Stop. Everybody look, What’s Going Down? – The Steps to Freedom in Christ – Purity 653

Purity
653 02/12/2022  Purity 653 Podcast

Good
morning,

Today’s photo of a morning view
from the Thacher State Park Overlook comes to us from yours truly as I was once
again called to work in the higher elevations of Berne NY yesterday but stopped
for a few minutes on the way up to appreciate the opportunity I had to see
things from a higher perspective.

One of the things I encourage Christians to
do in their walk of faith is to occasionally stop and look around at where they
are literally to appreciate God’s creation and to appreciate where they are on the
journey of their lives and in their relationship with their heavenly
Father.  I’ve discovered that when you do
that you tend to find the peace and the purpose that the Lord wants you to find
and you tend to enjoy and appreciate your life more.

As I thought about taking time to “smell the
roses” and to do periodic check ins with our life’s progress, I thought of the
Buffalo Springfield song “For what it’s worth” and its lyrics that say:

“I think it’s time we
stop

Children, what’s that
sound?

Everybody look, what’s
going down?”

It’s the weekend again, so we should all
have some time to stop, look around, and see what’s going down in our lives and
take some time to reflect on where we have been, where we want to go, and to
possibly consider making some changes in the way we live or to resolve some
unfinished business in our pasts.

Socrates is quoted as saying that  “the unexamined life is not worth living” and
while I would undoubtedly disagree with some of his conclusions in regard to
his theology (he did live before Christ after all) I would agree with the
sentiment behind that quote and the idea of questioning the status quo and
utilizing our reason to logically think through our problems.   

The advent of Christ on earth certainly
questioned the status quo and causes all people to “stop” and “look around” and
make a decision in regard to who Jesus is. 

C.S. Lewis, echoing other Christians before
him, famously addressed the question of Jesus Christ and logically determined
that we could conclude that Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord,
meaning He was a conscious fraud, a deluded person who thought He was God, or
was indeed who He said He was. 

While some could question the soundness of
Lewis’s propositional ponderings with this three tiered conclusion by
questioning Biblical inerrancy and objective reality, I would push for the end
of the philosophical debate and echo Christ’s question in John 11:26 when He
was basically  telling one of His
disciples that He God (I am the resurrection and the life): where He asks: Do You
believe this?    

Obviously for me, yes I do believe
this.  I believe that the Bible is true,
and Christ actually asked this question and is the Son of God, and God the Son.
 

After having answered Christ in the
affirmative, I had to wrestle with the logical conclusions to my answer but
eventually agreed that I, therefore, should follow Jesus  by living according to His teachings, as
imperfectly as I can, and endeavor to share the good news about Him and
encourage people to experience the difference a life of faith can make in their
lives.  

So although it is the weekend and I do plan
on taking some time to get some rest and enjoy my life by spending time with my
wife at our countryside home, I also am taking time to be true to the call on
my life to make Christ known and help others to know their freedom in Christ. 

I have an appointment to lead someone
through the Steps to Freedom in Christ, which are a set of prayers, declarations,
and renunciations that help people to resolved personal and spiritual conflicts
that cause them to suffer emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. 

The good thing about the process is that it
doesn’t depend on me! I merely encourage the person seeking help, the inquirer,
to seek the Lord in prayer to reveal the issues that are weighing on their
hearts and to let God help them to find peace through confessing and repenting
of their sins and by accepting forgiveness and forgiving others who have harmed
them.   

The Steps to Freedom in Christ has
scientifically been verified to help people to improve in areas of mental
health (https://www.ficm.org/about-us/research/)
and I have personally experienced great benefits to my mental and spiritual
health by going  through them.  Here is a pdf of the Steps if you would like
to learn about the process or if you would like to pray through them
individually: Steps to Freedom in Christ PDF   . The Lord could use them and your faith in
Him to overcome.  

When we take the time to stop and look
around we can enjoy our lives more. When we come into relationship with God
through our faith in Jesus Christ and ask God to help us, we can find freedom,
purpose, and peace in our lives.   

So this weekend, enjoy the free will that
God has given you to enjoy your life in what ever way you choose but I would recommend
you stop and look around and try to answer the question of who Jesus is to you
and then follow the logical conclusions, if you believe that He is Lord, by
seeking to know Him more and to find the peace and joy that come from following
Him.

God is alive and well. He sent Christ to
set us free. So experience the true joy and freedom of life by having peace
with the One who made all things by putting your faith in the One who lived and
died for you.  

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

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Psalm 32:8 (NLT2)
⁸  The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your
life. I will advise you and watch over you.

Today’s Bible
verses points to the simple truth that the best pathway of life is the one that
is determined by the guidance of the Lord and that when we are in Christ we
have the assurance of His continual presence, advice, and protection.        

Have you ever
wondered why there is a Bible?  The Bible
is God’s word to His people that tells us the truth about Him, His interactions
with mankind, reveals His plan to reconcile us to Him, and tells us of how
history will play out.    

In the Bible
God gives us “in the beginning” and tells us of a new heaven and a new earth
that will appear in the future. And in the pages in between Genesis and Revelation,
God gives us the history His people and the coming of Jesus and tells of how He
died for the forgiveness of our sins and how we can have peace with God by
putting our faith in Him.  The Epistles
in the New Testament, which are letters to us, the church, tell us about who we
are in Christ and how we are to live our lives.  

The Bible is a
history book and book of future prophecies, but it is also a guidebook for Christian
living.    

God gave us His
word to teach us about Him and about how we should live. 

And today’s verse
assures us that the Lord will guide us in the best pathway for our lives and
that He will advise us and look out for us. The Lord will be with us always and
His word helps us to understand the way we should walk on the pathways of our
lives.  

As Christians,
we are not just to ‘believe”, we are to follow Christ. When we actually do that
by knowing the word of God and applying its wisdom to our lives, we will
continually learn that the word of God is true and that the Lord really will
guide us on the best pathway for our lives. 

So keep walking
and talking with God and see how “it’s getting better all the time: when we are
faithful to answer His call, hear His wisdom, and pick up our crosses and
follow Him.  

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 8.  

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.