Simple Beauty and the New Beginning of Spiritual Life – Purity 1209

Simple Beauty and the New Beginning of Spiritual Life –
Purity 1209

Purity 1209 11/28/2023 Purity 1209 Podcast

Purity 1209 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a leafless tree on the side of
Waite Rd set against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky comes to us from
yours truly as I took a moment to capture this scene during a late afternoon stroll
back on Saturday, November 18^th. 

Well, It’s Tuesday and I love today’s photo because
of its simple beauty and how it highlights how something so commonplace, like a
tree on the side of the road, can be appreciated for what it is. They say beauty
is in the eye of the beholder and I think that the amount of beauty we see in
the world is in direct proportion to how often we look at things with appreciation
and the joy of living.  

Experiencing beauty is the simple act of observation
accompanied with appreciation and when we look at the world in the context of being
fully accepted for who we are by God, in Christ and that all of existence is a
gift from our heavenly Creator Father God, its difficult to not have an abiding
sense of peace and joy.     

With that world view the cares of this world are put
in their proper perspective and even the most negative circumstances can be met
with the acceptance of knowing the Sovereign God of all creation is with us and
will be with us in and through all the days of our lives on earth and beyond in
God’s eternal kingdom.  

Many loved ones in my life are going through some
pretty significant changes lately and while the circumstances of their lives
may never be the same again, I have hope for them because I know that endings
are a new beginning to the next chapter of your life  and that if you seek Him, you can find God’s
presence and help in every season.  I
have encouraged friends always to keep walking and talking with God because I
know He loves us and will comfort and guide us in the way we should go. 

So if this holiday season has brought you to an
ending – with the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the breaking of a
relationship, or just at the realization that something has to change in your
personal life,  let me encourage you to seek
the Lord and to consider His ways for walking through life.   

The Bible is filled with God’s story and His
solution for a new and eternal life. In case you don’t know it: the solution is
“faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and surrendering to His will for your
life. That’s IT, my dear friends, but in order to experience the abundant life
that God has made available to us,  we
have to continuously seek the Lord and follow Him.  So turn away from the world and all of its
comforts and hurts and seek God’s presence and peace instead.  Turn from your selfish and sinful ways and
get to know the Lord and His ways. Read the Bible, pray, join into a community
of Christians who show and share God’s love, appreciate the blessings that you
receive every day, and share your experience with others. 

The idea of following a “spiritual path” through
life may seem totally impractical or foreign to all that you know but when you
have come to an ending it is best to accept it and follow the Lord into the new
beginning He has for you where He will give you a pathway for living that
provides peace, meaning, and purpose.   Seek
the Lord.

 

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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 Church, Communion of the
Saints.

Acts 20:28 (ESV)
²⁸  Pay careful attention to
yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Today’s
verse falls under the twelfth point of our counseling reference guide
resource’s section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

 12. Elders are God’s appointed shepherds
placed over the flock of Jesus Christ.

Today’s verse describes “the
best practice” of the church of God – to pay careful attention to yourself and
all the members of the body of Christ and to care for one another.  This simple instruction shows us the balance
of the spiritual life we are supposed to live. 
We are to pay attention to ourselves and to others. 

In terms of our personal
walk of faith, we have to make sure we are right with God by paying attention
to our attitudes, emotions, and behaviors and by conforming them to follow God’s
way for living.   We examine our lives
and try to follow God’s ways for living.  

But we aren’t in this
thing just by ourselves. We also are to love and care for others by encouraging
them to walk with us as we seek to follow Jesus.  We don’t just accept people as they are in
the body of Christ, we encourage them to be the people that God created them to
be. 

But to truly show our care
for the church of God, whether we are working on ourselves or trying to help
others, we offer our help with kindness, patience, gentleness, and love.

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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 are sharing from “God
is in the Manger- Reflections on Advent and Christmas” – By Dietrich
Bonhoeffer.   

As
always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all
to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own private study and to support his
work.  This resource is available online for less than $10 at many
sites.

God
is in the Manger – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

ADVENT
WEEK ONE –  WAITING

DAY
FIVE

A Soft,
Mysterious Voice

In the midst of the deepest guilt and distress of
the people, a voice speaks that is soft and mysterious but full of the blessed
certainty of salvation through the birth of a divine child (Isa. 9:6–7). It is
still seven hundred years until the time of fulfillment, but the prophet is so
deeply immersed in God’s thought and counsel that he speaks of the future as if
he saw it already, and he speaks of the salvific hour as if he already stood in
adoration before the manger of Jesus. “For a child has been born for us.” What
will happen one day is already real and certain in God’s eyes, and it will be
not only for the salvation of future generations but already for the prophet
who sees it coming and for his generation, indeed, for all generations on
earth. “For a child has been born for us.” No human spirit can talk like this
on its own. How are we who do not know what will happen next year supposed to
understand that someone can look forward many centuries? And the times then
were no more transparent than they are today. Only the Spirit of God, who
encompasses the beginning and end of the world, can in such a way reveal to a
chosen person the mystery of the future, so that he must prophesy for
strengthening believers and warning unbelievers. This individual voice
ultimately enters into the nocturnal adoration of the shepherds (Luke 2:15–20)
and into the full jubilation of the Christ-believing community: “For a child
has been born for us, a son given to us.”

A shaking of heads, perhaps even an evil laugh,
must go through our old, smart, experienced, self-assured world, when it hears
the call of salvation of believing Christians: “For a child has been born for
us, a son given to us.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us;

authority
rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named

Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His
authority shall grow continually,

and there shall be endless peace

for the
throne of David and his kingdom.

He will establish and uphold it

with
justice and with righteousness

from this time onward and forevermore.

The zeal of
the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6–7^[1]

—————————more
tomorrow————————

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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship