Purity 359 03/06/2021 Purity 359 Podcast
Good morning!
So Friday’s pathway has
brought us here to Saturday and now we can rest and bask in what God has
brought us to.
So what will your
Saturday be like? The beauty of our free will is that we can make of it
whatever we like. We can use it to perform some tasks that need our attention,
we can go out an seek new things, or we can simply use it to rest. Whatever you choose, I hope you accomplish
what you intend but also hope that you are met with a pleasant surprise or two
along the way.
As always, I encourage
you to invite God into your experience by thanking Him for what He brings you
to or for asking Him for His strength to get you through it. He is there for us in good times and bad and
some how when He is with us its always better no matter what we face.
This morning’s meditation
verses are:
Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto
us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name
will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.
Todays verse from the Old Testament prophesies the
coming of the Messiah and is often presented at churches during the Christmas
season to declare the coming of Jesus Christ our newborn King. This prophecy was made about 700 years
before the birth of Christ. The sheer
magnitude of the Old Testament prophecies that are fulfilled in Jesus Christ
should be compelling enough for any skeptic to believe that Jesus is the
Messiah.
If anyone has doubts, I invite them to watch Lee Strobel’s
documentary “The Case for Christ” on You Tube: https://youtu.be/rbTSyqbUz1A . Strobel’s story and the evidence he presents further
convinced me of the fact the Jesus was the Messiah, and that the Bible was indeed
the inerrant Word of God when I was a new Christian.
Our faith in Christ is not to be accepted blindly.
Our faith is supposed to be based on the truth of who Christ is.
Our faith can be simple, but I assure you there is
nothing simple about the Word of God. The
definition of a paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement
or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded
or true. There are many paradoxes in the word that can confound us.
Some point to these confounding differences in the
Bible as contradictions but honestly there are no contradictions in the word
that can’t be understood with a proper study and understanding of Christian theology.
Today’s verse could be considered a contradicting
verse in that it posits that this Child that is to be born is not only a Son but
also a “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father”.
How can this be? The doctrine
of the Trinity explains it. God is three in one – The Father, The Son, and The
Holy Spirit.
The Nicene Creed proclaims this truth and says of
Jesus that He is “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before
all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made.” So Jesus is “God of God” and in case you
missed it the creed repeats it by saying He is “Very God of Very God”. Jesus in
not only the Son of God but also God the Son.
That’s all I’ll say about that. The Trinity is a
mystery and better theological scholars than me have wandered into heresy
trying to explain it. But I do accept
the doctrine of the Trinity, not from blind faith, but because The Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit appear throughout the Bible. They even show up all together at once
at the Baptism of Jesus.
Today’s verse also refers to the child to be born
as being known as “Counselor”. Honestly,
I haven’t heard too many pastors expound on this point when this verse is
brought out at Christmas time but as a Christian counselor, I feel compelled
to.
The term “Counselor” indicates that there is a living
relationship to have with this Child to be born. It indicates that He cares about us, is
present and available to us, and is wise and trustworthy.
So ask the Counselor, about your life and what you
should do. Tell the Counselor all about your problems and don’t feel hesitant
to express your emotions. The Counselor
is “in” and unlike Peanut’s Lucy Van Pelt’s psychiatric help it won’t cost you 5
cents. The Counselor’s advice is freely given when it
is sought, and it comes from the original source of love.
I invite all to mt4chritst.org where I always share
insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters
in Christ with their walk.
Today we will share from Dr. June Hunt’s Biblical Counseling Keys on “Anger:
Facing the Fire Within”
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase Dr. Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work:
E. How to Resolve Your Anger toward God
When a raging, fiery inferno engulfs a home with a tragic loss of life…
the gut-wrenching pain can be punctuated by a finger pointing… upward.
However, harboring anger toward God for our heartaches is like blaming our
losses on the fire chief—the one who has devoted his entire life to helping,
not hurting, us.
No one escapes hurt and pain in life—no one. During catastrophic
times, the promise you are to cling to is that your loving God is unfolding His
perfect plan for your life, and He uses all circumstances to accomplish
His purposes… even the painful ones.
Have you ever blamed God for the pain and heartache in your life? Have you
pointed a condemning finger and pronounced judgment on Him because He has not
stopped evil or suffering?
In the Bible, a man named Job seriously questioned God… so much so that we
can hear anger in his bitter complaint: “Even today my complaint is
bitter; his [God’s] hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. If only I knew where
to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before
him and fill my mouth with arguments” (Job 23:2-4).
But… is anger toward God justifiable? While He understands our anger,
notice how He sets the record straight by answering Job with these words: “Who
is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?… Will the one
who contends with the Almighty correct him?… Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?” (Job 38:2; 40:2, 8).
What is the answer to intense anger against God? Can it be resolved? And if
so, how? The sure way to resolve your anger toward God is to gain a full
understanding of the character, purpose, and plan of God.
Resolving Anger toward God
- Know
God’s Character. - —He
is just…. “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). - —His
ways are just…. “Just and true are your ways, King of the
ages” (Revelation 15:3).
- —He
is love…. “God is love” (1 John 4:8).
- —He
loves…. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
- Know
God’s Purposes. - —He
brings good out of evil…. “We know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).
- —He
turns your sorrow into joy…. “You turned my wailing into
dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11).
- —He
uses your suffering to produce perseverance, character, and hope…. “We
also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does
not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our
hearts” (Romans 5:3-5).
- —He
uses your troubles to teach you compassion…. “The Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort… comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves
have received from God” (2 Corinthians
1:3-4). - Know
God’s Plan. - —He
will grant eternal life to you and all who entrust their lives to
Christ…. “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the
Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up
at the last day” (John 6:40). - —He
will bless you if you persevere under trial…. “Blessed is
the man who perseveres under trial” (James 1:12).
- —He
will bring His righteous judgment on those who are evil…. “The
Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the
unrighteous for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).
- —He
will, one day, make everything new for His true believers…. “The
dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his
people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe
every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation
21:3-4).
Job,
who at one time had anger toward God, ultimately realized that he had misplaced
anger. With deepest remorse, he admitted his wrong….
“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be
thwarted…. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore
I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2, 5-6)
Anger That God Allows Evil
Question: “I’m angry at God for allowing bad people to
cause so much pain. Since God had the power to create the world, why doesn’t He
stop evil in the world?”
Answer: God allows
evil because He allows people to exercise “free will.”
- God did
not create us to be robots with no choice to do anything except what the
Creator has programmed. - He created
us to be “free agent” human beings who have choice over what we
think, say, and do. We can’t have it both ways, in that God allows us
freedom but we can’t do anything wrong…. That’s not freedom!
If
you have read the last chapter of the book of Revelation, you know that God has
appointed a time in the future when He will put an end to evil and suffering.
- The bad
news is that until then, evil will always be in opposition to good and
will seek to harm and destroy those who do good. - But the
good news is that God always uses harmful experiences to accomplish His
purposes. He did so in the life of Joseph, whose evil brothers sold him
into slavery. Years later when the frightened brothers came face-to-face
with him—by then prime minister of Egypt, who had saved both the Egyptians
and the Hebrews from famine—Joseph said…
“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving
of many lives.” (Genesis 50:19-20)
Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling Keys:
Anger: Facing the Fire Within.
—————————-more
on Monday ————————-
God bless
you all!
Join our
Victory over the Darkness Discipleship Class 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) and Google podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL210NGNocmlzdDI0Ny9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
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