The Poser – Purity 1355
Purity 1355 05/21/2024 Purity 1355 Podcast
Purity 1355 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a close-up of a Fooled Me Daylily comes to us from yours truly as I captured this floral beauty that was on display in the front yard of my house down by the River back on July 16, 2020. The previous owners of my new home were horticulturists and there were all kinds of varieties of flowering plants on my property when I first purchased it. Some of the flowers come back each spring but I’m not big on outward appearances or yard work and have let nature run its course, or vehemently opposed it with a merciless use of the lawn mower, as I appreciate easy more than “pretty” when it comes to stewarding what the Lord has given me.
Well, it’s Tuesday and speaking of outward appearances, last night the “Wild at Heart” book study at my local church focused on “The Poser” which is John Eldredge’s term for mankind’s tendency to try to manage life through performance which all too often turns into showmanship as we seem to believe that everything is “okay” as long as everything looks okay, even if things are far from “okay”.
Jesus called such showmanship hypocrisy. In
Matthew 23:23-26 (NKJV) Jesus said:
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
The scribes and Pharisees made a big show of being righteous with their tithes and outward appearances of piety, but Jesus knew their hearts were far from God and their fellow man as they used their positions for their own benefit and to hide their fleshly nature (extortioners and self-indulgence).
In our day, Facebook or Instagram posts can be used to present an image of prosperity or family harmony one day only be replaced by announcements of dysfunction, loss, or divorce the next.
At the Band of Brothers weekend, one of the men I met was a contractor who was in and out of people’s homes as part of his job and he commented that you would be amazed by the wide spectrum of differences that one neighborhood could contain, how everyone’s front yards could give the impression that everything was neat and orderly in this “good neighborhood” but he had access to behind the scenes and he reported that you can’t judge a book by its cover because the front yards could mask the fact that the interior of the house or the back yard was an absolute mess.
The men’s discussion group last night had us discuss the various ways we could pose for one another and encouraged us to be real with God and one another because in the end He knows the truth and there is no fooling Him. Our performance and the appearances we try to keep up don’t validate who we are, God does and I was pleased to see our group leader pass out the “Who I am in Christ” list to encourage the men to know who God made us to be and how we should identify with what God’s word says about us more than what we could manufacture from our place in the world.
Our jobs, status, positions, or relationships could be stripped away in an instant but our identity in Christ is forever so we should stop posing and try to impress ourselves or our neighbors and instead live from the new hearts that God puts in us when we make Jesus the Lord of our lives. The fruit of the Spirit are peace, love, goodness, faithfulness, joy, patience, gentleness, and self-control and we don’t earn these things by hard work, we grow these things out of being the people God created us to be.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
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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 Decision Making.
Joshua 24:14-27 (NIV2011)
14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!
17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.
18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.”
19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.
20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.
23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.
26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD.
27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”
Today’s verses fall under the first point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Decision Making.
1. Joshua called the Israelites to make a decision.
Today’s verses demonstrate the importance of making a decision to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives. While salvation may come through the grace of God, the joy of the Lord and our sanctification grow from a decision to believe and obey the word of God. We all have to make a decision as to what we will believe and how we will live our lives and if we are untrue to our decision, our words and actions will be a witness against us. So be true to your word and when you decide to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, make sure you understand that your decision is for keeps, as the one who grants eternal life will be the one we live with and for forevermore.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com 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: ACTS 26
“From the power of Satan to God.” – Acts 26:18
In this verse is presented a five-fold ministry. The servant of the Lord should take note, for it comprehends the ground he should cover when preaching the Gospel:
Illumination. “To open their eyes” – This is effected by presenting truth in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Conversion. “To turn them from darkness to light” – The servant of the Lord should lead the seeking soul at this stage, leading from the darkness of ignorance into the light of the truth.
Emancipation. “From the power of Satan to God” – This is where the greatest battle in the salvation of a soul is fought. The weapons to be used are The Stand (the blood of the Lamb); The Sword (the Word of God); and The Sanction (the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ).
Remission of Sins. “They may receive forgiveness of sins” – Here is the cross, where forgiveness of sins is to be found through the blood.
Sanctification. “An inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” – With all the blessings that a holy life brings.
Enable me to preach the whole of
Your Gospel, Lord, leaving nothing out.[1]
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“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
[1] Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
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