All Saint’s Day – A Special Relationship – Purity 1492
Purity 1492 11/01/2024 Purity 1492 Audio Podcast
Purity 1492 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Well, it is Friday, Thank God, and when I stop long enough to appreciate where the Lord has brought me since I answered His call on my life back in 2010 I can’t help but rejoice and am often moved to tears when I think about all He has done. He not only moved me out of the darkness of my past and gave me a new home – with a sweet view right out my front door, no less, but He has often given me so much more as I now have a purpose as I feel it is my mission in life to share His good news and to encourage others to find their freedom in Christ. I often tell my life coaching clients, recovery ministry attendees, and discipleship course participants that when the Lord sets you free, He does so for a reason – so that you can share what you have received.
One of the biggest gifts that the Lord has given me through my seeking Him is the realization that although I was “ just a sinner saved by grace”, after I put my faith in Jesus, he made me a “saint”, period. Dr. Neil Anderson explains that:
“Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who is forgiven and goes to heaven. A Christian, in terms of his or her deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transforms you into someone who didn’t exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn’t the point; it is who you are. It is not what you do as a Christian that determines who you are; it is who you are that determines what you do (see 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10; 1 John 3:1, 2).[1]
In Victory Over the Darkness, Anderson backs up this point by pointing to the Epistles of Paul, who greets the church – not as “sinners” but as “saints”. That is what we are, “saints” and it’s a title that we don’t have to earn. Anderson writes:
“Notice that Paul didn’t say we are saints by hard work. He clearly states we are saints by calling. The tendency of the church is to believe that saints are people who have earned their lofty title by living a magnificent life or by achieving a certain level of maturity. In the Bible, believers are described as “saints,” which means holy ones (e.g., Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1).
Being a saint does not necessarily reflect any present measure of growth in character, but it does identify those who are rightly related to God. In the King James Version of the Bible, believers are called “saints,” “holy ones” or “righteous ones” more than 240 times. In contrast, unbelievers are called “sinners” more than 330 times. Clearly, the term “saint” is used in Scripture to refer to the believer, and “sinner” is used in reference to the unbeliever.[2]”
So don’t be calling yourself a “sinner”! If that’s what you are doing, repent because if you put your faith in Jesus you are a saint, and it would be best for all of us if you start living like it.
In Christ, we have a special relationship with God that calls us to interact with Him on a regular basis through prayer, study, and just “walking and talking with God” in intimate conversations as we go through life.
Dr. David Jeremiah’s Turning Point devotion for today addresses this topic so I am sharing it on the blog to encourage us all to go deeper into our special relationship with God. Jeremiah writes:
“A Special Relationship
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.- Ephesians 1:17, NIV
Many people write their names in the front of their Bibles, but have you ever put your name in the middle of a Bible verse?
For example, with this verse you might pray: “Lord, I keep asking that You, the God of my Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give to me, ________ , the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that I may know Him better.”
You can also insert the name of a loved one!
This is a particularly powerful verse because God created us in His image with a capacity to know Him—and to know Him better and better. This sets us humans apart from the rest of God’s earthly creation. We can know the unfathomable, understand the incomprehensible, and worship the inscrutable—our glorious Father. Even children can sing His praises.
Let’s thank God for our special relationship with Him and ask Him for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know Him better.” – David Jeremiah
“Knowing God enables us, as believers, to display strength in times of stress and take action when the rest of the world seems to be immobile.” Kay Arthur
Praying “The Bible” and asking the Lord for revelation and wisdom can and should be one of the ways that our special relationship with God is expressed.
Putting our name into Bible verses in prayer like Jeremiah suggests strengthens our relationship with God as it expresses:
- Our desire to know His word.
- Our trust that God’s word is true.
- Our belief that God hears us.
- Our faith that God will give us the help we need when we ask for it.
- Our hope to know Him more and to be transformed into the people He created us to be.
- Our love for the One who has revealed Himself to us and saved us.
Praying the word puts us in the presence of the Lord because it declares – “I know your word is true and I know you are with me Lord – show me the way to go and give me what I need to do your will!”
That’s a relationship! And because God is faithful to bless those who seek Him, we can trust that the more we seek Him, the more He will reveal to us and more will understand our purpose in Him.
So pray the word by putting your name right in the middle of the precious promises of God and let your heart’s desire be to “make this true about me!”
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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 Friendships.
James 4:4 (NIV2011)
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Today’s verses are the first of two passages that fall under the ninth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Friendships.
9. Friendship with the world is hatred toward God.
Today’s Bible verse compels us to choose sides. Just as The Grateful Dead’s song 1970 “Friend of the Devil” proclaims that “A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine” – if we are a friend to the world, we are an enemy to God. That’s what His word says.
Jesus called Satan the ruler of this world and so we must be in the world but not of it. As born-again saints of the kingdom of God, we are to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength and see how dark the world system is. God is love and light and as His sons and daughters, we can’t divide our loyalty with the things of darkness and evil.
So we have to decide about who we will be friends with, who we will give worship to, and who we will serve. If we believe in God, we will follow Him and make the enemy of my friend, the world, my enemy, and work to cause those friends to the world to see the light and surrender to the love that we have found and make our enemies friends of God.
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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 13
“I saw a beast.” – Revelation 13:1
It is interesting to notice the trinity of evil as it is revealed in this chapter.
The beast of verse one, it seems, is the Antichrist. Notice, in verse three, he will appear as one who was slain but now risen. What a counterfeit!
In verse two, it appears the dragon here is the Anti-God. He will be vested with the power and authority of government – the power, moreover, to impart power. A counterfeit of God.
In verse 11, this beast (the False Prophet) will falsely represent the Holy Spirit.
Thus, the Devil will see to it in that day that his infernal trinity will unite together to resist the power, truth, and life of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What a grand day when He that will come shall come to destroy His foes!
O, for the day when I will witness
the victory of the true Trinity![3]
—————————more tomorrow————————
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Neil T. Anderson, Victory over the Darkness, ed. Virginia Woodard, Second Edition. (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2000), 46–47.
[2] Neil T. Anderson, Victory over the Darkness, ed. Virginia Woodard, Second Edition. (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2000), 48.
[3] 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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