Purity 405 04/29/2021 Purity 405 Podcast
Good morning.
It’s Thursday, so I also
love to express the idea of walking down a path as I am scheduled to teach at
our discipleship class this evening where I encourage others to “walk in the
Spirit” as they seek to use utilize their faith and relationship with God to
navigate the ups and downs of life with a sense of peace and purpose.
If you zoom in on this
photo, you will see that the path in this photo is barred by a wrought iron
gate, seemingly preventing us from entering the street and the ice cream shop
beyond.
It seemed appropriate to
share this particular view of this walkway, with the barred exit, today because
as I have awakened my first flight back home has been delayed by a couple of
hours. The barred exit to the ice cream
shop and my flight’s delay represents the obstacles and frustrations that we
can encounter on our walk with God.
When faced with obstacles
and frustrations in life, we can react, or we can respond. Reacting is generally being emotionally
influenced by the circumstances of life by being angry, upset, or saddened.
Responding is acknowledging our disappointment in our change of plans but accepting
the change without losing our peace. The
obstacle or frustration will require us to adjust our plans no matter how we
feel emotionally but if we respond rather than react the road ahead, no matter
how delayed, is a lot smoother.
One way we develop the
wisdom and maturity to respond rather than react is to develop our faith and
foster our relationship with God. God
never changes and stands above all time and space as the Creator and ruler of
the universe. So to have any sense of a
solid foundation that we can constantly rely on, we must be in harmony with the
person of God who is paradoxically both an “immovable object (of faith)” and an
“all powerful force” to be reckoned with.
Our relationship with the God, who defies logic by being all powerful,
ever present, all knowing, and never changing, is the only thing that will give
us a true sense of significance, acceptance, and security.
While anyone can
rationalize a way around a locked gate to the ice cream shop or deal with a
delay in their travel times, the one who has a living relationship with God can
have peace even when the obstacles and frustrations that we face in life have
no resolution. Our faith in the Lord can carry us through the darkness and put
us on a new path even when “all is lost”.
So keep walking and
talking with God. When you follow Him
you will grow more spiritually mature, and when you face a certain end, He will
show you that it is only a new beginning.
(An Audio version of this message is available
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, you
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This morning’s meditation
is:
Luke 15:18 (NKJV)
18 I will
arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you,
Today’s verses
come to us from the devotional “Daily Strength for Daily Needs” by Mary Wilder
Tileston. Ms. Tileston shares a couple
of poems that reflect the same theme from Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son but
frankly they are a little dated, she did write her devotional in 1884 after all,
and I think Jesus’ words here are enough.
This verse marks
the moment when the prodigal son has his moment of clarity, when he realizes
that he has hit rock bottom and that he would rather humble himself and admit
his wrongs with the hope of some level of restoration rather than to stay in
the mess he has made for himself any longer.
The prodigal
son’s hope was a limited hope. He was willing to face rebuke and only hoped to
be allowed the mercy to welcomed back as a lowly servant in His father’s house.
He knew the weight of his transgressions and had no expectations that his
relationship to his father as a son could be reestablished.
But of course,
the father in the parable of the prodigal son represents God the Father. And just as scripture indicates time and time
again, our relationship with God can be restored when we repent of our sins and
turn to Him. There is always hope for being restored to God.
While we could
never pay for our sin debt, Jesus did. When we put our faith in Christ, God
forgives us and accepts us into His kingdom because of His great love for us.
The love of God
is shown in the parable of the prodigal son with the picture of the father
running to his returning son with open arms, restoring his place as a beloved
son, and celebrating his return with the finest feast He can provide.
Our faith in
Christ restores us to God and no matter how we walk out our lives after we put
our faith in Christ, our place in God’s kingdom remains that of a beloved son
or daughter.
So if you have
been walking in a way where you know you have strayed from the path, or if you
started to dig a hole toward rock bottom, remember that you can stop and turn
to God to confess your sins and be welcomed back and restored in a moment with
open arms.
I invite all 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 to share from Dr. H. Norman Wright’s “Experiencing
Grief
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase Dr. Wright’s books for your own private study and
to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several
sites for less than $5.00:
Chapter 20.
Recovery—It Will Happen
SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT
Recovery—it seems like an elusive dream. It’s something
most in grief desperately want but wonder if it’s attainable. “When will I
arrive? When will it happen?” are the concerns. It’s not a one-time
arrival at a set destination. It’s an ongoing process. It started when you
began to grieve. It’s been going on for some time and will continue. Some days
it seems possible, and some days you wonder.
What seems strange now will begin to feel familiar. Right now one of the
strongest experiences is the absence of your loved one. It’s a hole with sharp,
jagged edges. Over the months and years, the edges dull, and the absence begins
to become familiar. This, too, is a sign of recovery.
There is another side to grief. It may not be what you expect. It won’t be
pain free. Life won’t be back to normal. It will be different. You will create
a new normal. Right now you may be feeling stuck, and it’s a feeling worse than
being in traffic. For there you know you will eventually find relief. It’s more
of being mired in quicksand where each step you try to take, you sink deeper.
I’ve been in quicksand before. You feel trapped, and soon panic takes over.
With grief it’s easy to believe the numbness or pain or sorrow or anger will be
your constant life companion. It won’t. All that you experience will diminish.
But it’s like learning to swim. You have to step into the water to begin the
process. It’s safe on the shore because it’s familiar.
The journey of grief will take you through uncharted waters. The unfamiliar,
though, will become familiar. It will become your new life. And it’s better
than remaining frozen with grief. Grief has a beginning, but it also has an end
even though it doesn’t seem possible.
Everyone seems to ask, “How long will it take?” How long before
the grief journey is over? When you ask this question, you’re in good company.
The psalmists and prophets asked God this same question. We want answers. We
want closure. We want to know there is an end in sight. Most want it over in
weeks or, at the most, months. It’s more likely years. You can’t compare
yourself with others and their grief. Even within the same family, members
grieve differently in expression, intensity, and time.
But, as you consider the question of “How long will it take?” and
the overall time frame of grief, there are specific points in time for you to
be aware of. The third month after the death is often difficult. The shock and
numbness have worn off, and by now it’s difficult to deny your loss. Many say
it feels just like the first twenty-four hours following the actual loss. After
six to nine months, you need to consider the relationship of your emotional and
physical health. This is a time when your body’s immune system may be weakened
even more than the initial month. But if one does the work of grieving and
doesn’t postpone it or avoid it, the immune deficiency is avoidable.
The first-year anniversary is a difficult time. The intensity of grief and
pain seems to return to the level it was immediately following the death. And
you wonder, what is wrong with me? Am I losing my mind? Won’t I ever get
over this? It’s a normal response. And by anticipating this could happen,
you won’t question yourself as you realize this too is normal.
By the eighteenth month you may find yourself experiencing stretches of time
where you may have many more good days than difficult ones. But then you wake
up one morning, and the sadness is overwhelming, and all you think about is the
one you lost. You’ve hit a grief bump or detour, and this is normal. Tell
yourself this is an indication of progress. It’s not a setback, and it won’t
last long. What can you do? Handle it by doing what you would do if your loss
were recent.
You will hear others say, “You need to let go and move on.” Their
timing in such a suggestion is often off and out of sync with what you need to
hear at the time. At first you may bristle at someone else telling you what to
do. After all, they’re not where you are. But wait, what if you told
yourself to “pick up the pieces and get on with your life”? What
would you do? Which piece would you pick up? That’s where it begins, one piece
at a time. What can you do today to begin moving on? What will you do tomorrow
and the day after?
At some point “letting go” will be a step in your grief
journey. We resist it because we think it means not caring anymore or blocking
out the memories of my loved one. Letting go is not the same as not caring. It
doesn’t mean not remembering your loved one. You want to do that. You need to,
for memories are what you have left. Initially those sharp memories can be
painful, but in time they begin to fade, and that in itself can be another
loss. No, letting go means taking the energy and emotional investment you had
in that relationship and beginning to invest it elsewhere. It’s shifting your
focus. Letting go is leaving behind the person you lost in such a way that
you’re free to move on. To let go you need to recognize what needs letting go.
It could be regrets, unfulfilled expectations, anger, the lifestyle you used to
have, or even a routine. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. There’s an insecurity in
letting go but a greater security in embracing life. It’s a process that may be
repetitive, and some days will seem freer than others. And it occurs when you
are ready.
Experiencing Grief.
—————————-more
tomorrow————————-
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
Email me
at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be
encouraged.
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