Back on Solid Ground – Day 2 – 21 Day Prayer Challenge – Purity 1420
Purity 1420 08/06/2024 Purity 1420 Audio Podcast
Purity 1420 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of crashing waves underneath an enlightened cloud formation that resembles a person with big hair using their hand to amplify their voice comes to us from Bonnie Schultz who shared this scene on social media yesterday.
Well, It’s Tuesday and I don’t know if you see what I see in today’s photo but I have learned that we sometimes need one another’s help to see the truth that we are missing and we may even need to shout it out to, or whisper it directly into someone else’s ear, for them to hear it, and if it concerns spiritual truth we may have to raise a prayer to God to open the eyes of the spiritually blind to wake people up.
It’s Day 2 of the 21 Day Prayer Challenge (https://pastorvlad.org/prayer/) and due to my injury I was home and able to utilize the day to clean house spiritually by praying through the Steps to Freedom in Christ, was spiritually nourished by a message from Pastor Vlad Savchuk (https://www.youtube.com/live/qtrGtrASohY?si=MJNFgOPw7V2JJ4Gj) and some of my Christian books on Logos and Kindle, and got right physically by obeying my food plan. After Day 1, I feel wonderful and will be pressing in again for Day 2 as I have come to grips with the fact that experiencing your freedom in Christ comes with the responsibility to walk in it continually.
John Eldredge describes living as a Christian as being an amphibian in one of his books – where we walk in between two worlds – going from the world system we grew up in (which is ruled by Satan) and moving more into God’s kingdom where we can experience life in a different way – a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit. Our Christian walk will be a series of ups and downs as we learn to grow into the person God created us to be and as we grow out of being the spiritually blind person who was in bondage to the flesh. In the initial stages of our walk with the Lord, it is usually more uncomfortable trying to live by faith as we have been conditioned to seek comfort from the world and need to build our capacity to enjoy the things of God before we walk in it at peace. However, as we grow more into the person God created us to be, the opposite happens. We become more uncomfortable with the things of this world than with the things from above. Our tastes, preferences, and lifestyles become more spiritual than fleshly and as this happens we see clearly how the world has lied to us about what will actually satisfy us and give us comfort and peace. Paul describes this in
Philippians 3:7-8 (NLT2) where he shares how his opinion of earthly things has changed, stating:
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.
8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
And that is how I have increasingly begun to see the world system, for what it is: worthless. But the things of this world do have their appeals as they provide a measure of pleasure, and we remember how indulging in them in the past “made us happy”. But things are different now… we know the truth experientially and while we may be able to walk into our old environments for limited times, like an amphibian that is becoming less amphibious, we can’t stay there for long before we begin to suffer.
Going back to fleshly indulgences, even with something benign as food, causes me to suffer in my spirit and body as a feel burdened by the weight of compromise on my body, soul, and spirit. To know what is right and to not do it is a sin, and for me if I go mindless and neglect the wisdom and freedom that I have learned and earned, I suffer and won’t be right until I go back to where I belong. I’m no longer a “tadpole” Christian anymore, and this frog is more comfortable on the solid ground of living a healthy lifestyle of walking in the Spirit than I am in the muck and mire of the swamp of confusion and compromise of the world system.
I’m free in Christ, the Lord has set me free from addictions and a lifestyle of the flesh, and my heart, mind, body, and spirit won’t allow me to be at peace going back into darkness. It’s now my burden to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil and not to go with the flow of the world around me because to do so for too long torments my body, soul, and spirit.
So, I’m doing what I have to do, I’m going back to God and the spiritual life that has set me free, completely, and I will endeavor not to make the same mistakes of thinking I could immerse myself in the world’s corruption without feeling the pain of denying who I am in Christ. When we walk in the Spirit, we are compelled by the Spirit to “do what’s right”, and so that’s what I will endeavor to do. No selfish indulgence is worth the pain of separation and disharmony, I feel when I go astray.
And so it begins and continues with prayer, we keep walking and talking with God to receive what He has for us. We seek Him and stay in His presence to breathe easy and to grow into who He has made us to be. Only He can show us the way.
David Jerimiah’s Turning Point Devotional for today (https://www.davidjeremiah.org/magazine/daily-devotional) discusses the spiritual aspects of our faith that indicate that it is only to those who seek and who God grants revelation that will see His truth. It’s somewhat mysterious but I feel moved to share it this morning to encourage us to remember to approach God in prayer to receive His wisdom and to see things from His perspective.
“Eyes That See
[I pray that] the eyes of your understanding [may be] enlightened. – Ephesians 1:18
When Jesus’ disciples asked Him why He spoke to the people in parables, He quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 as an explanation. Centuries before Jesus’ ministry, God levied judgment upon Israel for her sins and failure to repent. They would be able to see and hear physically but not spiritually. They would hear but not “understand” and see but not “perceive” spiritual truth. Jesus spoke in parables to separate the spiritually hungry who would seek to understand His parables from those who were not spiritually curious (Matthew 13:13-16).
When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he wrote to people who needed their spiritual eyes opened by the power of the Spirit. After the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, it was possible to gain new insight and understanding into the things of God. What was previously unknown and not understood was made clear through the Spirit’s enlightenment (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). So Paul prayed that the spiritual eyes of the Ephesians would be opened to know God better.
Spiritual enlightenment is not like flipping a switch—a one-time event. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you more and more of God every day and what He has provided in Christ.”
Repentance is the tear in the eye of faith. – Dwight L. Moody
Amen!
Spiritual enlightenment comes from the Light of the World – as Paul said – through “the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”. And in our relationship with God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit we get to know the Lord more and more as we walk with Him and talk with Him in prayer.
So keep in prayer, so the Lord can open your eyes and reveal to you what you need to know and to see just how much He is calling you to grow.
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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 Fear.
Matthew 10:29-31 (NKJV)
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Today’s verses fall under the sixth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Fear.
6. Don’t be afraid; God cares for sparrows, and He will surely care for you.
Today’s verses call us to not fear as a result of knowing our immense value to God.
Jesus calls us to consider the things of this world and to recognize how God provides for and sustains things that are less than us to assure us that God is good and will do the same for us, who He so loved that He gave His only begotten Son.
Jesus assures us that God sees us and knows us – even every hair on our heads – to drive the point home that He considers us to be valuable to Him and by implication, He will care for and provide for us too.
As Christians, we have been bought for a price – the price of Jesus’ life – and we need not fear because God will certainly care for and protect something He paid so much for to save.
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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: COLOSSIANS 1
“That in all things He may have the preeminence.”
– Colossians 1:18
Whether they are thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers, He is before all things and in Him all things consist. He is the Preeminent One. He must occupy the place of preeminence. He will occupy the place of preeminence. For God “has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:9-11) – the “Preeminent One.”
Even so, in the life of the believer, “in all things,” He must have the preeminence. The word “all” indicates every detailed aspect in the life of the believer. Where He is preeminent, there the fullness of God dwells.
Lord, daily I will give You preeminence in my life. Amen.[1]
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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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