Giving Our Burdens to the Lord – The Attitude of a Believer – Purity 1663
Purity 1663 05/20/2025 Purity 1663 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of a parking lot and a single SUV being bathed in the glory of the light of a blazing sunset on the horizon comes to us from yours truly as I stopped to capture this spectacle on an otherwise unremarkable day, from the parking lot of Walmart, in Hudson NY back on August 19, 2021. My spotty recollections and the evidence of the puddles and moisture on the parking lot’s asphalt indicates I may have been moved to capture the sunset because it rained that day and the sun was a reminder that even though the day was filled with gloomy precipitation, the light was still shining even though it wasn’t visible in all it’s glory.
Well, it’s Tuesday, and while most of our days may seem to be unremarkable as they fade into the past as just another day of doing life, the good news is that no matter how significant the events of our daily lives may be, all of them can marked by the times that we spend in God’s presence because He is faithful to always be available to us, no matter what is going on in our lives or regardless of how the weather is. God’s glory shines in the darkness each and every new day and He is there for us to give us the peace of His presence.
While most of my work week days can seem pretty unremarkable in terms of the fact that I am just trying to complete the tasks that come before me to the best of my abilities, I don’t live exclusively in their day to day status quo mundanity because I spend my life “walking in the Spirit”. While I go about my day installing services or trying to fix what is broken, I am “walking and talking with God” moment to moment and whenever there is “spare time” between tasks, I try to fill it with drawing close to the Lord through podcast, audiobooks, reading Chrisitan materials, or simply by examining my life in the presence of God. Yesterday, may fade from my memory in the future but while I can still remember I would like to confess that, in retrospect, it was a truly awesome day at work, and an awesome day in God’s kingdom as the work activities of the day and my attempts to take carry of “spiritual matters” seemed to be perfectly balanced and resulted in somewhat of a breakthrough.
Not only was I able to successfully complete all my work assignments, but I was also able to use the spare “in between” time to prepare for last night’s teaching of the final installment of the Grace Course and to be prepared for tonight’s study of Paul David Tripp’s book, “Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs to Make” at my local church. If that wasn’t enough, I also had the time and decided to pray through “The Steps to Experiencing God’s Grace” to do an impromptu periodic spiritual housecleaning on my lunch hour. And boy, did I need it!
As a prayer minister that utilizes the Steps to Freedom Christ on a regular basis personally and for others, my view of the Steps to Experiencing God’s Grace (from FICM’s The Grace Course) has always been that it was useful but not as effective or robust as the Steps to Freedom in Christ. However, it had been a while since I had gone through them and the latest edition released has made some modification to the process that I found to be significant. As I went through the prayers and declarations, I felt the Lord’s presence and comfort as I became spiritually cleansed and realigned with the truth about God and who I am in Christ. The section forgiveness allowed me to forgive from the heart and to release pent up stress from offenses I had suffered. But the most significant part of the Steps to Experiencing God’s Grace came in the sections on fear and anxiety, which I didn’t think would an issue at all. But as I read through the prayers and allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal the areas of my life where fear and anxiety were hiding, I was amazed at how much there was to confess and even more amazed at the spiritual weight that was lifted from my soul after completing the process! I real spiritual burden seemed to be lifted as I did business with the Lord and I realized that going through the Steps was no fluke of happenstance, it was another gift of God’s grace in my life. I feel set free in another way, and I am humbled by how the Lord continually comes to take away my burdens and lead me in newness of life.
Speaking of humility and having a proper respect of what God can do, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today speaks about the attitude of the believer and I am sharing it on the blog to point us all to remembering what the Lord has done and is doing in our lives and to let it set our minds and hearts on Him. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“The Attitude of a Believer
Are you still thankful for the amazing grace of God in your life?
1 Corinthians 15:9-11
The apostle Paul had a certain mindset that Christians would be wise to emulate (1 Corinthians 11:1). In him, we see an attitude of …
- Humility. Pride cannot hide in the heart of a believer who understands divine mercy. Paul believed the grace that was sufficient to save a sinner like him was adequate for anyone.
- Indebtedness. The apostle never lost sight of how far the Father’s grace had brought him. Paul frequently reminded followers of his role in persecuting the church (1 Timothy 1:13), and his gratitude for salvation never waned.
- Dependence. To describe the source of his strength, Paul said: “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). He knew what it was like to depend upon one’s own goodness and work to be religious—and he wanted no part of it. Paul desired more of Jesus Christ and less of himself (Philippians 3:8).
- Conviction. At the end of his life, Paul was as confident that God was worthy of all honor, glory, and praise as he was right after his initial encounter with Jesus. (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
Do you see these attitudes in yourself? Praise God for all He’s done for you and allow His grace to be poured out on your life in ever-greater ways.” – Charles Stanely
Amen. Although the Lord has helped me to enjoy victories and freedoms that I would have never thought possible before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, I am still a work in progress and am often humbled by my lack of understanding or discipline to take on my remaining struggles. When I say an unkind word, think unrighteous thoughts, catch myself indulging in the flesh for my comfort, or start to despair over the circumstances in my life that are troubling, I am reminded that I desperately need the Lord to help me EVERY DAY.
Although you would think these failures and admission of my need for God’s grace would upset me and bring me further into despair, thanks be to God, the opposite is true. Instead of feeling the pain of my inadequacies, I go to the comfort of the One who saved me and continues to save me from myself.
I go to the Lord and pray and thank Him for saving me and walking me out of the darkness of my former life and then I give Him all the burdens that I am carrying today. I give Him my bitterness, my anger, my fears and my anxieties. He takes them and I literally feel the weight lifted from my soul because He takes them away by reminding me that I’m not in this thing alone anymore.
So yes, as we walk with the Lord, and continue to lean on Him for help, our attitudes will be one humility, indebtedness, and dependence because we will recognize the depths of our former depravity and how the Lord has guided us further into His way of peace and righteousness.
We will also have deep conviction in our hearts that God’s way is the right way – really the only way – to live our lives. His love for us has been demonstrated time and time again and we are blessed by his faithfulness to be with us and for us always.
So, don’t try to put on these attributes of attitude to “be more Christian” – simply remember what has done and what He is still doing in your life and these attitudes will naturally flow.
Our recognition of our need for God gives us His peace, love, and strength. So rejoice that God is with you and walk humbly before Him, praising His name forevermore.
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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 verse comes from the section on Marriage, Husband/Wife Relationships.
2 Samuel 18:33 (ESV) (David never lost his love for his son Absalom, who tried to kill him. When he learned of his death, he wept.) And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
Today’s verse falls under the nineteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Marriage, Husband/Wife Relationships.
19. Keep loving those who are wayward
Today’s Bible verse kicks me in the teeth, because I have a wayward son and the distance in our relationship is a source of pain for me.
But even though we are separated physically and relationally, I still love my son and continually bring Him before the Lord in my prayers. Part of yesterday’s breakthrough was letting go of my fears and expectations regarding my son but just because I was able to release of the burden I am feeling in this relationship it doesn’t mean that I am going to stop loving my son or to stop praying for him and his well-being.
As Christians, we are to be known for our love for one another even if it difficult. So whether your wayward one is a prodigal child, your spouse, or someone else you care about, let me encourage you to cast your fear and anxieties about them on to the Lord and to continue to show love for them however you can. Pray for the wayward one and let them know that they are still loved by you and by their Heavenly Father above.
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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 162
But He turned and rebuked them. – Luke 9:55
Again, we see the disciples acting contrary to their Lord’s will. Unfortunately, this was an all-too-common problem. Indeed, they were so far out of sync that He had to rebuke them for their attitude. If they couldn’t cast out the demon, how did they expect to “command fire to fall from heaven” (v. 54)? Moreover, they were incensed at the fact that some Samaritans were not willing to associate with the Lord because He was going to Jerusalem (the Jews and the Samaritans had a continuing feud with one another). The prejudice shown by the Samaritans was being reiterated by the disciples! Why were they so fired up about the Samaritans when they were acting exactly like them? How that is so like us! Here the disciples were all fired up about exercising their vaunted power when the Lord had His face set toward the cross. They just didn’t get it! Do you? Here it is—Jesus is the One Who counts. Our concerns must always take a back seat to His. Additionally, we must never proudly assert ourselves as these men did. They were insensitive and power-hungry![1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 170.
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