 2023

I Need “the One” to Complete Me!– Lies of the Enemy #40 – Purity 1052

Purity 1052 05/25/2023 Purity 1052 Podcast

Purity 1052 on YouTube: Coming Soon!

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a trio of people gathered near a tree on the shores of Lake Ontario to take in a magnificent sunset sky comes to us from Celestial Blue Photography as Rocco Saya captured this scene back on May 22^nd of 2020, commenting at the time that the people were “6 feet apart!”, albeit with a “winking emoji”.

Well, It’s Thursday and as my “ministry night” has shifted from Thursdays, to Tuesdays, to Wednesdays over the years, I’m not really sure which day of the week I should share a “pathway photo” to encourage my friends (that’s you) to get on or to stay on the path of Christian Discipleship but while I mostly shared this photo because of its epic beauty, it does have a shoreline walkway on display to visual represent the path that leads to amazing things and a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

Last night, I led the Celebrate Freedom Growth Group in a quieting and “affirming” exercise with the intention of leading my newest friends to find a moment of peace and to encourage them to embrace what their Heavenly Father says about them.

After the group’s initial prayer and “ice breaker”, I decided to step out in faith and tried to lead the group into an “experiential knowledge” of their identity in Christ. Instructed the group to relax and to let go of the stress of the day, to shake it off, and to release it by doing “box breathing” – to inhale and exhale with a 4 second count and holding the breath for 4 seconds in between. If you’d like to give it a try, inhale 1,2,3,4 – hold it 1, 2,3,4, exhale 1,2,3,4 – hold it 1,2,3, 4 – and repeat. For those who don’t like counting or that counting becomes a distraction, I advised to just take deep breaths in and out.

I then invited them to keep breathing, to relax, to close their eyes if they wished to, and to listen as I told them that I was going to read through the who I am in Christ list but that I was going to read through it as if addressing them personally by changing the verbiage to “You”. I told them that the Who I am in Christ list was based scripture and in essence it is what God wants us to know about ourselves as His adopted children. I wanted the group to listen to the list and invited them to embrace what the list had to say about who they are, personally. And so to repeat the exercise – if you’re listening – or reading this – breathe in and out – and try to receive – in your Spirit – what the Lord has to say about you.

Who You are in Christ.

You are ACCEPTED IN CHRIST

You are God’s Child (John 1:12)

You are Christ’s Friend (John 15:15)

You have been justified (Romans 5:1)

You are united with the Lord and one with Him in Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17)

You have been bought with a price; You belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:20)

You are a member of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27)

You are a saint (Ephesians 1:1)

You have been adopted as God’s child (Ephesians 1:5)

You have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18)

You have been redeemed and forgiven of all your sins (Colossians 1:14)

You are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10)

You are SECURE IN CHRIST

You are free forever from condemnation (Romans 8:1)

You are assured that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28)

You are free from the condemning charges against you (Romans 8:33-34)

You cannot be separated from the love of God (Romans 8:35, 38-39)

You have been established, anointed, and sealed by God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

You are a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)

You are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)

You can find grace and mercy to help you in time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

You are born of God, and the evil one cannot touch you (1 John 5:18)

You have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7)

You are confident that the good work God has begun in you will be perfected (Phil 1:6)

You are SIGNIFICANT IN CHRIST

You are the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14)

You are a branch of the true vine, a channel to Jesus’ life (John 15:1,5)

You have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)

You are a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)

You are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16)

You are a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

You are God’s coworker (2 Corinthians 6:1)

You are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6)

You are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)

You may approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)

You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13)

If you have made Jesus your Lord and Savior, and you know in your heart if you have, every single one of these things are true about you. And I pray for the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and mind to embrace and accept who you are in Christ. Amen.

This is our new life in Christ, so believe it, receive it, and decide to live it.

I personally love the Who I am in Christ list and practice it daily. Some of the statements speak louder to me at different times but today I want to point to the last statement under the “I am Accept in Christ” section – I am complete in Christ.

If we have placed our faith in Jesus – we are complete. And while the world, the flesh, and the devil strive to tell us that we are lacking or that we need to do something to be complete – Christ says “It is finished” and we are made whole – made complete in Him.

And that brings us to our current series the “Lies of the Enemy”, which is an examination of some of the common lies, sometimes sneakily whispered into our minds as “first person” statements, that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, lose our peace, cause division, or influence us to not follow the Lord with the way we live our lives.

We’ve decided to end this series as a 40 day devotional so today is the last day and I have decided to take on perhaps the biggest lie of the enemy – the one that tells you that there is something or some “ONE” out there that will “complete you” other than your relationship with God.

Sorry, Jerry Maguire, the idea that you “complete me” is a lie from the pit of hell because if I believe that and focus on finding my “ONE” or my “QUEST” or My “IDOL” or whatever to the exception of seeking the Lord, I will discover that my searching and worshipping one of God’s created things – or something I created or built up in my mind as “The IDEAL” – will eventually separate me from God and consign me to perdition as I rejected the only One who truly knows me and who will never leave or forsake me.

So today’s big and final lie, in this series is.

Lie #40: I Need “the One” to Complete Me!

Again, as we examine the enemy’s lies that would lead us astray we have to admit that the things he uses to ensnare us are often good or true in some ways but because he is evil, Satan will call what is evil good and will use good things for evil.

Our need for human companionship or fulfillment are good things but the enemy entices us to make us put our focus on those “good things” only and thus giving them “godlike” status in our lives because we rest our hearts and minds on them rather than God. With the “myth of the ONE”, Satan takes our desire to be loved and accepted and makes it the all consuming passion of our lives.

The myth of the One can make us obsessive – to hold tightly to our “One” if we should find them – or to lead us to despair if “Mr. or Ms. Right” hasn’t come around yet. This myth can also lead us into sexual sin as we decide to try as many “ONE”’s as we can to make sure we haven’t overlooked anyone. The desperate search can make us depressed and even make us “addicted to love” as our search for true love is corrupted and compromised into sexual sin and striving to find meaning in one of God’s created beings rather than Him.

The myth of the One tells us that somewhere out there in this world there is a soulmate for each one of us who when we find them will completely fulfill us – making us “complete”. While scripture encourages marriage, it doesn’t really indicate that husbands and wives are the means to our fulfillment – Christ is – He completes us.

The myth of the ONE – can also be transferred to the realm of personal accomplishments or obtaining possessions. Being diligent in amassing wealth or prestige can make us feel powerful, wise, or important. But in the final accounting, all the possessions of this world or accomplishments of men will mean nothing when we are called into eternity. We can’t earn or buy our Salvation. Only faith in Jesus can do that.

I know I always tend to go to the “ultimate things” in my blog because frankly we need to be concerned with the “next thing” =what happens when its all been said and done. And while I will encourage people to seek after their dreams and to find happiness in their personal relationships and through accomplishing their goals or obtaining and enjoying their “stuff” – I feel compelled to make people aware that those things are temporary and the things that really matter are the unseen spiritual realities – God and His kingdom and that we need to seek Him and find our way – His way Jesus – to live.

So don’t believe that lie that “I need the ONE to complete me” unless you know that the One that completes us and gives us eternal life is Jesus Christ. In Christ, we have everything we need so seek Him and follow Him to see what good things come when you decide to answer His call and purpose for your life.

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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 verse is:

Psalm 92:1 (NKJV)
¹ It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

Today’s verse tells us that it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to His name!

This is our spiritual practice guys – to give thanks and to sing God’s praises. Gratitude – thanksgiving – keeps us grounded in the “good news” of all that the Lord has done for us. It leads to joy.

Singing likewise has been proven as a means to joy and I would say that singing worship songs to the Lord – with sincerity and feeling – can move our knowledge of God and His presence and love for us from our minds to our hearts.

So practice these things.

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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 The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3)

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

4 - The Deities of the Holy Spirit

Correct views of the Divine character lie at the foundation of all genuine and vital godliness. It should, then, be one of our chief quests to seek after the knowledge of God. Without the true knowledge of God, in His nature and attributes, we can neither worship Him acceptably nor serve Him aright.

“Names” Describe Character

Now the three Persons in the Godhead have graciously revealed Themselves through a variety of names and titles. The Nature of God we are utterly incapable of comprehending, but His person and character may be known. Each name or title that God has appropriated unto Himself is that whereby He reveals Himself unto us, and whereby He would have us know and own Him. Therefore whatever any name of God expresses Him to be, that He is, for He will not deceive us by giving Himself a wrong or false name. On this account He requires us to trust in His Name, because He will assuredly be found unto us all that His Name imports.

The names of God, then, are for the purpose of expressing Him unto us; they set forth His perfections and make known the different relations which He sustains unto the children of men and unto His own favored people. Names are given for this intent, that they might declare what the thing is to which the name belongs. Thus, when God created Adam and gave him dominion over this visible world, He caused the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air to pass before him, that they might receive names from him (Gen. 2:19). In like manner, we may learn of what God is through the names and titles He has taken. By means of them, God spells out Himself to us, sometimes by one of His perfections, sometimes by another. A very wide field of study is here introduced to us, yet we can now say no more than that the prayerful and diligent searcher will find it a highly profitable one to investigate.

What has been said above serves to indicate the importance of the present aspect of our subject. What the Holy Spirit is in His Divine Person and ineffable character is made known unto us by means of the many names and varied titles which are accorded to Him in Holy Writ. A whole volume, rather than a brief chapter, might well be devoted to their contemplation. May we be Divinely guided in using the limited space which is now at our disposal in writing that which will both magnify the Third Person in the blessed Trinity, and serve as a stimulus unto our readers to give more careful study and holy meditation to those titles of His which we cannot here consider. Possibly, we can help our friends most by devoting our attention to those which are more difficult to apprehend.^{^[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)

For those who require the assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge

“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 Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

I Know Who You Really Are – Lies of the Enemy #21– Purity 1033

Purity 1033 05/03/2023 Purity 1033 Podcast

Purity 1033 on YouTube:

Hump day peaksbecome Pac Man on You Tube...

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a tree, blue skies, and the sun’s light shining just below peak of my place “down by the River” comes to us today from yours truly as I paused to look up and decided to capture this scene back on April 25^thafter another day at work.

Well It’s Wednesday, and I thought that this photo of the “twin peaks” of my home’s roof was a good way to visually represent our arrival at the midpoint of another work week, although for me its just the beginning as my shifted schedule has me reporting to work for the next five days. But that’s no reason for me to have “a case of the Mondays”, as I intentionally begin each day with the practice of gratitude, prayer and Bible study to “get first things first” and to remind me of all the things I have been blessed with rather than focusing on the things I don’t have or would rather not do.

Although Christians have more than just the hope of heaven, I fear that for many they view their faith as something that won’t have any value until the hour of their death and they are welcomed into heaven (they hope) and thus their faith sits on a shelf unutilized and underdeveloped as they go about their business in the “real world”. These malnourished and weak Christians thus become consumed with managing the circumstances of the world in the pursuit of happiness and often have little or no patience for “spiritual things”. They have their “ticket to heaven” but in the meantime they have work to do building a circumstantial heaven on earth that they have to build with their own hands and have little patience with their “heavenly minded” brethren who seem to indicate they can have some sort of “relationship with God.”

They had a one time experience of the joy of their salvation and consider themselves lucky, but don’t want to press their luck by pursuing God too closely. They are just a “sinner saved by grace” after all and they don’t want to have God change His mind, because they know who they “really are” and are thankful just to be in God’s kingdom. So they will sit in the back of the church and not speak too much about their faith, because they don’t know much and because they are not a “saint” like other more mature Christians.

While I would encourage that we should “keep it real” as Christians by addressing the real life problems and responsibilities before us and by not have an attitude of being “holier than thou” as we walk through the world, I would insist that we should get to know God better than when we first believed and to get to know ourselves better as “new creations in Christ.” But the world, the flesh, and the enemy don’t want us to know God or what He has done for us.

And this brings us to our current series, the Lies of the Enemy, which is an examination of some of the common lies, sometimes sneakily whispered into our minds as “first person” statements, that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, lose our peace, cause division, or influence us to not follow the Lord with the way we live our lives.

Today’s big lie is:

Lie #21: I Know Who You Really Are!

Now this statement that is whispered or shouted in the confines of our minds, is also an accusation – a true red flag that the thought is demonic – Satan is the accuser of the brethren after all. But this accusation is also a lie, or at least Satan is try to lead you away from the truth, in that Satan is trying to convince you that no matter what “prayer” you have said or what declaration of faith that you have made, you are still a no good low down sinner who will probably will be tossed out of God’s kingdom by the slightest provocation or if they discover what a mistake was made in “saving you”.

Satan tells this lie to accuse you of being a no good sinner who can’t serve the Lord, seek the Lord, or represent the Lord by sharing your faith. Satan wants to keep you humble and silent and to be of no effect for the kingdom of God.

I share this lie because I’ve heard it before. I had a very sinful and selfish life before putting my faith in Jesus and the enemy loved to condemn me for my past attitudes and actions. As I decided to follow Jesus as authentically as I could, the enemy was there continually to remind me of my checkered past and to discourage me from trying to learn about my faith or to apply it to my life. The implication of this lie – that Satan or others in the world know who I “really” am because of my past – is that I am not a Christian, I am not saved, or I haven’t changed.

But it’s a lie. Although Satan may know who we REALLY are in Christ, He seeks to deceive us by telling us that we are the same old sinner on the highway to hell as we always were and any behavioral or attitudinal bumps on the path of Christian Discipleship that we make proves it!

Unfortunately, some pastors unwittingly support the enemy’s smear campaign by often quoting

Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV) that says
⁹ "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

As former sinners we know our hearts could be lustful, proud, or hateful at times and on occasion we will have bad thoughts that remind us of those days before we were saved so we think nothing has changed.

However, something did change since the time Jerimiah said these words. – His name is Jesus Christ – he came to pay for our sins, to give us new life, and to fulfill Ezekiel’s prophecy in

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NKJV) where He speaking for the Lord said:
²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

A new spirit in you? As in the Holy Spirit! And a new heart, guys! That old stone cold heart has been transplanted with a beating heart of flesh, and if we will walk with the Lord and “keep His judgements (know His word) and do them – we will know that we are no longer who we used to be and we are now, REALLY, children of God.

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.

John 3:16 (NKJV) assures us
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.

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) proclaims
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Romans 8:1 (NKJV) encourages us
¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) directs us
¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So don’t listen to the enemy’s lie that He knows who you really are – because you really are a born again child of the King, who has been given a new and eternal life that is rich in meaning and purpose.

So rather than listening to the condemnation of the enemy, tell him and anyone else, that you are not who you used to be, you are now alive in Christ and have been washed clean of your former darkness and will never walk in those shadows again!

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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 :

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT2)
¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Today’s verses go hand in hand with the new life in Christ. We fully experience the reality of our new life in Christ when we surrender our bodies and minds to the Lord’s will for our lives. We are new creations and thus we are to reject the world’s ways and wisdom for the wisdom that comes from God and we decide to live our new lives in Christ by renewing our minds with it and living according to it.

We were saved and made new the instant we put our faith in Christ, but we have to repent – to change our minds and behaviors to reflect the new life that we have been given. Otherwise we will be unstable in all our ways, double minded believing we are part Christian but mostly sinner when the truth is we have been made brand new and can demonstrate it on earth long before heaven by living according to our new nature as saints.

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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 “Satan, Demons & Satanism: A Sinister Reality” By June Hunt.

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. This resource is available online for $7.99 (https://june-hunt.myshopify.com/collections/keys-for-living/products/keys-for-living-on-satan-demons-satanism_ ).

Satan, Demons & Satanism

A Sinister Reality

by June Hunt

D. What Are Satanic Rituals?

A ritual is a prescribed form of religious ceremony that can be either traditional or self-styled. Although the Black Mass, based on the Roman Catholic Mass, does not represent the teachings of The Satanic Bible, many satanic groups consider it to be the ultimate allegiance to Satan. Almost all satanic rituals involve sex and sacrifice.

• Black Magic

— The use of objects and sayings in an attempt to control natural forces for evil purposes

— “The most violent and cruel of all pagan practices”

— The root of today’s satanism

• The Black Mass

— A point-by-point perversion of Catholic practices

— Begun in the eighth century

— The sacrifice of a baby is often required

“The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.”

(1 Corinthians 10:20–21)^{^[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.

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

^{^[1]} June Hunt, Biblical Counseling Keys on Satan, Demons & Satanism: A Sinister Reality (Dallas, TX: Hope For The Heart, 2008), 5–6.

Monday, February 6, 2023

Beyond the “Church Game” – Daily Spiritual Practice - Purity 959

Purity 959 02/06/2023 Purity 959 Podcast

Purity 959 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of Harley running free over the white farmland tundra underneath the blazing February sun comes to us from yours as I decided to “let him go” as we made our way up Waite Rd just before noon on Saturday. The sun may have been shining but don’t light that bright light fool you! Just like the devil can be disguised as an angel of light, this past Saturday afternoon may have had clear skies and sunshine but I can assure you that the suns rays did little to dissipate the polar vortex like cold that had descended across the land that sent the temperatures below zero degrees.

Well, it’s Monday again and I am happy to report that the cold spell that started Friday and lasted throughout the day on Saturday lifted yesterday with temperatures in the high 30’s. And it looks like that’s where we will stay, temperature wise, for today, even though I am currently 156 miles away from where I would usually find myself at the beginning of another work week.

Yup, like Willie Nelson, I am “On the Road Again” as my employer has sent me to Syracuse NY to learn a new set of skills for work and in case you are curious, no, I didn’t volunteer for the trip.

So, It’s “training day”, I guess and this morning I am extremely grateful for the my daily spiritual practices of exercise, prayer, Bible study, and writing this blog as these disciplines start my day off right and they are the only thing that is familiar as I find myself in my new home for the next 8 business days.

Really? Not 10 days, as in a full two weeks of training?

No, let’s have him travel back home, in the middle of the week at the end of the work day on Wednesday and have him return to two days of his regular work on Thursday and Friday!

Pardon my questioning the scheduling of this assignment. I’m sure it makes perfect sense to someone. Apparently 1 week of training isn’t long enough but a full two weeks would just be insane!

Anyway, it is in the times of changing circumstances and in the moments of stress caused by the cognitive dissonance of trying to figure life out, that our relationship with the Lord and the spiritual practices of the path of Christian Discipleship in which we adide in His presence are proven to be the most important thing about us. Our relationship with God and the ways we draw close to the Lord confirm who we are by reminding us of “whose we are.” And when we know “whose we are”, we instinctively become aware “what we do” because we follow the example of Christ and do what the word of God says.

As I have stated before on the blog, when I became a “born again” Christian back in 2010, I had a deep desire to be authentic in my faith and sought to know God more and to live my life according to His desires, according to His will – not my own. And as hard as one might think that it is to live a Christian life in these modern times, I discovered that it is surprisingly simple, but that doesn’t mean that it is easy.

From my liturgical Christian background, I knew that Christians went to church but that’s really all I knew and I knew that wasn’t enough. I had played the “church game” in my former life and although there were a few times throughout my life that I would say my faith was probably genuine, for the most part I would say I was a member of a religion more than I was in a relationship with God. Religion was cold comfort because it was powerless to change me and so I experienced a lot of guilt, shame, confusion, and anger when I used to play the “church game”.

So when I finally heard the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and made the decision to put my faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, I knew that “church” would not and could not be all there was to my new relationship with the Lord. I also knew that my old liberal church, with it’s homosexual clergy – a fact, would not be a part of my new life in Christ. So until I found a conservative “church where the Bible was taught” I was on my own. And frankly, I wasn’t ready to run out into some fundamentalist cult where the religion was just a different flavor of the day.

My faith in Christ was something new but I decided that I would be very discerning in how I followed the Lord because I didn’t want just another “church game”, I wanted to be a “real Christian”.

From those early days of my “born again experience”, I knew that I had to know God more. I had a deep desire to read the Bible and I did, dusting off the Bible that I had received when I was confirmed as an Episcopalian and highlighting all the passages that caught my attention. If I was going to walk by faith I knew that I knew that I needed to know the Bible for myself.

It turns out that this approach was recommended by nearly every “bible believing evangelist” that I was becoming familiar with through Christian radio and podcasts. My initial research revealed that the basics of a Christian life beyond worshipping at a church and doing good works, included regular, if not daily, Bible Study and prayer.

So even though they were new practices to me, I began praying, reading the Bible and tried to live by what I learned.

It turns out that “this is it” – this more or less is what encompasses a Christian life: Talking to the Lord in prayer, Reading the Bible, and doing what it says. Like I said it sounds pretty simple, but actually doing it and doing it consistently is where we learn to grow as Christians. Biblically, the Apostle Paul summarized what we are to do in

Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)
¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
² And do 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.

We are to present our bodies for God’s service – to actually surrender ourselves to God and to live for Him – and we are to change the ways we think, by renewing our minds with God’s wisdom, His word, and to be transformed – our new lives will be different as we seek to do God’s will increasingly and progressively as we go.

At first these practices can be hard to establish as we really do have to renew our minds to the habits themselves and to the Lord’s ways of thinking and living, to live in the context of the kingdom of God and to dwell in the Lord’s presence.

However, with time, our daily spiritual practices become a part of our regular routine and we discover that they are actually quite effective to cause us to be transformed and to allow the fruit of the Spirit to flourish in our lives.

So this morning, even though I am a “fish out of water” in having to adapt to “hotel living” and being in a strange environment for work, I arose and immediately went to my daily spiritual practices even though the landscape was different and I needed to make some modifications to how I did them in my temporary home.

I running a little late but I “got ‘er done” in terms of physical exercise, prayer, and Bible study and am now finishing this report that I hope will encourage anyone who listens or reads this message to either establish or to continue in your “quiet time with God” each morning because it is through these practices that we draw close to our heavenly Father and live out our identity in Christ.

So, keep walking and talking with God. This is not a church game and the more you walk with Him and draw close to Him through a daily spiritual practice you will discover that the Christian life is something you can really live and that when you keep following the Lord the transformation is real too.

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

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Proverbs 25:11 (NLT2)
¹¹ Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.

Today’s Bible verse speaks of the loveliness of timely advice.

There is a saying that you hear at airport that says “if you see something, say something”. In the post 911 world of global terrorism, we have to be on guard against the threat of terrorist attacks by keeping our eyes open for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary that may indicate that something is not right. If we see something, we should say something because it could be a matter of life and death!

The timely report that saves someone’s life is beautiful because it prevents tragedy.

In medical circles, a regular check up can reveal a disease, that if caught early, can be cured. So if we suspect something isn’t “right” with ourselves or our loved ones we should say something and get it checked out.

Likewise in the spiritual realm, when we see someone living without Jesus in their life or someone who is far from God in the way they live, we should say something.

Our encouragement to others to put their faith in Christ may save their souls.

Our encouragements to Christians to repent and follow the Lord may rescue them from bondage.

So let me encourage you to say the “awkward thing” and encourage others to come to Jesus and to follow the Lord in the way they live. We never know when our words will be “timely advice” but we have to trust that the Lord wants to use us to do His work on the earth. So if you feel moved to speak, speak because like today’s verse tells us “timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in silver basket” to those who need to hear it.

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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 FIVE

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN REPROBATION continues

Second, the doctrine of Reprobation does not mean that God refuses to save those who earnestly seek salvation. The fact is that the reprobate have no longing for the Saviour: they see in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. They will not come to Christ—why then should God force them to? He turns away none who do come—where then is the injustice of God fore-determining their just doom? None will be punished but for their iniquities; where then is the supposed tyrannical cruelty of the Divine procedure? Remember that God is the Creator of the wicked, not of their wickedness; He is the Author of their being, but not the Infuser of their sin.

God does not (as we have been slanderously reported to affirm) compel the wicked to sin, as the rider spurs on an unwilling horse. God only says in effect that awful word, “Let them alone” (Matt. 15:14). He needs only to slacken the reins of providential restraint, and withhold the influence of saving grace, and apostate man will only too soon and too surely, of his own accord, fall by his iniquities. Thus the decree of reprobation neither interferes with the bent of man’s own fallen nature, nor serves to render him the less inexcusable.

Third, the decree of Reprobation in nowise conflicts with God’s goodness. Though the non-elect are not the objects of His goodness in the same way or to the same extent as the elect are, yet are they not wholly excluded from a participation of it. They enjoy the good things of Providence (temporal blessings) in common with God’s own children, and very often to a higher degree. But how do they improve them? Does the (temporal) goodness of God lead them to repent? Nay, verily, they do but “despise His goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering, and after their hardness and impenitency of heart treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath” (Rom. 2:4, 5). On what righteous ground, then, can they murmur against not being the objects of His benevolence in the endless ages yet to come? Moreover, if it did not clash with God’s mercy and kindness to leave the entire body of the fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4) under the guilt of their apostasy still less can it clash with the Divine perfections to leave some of fallen mankind in their sins and punish them for them.

Finally, let us interpose this necessary caution: It is utterly impossible for any of us, during the present life, to ascertain who are among the reprobate. We must not now so judge any man, no matter how wicked he may be. The vilest sinner, may, for all we know, be included in the election of grace and be one day quickened by the Spirit of grace. Our marching orders are plain, and woe unto us if we disregard them—“Preach the Gospel to every creature.” When we have done so our skirts are clear. If men refuse to heed, their blood is on their own heads; nevertheless “we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are a savor of death unto death; and to the other we are a savor of life unto life” (2 Cor. 2:15, 16).^{^[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.

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

^{^[1]} Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 108–109.

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