You Only Live Once – No Regrets, No Condemnation – Purity 1715
Purity 1715 07/21/2025 Purity 1715 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of an absolutely hug sun setting on the horizon of what I believe to be the Atlantic Ocean, and an unknown beach comes to us from an unknown FB friend who shared this view of “paradise” on social media back on April 22nd, 2022. If this memory is yours, let me know and I will photo=credit you on the blog after the fact.
Well, it’s Monday and after a weekend of indulging the flesh with too much food and too much spending (going on a cruise in December), I am navigating the murky waters of regret and rationalization and trying to avoid the trap of condemnation and readying myself for another work week.
Weekends are a tough time to maintain one’s discipline and for me they are especially tough when I have social engagements to attend. Even though I hold myself fully responsible for the choices I make, I struggle to maintain my intentions to stay within the safe confines of my food plan at social gatherings. There is something about the mixture of the celebratory atmosphere, the abundance of food available, and my feelings of social anxiety that come together at a party that creates the perfect storm of failure when it comes to maintaining my self-control. Not only am I tempted to eat by the presence of the food and the call for celebratory feasting, but I also use eating as a coping mechanism for feelings of unease during awkward social interactions. As much as I have been set free of a lot of my problems of the past, I still struggle to be able to be at peace in social gatherings and will turn to food to comfort myself or just to give myself something to do as I don’t know what to say or to do with myself.
In truth, I was able to enjoy myself at my stepdaughter’s graduation party Saturday but whenever there was a lull in the conversation, I found myself going to the desert table to eat. But that was then, and this is now, and I will have to do my best to learn from my mistakes and deal with the consequences of giving into the flesh.
Speaking of giving into the flesh, I also decided over the weekend to book an Inspiration Travel David Jeremiah cruise to the Caribbean for my wife and I to end our Christmas vacation and to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary in style. I have always wanted to go on one of David Jeremiah’s cruises and in light of the death of John MacArthur and Jeremiah’s advanced age, something in me told me not to hesitate and to book it right away. I have some savings that will cover a portion of the trip but will definitely have to be diligent in my budgeting to cover all the cost. Despite the misgivings about the cost, I felt assured that somehow the Lord would provide (He always does) and that it was a worthy vacation/pilgrimage as the trip will not only take us to the Caribbean Sea with stops at the Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas but it will also be a Christian Conference by the man who delivered the gospel radio message that led to my salvation in 2010. The trip will also celebrate the new year and anniversary of my marriage to TammyLyn. I know people use the phrase “once and a lifetime” to rationalize making decisions like I made here, but honestly it really is once in a lifetime as I don’t know if I will ever have this opportunity again. So, I took it. You only live once on this earth and I felt the call to do this. You never do the things you don’t plan for and when I saw this trip announced this week, I felt instantly excited about it and although I wish I could say it was all paid for already, I know I won’t regret spending a week of my life on a cruise ship with my wife and at a conference celebrating our place in God’s kingdom. So here we go again!
I will deal with the fall out of my food failures and overspending this weekend and already am feeling better about it as I will take corrective action food wise today and will seek to save and spend wisely in the months ahead. There is no condemnation in Christ, so I won’t beat myself up over these things.
Speaking of condemnation, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional from Saturday spoke about not condemning ourselves and experiencing God’s love and I am sharing it on the blog today to remind us all that God is love and He wants us to experience it on a continual basis. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“No Condemnation; Only Love
Everything that could be used to denounce us before God was placed upon Jesus at the cross.
The Father’s love for His children is so wide, long, high, and deep that we can never fully fathom its extent (Ephesians 3:17-19). God’s love is constant—and it is forever. But sometimes our feelings might tell us otherwise.
In our mind, we often correlate divine love with our behavior. When we have been good, we believe we are loved. But when we make mistakes, we question how much God cares for us. After a series of missteps, we might conclude His disapproval of us far outweighs His approval.
The truth is, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. As our loving heavenly Father, God can and does use discipline to bring us back into alignment with His will for our life (Hebrews 12:7). He also allows us to experience the consequences of sin. However, divine condemnation is not one of them.
Everything that could be used to denounce us before Almighty God was placed upon Jesus at the cross. According to the Father’s perfect plan, His Son took our place so we could be set free: In Christ, we are healed from the sickness of sin that once separated us from the Lover of our souls. The Savior’s sacrifice allows us the joy of knowing God and experiencing His presence forever.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. God loves us and pays for all our sins with Jesus on the cross. We have been set free, and we should use our freedom to enjoy our lives, knowing that God is with us and will help us even if we act impulsively or fall into sin. God loves us and our debts have been paid already. So, stay close to God and follow where He leads even if your poor performance and the call you receive makes you nervous. Our faith in Christ makes us God’s children and He will love us and keep us all the way until He calls us home again.
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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 Overcoming Sin – Changing.
Romans 8:1–14
Romans 8:9 (NASB) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
Today’s verse is the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the third point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Overcoming Sin – Changing.
3. All Christians are called to live by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and empowers us to overcome sin and lead a godly life.
Today’s Bible verse reminds us that if we don’t have the “Spirit of Christ”, we don’t belong to God. That’s very specific and it should be because it is through Christ alone that we are made right with God.
Faith in Jesus Christ gives us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life and when we receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, we become God’s children and can now live according to His Spirit instead of the world’s.
As we grow into our identity as God’s children, we can have victory over the sins of our pasts and progressively become more and more like Jesus. When we live by the Spirit, we can overcome.
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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 214
So he ran to him and hugged and kissed him. – Luke 15:20
The father of the prodigal son was so happy that he ran to the boy when he saw him afar off. Unlike the Pharisees who complained about Jesus eating with sinners (v. 2), the picture is of heavenly joy over one sinner who is saved. The shepherds rejoice to find the sheep (v. 5), the women rejoice to find the lost coin (v. 9), and even the angels rejoice (v. 10) at the salvation of a lost sinner. But notice further—just as the shepherd sought his wayward sheep, and the woman swept until she found the coin, so too the father was looking for his son and ran to him. God takes the initiative, and when the lost one is found, He too rejoices! Don’t miss the facts that he ran … hugged … and kissed! Lay hold of those verbs! Are you as grateful for your salvation as God is? Do you also rejoice when someone is sighted on his way home? Are you as happy to see him on the narrow path, as the angels are? Do you run to him, hug him, kiss him? If not literally, is the enthusiasm for another’s salvation in your heart and, in one way or another, shown outwardly as well?[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 222.
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