The Burning Within – Sharing the Opportunity for Freedom through the Gospel- Purity 1533
Purity 1533 12/19/2024 Purity 1533 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of a river side wooden pathway leading to a canopy of lush green trees comes to us from Fred Dimmick who shared this scene on social media back on June 12th.
Well, it is Thursday and as always I share another pathway photo on Thursdays as a visual reminder or encouragement to get on or to stay on the path of Christian Discipleship, where every step is filled with meaning and purpose and leads us ever deeper in the God’s love, peace, and joy.
The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ has no revival when it comes to life transformation but to experience our freedom and victory in Christ requires more than raising your hand or nodding your head to put your faith in Jesus. Although saying “Yes” to Jesus as Lord and Savior is an absolutely necessary first step of faith to begin your journey to a new life of peace and joy, a daily decision to surrender to God’s will for your life and to keep following the Lord on a continual basis is “The Way” that all of Jesus’s disciples are called to discover. We receive the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in Jesus but we can easily “quench” the Spirit in us by refusing to repent and by living in the flesh after coming to faith. That’s why we have “stuck” and defeated Christians in our churches, because although they heard the gospel message and received it with joy but they have believed the lie that making a verbal profession of faith was all they needed to do and they could continue to live like they used to before coming to Christ. The word of God says something different. Jesus tells us to cut off our hands and pluck out our eyes rather than continuing to stay in our sins. He calls us to purity by raising the bar on adultery to include lustful thoughts. He calls us to pick our crosses (to die to ourselves) and to follow Him.
Many people know this intellectually but they pour cold water on the Holy Spirit’s fire within them because they are deceived into believing that “they will always struggle with this” or that freedom is meant for some but not them, or that living a Christian life is just too hard. Who the Son sets free, is free indeed – but just like our salvation – we have to “believe it to receive”. If we don’t believe God has changed us, we wont change. If we don’t trust God and live according to His world, we will wallow in sin or meander in mediocrity.
I know this to be true because I wallowed in my sin and was merely content to be a “sinner saved by grace” for the first few years after I was saved, but the Holy Spirit didn’t leave me alone, His fire burned within me to repent and to surrender and that has made all the difference. While not perfect and still a work in progress, I am free and live to share the message of the gospel and our freedom in Christ with anyone who will listen.
Speaking of sharing the gospel, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today touches on that topic, so we are sharing it on the blog today to remind us all of our responsibility to share the “good news” with others. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“Unashamed to Share the Gospel
We have a responsibility to share the gospel, but the outcome is in God’s hands.
The apostle Paul understood the awesome responsibility of being entrusted with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He considered this calling a stewardship for which he would one day give an account to the Lord, and he was willing to do anything—even suffer—for Christ’s sake. As believers, we have this same privilege to share the gospel with people God places in our life.
Paul felt compelled to tell others about Christ. In fact, he said, “Woe is me if I do not” (1 Corinthians 9:16). No matter how anyone treated him, he wasn’t ashamed of the message of Christ. The prophet Jeremiah had a similar experience (Jeremiah 20:7-9). He became a laughingstock and was persecuted for delivering God’s message of the coming judgment. Yet he discovered that not speaking created a far worse feeling in his heart—like fire shut up in his bones.
We are surrounded by people who are desperately hungry for something, and they don’t even know what. We have the answer—and the responsibility to share it. Never be ashamed of the best news ever offered to mankind. It’s the only thing that can change someone’s eternal destiny.” – Charles Stanely
Amen. My adult children are both struggling with feeling of depression, anxiety, and worries about the future.
Oh, how it pains my heart to know that while they were exposed to years of sound biblical preaching and seemed to make decisions for Christ in their youth, as adults they have chosen not to follow the Lord.
God gives us everything we need for life and godliness in Christ Jesus, but in order to experience the benefits of our new life in Christ we must choose to have an active faith – one in which we follow the Lord with the way we live our life.
Stanley says we are surrounded by people who desperately need the gospel and I can relate to the Apostle Paul and prophet Jeremiah because I too feel a burning in my soul to tell others of the wonders of God’s love and the joy that comes from surrendering to His will for our lives.
We have been a priceless gift and although we can’t make others take it from us, we must offer it and live our lives in a way that shares it.
So rejoice over your salvation – we have been rescued and set free! – but don’t be shy or afraid to tell others about the Answer to all life’s questions. Be bold to tell others about Jesus and the new life He has for them.
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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 Hope.
Psalm 146:5–6 (NASB) How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever.
Today’s verses fall under the seventh point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Hope.
7. Put your hope in a faithful and almighty God.
Today’s Bible verses remind us that those who hope in God and who rely on Him for help are blessed! The God of all creation is available and willing to help us and when we put our faith in Jesus, we receive His help. We are forgiven and given a new life in Jesus and when we follow our confession of faith with obedience, we can experience God’s continual presence, hope, and help in our lives and we too like the psalmist can joyfully proclaim who blessed we are!
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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 “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 32
Let him turn away from evil and let him do good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it. – 1 Peter 3:11
There are many ways that people walk. Their walks are often quite diverse. Some limp along, some walk at a sprightly gait, and others stroll. Turning from the pursuit of evil does not mean resting on your laurels. Rather, it should turn you into a hunter. As a result, your style of walking must change. The hunter walks purposefully. He is seeking something; indeed “pursuing” it. He is not satisfied until he finds his prey and takes it. Nor should the Christian who is called to hunt down good. He must follow its tracks wherever they may take him. Hunting well involves effort, skill, patience, and determination. Hunters often spend hours in pursuit of the animal they seek. For a true hunter there’s is an indefatigable spirit about him. He will not cease until he attains his goal. Do you seek to do good that way? If not, you must acquire the spirit of the hunter. Peter mentions one good that you may begin pursuing: peace. How good it is for Christians to live in a state of shalom with one another. So, go hunting![1]
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 40.
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