What to When You’re Not Invited- Purity 1433
Purity 1433 08/22/2024 Purity 1433 Audio Podcast
Purity 1433 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of an original work of art depicting the sun illuminating a water scene with a flower-filled shoreline comes to us from “our man in the UK”, Philip Hand, who shared this latest work with me yesterday with the scriptural caption of Ecclesiastes 3:11 which says “He has made everything beautiful in its own time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
Amen. Well, It’s Thursday and I share Philip’s work today because his talent and faith inspire me and I like to encourage his artistic efforts because Philip is one of those living examples of how our faith in and relationship with God can change the way we look at the world and take us from the darkness of depressive mind states and bring us into a state of gratitude, appreciation, and joy.
Our natural tendency to focus on our problems and the things we don’t have in life can easily cause us wander into a dark place mentally or emotionally pretty quickly but when we live according to who we are in Christ and remember the beauty that surrounds us and all of the blessings, talents, and gifts that we DO have – we will see the light of God’s goodness, mercy, and grace and we can rejoice.
Just last night, a friend shared how they were feeling low because they noticed that some of their friends had recently gotten together for a gathering and shared a photo of their party on social media, but they hadn’t been invited to it. To make matters worse, the social media post featured another photo of a group gathering from the past, that my friend had been in attendance for, making it starkly clear that they were once invited to the parties of the past, but now, for some unknown reason found themselves off of the guest list. Whether from an oversight or an intentional exclusion, my friend was suffering pain because of a possible loss of relationship with people that they thought were their friends.
Of course, even though the fact they had to find out about the gathering through social media indicates that they may not have been as close to these people as they thought they were and may have been lacking on their side of the fence with their efforts to stay connected with the group, it still hurts. Nobody likes to feel excluded.
However, a little bit of truth and maturity in these difficult relational situations can help us move forward with wisdom.
The Christian response would be to forgive the offense and then to decide whether or not the friendships that we have been slighted in are a thing of the past or are worth the effort and humility to seek to inquire about the lack of invitation, try to discern the reasons why this may have happened, and to attempt to re-establish relationships that have drifted or have been broken.
I know part of this person’s story over the last year has been an increase in their relationship with God. They have shared their own social media posts regarding their faith walk and I can’t help but think that some of their old friends may not have been thrilled with their walking further into the light or they may think that their old friend who is “so religious now” wouldn’t want to hang out like they used to. Unfortunately, sometimes our increase in faith is met with a decrease in our “friends” and we may have to accept the fact that in some ways nothing will be the same again.
But I know the immense value of “being right with God” and finding a relationship with Him and as much as we may grieve the loss of our earthly relationships that reject our faith, we can re-establish our peace and joy when we focus on Him.
Today’s Turning Point devotional with David Jeremiah point to the importance of finding God’s One Way and I am sharing it today on the blog to remind us of all of how special we are to be blessed with a relationship with God and how knowing Him gives us so much more than this world has to offer. David Jeremiah writes:
“The Bible tells us “to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). From its earliest days, Christian truth has faced attacks for its claim that Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God. He said, “I am the way.” Peter defended this before the Jewish council, saying, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
People often say, “You believe in your God, and I’ll believe in mine, and that’s okay.” But it isn’t okay, for their path leads to destruction. It’s often said if God could have saved humanity in any other way, He would have done it. But in keeping with the spiritual laws of the universe flowing from the essence of His character, the only way to atone for sin is through the blood of an innocent sacrifice. Make sure you have claimed Jesus as your way!” – David Jeremiah
There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. – Oswald Chambers
Let’s rest in and rejoice in the fact that God has shown us the Way to be right with Him and that when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, He will never leave us or forsake us. He will never not “invite us” to be with Him because He loved us enough to send Jesus Christ to die on the cross to give us a new life of freedom, peace, and joy.
Meditate on that.
Experience the peace and Joy knowing that your sins are forgiven and, although one day your physical body may die, you will live forever with God because your faith in Jesus was all that was needed to make you right with Him.
God loves you and even though others may reject you and life will be hard at times, He is always with you and cares for you in all times and seasons.
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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 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 the Forgiveness of Sins (God’s Forgiveness).
Luke 23:43 (NKJV)
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Today’s verses fall under the twelfth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on the Forgiveness of Sins (God’s Forgiveness).
12. Jesus forgave the murderer on the cross (an example of one saved only by grace).
Today’s verse is Jesus’ words to a man who was at the end of his rope and only had one hope for life. The thief on the cross gives us all hope because He found life in God’s kingdom when he had nothing to offer the Lord except for his faith in Him.
How could we ever believe in a work–based – performance-based – requirement for salvation when we know of this man’s story? I suppose his story could be misconstrued to develop a “deathbed” exception to a theology that requires hard work and sinless perfection but the whole counsel of God reveals that God has always saved us by faith alone.
Speaking of Abraham, Genesis 15:6 (NKJV) says:
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
God counted Abraham as righteous because He believed in Him and likewise the thief on the cross believed in Jesus and was given the promise of paradise.
That’s good news for all of us. So believe in Jesus, rejoice because you are saved, and follow Him into paradise, here on earth as it will be in heaven.
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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.
EVENING READING: 1 TIMOTHY 2
“Pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands,
without wrath and doubting.” – 1 Timothy 2:8
The apostle shows that the three conditions to prayer are holy hands, the absence of wrath, and the absence of doubting.
Holy Hands. This must not be taken literally, of course. The meaning behind this phrase is “holy living.” “A conscience without offense toward God and men” (Acts 24:16).
The Absence of Wrath. Having a forgiving spirit, loving one another.
The Absence of Doubting. Having no unbelief. Strong in faith. “He who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7).
Remind me, O Lord, to come to Your throne with a clean
heart, a forgiving spirit, and a strong faith. 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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