Knowing “What’s Wrong with You” and the Peace Found in Jesus – Purity 1746
Purity 1746 08/27/2025 Purity 1746 Audio Podcast
Purity 1746 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of Paul Matthew’s 2001 oil on linen painting, “Cascade Sunset (The Dark Hills)”, comes to us from yours truly as I capture this work of art during my visit the Adirondack Experience Museum in Blue Mountain Lake NY back on August 14th.
Well, it’s Wednesday and I share today’s mountains at dusk beauty to visually represent our arrival at another midweek summit, happy hump day, and to mark what I hope will be the day that I get more insight into the mystery of my knee injury. It was back on August 14th that I got the alarming news from my doctor, that my knee injury could also be hiding a partially fractured tibia, and today I will find out whether or not that is the case, I hope, because after waiting twelve days I finally was able to schedule and complete a CT scan to my knee yesterday, and I will go in to follow up with my orthopedic care team and get the results of said scan early this morning. Whether or not there is a partial fracture to my tibia, it will give me some peace of mind to know “what’s wrong with me”, one way or the other.
When people ask you, “what’s wrong with you?”, the answer “I’m not sure” just isn’t satisfying and I while I am not sure what the results of my knee’s CT scan will reveal, I am hopeful that I will be able to confidently tell people whether or not anything, bone-wise is broken or not. After 19 days and three physical therapy appointments, I know that there is something wrong with my left knee, because of the pain, and I hoping that this morning’s appointment will give me a better idea of what’s wrong with it and how long it will take before the pain is gone and that I will be able to walk, hike, run, and climb like I used to. If the CT scan doesn’t reveal enough about my knee injury, the next step may be to have an MRI done.
Speaking of MRI’s, yesterday I had one done to better look at a lesion on my liver that revealed by a CT scan that was done to assess any possible trauma after my August 8th fall. While I still have to hear back from my doctor about next steps, the MRI report indicates that the lesion may be benign and I’m hoping that is the case.
Before going in for the MRI yesterday, I googled “why would someone get a lesion on their liver” and the results told me that alcohol abuse and obesity were both risk factors or underlying conditions that might cause a lesion. I am hopeful that my liver lesion is just a consequence of my former life of addiction and that it won’t be one that will have any further negative consequences on my future. The bad choices we make in life can have long reaching affects sometimes but I am hoping that the corrective actions that I have made, that of going into recovery for alcohol and reducing my weight over the last 10 years, will give me a better quality of life going forward and that I won’t be “punished” for my past mistakes with irreversible medical conditions beyond my control.
But I guess, in truth, we really aren’t in control over those things. God is in control after all, and it will be His plan for our lives that will ultimately determine our destinies and impact the directions we take in life.
Speaking of God’s sovereign will and plan for our life, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanely devotion for today addresses part of the Lord’s plan for us and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us all to get with “the program” and to earnestly follow what the Lord knows is best. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“Sanctification: God’s Grand Plan
The moment we trust Jesus as Savior, we are adopted into God’s family and set apart with a sacred purpose.
The heavenly Father has a plan for the life of every person, and it can be summed up with the word sanctification.
In its verb form—sanctify—the term means “to make holy” or “to separate.” So, when something is sanctified, it is separated from its former existence and dedicated for sacred purposes. The Old Testament mentions a number of things that the Lord sanctified: He made the seventh day holy, set aside the Levite tribe as priests, and even consecrated places like the Holy of Holies inside the tabernacle (Genesis 2:3; Numbers 3:1-51; Exodus 40:9-11).
Our Father sanctifies people today as well. Before a person trusts in Christ, he or she is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). But the moment the choice is made to place faith in Jesus; sins are wiped away and the individual is adopted into God’s family—set apart as a child of God with a sacred purpose. This means believers aren’t here to chase after personal gain but are to serve the Lord and bring Him glory.
As members of God’s family who are called upon to reflect Him to the world, believers are referred to as “saints.” We’re given this title—which shares its root with sanctification—not because we have attained sinless perfection but because we live a life consistent with the One we represent.” – Dr. Charles Stanely
Amen. Last night, the supernatural fact of the believer’s “sainthood” and our call to agree with and to live by faith, according to it being a “done deal”, was part of the lesson that I reviewed at the online Freedom in Christ discipleship course that I facilitate.
Unfortunately, many Christians think of themselves as “sinners saved by grace” when the Bible indicates that “sinners” refers to who we used to be before coming to faith in Jesus. In order for us to better fit into our new life in Christ, we would benefit by thinking of ourselves as the saints that the Bible tells us we are and by choosing to live in ways that and consistent with and reflect our sainthood.
When we think of ourselves as sinners, we will be prone to fall into sin. When we think of ourselves as saints, we will believe that the power of sin is broken, and that we can and will increasingly and progressively experience a more sanctified life.
This isn’t theory, this is a fact that is demonstrate by countless Christians who once were in bondage to sins of the flesh but who now give evidence for the ability of the Lord to lead people out of the darkness of sin and into the light of a new righteous and holy existence.
When we stop referring to ourselves as “sick”, God could lead us into healing. When we stop referring to ourselves as a “sinner”, God could lead us to experience the new life as a saint. When we are reach for a new spiritual life by putting our faith in Jesus, we can experience the reality that we are no longer spiritually dead and start to see that the gift of our new and eternal life starts now.
So make sure that you are “in Christ” by putting your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior every day, and by making sure that your thoughts and actions agree with the fact that you are alive to God and dead to sin, that you are no longer “just a sinner saved by grace” and that you are a saint who is continually growing into their identity and purpose in the Lord.
God has plan for your life and the sooner you agree to identify with it and to follow it, the sooner you will see progress in the area of sanctification and experience the joy and peace that comes with the growth of the fruit of the Spirit in your life.
——————————————————————————————————————–
For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
——————————————————————
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 Peace – Rest.
Luke 7:36–50
Luke 7:48 (NIV) Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Today’s verse is the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the fifth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Peace – Rest.
5. The penitent woman, who wept at Jesus’ feet, found peace through him.
Today’s Bible verse reminds us that it is through Jesus that we receive the forgiveness of sins and that it is only through our worshipful surrender to His lordship that we can have peace with God.
In this passage of scripture, a woman who is known as a sinner agrees with the fact that Jesus is the Messiah and worships Him in a manner that a quite scandalous for the religious authorities in attendance. But perhaps more scandalous to them is the fact that Jesus accepts this woman and assures her that her sins are forgiven!
Jesus doesn’t put demands for restitution or acts of repentance as a requirement for this women’s redemption. Her faith in Jesus is enough.
So, if you don’t have it already, receive your peace from Jesus by putting your faith in Him, or by reminding yourself that you already have. We are forgiven the moment we put our faith in Jesus, so remember that and live in the peace that He has given to you.
———————————————————–
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 245
From now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of God’s power. – Luke 22:69
Jesus confessed to being God’s Son (v. 70). He had made it clear that the power and glory that were due to the Son of Man (Daniel 7) were to be His from the time of the ascension to the Father’s right hand of power and authority. This, as Daniel predicted, took place when He rose from the dead and went to heaven. There, thrones were set up—one was placed for Him at the place of power next to His Father’s. Today He rules from that place. All authority in heaven and in earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18). The kingdoms of the world were placed under His control (Psalm 2:4–9) as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Do you recognize Him as the absolute Sovereign? Really? Think. Yes, it’s true, our Brother is the King. Hallelujah![1]
The MT4Christ247 audio podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartradio, Podbean, Audible, and many more podcast platforms!
Subscribe to The MT4Christ247 Channel on YouTube!
Email me at m.t.clark@mt4christ.com with any questions, or comments, or to inquire about our Christian Life Coaching or Prayer Ministry Services.
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Support MT 4 Christ Community Freedom Ministry!
To Give via Pay Pal Go to the MT4Christ Donations Page
Or Give Via Venmo or the Cash App by scanning the QR Code below:
[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 253.
Leave a Reply