“Good News” From Your Sponsor – The Next Step in Recovery – Purity 1438
Purity 1438 08/29/2024 Purity 1438 Audio Podcast
Purity 1438 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of light and a forest at the end of a corrugated metal tunnel comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene back on August 17th during my visit to the Severance Mountain Trailhead near Schroon Lake NY. You might not see it at first glance, but this photo doesn’t just show a forest at the end of the tunnel. It also reveals that there is another tunnel to go through not too far ahead.
Well, It’s Thursday and I share today’s pathway photo as a visual reminder and encouragement to either get on or to stay on the path of Christian Discipleship as I normally do on Thursdays but I share this photo as a reminder that even though we may begin to see the light the end of tunnel of our journey into transformation, it doesn’t mean that all our problems are resolved as we may have more trials to face as we try to move on down the road on the pathway to peace.
Last evening, I taught a double lesson at Celebrate Freedom where we transitioned from Book 1 to Book 2 of the Celebrate Recovery Step Study and thus marked the end of one road on our journey into recovery only to have to deliver the “good news” that we have only just begun the next phase of our walk towards freedom. The last lesson of Book 1 – Action – encouraged participants to finalize their commitment to surrender their “wills” to God guidance and care, and Lesson 1 of Book 2, Sponsor, informed those who were bold enough to trust God to help them with their hurts, habits, and hang-ups, that they were going to have to humble themselves a little more because the next phase of recovery, Principle 4 – requires that they “openly examine and confess my faults to myself, God, and to someone I trust” and that last clause means they can’t do it alone. We all need the help of others in life and The 12 Steps or 8 Principles of Recovery “forces” you to realize that by selecting a Sponsor.
A Sponsor is a guide who shows you the way through the Steps. Hopefully, they will possess enough experience and spiritual wisdom to direct you to follow Jesus as your higher power and recommend an authentic relationship and lifestyle with God—a lifestyle of continual growth and repentance—as true disciples of Jesus seek to not only learn what the Good Teacher says but also apply the Lord’s wisdom to all areas of their lives.
As someone who has been there and done that, I qualify as a sponsor and I know one of the hardest things to teach to hopeful recoverees, is that their best efforts at getting clean and sober may not fix everything. They may achieve the success of gaining victory over their personal hurt, habit, or hang-up but they may still suffer the loss in their lives. Change means change and it usually involves saying goodbye to certain “people, places, and things” but it may also result in certain people, places, and things, that you don’t intend to leave, saying goodbye to you.
That’s perhaps one of the hardest truths to accept about choosing to be a disciple of Jesus Christ – that you will finally be doing “everything right” only to have things that you can’t control go horribly wrong. So when we get to this juncture in the journey, I try to assure participants in our support group that they are on the right course to find the peace and joy of a transformed life but there will likely be some additional trials and unexpected costs to pay before they get there. The only thing that a sponsor can guarantee is that the Lord will never leave them and that they will do their best to walk with them until they get there.
One misconception about the Christian life is that all problems will be fixed instantly when you put your faith in Jesus, but the experienced believer knows that turning to Christ as Lord and Savior is just the beginning of the repentance process that the Christian Life is defined by.
The In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanely devotional for today addresses repentance so I am sharing it on the blog today. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
Repentance in the Believer’s Life
“Is repentance necessary in the Christian’s life? Yes, and we can see this truth in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You may say, “The word repentance isn’t in that verse.” But let’s take a closer look.
Remember, “to repent” simply means to change your mind. For non-Christians, this refers to saving faith—the decision to place trust in Jesus. But for believers, repentance involves a change of heart with regard to behavior or attitude. It is an ongoing decision to lead an obedient, Christlike life.
In 1 John, this choice is represented by the word confess, which means “to agree with.” In other words, if you confess your wrongdoing to God, you are coming into agreement with Him about that sin and therefore disagreeing with your previous view. Here, confession isn’t a matter of salvation; rather, it means allowing the Father to continually re-form your mind, molding you more and more into the image of His Son. As God continues to work in your life, your mind will gradually reject old thought patterns, and you’ll more closely represent His way of thinking.
Is there sin in your life that has become too uncomfortable to bear? Confess it and allow God to change your heart today.” – Dr. Charles Stanley
Amen.
God gives us the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in Jesus and He begins the process of changing our hearts and minds to become more and more like Jesus in the ways we think and live. The comfort and peace we find in our Christian walk comes from abiding in God’s presence and from walking in His ways, but it also reveals that our former ways of darkness are no longer compatible with who we are. So we agree with the Lord and turn from those old ways to discover the new life of meaning, purpose, and joy that God has for us.
————————————————————————
For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
————————————————————————
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 verse comes from the section on the Forgiveness of Sins (God’s Forgiveness).
Romans 8:1, 4 (NIV2011)
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… (for those) who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Today’s verse are the third of three passages of scripture that fall under the fifteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on the Forgiveness of Sins (God’s Forgiveness).
15. We are justified (cleared of all guilt) by faith in Jesus; in him we find peace.
Today’s combined verses make the conditional promises of not being condemned when you are “in Christ” clear.
Yes, I love Romans 8:1 and explain to others that when you come to Christ – you are no longer condemned. As I put it – “All the bad things you think about yourself, are no longer true about you – now that you are in Christ! You are a new creation.”
However, as much as we could just affirm that there is no condemnation for us because we have put our faith in Jesus and thus are forgiven, justified, and receive Jesus’ imputed righteousness as children of God, positionally. It is a whole lot more effective to accept our non-condemned state of existence by ceasing to do anything we should be condemned for!
If we still live in sin, we should feel convicted that we are not living as we should. While we shouldn’t condemn ourselves for our failures, we should repent and start living a life that is free from guilt and shame by not doing the things that produce guilt and shame. We should, as today’s combined verse offering suggests – not live according to the flesh but live according to the Spirit! There is no condemnation for those living in the Spirit! So let’s stand on the truth – that we are no longer condemned – and let’s make it a demonstratable reality by living a life that is righteous and holy – in the Spirit!
———————————————————–
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: 2 TIMOTHY 1
“To which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle,
and a teacher of the Gentiles.” – 2 Timothy 1:11
It is interesting to note the order in which Paul states his capacity: preacher, apostle, and teacher.
He calls this “a holy calling … according to [God’s] own purpose and grace” (2 Tim. 1:9).
As a Preacher – Paul could say, “Necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Cor. 9:16). “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 1:17). As an Apostle – “For you [Christians] are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord… . For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more” (1 Cor. 9:2, 19). As a Teacher – He was supreme, as evidenced by his epistles. Thus, Paul directs Timothy and us all, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:13).
How unsatisfying my life would be, Lord,
were I not to strive to fulfill Your calling![1]
—————————more tomorrow————————
The MT4Christ247 audio podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartradio, Podbean, Audible, and many more podcast platforms!
Subscribe to The MT4Christ247 Channel on YouTube!
Email me at m.t.clark@mt4christ.com with any questions, or comments, or to inquire about our Christian Life Coaching or Prayer Ministry Services.
“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).
Leave a Reply