Accept No Substitutes – Simple, Pure, Relational Joy – Purity 1185

Accept No Substitutes – Simple, Pure, Relational Joy –
Purity 1185

Purity 1185 10/30/2023 Purity 1185 Podcast

Purity 1185 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the silhouette of a tree being set
a blaze by the rays of the setting sun comes to us from yours truly as I
captured this scene Saturday afternoon while out taking a walk with my canine
friend Harley, my wife TammyLyn and her daughter Elisabeth as they took me up
on an invitation to go and see a place nearby that they had never been
before.  When I have the time and feel the
inclination, I have gotten in the habit of taking Harley for extended walks
down the dirt and gravel farm road that runs perpendicular to Waite Rd and have
come to really enjoy it and as relational beings when people find something
good in life, we have a tendency to want to share it. So after having a most
magical experience between the setting sun and full moon on Friday I invited
TammyLyn to check it out and Elisabeth, being an aspiring photographer decided
to join us as well.  The chore of walking
the dog turned into a nice family outing where we all were able to appreciate
the beauty of God’s creation and share in the joy of the experience.

Well, It’s Monday and even though that moment in the
sun is over, because it was a moment of “relational joy” it qualifies as a “joy
memory” – a memory that was simple, pure, and shared that can be recalled upon
demand to remind us that there was a time where things were “good”. 

In my studies with Deeper Walk International’s School
of Ministry, we are examining helping those with prayer ministry that are “dealing
with addictions. In the lecture that we are assigned to examine and discuss,
Dr. Marcus Warner explains that people were designed by God to “run on joy” but
unfortunately when we lack for simple, pure, relational joy that we are to have
in our relationships people have a tendency to find and rely on “joy substitutes”
– the things, experiences, and behaviors that provide a measure of comfort or
pleasure that lack the resilience building power of “simple, pure, relational
joy’.  

Warner calls addictions “joy substitutes” because
they are not simple, pure, and although they may involve other people, they
lack that relational joy aspect – and thus they fail to provide lasting
satisfaction and often lead to a “crash” when the experience wears off, guilt and
shame when the activity we are addicted to is morally impure, unhealthy, or
selfish, or feeling of pain when our minds or bodies suffer withdrawal or from
the bumps and bruise that we encountered during our addictive escapades.   The costs of addictions include financial,
mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and relational consequences that
demonstrate to us why addictions are “joy substitutes. 

The costs of taking a walk to enjoy the company of others
and the beauty of God’s on a pleasant afternoon are minimal and the joy it
produces can be re-experienced as we fondly bring the experience back into remembrance.  

Unlike, the “fast times” of a life of addiction, the
recall of simple, pure, wholesome, moments of relational joy aren’t blurred by
foggy memories while under the influence or by the negative costs of the crash,
guilt, shame, and pain that followed the addictive episode.

And so one of the recommendations that Dr. Warner made
in his lecture on dealing with addiction is to encourage those who are
suffering from addiction to get off of their “joy substitute” and to enter into
a supportive community where they can form “joy bonds” with people where they
can develop relationships where they can encourage one another in practicing
quieting and appreciation to increase the ability to “return to joy” and build
emotional resilience and can share experiences of “simple, pure, wholesome,
relational joy”.  

I love the way the Lord guides me through life
because as I decided to pursue being educated and trained in Deeper Walk’s heart-focused
discipleship model and prayer ministry techniques, the opportunity arose at my
local church to lead a “a recovery growth group”. I added the caveat that I
would infuse it with Christian discipleship principles that went beyond
Celebrate Recovery’s recovery curriculum and since May have been encouraging
the members of Starpoint Church’s Celebrate Freedom growth group – to not only ask
God to help them with their “hurts, habits, and hang-ups” but to develop their
abilities to “build joy and emotional resilience” and have moments of “simple,
pure, relational joy” at our meetings. 

While we do cover the CR lesson each week, even that
is relational as volunteers from the group “do their part” as the lesson is
read through and presented together as a group. Beyond that we have been
developing the ”joy bonds” with one another as our weekly “check in” invites
the group member to share what’s happening in their lives and to receive the
support of the other who are “happy to see them” each week.  As sad as it may sound, the world is a rough place,
and you aren’t often told that people are “happy to see you” and I know that
the group members appreciate the community that we have built because the thing
that many people report on being grateful for is the group itself. 

Our group encourages its members to appreciate who
they are in Christ and the good things the good things that the Lord has given
us in life.  So we develop our “joy bonds”
with God as we develop them with one another . And we also “keep it real” by
honestly reporting what we are going through and encouraging one another to be responsible
in working out solutions to the things that are not so good. As we receive the
support and start to improve things by doing things God’s way, things tend to
get better, which in turn increases our peace and joy.   And each week we worship and praise the Lord
in song – a spiritual practice that draws us closer to God and one another that
just happens to increase our ability to build joy.  And I see the fruits of what the Lord has
done through our group as some of the group members’ lives have been radically
transformed.  

So, don’t seek out “joy substitutes” and stay locked
in bondage to addiction, seek the simple, pure, relational joy with God and man
that you can have when you put your faith in Jesus, decide to live as God
directs you to live, and share the joy of it with other Christians on regular
basis. That’s right, keep on walking and talking with God and invite others to
join you as you go.

——————————————————————————————–

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 verses come from the section on Bitterness, Resentment,
& Hate.

Proverbs 10:12 (ESV)
¹²  Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.

Today’s
verses fall under the thirteenth point of our counseling reference guide
resource’s section on Bitterness, Resentment, & Hate.

 14. Hatred stirs up dissension.

Today’s verse keeps it
pretty simple. Hatred stirs up strife – which means “angry or bitter disagreement
over fundamental issues, conflict” – another word for dissension.  And these words and definitions are not
exactly synonymous with peace. 

Whereas love is reported
to cover all offenses.  Why?  Because love would cause us to be patient,
kind, and forgiving. Love would cause us to not think too highly of ourselves
and would lead us to think of the good of others first. Love would call us to,
as much as it depends on us, to make peace.

Of course, “fundamentals
issues” like believing that the Bible is the true inspired word of God and that
it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can be saved, should not
necessarily be compromised in the name of peace but we are to speak the truth in
love and never sink to the depths of hatred in delivering our message of love.  So try to resolve strife with kindness, gentleness,
patience, and love that tells others that although you may disagree on certain things,
you represent the God that loves them anyway.

——————————————————————–

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

32 – Honoring the Spirit

Worshipping
the Spirit Directly – 2 of 2

“And the Lord direct your hearts into the
love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ” (2 Thess. 3:5). What
could be plainer? Here each of the three Divine Persons is distinguished, and
the Apostle prays directly to the Lord
the Spirit—obviously “the Lord” here cannot refer to the Son, for in such
case it would signify “The Lord (Jesus) direct your hearts into the patient
waiting for Christ.” As it is the Spirit’s office to “guide us into all truth” (John 16:13), to “lead us into the paths of righteousness” (Ps. 23:3), so to “direct”
our hearts into the love of God and longings after Christ. He it is who
communicates God’s love to us (Rom. 5:5), and He it is who stirs us up to the
performance of duty by inflaming our hearts with apprehensions of God’s
tenderness toward us—and for this we are to pray to Him! It is just as though
the Apostle said, “O thou Lord the Spirit, warm or cold hearts with a renewed
sense of God’s tender regard for us, stabilize our fretful souls into a patient
waiting for Christ.”

“John to the seven
churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is,
and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are
before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness” (Rev.
1:4, 5). This is as much a prayer—an invocation of blessing—as that recorded in
Numbers 6:24–26. The Apostle John desired and supplicated God the Father (“Him
who is,” etc.), God the Holy Spirit in the plenitude of His power (“the seven
Spirits”), and God the Son, that the seven churches in Asia might enjoy Their grace and peace. When I say “The
Lord bless you, dear brother,” I
should utter empty words unless I also pray
the Lord to bless you. This “grace
and peace be unto you,” then, was far more that a pleasantry or courtesy: John
was making known to the saints his deep longings
for them, which found expression in ardent supplication for these very
blessings to be conferred upon them. In conclusion let us say that every verse
of the Bible which bids us “Praise the Lord” or “worship God” has reference to each of the Eternal Three.

“Pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest”
(Matthew 9:38). Here is something very plain and expressive, the only point
needing to be determined is, Who is
“The Lord of the harvest?” During the days of His earthly ministry, Christ
Himself sustained that office, as is clear from His calling and sending forth
of the Twelve; but after His ascension, the
Holy Spirit became such. As proof thereof, we refer to “The Holy Spirit
said, Separate Me Barnabas and Saul
for the work whereunto I have called them … so they, being sent forth by the
Holy Spirit, departed” (Acts 13:2, 4)! So again we read, “Take heed therefore
unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers” (Acts 20:28). It is the
Holy Spirit who now appoints the laborers, equips them, assigns their work, and
blesses their efforts. In 1 Corinthians 12:5 and 2 Corinthians 3:17 the Holy
Spirit expressly is designated “Lord.”

“Praise God from whom
all blessings flow. Praise Him all you creatures here below. Praise Him above
you heavenly hosts—praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” Amen!^[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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These teachings are also available on the
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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)  

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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship