Stuck in a Trap of Sin and the Freedom Found in God’s Presence – Purity 1720
Purity 1720 07/26/2025 Purity 1720 Audio Podcast
Purity 1720 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the silhouette of trees set against a backdrop of the sky painted in shades of yellow, orange, and purple of sunrise or sunset comes to us from an unknown FB friend who shared this dazzling scene on social media back on August 13st, 2021. If this delight is yours, let us know and will acknowledge your photography skills on the blog after the fact.
Well, it’s Saturday and even though I have off from my secular day job today, I will be going to work in another sense in a few hours as I will be leading an old acquaintance through the Steps to Freedom in Christ in an attempt to set another captive free. The participant in today’s freedom appointment is caught in a trap – a vicious cycle of periodic drunkenness – which seems to be a lifelong pattern of addiction. Our client for today also has a host of childhood traumas in their life experience that will need to be resolved with the Lord’s help if we expect them to receive the healing and freedom they are seeking. Although our participant has been a Christian for forty years, they are stuck in a cycle of self-condemnation and sin that prevents them from living the Christian life that they want to live. Their church attendance is sporadic, regular Bible Study is a thing of the past, and although they admit that prayer is helpful, they don’t practice like they wish they did. In today’s case, our client has problems in their past and in in their present, although the word of God and a relational connection with Our Heavenly Father can provide healing, those blessings are not being applied, due to sin and quite possibly from demonic oppression.
So in a few hours, myself and two other Christians will be praying and leading our friend through the Steps to Freedom in Christ in the hope that God will cleanse this man of all his pain and defilements and that he will experience the peace and joy that comes from prayerful repentance and being in God’s presence.
Speaking of God’s presence, that topic is the subject of the Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah devotion for this weekend, so I am sharing it on the blog today as an encouragement, and a warning, to not forsake regular Christian spiritual practices or the presence of the One who can free us from our sin. Dr. David Jeremiah writes.
“THE SUMMER RETREAT: GOD’S PRESENCE
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11
The teacher of a large women’s Bible study in a major metropolitan city decided to take the summer off: no quiet time, no Bible reading, and no prayer life for the entire summer. When September rolled around, she found herself more miserable than she had ever been in her life.
Summer can be a great time for restoring strength and energy. But what is the best way to do that? When the psalmists were burdened and busy, they found rejuvenation by spending time in the presence of God, not by avoiding His presence: “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:2). “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [elsewhere]” (Psalm 84:10). If you have lost your joy and the pleasures of the Christian life, consider David’s words: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
Consider this summer as an opportunity to accept Jesus’ invitation: “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).” – David Jeremiah
Anxious care is out of place in a heavenly Father’s presence. – Kenneth Wuest
Amen. As much as I agree with the wisdom to allow for periods of rest from our pursuit of studying God’s word from time to time to allow ourselves to absorb what the Lord is teaching us (Christian meditation requires reflection), I never recommend long or extended periods of being completely cut off from God’s word or the spiritual practice of prayer.
Jesus told His disciples to abide in Him and that means that we are to remain in His presence. Bible study and prayer are spiritual practices that bring us there. When we don’t have a daily spiritual practice and decide instead to go “back to secular normal”, we not only are being disobedient to the instructions of our wise Teacher, but we are also cutting ourselves off from the source of our hope, peace, and joy.
The world’s forms of rest, relaxation, and entertainment are poor substitutes for the peace and joy that we receive from abiding in God’s presence.
The things of this world will never give us peace that lasts because we need God and material things don’t provide the satisfaction that we receive from doing what is right according to Him.
So, if you’re able, enjoy the summer season’s delights with a vacation but don’t avoid the things of the Spirit and turn down the rest that Jesus offers.
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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.
1 John 3:4–10
1 John 3:6 (NIV) No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Today’s verse is the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the seventh point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Overcoming Sin – Changing.
7. A true Christian will not continue to live in sin.
Today’s Bible verse tells a hard truth of our Christian faith that needs to be taken seriously. True Christians (those who live in Christ) do not keep on sinning. Continual unrepentant sin may very well indicate that the “supposed Christian” – those “Carnal Christians” that keep on sinning – may not be Christians at all!
One of the three evidences of God that I would point out in my jail ministry days is that of transformed lives. Those examples of people who were lost in sin but who walked away from it after putting their faith in Jesus. A soul set free from sin is not only a proof of God’s existence, but it also proves that the person has truly been born again – that they are in fact a Christian.
So, if we are a Christian who has sin in our life, we need to confess it and to seek God’s help and the help of other Christians to get set free. While we will never be sinlessly perfect, the Lord can and will help us to turn from our “besetting” sins when we seek His guidance.
Jesus is asking each of us: Do you want to be healed? Do you want to be set free? If so, pick up your cross and follow me…
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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 219
They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. – Luke 16:29
The story of the rich man and Lazarus teaches many things—the separate states of the dead, the impassability between them, and the fact that no special revelation will be given to lost men. In respect to the last of these teachings, Jesus affirmed that people would not believe even if one were resurrected if they refused to believe the Scriptures. The Bible is sufficient for saving faith. Indeed, One did rise from the dead and people still wouldn’t believe. How prophetic Jesus’ answer was! A great gulf lies not only between heaven and hell, but also between the dead and the living. It is too late to help the dead; their eternal destiny is fixed. Despite Roman Catholic candles and masses, there will be no change in the state of those who have already died. So, the upshot of this is that now is the time to help your friends and relatives escape a future in torment. It is too late to plead for them once they are gone. Have you taken this to heart?[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 227.
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