“What am I Missing?” Freedom and Peace Through the Lord – Purity 1255

 “What am I Missing?” Freedom and Peace Through the
Lord – Purity 1255

Purity 1255 01/23/2024 Purity 1255 Podcast

Purity 1255 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a photo of the golden shades of
autumn and a blue and white sky reflected on the surface of what I believe to
be Franklin Falls Pond comes to us from yours truly as I made a point of capturing
the artwork that decorated my accommodations at “On Franklin Pond” back on
January 1^st.  The “bed and
breakfast” located on the shores of Franklin Falls Pond near Bloomingdale NY is
highly recommended and I was truly blessed by my wife with the Christmas
present of a weekend there with her to celebrate the arrival of the New Year
and our second anniversary.  While we can’t
give the gift of peace with any degree of certainty, that’s what I received for
that weekend, and I took photos of the room’s artwork to remind me of that wonderful
time together.

Well, It’s Tuesday and even though I am not awakening
to the peaceful confines of “On Franklin Pond” nestled in the Adirondacks I am
overcome by a sense of peace just remembering it and am looking forward to the
possibility of being in the presence of my beloved wife later this afternoon,
weather permitting, as our niece, Grace, has a theatrical performance scheduled
for later today and we plan on going to support her artistic endeavors and to spend
some rare weeknight time together for dinner.   

The past week has brought quite a bit of suffering
in the extended circles of my family and friends and as much as my prayers are
going out to the afflicted and grieving, I won’t take my blessings for granted
and am giving thanks to the Lord this morning for the life that He has led me
into, a life that is defined by Him and blessed with the fruit of the Spirit of
peace, love, and joy regardless of the circumstances.   

Last night I led the men’s Freedom in Christ Course that
I facilitate for Freedom in Christ Ministries online and as the discipleship
course starts at the basics one of the participants voiced his skepticism,
wondering aloud if “this was all there is” as last nights lesson encouraged us
to “choose to believe the truth”.

“I already believe the truth – I have decided to
follow the Lord. I am choosing it so why do I struggle with the same things I
have struggled with for years? I hope there is more to this. What am I missing?”

In a word? Freedom. 
Peace. If your “walk” doesn’t lead you to the fruit of the Spirit, these
are good questions to ask.  What am I
missing?  Well there is more to the
Freedom in Christ Course than what is presented in the first three
lessons.  I pointed out that the lessons stand
on their own as good lessons for Christian Discipleship – drawing from the word
of God to assure us of their truth and wisdom. 
Lesson 1 – or the Introduction – which is optional but which I never
skip – introduces why we can believe the Bible. 
It presents compelling evidence for the fact that the word of God and is
true.  Lesson 2 -Session 1- then teaches
what God says in His word about what happens to us – Christians – after we have
put our faith in Jesus – we are forever changed.  And Lesson 3- Session 2- teaches us that even
though we receive much – really everything – at salvation – it doesn’t mean
that we will necessarily represent God’s kingdom with our thoughts and
behaviors or do the good works He has prepared for us to do – because we have free
will, after we come to faith in Christ, we still have to make the decision to
surrender to His Lordship and choose to change the way we live according to God’s
truth – and we have to do it in spirit and in truth.  We have to choose to follow the Lord in
earnest and we have to do it from a heart level – out of our love for Him.  

That’s what’s missing – the love, the surrender, the
continued effort to do His will rather than our own, the decision to stop doing
things our way and to choose His way in A-L-L -all the aspects of our lives.  That’s what’s missing. If you had surrendered
your mind, will, and emotions to be conformed to the image of Christ, the
struggles would end. If you crucify the flesh in the power of the Holy Spirit –
again surrendering to the Lord and asking for His strength and guidance to help
you to be free – victory would come.   If
you remove the footholds and the strongholds that the enemy operates from –
again by reliance on the Holy Spirit in you – you will be set free.  

So yeah, there’s more – heck that’s a lot- and thus
the Freedom in Christ course merely begins that journey. It begins by showing
us the basics of our faith and so we can be reminded of what is true and teach
us how to apply that truth to our lives. Ultimately the Freedom in Christ course
guides us to see the truth and moves us to ask God to help us to be free by
resolving all of our personal and spiritual conflicts.  The Steps to Freedom in Christ which the
course leads us to is not some magical prayer that wishes things away its a prayerful
repentance process where the participant renounces all their sins, rebellious or
prideful attitudes, and demonic associations and makes the commitment to follow
the Lord in earnest for the rest of our lives.  
The Steps to Freedom in Christ may be a series of prayers but they are
not necessarily something you just say as much as they are something you do. Faith
in God, Surrender to the Lord, and praying through the Steps to Freedom are the
beginning of a post-repentance life of freedom – its not a “one and done” – it’s
“a forever more” & a “what’s see what the Lord has in store”. 

Forgive the rhyme – but that’s the truth.  A big misnomer in the body of Christ, which goes
against God’s word, is a belief that we will suddenly be blessed and set free –
that we will “arrive” at sanctification or freedom – and never be challenged
again.  That’s a pipe dream and lie.  Our relationship with God never ends – our lives
never end – and the word tells us continually to submit to God and to resist
the devil, to rejoice always, to give thanks in all things, to be content, and
to keep moving forward.  

The peace and freedom we find by going through the
Steps is only the beginning as the Lord will continually draw us to become the
people He created us to be and to do the good works He has created for us to
do.  So we keep going.  As John the Baptist said – we must decrease
and He, Jesus, must increase. And while we will still be uniquely our own
persons in temperament, personality, and talents and purpose – God has a more
Christlike version of that person waiting for you to walk into, but we have to
do our part to get there.  

So make the decision to believe the truth of God’s
word, what it says about you as a child of God, and what it tells us about how
to live – and then show you believe it by living according to it – according to
God’s ways – and in His presence all the time.  
That’s what’s missing, but I know that the Lord will be faithful to give
what we are missing if we look to Him to give it to us.  

So keep walking and talking with God and experience
the peace that comes from knowing He will lead you and He will never let you
down.

——————————————————————————————–

Today’s
Bible verses come 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 Communication, Gossip, and
Lying.

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)
²⁹  Let no corrupting talk
come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the
occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Today’s
verse is the second of two passages of scripture that fall under the third point
of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Communication, Gossip, and
Lying.

3.     Speak the truth in
love, not harshly.

Today’s
verse tells us to use our voices to build one another up and to give grace to
those who hear it.   We are to not let
corrupting speech come out of our mouths. 
This would include cursing, suggesting worldly ways over God’s ways,
voicing complaints or gripes, and using sarcasm.   

Really,
M.T.? Really.  

The
voice is merely a reflection of the heart and mind and if we are using foul
language, complaining, or being disingenuous it reveals that our hearts are far
from God.  Foul language is darkness, God’s
not there.  Complaining is the opposite
of giving thanks, God’s not there. 
Griping is the opposite of rejoicing, God’s not there.  And sarcasm, is sly form of lying – it speaks
the opposite of the truth for comic effect and is a passive-aggressive attack
against the people it is poured out on – insulting them but in a cowardly way
that seeks to avoid offense in the name of humor – God’s not there.  

But God
is in the words that speak of life, hope, togetherness, and encouragement.  Edifying speech builds one another up in the
truth of God’s word. God is there so let’s stay there and if we need to we can
look to God’s word and the Holy Spirit to give us words to speak.

———————————————————–

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 “According to Your
Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A
Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.

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

MORNING READING: MATTHEW 15

“Down at Jesus’ feet.” – Matthew
15:30

What a blessed place is this! O, to be found continually
at His feet! Being “down at Jesus’ feet” is:

A Place of Healing. We read here that the lame – those who
could not walk; the blind – those who could not see; the dumb – those who could
not talk; the maimed – those who could not work, all were cast down with many
others at Jesus’ feet. “Cast … down” (Matt. 15:30, KJV) means to be thrown down
in all their worthlessness and helplessness – and Jesus healed them!

A Place of Learning. “Mary … sat at Jesus’ feet and heard
His word” (Luke 10:39). The Lord spoke of this as more needful than much
serving. Oh, to be found here.

A Place of Worship. “They came and held Him by the feet
and worshiped Him.” (Matt. 28:9). The disciples had met the risen Lord and He
had said, “Rejoice!” (v. 9), and they worshiped.

 

At Your feet is a blessed place,
Lord.
O, to be found continually there!^[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
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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)

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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship