Supporting One Another & Receiving God’s Guidance – Purity 1659
Purity 1659 05/15/2025 Purity 1659 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of a sidewalk pathway obscured by a large stone monument declaring God’s Ten Commandments comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene while on a flood damage relief mission trip at Victory Chrisitan Academy & Victory Harvest Church, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana back on February 19th, 2017.
Well It’s Thursday and I share this obscured pathway photo that features God’s Commandments for living as a visual encouragement, or reminder, to get on or to stay on the pathway of Christian discipleship, where walking the straight and narrow should always be more than following a set of rules. Properly understood, Christianity is all about relationships – our relationship with God and how that relationship impacts our relationship with others.
Last night, I was blessed to lead the Celebrate Freedom Support Group at Starpoint Church where I was again reminded of the importance of our relationships with others in the body of Christ when we finally come to the realization that we need to get right with God and do things His way.
When we put our faith in Christ, we are never alone anymore. From the day we make Jesus our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is with us were ever we go but if we don’t follow His leading to get connected with a local church and step out in faith to make meaningful Christian friendships, we could easily miss out on the abundant life that God wants us to experience.
For instance, at Celebrate Freedom, we share our lives together. As part of our meeting, every person in attendance “checks in” where they share how they have been doing in the past week, one thing they are thankful for, and one thing they are looking forward to. During the check-in, participants are given the opportunity to share the joy or the hardships they are experiencing, so they can be heard and be encouraged to keep going. Last night one of our participants shared some problems they had to face this week that were painful and that didn’t have any easy solutions. This person admitted that the problems they were facing previously would have caused them to lose hope and to act out in toxic or destructive ways, but they stated that because of the encouragement they got by attending our group, they were able to not react in the ways that they used to, that they instead could calm themselves, ask the Lord for help, and to overcome their previous patterns. They stated only a short time ago; they would never have been able to do this. This person’s story testifies of how our relationship with God and with one another in Christian community can give us the help, guidance, and support we need to be healed and set free.
We need God and the truth of His word, but we also need one another in the body of Christ to support us as we seek to follow the Lord’s guidance.
Speaking of God’s guidance, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today tells us how to receive God’s guidance, so I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us not to only rely on others to help and support us but to do what the Lord would have us to do receive and follow His guidance. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“How to Receive God’s Guidance
Are you ready to hear from the Lord?
For life’s countless decisions, it’s important to seek guidance from our all-knowing and all-wise God. Here are three steps for us to remember:
- Cleansing. We ask the Lord to reveal any sin that might interfere with what He wants to tell us, and then we confess it. He has promised to forgive when we do (Psalm 66:18;1 John 1:9).
- Surrender. Our Father won’t share His plans for our life until we are committed to following Him no matter what. Scripture says the Lord hears and grants our petitions when they align with His will (1 John 5:14-15). As we yield ourselves to Him, we’ll find the way to the right request and the best possible answer.
- Meditation. Since God often leads believers to an answer through His Word, we must spend time in it. Our reading may take us to a chapter that deals with our very situation or to a passage containing an applicable principle. The key is to believe the Lord is guiding and then to act in faith (Mark 11:24).
God wants us to keep in mind that waiting is important—the process of seeking guidance can be slow, and running ahead or manipulating circumstances could lead to a costly mistake. But He will act on behalf of those who wait for Him (Isaiah 64:4). So, seek direction and you’ll receive it. That’s a promise.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. When we want to be guided by the Lord, we have to meet Him halfway. We have to submit to God to have victory over the enemy and to live a victorious life. Beyond just praying for deliverance from all our troubles, we have to do our part – to meet our responsibilities – as disciples of Jesus Christ.
We need to be cleansed of our sins – through seeking God’s forgiveness and repentance. We need to decide to change our lifestyle – to surrender to God’s will for our lives – the pathway of sanctification and righteousness – the pathway of Christian discipleship. And we have to be serious about making meditating on God’s word a regular part of our day. If we want God’s guidance, we have to seek it and follow where He leads. It may not be the easiest path through life, but it is the one that leads to peace, love, 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. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Marriage, Husband/Wife Relationships.
Galatians 5:15 (NKJV) But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Today’s verses fall under the sixteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Marriage, Husband/Wife Relationships.
16. Husbands and wives must not fight and destroy each other.
Today’s Bible verse uses pretty graphic terms to describe the discord that we can experience when we fail to love our neighbors as ourselves. How much more will we suffer when we have an adversarial relationship with those we have vowed to love, honor, cherish, and obey?
The Bickersons was an old radio show that featured a married couple who “spent nearly all their time together in a relentless verbal war” for comedic effect but there is nothing funny about being in a contentious marriage. God calls us to forgive and love one another so we if are fighting with the one who is supposed to be the nearest and dearest to us, we need to repent and seek help for God and others to help us to stop “devouring one another”.
If you are in a bad relationship, seek the help of a pastor of Christian marriage counselor to be reconciled to one another and to find the peace that God wants you to live in. We all need God’s guidance, and we especially need to apply it to our marriages when they become contentious.
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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 158
Don’t be afraid; only believe and she will be healed. – Luke 8:50
The synagogue ruler’s daughter was raised from the dead by Jesus through faith. The same was true of you when you exercised faith. Your faith did not redeem you. There is no virtue in faith; it has no power to redeem. It did not raise you from spiritual death to spiritual life. As here, Jesus is the One Who raised you to newness of life. You believed that He would do so, and trusted in His death and resurrection from the dead. Then, as you exercised this faith, you were raised. But—and never forget this—even the faith you exhibited was a gift from God. “By grace you have been saved through faith and this is not from you (it is the gift of God), nor is it from works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). So, at no point, may you ever be able to rightly say that you raised yourself from death to life. Your faith is but the means that enabled you to receive Jesus as your crucified Savior. He saved you by His death and resurrection. That is the prerogative of Him alone.[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 166.
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