Failure & Fighting Prayers – Combatting Spiritual Blindness – Purity 1271

Failure & Fighting Prayers – Combatting Spiritual
Blindness – Wisdom from Dr Neil Anderson – Purity 1271

Purity 1271 02/10/2024  Purity 1271 Podcast

Purity 1271 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo of reeds standing before the setting
sun as it hovers over the Atlantic Ocean comes to us from Heidi Ann who shared
this photo from her recent vacation to Myrtle Beah, SC on social media back on
February 4^th. 

Well, Its Saturday, and on the day
before Super Bowl Sunday, I am feeling like a loser baby – so why don’t you
kill me? Just kidding, although I am humbled this morning due to a condemnation-driven
fleshly indulgence (let’s just relax and watch a movie) that led to a comfort-eating
relapse yesterday,

I have no plans for self-harm and will
seek to learn from my mistake and move forward into my freedom and
victory.  What freedom?  didn’t I fail? 
But the games not over, when we are in Christ – we win!

Well, yes, yes I did and upon further
review of the game film, I know why I “lost” and if I learn from this episode –
which really just amounted to eating some of my adult children’s sugar-laden
treats, I can fight better battles and eventually win the war of being self-controlled
when it comes to comforting myself with food. 

As for the damage, beyond my normal
dinner of “Gunk Soup” (don’t ask) and a couple of cheeseburgers, I dove into
madness by consuming:

·       The remainder of the caramel popcorn
that I gave my son, Brennan, on Christmas.  (the caramel and the Baby Yoda Christmas tin kept
it from being stale – I told myself),

·        4 rice crispy treats from a gigantic box in
the cupboard, (my daughter, Haley’s)

·       a couple of impromptu regular peanut
butter and jelly – on low carb tortillas-  sandwiches. The normal PB & J – are Brennan’s,
I believe.

·        and about 4 Strawberry Lindt chocolates- that
Haley had foolishly left opened and unattended on the kitchen table. 

Before I finished the low carb “Mexican
PBJ’s” and Rice Crispy treats, I actually tallied it up and was in the “normal
limits” of the My Fitness Pals Macros count – but the flesh wanted what it wanted,
and I didn’t stop at “reasonable”.  OOF –
It’s a painful admission, but this is what I do – I report as honestly as I can
when I mess up – so I shame myself, become more self-aware, and try to learn
not to do it again. 

Now as addicts know, a big problem
with this relapse is access. Addicts shouldn’t have access to the things they
are addicted to. But the food addict faces unique challenges – why it may seem
reasonable to demand that your family or friends that you live with do not keep
drugs, alcohol, or pornographic material in your home – demanding that they
only have low-carb and zero-sugar foods in the house, their food – mind you,
might be overstepping in the area of control. Rather than them not buying foods
that will lead me into temptation, it is more reasonable that I don’t “steal” –
I am a thief! – their food!

So I messaged my kids this morning to
confess and apologize and sent them each $10 for food theft restitution to
compensate them for their losses. Taking food was wrong and I have tried to
make it right and to shame myself into not doing it again. 

Because ultimately the addict needs
to be responsible for their own sobriety – be it drugs, sex, alcohol, or food –
we have to choose to say no, learn from relapses, and endeavor to get up and
walk in freedom after we fall down.  

So I am back on my feet and ready to
walk in victory again.  Food relapses are
not as sinister as the other substances or actions you can be addicted to but
while they shouldn’t be taken lightly – they can be recovered from. If you are
trying to do Keto – it only takes three days to get back in the “zone” – and quite
frankly if you are doing “carb cycling” – depending on your final carb tally – a
carb feast could actually be within limits. 
It all depends on what you’re shooting. Me? I’m looking to get my weight
down to the BMI “normal level” for my height which would be 183 pounds – so at
198 yesterday I still have 15 pounds to go. 
So there’s work to do and sabotaging my progress with a “ thieve &
cheat” day, is no way to get there.  But
as I am going on vacation to Disney in less than a week from today, I
understand that 183 is a long-term goal that we can hopefully get to by
summer.   Thus the battle and war go
on.  

But part of this is spiritual and we
can’t be blind to the fact that it is not just our flesh that we have to beat
into submission. The devil is known as the tempter, and he keeps us spiritually
blind to the facts of our conditions through his deception. So as much as you
try to “work out” and watch what you put in your body or in front of your eyes
to keep you on the straight and narrow, don’t forget to pray!

As the old MC Hammer song says: 

“I need
to pray, ah, yeah, pray.

We need
to pray.

Just to
make it today

That’s
word, we pray.”

What you thought I was going to sing: “You can’t touch this?” Well maybe I would – but the enemy can touch us – and blind us to the truth and keep those we love out of God’s kingdom – so I am sharing a message I got in my email from Freedom in Christ UK this morning, from Dr. Neil Anderson that all about: “COMBATING SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked from Him (1 John 5:14,15) There are several specific needs that we should consider as targets for prayer in spiritual warfare. One need relates to the condition of blindness that Satan has inflicted on unbelievers (1 Corinthians 4:3,4). People cannot come to Christ unless their spiritual eyes are opened. Theodore Epp wrote, “If Satan has blinded and bound men and women, how can we ever see souls saved? This is where you and I enter the picture. Spoiling the goods of the strong man has to do with liberating those whom Satan has blinded and is keeping bound. This is where prayer comes in.” Prayer is a primary weapon in combating spiritual blindness. The apostle John wrote: “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14,15). Then he immediately challenged believers to apply this principle by asking God to bring life to unbelievers (verse 16). Our evangelistic strategy must include authoritative prayer that God’s light would penetrate satanic blindness. We also need to pray, as Paul did in Ephesians 1:18,19, that the eyes of believers may be enlightened to understand the spiritual power, authority and protection that is our inheritance in Christ. As long as Satan can keep us in the dark about our position and authority in Christ, he can keep us stunted in our growth and ineffectual in our witness and ministry. We need to pray for each other continually that Satan’s smoke screen of lies will be blown away and that our vision into the spiritual realm will be crystal clear. Lord, remind me frequently to pray against the deception, which the enemy uses to block my vision of Your will for my life.”

Neil Anderson

So make sure you are fighting the
good fight of faith – for the lost and the saved – by praying those “fighting prayer’s”
to open the eyes of the blind to salvation in God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus
Christ and for freedom and victory for those in the body of Christ who don’t know
who they are in Christ or who don’t know how they can overcome their hurts,
habits, and hang ups to have freedom and victory!

——————————————————————————————–

Today’s
Bible verse 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 verse comes from the section on Communication, Gossip, and
Lying.

Proverbs 12:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  There is one whose rash
words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

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

11.     Do not hurt your
neighbor by gossip or careless talk; control your tongue.

Today’s
verse hits close to home as I was feeling condemned yesterday because of some
criticism I received because I didn’t realize that some recent work I did in
ministry caused someone quite a bit of offense. 
I have often gotten in trouble with my mouth and with my failure to
perceive what I say isn’t being taken in the spirit that I meant it.   I sometimes respond quickly to answer theological
questions or to try to solve problems and I don’t realize that the words of my
speedy response could be considered to be rash. 
I also sometimes try to respond in humor but don’t realize that the
other person doesn’t realize I was being lighted and joking.  So take it from me – be quick to listen and
slow to speak – trying to learn this one – because rash words or quick quips
can sometimes cut others like sword thrusts – and end up causing damage to your
relationships or reputation as a Christian. 
So be wise and slow down and bring words that heal.  MT -listen….. to yourself here.  

———————————————————–

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: MARK 3

“He is out of His mind.” – Mark 3:21

These words were said to my blessed Lord by members of His
own kinsmen. It was their estimate of the loving and increasing labors of my
Lord.

The Lord Jesus said on one occasion: “The night is coming
when no one can work” (John 9:4). Earlier in His life, “I must be about My
Father’s business” (Luke 2:49, emphasis mine). Again, “The fields … are already
white for harvest” (John 4:35, emphasis mine). In all such statements, He
sought to show that time was short; opportunities must be redeemed now or
never. But He not only taught this, He practiced it! Hence, He is seen in this
chapter not having enough time to even eat bread. Those nearest to Him by
family relationships could only find these unkind and scathing words: “He is
out of His mind.”

Lord, in light of these words, help
me never
to be affected by derogatory criticism.^[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)

“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