Self-Care and the Care of the Lord – Purity 1147

Self-Care and the Care of the Lord – Purity 1147

Purity 1147 09/14/2023 Purity 1147 Podcast

Purity 1147 on YouTube: Coming Soon!

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a gravel trail winding through a
dense green forest comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene last Saturday
as my wife, TammyLyn, and I took advantage of our need to be in the Queensbury
area by using what could have been considered “wasted time” and using it to
explore the Rush Pond Trail’s twists and turns. 
The parents out there can relate I am sure of how we can find ourselves
on stand-by as we deliver our children to parties or other activities and find
ourselves in the two-four hour waiting window between the time we have to drop
them off and when we need to pick them up.  

While that time could be used to do household chores
or be used to do grocery shopping or other errands, I offer you the option of thinking
outside of the box and choosing to use that stand-by time for a little self-care.   There are nature trails out there to be walked,
art galleries, museums, movie theatres, libraries to be visited, and restaurants
and coffee shops to find refreshment and rest at. Although we love our children
dearly and care and provide for their needs, we shouldn’t forget our own.

Well, It’s Thursday and I share today’s pathway
photo that was captured during “stand-by” time to encourage you to seek a
little “me-time” every once in a while and I strongly suggest you up the ante
by making it “God and me time” – all the time by seeking the care, presence,
and comfort of the Lord on the path of Christian discipleship.

Last night, I hosted another meeting of the Celebrate
Freedom Growth Group at Starpoint Church, and I was reminded of the immense
value of our relationship with the Lord because although some of the group members
are going through some very difficult trials currently, they were able to give
their thanks for the Lord’s presence in their lives and for the support that
they receive in our Christian Community.  

Each week, I have all the members “check in” by
sharing how their week is going and to share something they are thankful
for.  In many cases, the thing that
people were thankful for was “this group”, “this church”, or “ the Lord helping
me”.  Some of our people are going through
very rough times but paradoxically, because of their faith they are reporting “peace”,
“joy” and “not feeling alone.” 

It was sort of funny because in a couple of cases as
I listened to the overwhelmingly painful details of what they were going
through – physical pain, relationship problems, etc – I found myself wondering what
to say to encourage them – but before I could speak – the narrative would
change as they testified to how they were leaning on the Lord for strength and
guidance and were “glad” because they had peace and joy in the midst of it all
because of their faith!   

You know, you don’t really hear that in the world.  If someone starts to document their pains and
troubles, usually the negative reports degenerate into anger, fear, bitterness,
or depression.  That’s why sometimes we
are careful in who we ask, “how are you?” to because some people’s tendency is
just to report the bad things or complain about their lives.

But the people in our group have learned to “walk in
the Spirit” and instead of dwelling on the negative circumstances they are
facing, their focus is on the Lord, who they are in Christ, and how they are
blessed and able to overcome because of their reliance on God.   Their problems haven’t magically vanished since
deciding to follow the Lord, but they have peace because He is with them, and
they trust He will help them until they walk through and beyond the problems
they have encountered.

And this is more than just positive thinking, the
people in our group are experiencing the Lord’s power in their lives as
addictions, negative mind states, and harmful patterns of behavior are fading
into the past as they have decided to keep on “walking and talking with God”.  They have discovered the new life they have in
Christ and are thriving even in the midst of hardships and the pressures of
changing the way they live.  They have trusted
that the Lord will help them, and they are receiving His help because they are
walking with Him.  

So let me encourage you.  God is alive and He gives new life to those
who put their faith in Jesus and, this important, decide to earnestly, sincerely,
authentically – follow Him with the way they live their lives.  When we repent and turn from our ways to do
things God’s way, the Lord is with us and blesses us with His presence,
strength, and guidance.  When we develop
this harmonious relationship with the Lord where we agree to follow His will
for our lives, we discover the fruit of the Spirit grows in our lives.  

So start or keep on “walking and talking” with God,
because His ways are higher than our ways and His path leads to eternal life,
peace, and joy!

 

——————————————————————————————–

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 Anger, Hot Temper.

Proverbs 10:12 (NLT2)
¹²  Hatred stirs up quarrels,
but love makes up for all offenses.

Today’s
verses fall under the third point of our counseling reference guide resource’s
section on Anger,
Hot Temper

 3. Love covers a multitude of sins and
overlooks many offenses.

 

Today’s verse is the first
of five passages of scripture that our resource provides to demonstrate love’s
power over anger. And rather than presenting them all at once, we are doing
them “one at a time, one day at a time.  

 

This verse from Proverbs
is short and sweet.  Hatred stirs up
quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses. 
IF you want fights in your life, be bitter, be angry, be hateful.  However, if you don’t act in love.  

 

How does love “make up for
all offenses”?

 

Well, when we act in love
we seek to act to resolve offenses and establish peace. 

 

If we have offended
someone, we apologize and seek to make things right by offering our amends.   We listen and try to understand how we have
offended others and try to determine the best way to establish peace, as much
as it depends on us, without compromising our faith.  Sometimes that means we can reconcile our
relationships with others and sometimes that means we establish boundaries and
end relationships with others for the greater good and personal peace of both
parties.   It does no good to remain in
relationships that are contentious, and it may be more loving to say goodbye
than to remain in toxic relationships.  

 

On the other hand, if
someone offends us, love will direct us to forgive the other party.  Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean saving
the relationship.  Forgiveness saves us
from bitterness, but it doesn’t mean we need to stay in a relationship that is
painful. 

 

As much as it depends on
us, if we act in love – by trying to make things right or by forgiving others –
we will make up for all offenses and live with the peace of knowing we did what
the Lord would have us do, whether the relationship continues or not.

 

 

——————————————————————–

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

24 – The Spirit Sealing, continues

The same blessed
truth is found again in Ephesians 1:13. It is important to note the order of
the three things there predicated of saints: they “heard,” they “believed,”
they were “sealed:” thus the sealing is quite distinct from and follows the
believing, as the believing does the hearing. There are two things, and two
only, upon which the Spirit puts His seal, namely, two mighty and efficacious
works: first, the finished work of Christ, whereby He put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself; and second, upon His own work in the hearts of those who
believe. In legal documents the writing always precedes the witnessing and
sealing: so here, the Spirit writes God’s laws on the heart (Heb. 8:10), and
then He seals the truth and reality of His own work to the consciousness of the
recipient.

The main intent of
“sealing” is to assure, to certify and ratify. First, the Holy Spirit conveys
an assurance of the truth of God’s
promises, whereby a man’s understanding is spiritually convinced that the
promises are from God. Neither the light of reason nor the persuasive power of
a fellow-mortal can bring any one to rest his heart upon the Divine promises:
in order to do that, there must be the direct working of the Holy Spirit—“Our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Spirit, and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:5): the “much assurance” comes last!
Second, He gives the believer an assurance of his own personal interest in those promises: and this again is something
which none but the Spirit can impart. We do not say that this sealing excludes
all doubting, but it is such an assurance as prevails over doubts.

There are many uses
of a “seal” such as proprietorship, identification, confirmation, secrecy,
security; but in Ephesians 1:13 the immediate thing stated is the sealing of an inheritance: we have
obtained an inheritance by faith, and having believed we are “sealed.” What is
the specific use of a “seal” in connection with an inheritance? It may either
be the making of the inheritance sure
to a man in itself, or making the man know
that it is his—assuring him of the
fact. Now it cannot be the former, for nothing is needed to make Heaven sure
once a sinner truly believes—the moment he lays hold of Christ, the inheritance
is certain. So it must be the latter: to make us sure, to persuade our hearts the inheritance is ours. It is this
the Spirit accomplishes in His “seal.”

The Holy Spirit is
never called a “Seal” as He is an “Earnest” (2 Cor. 5:5): it is only in
relation to an act of sealing that
this figure is associated with Him; thus it is a distinct operation of His “in
our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:22). It is not the stamping of God’s image upon the soul
(as many of the Puritans supposed) that is referred to in Ephesians 1:13, for that
is done before believing, and not
after. The order of truth in that verse is very simple and decisive: in the
gospel salvation is offered—it may he
mine; faith accepts that offer so as to make
salvation mine; thc Spirit seals or confirms my heart that salvation is mine. Thus in “sealing” the Spirit
authenticates, certifies, ratifies.

Observe that He does
this in His special character as “the Spirit of promise.” He is so designated
because, first, the Spirit was the great and grand promise of the New Testament
(John 14:26; 15:26, etc.) as Christ was of the Old Testament. Second, because
He works by means of the promises. Third, because in His whole work He acts
according to the everlasting covenant, which, as it respects the elect, is a
Covenant of Promise (Eph. 2:12). When He seals home a sense of the love of God
and gives the soul a view of its interest in Christ, it is done by means of the
Word of Promise. It was so when He “sealed” Christ (John 6:27) and consecrated
Him to the work of redemption. The Father said by an audible voice from Heaven,
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:” this was repeating what
had been pronounced in the purpose of Jehovah the Father concerning the
Mediator (Isa. 42:1); this the Holy Spirit brought home in power or “sealed”
upon the mind of Jesus at that time.^[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 YouTube 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