“Grace for the Holidays” Launch & The Miracle of Grace – Purity 1484
Purity 1484 10/23/2024 Purity 1484 Audio Podcast
Purity 1484 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Matt and Katt married in March 2016 at a small gathering of family but celebrated their nuptials at a scenic local with a multitude of friends in November, proving that it’s never too late to celebrate a good thing.
Well, It’s Wednesday and I dove back into the photo archive of my I phone to find a photo to visually represent our arrival at another “hump day” and was pleasantly reminded of my brother’s wedding reception and the stunning area where it took place. Hudson Highland State Park remains unexplored territory for me but maybe will plan a trip there now to mark the passage of time and to appreciate another piece of God’s creation. It’s never too late to celebrate good things or to circle back to take a second look at the places we visited briefly.
Speaking of good things, I continually experience the joy of my salvation and the grace of God. As I seek to walk in the Spirit daily and make progress in the area of sanctification, I may be challenged or disappointed in my lack of progress at times but whenever I worry about living a life that gives God glory I just have to remember where I was before I came to faith in Jesus and realize the God performed a miracle in my life on the day He saved me and that miracle work that begun in 2010 continues to move in and through me. By the grace of God, I now live with peace, joy, and freedom. God’s grace has transformed my life and I never tire of encouraging others to let God do for them what He did for me.
I spoke yesterday of toying with the idea of doing holiday-themed teaching on Grace – using the principles that I have learned from Freedom in Christ’s The Grace Course ( authored by Steve Goss, Rich Miller, and Jude Graham’s) as a framework, and how the Holy Spirit seemed to be compelling me to do it as a “group coaching event”. Yesterday afternoon, I stepped out in faith and launched the “Group Coaching Events” Page (https://mt4christ.com/group-coaching-events/) on mt4christ.com to invite people to register for “Grace for the Holidays” which will be a 6 week – teaching/discussion group where the participants will learn about the Grace of God and be encouraged to lean on God’s grace to utilize faithful strategies to implement good spiritual and mental health practices throughout the upcoming holiday season. The course is being launched as a part of my Christian Life Coaching Services and is intended to provide teaching and support during the holiday season, right up to Christmas, to help all of us to experience the holidays with peace and joy and a deep appreciation for the Lord.
I pray that “Grace for the Holidays” will be just another good thing to celebrate that has come from the miracle of grace that has happened and continues to happen in my life.
Speaking of the Miracle of Grace, yesterday’s In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional spoke about the Miracle of Grace and I am sharing it on the blog today because its never to late to celebrate a good thing and Stanley’s message can help us to celebrate God’s grace. Dr. Charles Staley writes:
“The Miracle of Grace
At salvation, we become a member of God’s family and receive eternal life, freedom, and love.
Paul wrote and spoke extensively about grace—God’s favor given to the undeserving. The apostle knew firsthand the freedom that Christ gives. He described himself as the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) because he persecuted many believers prior to his conversion.
Once we accept Christ’s death on our behalf, we’re reconciled to God, and sin’s power over us is broken. The Holy Spirit indwells us, and we become spiritually alive. We’re given a new family and purpose for living. Scripture likens our conversion experience to receiving a heart transplant (Ezekiel 36:26), changing citizenship (Philippians 3:20), and moving from darkness to the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13).
Our Father’s desire and will is that we relate to Him on the basis of grace alone (Ephesians 2:8). Just as we needed to rely on Christ’s gift for salvation, we are to live a life of dependence upon Him. It’s our faith, expressed through obedience, that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).
Grace is the most powerful, life-changing force in the world. God the Father freely offers His unconditional love to whoever receives His Son. At salvation, our life is placed upon the immovable Rock—Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4)—whose favor is extended to us.” – Charles Stanley
As much as I encourage others to get on the path of Christian Discipleship, the best I can hope for is that the Lord will use my words as a conduit to His grace, that something I say will be used by the Lord to trigger others to “seek the Lord”.
That’s my hope and that’s my message “seek the Lord” because I know if you seek Him you will find Him and discover the miracle of grace – the miracle of God’s love, favor, acceptance, and forgiveness being freely given to an otherwise undeserving sinner!
We don’t earn it. We don’t have to clean ourselves up to get it. God’s grace comes via the Holy Spirit and His Living Word (Jesus) and it seems to be received when we are finally ready to stop running from God and admit that we can’t save ourselves.
The miracle of grace come to us and we should rejoice continually and allow it to empower us to become more like Jesus and to be conduits through which grace can go forth to others and God’s kingdom can expand.
So enjoy the grace of God and never lose sight of the fact that whether we are walking in righteousness or stumbling in sin, God has saved us by His grace and it will be through His grace that we can live in peace, freedom, victory, and joy!
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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 verse comes from the section on Friendships.
Proverbs 14:7 (NIV2011)
7 Stay away from a fool, for you will not find knowledge on their lips.
Today’s verse falls under the fourth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Friendships.
4. Stay away from a foolish man.
Today’s Bible verse gives the simple advice to stay away from a fool because we will not find knowledge from their words.
One of George Carlin’s comedy albums was called “Occupation: Foole” and Carlin was circumspect in examining how the job of comedians evolved from courtroom jesters, entertainers, and just plain old mentally deficient imbeciles. Carlin was one of my favorite comedians as a kid and as an adult before coming to Christ but even though he seemed rather insightful about certain aspects of life in a final summation of his collected wisdom, I have to deem that not a lot of truly meaningful knowledge flowed from his lips. “Although born into a Catholic family, Carlin was outspoken in his rejection of religion in all forms, frequently criticizing and mocking it in his comedy routines. When asked if he believed in God, he responded, “No.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Carlin#:~:text=Although%20born%20into%20a%20Catholic,%2C%20he%20responded%2C%20%22No.)
Psalm 14:1 (NKJV) tells us – The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
Comedians deal in the absurd or seek to help you see life from a different perspective that is humorous but when they reject the Lord, they prove they are fools and although a laugh may do us some good, worldly or irreligious comedians are probably just best to be ignored as foolish.
I sold all my comedy cassette tapes to a neighbor as a bargain when I was fourteen and little did I know it at the time but that was pretty wise as the foolish and childish things of this world are best to be put away as we seek the joy and peace that comes from knowing the Lord and His wisdom.
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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: REVELATION 5
“The Lion … has prevailed.” – Revelation 5:5
John says, “I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it” (v. 4). And well might he weep, for the solution to the universal problem lay in the unsealing of this book.
But John records, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah … has prevailed.” He prevailed when He fought and won that greatest of all battles at the Cross of Calvary.
On the basis of that same victory, all books, all seals can now be opened. Books and seals of problems in my life present no problem now to Him, for He has prevailed.
O Lord, teach me how to appropriate the
fruits of Your death in everyday 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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