Time to Man Up – The One Who Understands You – Purity 1468
Purity 1468 10/04/2024 Purity 1468 Audio Podcast
Purity 1468 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Well, It’s Friday, thank God and as I prepare for another day of work, I am already looking ahead to tonight’s “Man Up” men’s ministry event at Starpoint Church. Tonight’s festivities, for men only, will include inflatable bull riding, and free BBQ food, and is featuring Country Western performing artist, Granger Smith, as the guest speaker. If you are in the capital district area of “The Upstate NY”, I am personally inviting you to join us there for a night of fun and Christian men’s fellowship. I am sharing the link to the FB event on the blog (https://www.facebook.com/share/9D6cYv87iqe4gCvz/) so you can get the details and register to “Man Up”
Speaking of “Manning Up”, I know how the “iron sharpening iron” power of men supporting one another in their Christian walk firsthand as several brothers in Christ have “had my back” and have taught and encouraged me along the path of Christian Discipleship through the years. As much as movies and other media put forth the trope of a solitary lone wolf hero who walks alone, I know that in the Christian walk those who walk alone are usually headed for trouble as the world, the flesh, and the devil love to deceive, tempt, and destroy the single lamb or the unruly “black sheep” that forsakes the company of the flock and chooses to do things “his way”.
The truth is that we need each other in the body of Christ and we benefit greatly when we walk alongside of one another to encourage and support one another and to point out the things we may not be able to see in our “blind spots”. When we are deceived by the world, the flesh, or the devil, we are blind to our excuses, rationalizations, and sin. A brother or sister in Christ can see past your self-deception and rationalizations and encourage you to correct the ways you have gone astray.
Last night, I met with a pair of my Christian Life Coaching clients and I was delighted to see how they have progressed since we started working together earlier this year. They are no longer stuck in the same old lies or the reactive patterns of behavior that they were held in bondage to although we are still working on their personal and spiritual goals, they are both thriving as they have come to approach the problems they are facing with the truth of who they are in Christ, have shifted their perspective to the Christian worldview, and are actively practicing walking in the Spirit. They had their different individual problems but they both saw the need for God in their lives and they “man-upped” by humbling themselves and by seeking my assistance to coach them to live according to their faith in the power of the Holy Spirt. God has been faithful in building them up in their spirit and equipping them for a righteous life in Christ. These men have come to know the One who understands them better than anyone else and who can help them navigate through life with peace and joy – and I’m not talking about me.
God is the One who understands us. Today’s Intouch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional addresses this fact and so I am sharing it on the blog to encourage us. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“Understood by Jesus
“You are never alone in the hardships you face, because Jesus truly understands and offers comfort.
Whenever disaster happens in a friend’s life, it is natural to try and offer comfort. But do you ever feel as if you’ve said the wrong thing? Sometimes expressions of consolation create even more pain. For example, “I understand” can feel empty if you haven’t actually experienced a comparable situation.
Yet most of us long to feel understood. And it helps to know other people who have faced similar circumstances (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Today’s passage reassures us that Jesus truly understands since He experienced struggles like ours.
In today’s passage, the writer of Hebrews refers to Jesus as our High Priest. The priest—the Jewish people’s bridge to God—offered sacrifices for their sins. Christ not only took on this role, but He also became the sacrifice when He died on the cross. By doing so and dying in our place, Jesus endured great suffering on our behalf. Now He sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven and intercedes for us. What’s more, Jesus truly understands our pain and weakness. Though fully God, He was also fully human and faced the very temptations, needs, and hurts we experience.
If you feel alone in the hardships you’re facing, recall Jesus’ trials and suffering. You’ll find comfort in His understanding.” – Charles Stanley
In life, we can often feel completely isolated from the world and feel convinced that no one understands the things we are suffering from or the trials that we have been through or are currently facing.
But when we are in Christ, we can take solace in the fact that there is One who understands us and has our best interests at heart: God.
Jesus walked the earth and suffered the pain of being human and died for us on the cross to save us. He did it all knowing who He was suffering for: you and me.
God knows everything about us and despite our dark pasts, He made a way for us to be forgiven and free. We never walk alone when we are in Christ.
God’s presence in our lives is a fact that we can experience and hold on to to help us to endure trials and to be empowered to be the people God created us to be.
Remember there is One who knows you like no other and who will never leave you or forsake you. God understands you and will walk with you through life.
So draw close to Him each day in prayer and thanksgiving to experience His love and understanding and to receive His joy and strength.
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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 Forgiving Others
Ephesians 4:31-32 (NASB)
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Today’s verses fall under the fifth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Forgiving Others.
5. Put away bitterness and anger; forgive as God forgives.
Today’s Bible verses instruct us to let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice to removed from our lives. As Christians, while we may have some righteous indignation toward the effects of sin in the world, we are not supposed to be “angry Christians”. The difficulty with realizing this Christian ideal is that the world and our daily lives can frustrate us. Sometimes knowing the peace of Christ can actually contribute to our anger when we become disappointed by the fact that other people don’t love the Lord and live according to His righteousness. With so much wrong in the world, we may feel it is our right to be angry or that we really want to let it go but don’t know how.
Fortunately, the Lord instructs us how we can remove this angry attitudes and actions from our lives. The following verse tells us the secret to being “kind and tender hearted” rather than being angry, bitter, and wrathful. To cure anger we are to forgive “each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” When we put our anger in perspective of the cross of Christ and the forgiveness we received, we can be tender-hearted and kind to those who sin against us because, like Jesus, we can realize they know not what they do and are suffering like we did before we knew God’s mercy, grace, and love. So put anger away, by forgiving others.
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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: 1 PETER 5
“The devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith.”
– 1 Peter 5:8-9
The apostle John writes, “This is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4). A little before this, he explains the world is: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). In other words, it is the internal foe, the external foe, and the infernal foe. And the victory which overcomes this trinity of evil is “The Faith.”
Faith touches the invisible; calls those things which are not as though they are; laughs at impossibilities and cries, “It shall be done.” Faith claims (all the power of a risen Christ); commands (the mountains of spiritual barriers to be removed and they are removed); and conquers (Heb. 11 – this is the victory, even your faith).
Lord, teach me to rely on the power of faith
for victory against evil.[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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