Acting Funny and Furry Friends – 28 Day Joy Challenge –
Day 25 – Purity 1081
Purity 1081 06/29/2023 Purity 1081 Podcast
Purity 1081 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the boat launch at Onanda Park at
Sunset comes to us from Lisa Warner who shared this stunning scene from a
weekend “glamping” trip to Canandaigua Lake.
Well, It’s Thursday and I decided to share this
photo today because it of awesome beauty and because it highlights a pathway of
sorts and Thursdays are the day I share pictures of pathways as a visual
reminder and encouragement to get on or to stay on the path of Christian Discipleship.
Now don’t get the idea that I am telling you to take a long walk off of a short
pier here, but I feel I have to be completely honest by saying that sometimes
walking on the path of Christian Discipleship can mean stepping out into the
unknown and that most progress comes from taking the “plunge” and going “all in”
with our efforts to repent and seek the Lord’s will for our lives. But that
doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to “jump” in to the depths of our hurts,
habits, or hang ups alone.
Last night the Celebrate Freedom (discipleship/recovery)
growth group met again at Starpoint church and we discussed getting the help of
a Sponsor or an Accountability Partner to help us in our “recoveries” because
we could use a guide to walk beside us who has “been there and done that” in
terms of experiencing freedom and who can call you out when you are “acting
funny” or staying put when you should be moving forward.
A second set of eyes on our situation can reveal
what we need to see and help us to make a plan of action to overcome. Also a person who knows what it was like to
live in the darkness of addiction can warn us when we are walking into shady
territory and call us out of the shadows of denial and into the light of
transparency.
In recovery circles, we have to be aware of changes
in one another’s demeanors, personalities, and dispositions because any
deviation from “who we are” could be a sign that someone is headed for trouble
or has already gone astray. When someone is suddenly quiet when they were
talkative or is suddenly animated when they were somewhat reserved, we have to
ask why there was such a sudden change? Are they “not acting like themselves”
because they have relapsed and are trying to cover up or is something else
going on?
While we could endlessly wonder about the reasons
why, its best to simply ask them directly about the sudden change. If you see
something, you should say something.
But instead of saying something like: Hey, are you high?!?!
We should present our concerns in the “envelope” of
our relationship first before trying to address a problem.
We could say something like:
“I really value our friendship and I want to see you
happy and doing well. I noticed that your
behavior seems a little different from what I’m used to. You don’t seem quite
like yourself. I care about you and was
wondering if there is anything going on that we could talk about? I want you to
know that care about you and that you can be honest with me because we are
friends.”
This “envelope” conversation – puts the problem “inside
the context of our relationship” – our relationship is bigger than our problem –
is the message we want to send to others when we feel they are “acting funny”. We want to make others aware that we care
about them and that we are concerned when we seem them “not acting like
themselves.” When sudden changes in demeanor
or personality come up, it’s a red flag that indicates something is going on
that is not being exposed to the light of truth and that we should try to bring
it out in the open because we are “only as sick as our secrets.
Changes in demeanor also may indicate that we need
to be trained to increase our emotional resilience and learn to “bounce back” –
to develop the skills to “return to joy” and start “acting like ourselves”
again.
And that brings us to our current series, where we walking through the 28 Day Joy Challenge, (https://4habits.org/) because we are encouraging
ourselves and others, you, to “find peace” in our lives by increasing our
capacity for joy and by building our emotional resilience through simple
practices of quieting and appreciation.
The 28 Day
Joy challenge is based on Dr. Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey’s latest book,
The Four Habits of Joy-Filled People, and you can sign up to take it for free,
and purchase a variety of books from Warner and Coursey on topic of Joy, by
going to https://4habits.org/.
So let’s
jump into Day 25, which will direct us to reflect on a furry friend or pet in
our lives that has given us joy.
———————————————————————————————————
Day 25 – The Joy of Furry Friends
Welcome to Day 25
of the 28 Days to Joy Challenge!
Today’s
Encouragement:
Today’s activity is
another exercise you can modify to make it work for you. Are you getting better
at practicing joy and quieting in your daily life without the prompts? We’re so
glad you’re still with us on this journey!
Today’s Practice:
Exercise 25
Today we practice
remembering joy in specific moments.
– How This Exercise
Will Benefit You:
Pets and animals
can be a source of joy. They help us quiet ourselves and feel more connected to
joy and peace.
– Exercise Steps:
Think about a
favorite pet, and focus on what you enjoyed about this pet. If you do not have
a pet example to draw from, focus on a favorite animal interaction. Do you have
a favorite story about your pet or an animal? If so, tell that story to someone
else.
Have fun with this
exercise. We pick up tomorrow with more joy practice!
.For today’s practice, I reflected on my childhood
dog, a beagle named “Genny”. Genny was
the first pet my brothers and I had as children and because we grew up in the
80’s there were virtually no restrictions on our movements. Genny was our constant companion and she
followed us all over the surrounding blocks of our neighborhood. She was unleashed and allowed to roam free as
we were. She was a good tempered dog and
never barked in anger, with the exception of howling at my father who seemed to
take delight in tormenting her and getting her to growl and bark at him. Some people… anyway.
Genny was a friend to the end. She was there to give
us companionship and comfort in good times and bad until she eventually passed
away when I went away to college in my freshmen year. Thankfully, I was away when she died. I
mourned her loss with tears but was thankful I didn’t have to see my beloved
dog suffer in her final hours. Genny was
a “good dog” and I never forget the joy
she brought to my childhood.
So what about you, what “furry friend” or not furry
pet, or animal experience, did you have in your life that gave you joy. I hope you remember them fondly and share the
joy they brought to your life with someone else.
\——————————————————————————————–
For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide,
I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.
(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick
google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late
author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This
morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Adultery:
Hebrews 13:4
(ESV)
4 Let marriage be held in
honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the
sexually immoral and adulterous.
Today’s verse is used by
our resource to point out “God will judge the adulterous.”
In contrast to today’s
society’s penchant for sexual liberation with no restrictions, the Bible tells
us that our sex lives matter to God. He
made us for a purpose and gifted us with our bodies and He gives us guidelines
for proper use. Sexual sin is any sexual
activity – hetero, homo, or solo – that happens outside of a marriage covenant.
Mental, emotional, and spiritual soul
ties happen when we join our bodies to one another physically and become “one
flesh” – so word of God repeatedly advises us to flee sexual immorality because
of the pain that sex can cause when it is not used as an expression of love for
one’s life partner.
Hebrews tells us so in no
uncertain terms that our marriage bed is to be undefiled and warns that the
sexually immoral and adulterous will be judged.
If our sexual sin is not
covered by the blood of Jesus, there are eternal consequences – hell – if we
fail to repent of them after a profession of faith – we could suffer the
torment of negative consequences to our relationships and personal peace as we
choose to not live as we should and according to who we are in Christ. So take sexual purity seriously and keep sex
for what it was intended for – the love of a man and woman in marriage.
———————————————————————-
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
11 – The Spirit Quickening
Quickening
Imparts Life
In His work of “quickening,” by which we mean
the impartation of spiritual life to the soul, the Spirit acts immediately from
within, and not by applying something from without. Quickening is a direct operation of the Spirit without
the use of any instrument: the Word is used by Him afterwards to call into
exercise the life then communicated. “Regeneration is a direct operation of the
Holy Spirit upon the human spirit. It is the action of Spirit upon spirit, of a
Divine Person upon a human person, whereby spiritual life is imparted. Nothing,
therefore, of the nature of means or instruments can come between the Holy
Spirit and the soul that is made alive. God did not employ an instrument or
means when He infused physical life into the body of Adam. There were only two
factors: the dust of the ground and the creative power of God which vivified
that dust. The Divine omnipotence and dead matter were brought into direct
contact, with nothing interposing. The dust was not a means or instrument by
which God originated life. So in regeneration there are only two factors: the
human soul destitute of spiritual life, and the Holy Spirit who quickens it.”
The Word and Truth of
God, the most important of all the means of grace, is not a means of
regeneration, as distinct from
conviction, conversion and sanctification. This is evident when we remember
that it is the office of a means or instrument to excite or stimulate an already existing principle of life.
Physical food is a means of physical growth, but it supposes physical vitality.
If the body is dead, bread cannot be a means or instrument. Intellectual truth
is a means of intellectual growth, but it supposes intellectual vitality. If
the mind be idiotic, secular knowledge cannot be a means or instrument.
Spiritual truth is a means of spiritual growth, in case there be spiritual
vitality. But if the mind be dead to righteousness, spiritual truth cannot be a
means or instrument.
“The unenlightened
understanding is unable to apprehend, and the unregenerate will is unable to
believe. Vital force is lacking in these two principal factors. What is needed
at this point is life and force itself. Consequently, the Author of spiritual
life Himself must operate directly, without the use of means or instruments;
and outright give spiritual life and power from the dead: that is, ex nihilo. The new life is not imparted
because man perceives the truth, but he perceives the truth because the new
life is imparted. A man is not regenerated because he has first believed in
Christ, but he believes in Christ because he has been regenerated” (W. T.
Shedd, Presbyterian, 1889).[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
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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
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