Courage to Evangelize and to Walk in the Spirit – Purity 1571
Purity 1571 02/01/2025 Purity 1571 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of the Maid of the Mist underneath a Niagara Falls Mist generated rainbow comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene back on July 7, 2016,
Well, its Saturday and even though I have to work today, I am thankful for my faith in Jesus because not only does my relationship with God give me the hope of heaven, but it also gives me the hope for each new day.
Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us that God’s steadfast love never ceases, his mercies never end, and they are new every morning because of HIS faithfulness. While we may be all over the map in terms of our moods and our ability to be consistent in the things we intend to do, God can be counted on to be there for us and to help us each new day and His presence can empower us to be bold and courageous in our faith life.
Today’s photo is a blast from the past! In July of 2016, I was only a few months over a year of being clean and sober from alcohol and drugs and was on relatively shaky ground regarding my confirmed freedom in Christ. I had a steadfast commitment to stay sober, but I knew then what I know now, God was the One who saved me and set me free, and it was only because of Him that I could live a new life.
The miracle of God’s mercy and grace has done wonders in my life since He saved me, and He has given me the courage to change my life and to encourage others to follow Him. I was thinking about my faith walk yesterday and I remembered that back in the early days of my salvation and after I went into recovery, I was really on fire for the Lord and would distribute Bible -gospel tracts to encourage others to come to Jesus. I would leave tracts in random places and ask the Lord to use them for His glory. I don’t know if any of those tracts bore fruit for God’s kingdom but when I thought about it, I was convicted about not doing that anymore.
Bible tract distribution is perhaps the easiest way to share the gospel and yesterday I decided to open up some boxes in storage to retrieve the tracts I had left over to be equipped to share my faith with random placements or to encourage others in conversation. So, I am going to try to be more intentional about sharing my faith beyond what I do already because that is our great commission, and the good news is too good not to be shared. Sharing your faith can be nerve wracking but God will give us the courage to do so if we ask Him for strength.
Speaking of courage, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today speaks on the topic so I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us all to be bold and courageous. Charles Stanley writes:
“The Power of Courage
Choose to trust God and face your challenges with courage.
What do the following people have in common: Joshua, the Israelite leader; Daniel, the visionary; Jesus’ disciples; and the apostle Paul? For one thing, they were all dedicated followers of God. But in addition to that, they all needed great courage.
For example, Joshua was called to lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land. Perhaps he thought, Who am I to follow in Moses’ footsteps? or What if the people don’t support my leadership? God spoke reassuringly to him three times, telling him to be strong and courageous. Joshua responded with faith and based his bravery on two precious assurances:
1. God travels with us. The Lord pledged to be with the Israelites in the new land. He makes a similar promise to us and, in fact, travels with us in a far more intimate way—through His indwelling Spirit (John 14:16-17).
2. God goes before us. The Lord promised to take care of the enemy before the Israelites arrived. They still faced battles, but He assured them of victory if they obeyed. Jesus has already won the spiritual battle through His death on the cross. Our redemption has been secured and our place in God’s family established.
Ask God to help you trust in these two promises and to face each day with courage.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. The two precious promises that Stanley highlights are the basis for a life walking in the Spirit.
Deciding to live as a Christian is about as counter intuitive as you can get these days. Choosing to stand up and boldly proclaim that you are a Christian and that you are dedicating your life to share and live by your faith will NOT win you any popularity contests.
The Christian principles regarding creation, moral and sexual ethics, the exclusivity of Jesus to save, and the belief in hell are all highly objectionable and reviled by modern society. Standing for God’s truth isn’t considered to be “very nice”, and Jesus warned his disciples that the world would hate and persecute His followers.
So, we really have to have courage to follow Jesus, but the good news is that God doesn’t leaves us to walk in faith by ourselves.
Not only does God give us the body of Christ to help us, but He also offers to be with us and to go before us too!
His continuous presence in our lives gives us something to lean on, to stand on, and to give us the strength to live for Him. God is with us, and He will help us!
And as much as His enduring presence helps us, God doesn’t stop there.
As the creator and shaper of the universe, God also goes before us. He sovereignly ordains future events and that includes the future days of our lives. He goes before us to create our path through life and is waiting for us to see Him in eternity. All our days are set up by Him, and with that knowledge, we can be bold and courageous as we walk through life.
God has us today and tomorrow so be brave and show the world that God has not given you a spirit of fear. He has given you a courageous spirit and you can live in the confidence of knowing that God is with you.
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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 Humility (Pride).
Philippians 3:12–14 (ESV) Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Today’s verses are the third of three passages of scripture that fall under the twenty-first point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Humility (Pride).
21. The apostle Paul, a mature Christian, highly gifted, and successful in his calling, remained humble, setting an example for all of us to emulate.
Today’s Bible verses give us the forward orientation of our faith life and highlights the humility that comes from seeking to do God’s will for our lives.
The Apostle Paul had done a lot for God’s kingdom at this point in His life’s journey. He had evangelized and established churches unlike anyone else in the early church, but He refuses to rest on his laurels of past accomplishments or as his status as an apostle. As much as he could have been proud of his accomplishments, he doesn’t consider his past work to be something that has given him an elevated status of perfection but instead looks forward to what else He can do to serve God’s kingdom.
So let Paul’s humility inspire us to continue in our faith. We may have a lot to be proud of since Christ welcomed us into His kingdom but let’s not spend too much time looking back and instead look for “what’s next” for our upward call of God for our lives.
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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 70
… but the deceit of hypocrites destroys them. – Proverbs 11:3b
This second half of the proverb explains how it is that hypocrites end up in trouble. They become so good at deceiving others that they soon believe their own deceitful lies. Even after others find out that they are but insincere actors, they may still go on believing their own hypocritical ways. There is no one that we believe so readily as we believe ourselves. You had better be sure, then, that what you say represents reality and not some form of drama in which you are caught up. To be destroyed is a strong term. It means to be shattered, unable to respond to trouble, smashed, undone. A dozen other such words could be added to that list, but they are all so terrible that it is only wise to stop defining and begin to become the genuine person that God looks upon with favor so as to avoid destruction. Recognize the hypocrisy within you and put it away forever. It is a tragedy to do otherwise.[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 78.
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