Beyond Fear, Resistance, & Doubt – What Hinders Us – Purity 1670
Purity 1670 05/29/2025 Purity 1670 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo a canopy covered stone pathway surrounded by a host of horticultural beauties comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene while walking the grounds of the Hotel Real Plaza in Antigua, Guatemala back on July 18th, 2019.
Well, it’s Thursday and I share this pathway photo as a visual reminder or encouragement to get on or to stay on the pathway of Christian Discipleship where you will boldly go where you never thought you would go, as the Lord directs your steps. Before coming to faith in Jesus, I never would have considered taking a summer vacation mission trip to work at an orphanage and in the bush country of the mountains of Guatemala to build a church, but when you walk in the Spirit the Lord will direct your steps is ways that will give Him glory and that will cause us to grow into the people that God made us to be.
One hindrance to our finding our purpose and peace in Christ is fear. When I have “heard the call” to go on mission trips, I had to let go of the fear of going abroad and the uncertainties of a brand new experience to accept what God had planned for me. The good works I did, the messages I received, and things I experienced on my short term mission field experience would never come to pass if I didn’t let go of my fear and trust in the Lord to protect and guide me.
Similarly, the road to recovery can be a scary place to go to and last night at the Celebrate Freedom Support Group meeting, I was reminded about how we can be our own worst enemies when we let sin, doubt, fear, and a sense of unworthiness keep us from receiving the good that God has for us.
One of our participants returned to our group meeting this week after an extended absence because of the busyness of their schedule but they testified that even though they had the time to come to our meeting last night, they still struggled with inner resistance before they walked through the door. They stated that they knew that they could benefit from the support, teaching, and encouragement from our group but something in them almost kept them from coming. With that admission made, they stated how thankful that they were that decided to get past whatever was hindering them from coming because they needed to hear what was being taught and spoken about. The lesson was on gratitude but we even hadn’t gotten to it yet before this person stated how they believed that God was speaking through everyone one in the group to encourage them to actually practice what we were talking about – to actually live by faith and to do the spiritual things we were talking about to draw closer to God and to live out His plan for their lives. They were filled with the hope that comes from moving past our resistance to accept what God has for us.
Speaking of getting past our resistance and those things that hinder our walk with God, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion from Tuesday, addressed this topic so I am sharing it on the blog today to inform us of the things that may be holding us back. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“What Hinders Us
Because God is wise and all-knowing, you can place complete confidence in His plan for your life
Hebrews 12:1-3
Because God has complete knowledge and wisdom (Romans 11:33), He knows exactly how each of His children is to live. In our human, finite understanding, however, we sometimes struggle to figure it out.
Consider these five common obstacles:
- Doubt is one reason we might miss what God has planned for our life—we wonder whether He is really interested in our problems and question His plan.
- A sense of unworthiness can also hamper us. If we feel undeserving, we might refuse to trust God and His plan for us.
- Busyness often leads to drifting. Because we’re tied up in other things, we stop asking what God wants for us.
- Fear clouds our judgment and hinders our ability to understand and follow His plan.
- Willful sin—such as persisting in thoughts or actions even when we know they’re wrong—prevents us from living in the center of God’s purposes.
Replace these five hindrances with the truth: The cross of Christ reveals both God’s trustworthiness and our value in His eyes. It establishes Jesus’ importance and emphasizes the perfection of God’s plans for our life.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. There are at least two problems with believing the “good news” of Christ and the life God wants us to live. The first problem is believing that it is true and the second problem is believing it true about us.
The best apologists can provide more than enough evidence for the existence of God and the truth of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
But because of doubt, we must still choose to believe that evidence is true and confirms the gospel and its implications. Many, praise God, see the truth and put their faith in Jesus and are saved.
But many of these fortunate souls still struggle with the second problem – believing the good news is true about them.
You would think that after agreeing with the truth of God, Jesus, life and death that it wouldn’t be much more of a stretch that we would reap the benefits of the truth by going one step further to accept that all of this truth extends to include us personally, in every aspect of our lives, but sadly that is not always the case.
We can believe we have eternal life but we doubt or hinder ourselves from believing we are new creations that are given all we need to live good, righteous, and holy lives.
Our doubt, sense of unworthiness, busyness, fear, and willful sin keep us from experiencing the life of peace and joy that is our inheritance.
Stanley points to the cross to establish God’s trustworthiness and our value in His eyes. So, remember the good news. The Cross. Jesus – His life, death, and resurrection. These things tell us that God is love and that His love is for us – to save us for eternity and to save us from these hindrances that keep us from the abundant life He has for us.
So, accept the good news about you and let go of all these hindrances to that separate you from the fullness of God’s love and the new life He has given 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. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Mixed Marriages.
Ezra 9:1–15
Ezra 9:1–2 (NASB) The princes approached me [Ezra], saying, “The people of Israel … have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.”
Today’s verses fall under the sixth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Mixed Marriages.
6. In Ezra’s time many did intermarry. This led to much sin, and Ezra confessed the guilt of God’s people.
Today’s Bible verses speak of the sad truth that even after God has given his people abundant mercy and grace, they can still choose to sin against Him and one of the biggest betrayals of our faith is demonstrated when believers intermingle and marry unbelievers. As our verse states it is the “foremost in unfaithfulness”.
So as much as it may pain us to realize that those “nice people” in different religions are a snare and a trap to our relationship with God, we need to respect God enough to evangelize but not intermingle with or marry those who wittingly or unwittingly reject Jesus and the One true trinitarian God.
In Ezra’s time, the people were confronted with their sins and many them did the right thing and separated themselves from their nonbelieving spouses to receive forgiveness but not without much heart ache, devastation, and pain.
While we can always repent, let’s be protective of our hearts and say no to the pain of an unequally yoked marriage.
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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 169
Of course it was a wonderful thing to see demons subject to the power of Christ. His words should not be taken to mean otherwise. But that fact paled into insignificance when compared to the wonder of eternal life. The subjection of the power and authority of darkness was good; the power and authority of heaven exalted—that was even better! The former is negative; the latter, positive. As we read of the mighty works of God in Scripture, and as we see His power written large upon the pages of history, we rejoice with the seventy. But as we contemplate the marvelous fact that our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, we rejoice more abundantly! That the power of the cross made this possible is what really counts. My alma mater recently did a checkup on the names and addresses of its graduates. It was interesting to note how many details needed correcting. Men err; God does not. His promise that your name is enrolled in heaven holds![1]
Rejoice that your names have been enrolled in the heavens. – Luke 10:20
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 177.
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