A Remedy for Negative Emotions and Relational Disconnect - Purity 1412

Good morning, welcome to the MT for Christ 247 podcast. I'm M.t. Clark and this is today's photo. To see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter, or you can watch us on YouTube. Uh, today's photo of the Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse at sunset comes to us from Celestial Blues Photography's Rocco Saya, who shared this July 25th sunset on social media yesterday. Although the sun has set on another work week yesterday, uh, due to a shifted tour, I'll be going to my secular day job as if it were Friday, but I will choose to rejoice anyway for others because it is the weekend and for myself because at the end of the day, I will make the trip north to my countryside home to be with my beloved wife, Tammy Lynn. And even though our time together will be shorter than normal, I plan to make the best of it by putting away any stressful thoughts, uh, of things to do or things left undone for another time. While I, uh, will address any pressing concerns that need our attention, my focus will be on just trying to enjoy being in her company. So whatever problems I face at work today, or concerns about things with ministry, or or my place down by the river, uh, I will be put aside, uh, because I know the danger, uh, that outside problems can bring to a relationship. Uh, the Steps to Freedom in Christ addresses ways we wrongly defend ourselves in Step 2, and among the defense mechanisms listed are emotional insulation, displaced anger, and projection. Emotional insulation is withdrawing away from people or keeping people at a distance to avoid rejection. If we fear that trouble or a lack of understanding in our relationship will lead to rejection, we may isolate ourselves from our loved ones to avoid it. But this mechanism doesn't solve anything. It actually causes more trouble as relational separation from one another will increase feelings of rejection and disconnection. Displaced anger is taking our frustrations out on innocent people. This is when we take the stress and emotions from our other problems and release them on someone else for little or no reason. We leave, we have to leave work problems at work. Otherwise, we may find ourselves snapping at our loved ones. Projection is attributing to another what we find unacceptable in ourselves. If you're annoyed with yourself in some way, uh, over maybe not addressing problems or procrastinating, being dishonest or being unorganized, you might— you may find yourself more annoyed when you see or think you see similar traits in others. So before we come together with loved ones, we have to check our emotional temperature by being aware of how we are feeling and or what we're reacting to, uh, before we inadvertently pass on our negative feelings to the ones we should cherish and love. One of the ways we can release the negative emotions we carry with us before going into our homes is by taking a pause and practicing benevolent detachment. Um, I would refer you to John Eldredge's, uh, One Minute Pause app. Where he teaches the skills of pausing and releasing everything and everyone to God, uh, by intentionally stopping, uh, by intentionally stopping and, and taking a pause and practicing the benevolent detachment, we can not only get a handle on ourselves emotionally and release our stress and negative emotions to the one who can handle them, we can also receive the peace and healing, the only, you know, that only God can bring, by entering into— if soever, you know, if if so ever, so briefly into his presence. Um, you know, those defense mechanisms show us our emotions can infect others. If Dad's upset, Mom's upset, and if Mom's upset, the kids are upset, and if the kids are upset, the pets might feel it, or they will act out in their own negative emotions, which will upset Mom and Dad, who have to pick up the pieces. So fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, and daughters, let's check ourselves and, and take regular pauses to connect with God, to find his peace and draw from his strength, to let go and let God. When we take a minute to release the stress of the things we encounter in a day, we can come into our homes with peace, and we can be better equipped to love our families and minister to them when the world has done a number on them. Remember, we love one another, right? While we could look at life as a bunch of problems and family obligations, we should rightfully see the gift that God has given us with the people in our lives, and we should regularly communicate our gratitude and appreciation for, you know, to them. Um, God's word teaches us how to live skillfully, and we can experience peace when we practice what the Lord teaches us. When we remember who we are in Christ and how we should give thanks in everything, rejoice always, and pray always, we will realize that we have to spend some time with our Heavenly Father to help us do that. When we ask him for help, he is faithful to give it. So keep on walking and talking with God. And take a pause to sit at his feet once in a while to let him help you to carry or take away your burdens. Sometimes we drag our problems into our relationships, but God can help us to love others as we would love ourselves when we give our negative emotions and stress to him. Today's Bible verses come from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Crewis. This morning's meditation verses are, from the section on false prophets and teachers. And today's verses are 2 Peter 3:17-18, and the word of God says, you therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. Today's verses fall under the 16th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on false teachers— well, prophets and teachers. And that 16th point is: Be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by lawless men. You know, today's verses remind us how we can be easily influenced by bad company. Let's face it, sin can be exciting. To do that which is forbidden is a driving temptation that has infected our world and is at the root level of our being. I believe that this temptation to do what we want regardless of whether it is right or not, or because it is wrong, is the best evidence for quote unquote original sin, or the total depravity of man that we inherited from Adam after the fall. Romans 3:23 tells us, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That means we are all susceptible to temptation's lure and falling into sin. So the Apostle Peter warns us to avoid falling into the error of the law— of lawless people by drawing into our faith and growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We do that by knowing Jesus, his teachings, and his examples, uh, and by applying them to our lives. We don't just believe in Christ, we follow him. And when we do that, and when we do that, we won't get carried away by the errors of the lawless. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights insights and teachings from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Alford. And in Alford's devotional, he tells us to read a chapter of scripture in the morning and the evening, and today's chapter is Ephesians 3. And from Ephesians 3, he shares a portion of Ephesians 3:14, where the word of God says, for this reason I bow my knees. And Stephen Alford writes, this may be taken spiritually or literally. Just as it appears on the surface, I should take it literally that Paul, who was a great man of prayer, spent much time on his knees. On my knees is the place of humble submission. Paul knew what it was to humble himself under the mighty hand of God. Submission, or utter weakness, is the first essential in prayer. Where this is absent, there is no prayer, for prayer is the admission of weakness. Thus Paul could say from experience, when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 2:10. Alford continues, uh, writing and saying, on my knees is the place of humble supplication. Here the apostle learned the art of intercessory prayer, prayer for the whole family of God in heaven and on earth. On my knees is a place of humble surrender. It was on his knees that Christ surrendered his life for sacrifice. Luke 22:41. Alfred ends his devotion by praying, Lord, the most powerful place I can be of service to you is on my knees. Amen. Amen. And, uh, yeah, um, we have to be humble and, um, and pray for— pray for God to help us. And on our knees, you know, you can pray in any, any posture, but I have to agree, when you get on your knees, you know, there's, there's power in that. Um, power and submission and surrendering and, uh, showing your weakness. You know, that, you know, very rarely do we do anything on our knees. Um, you know, generally we're sitting or walking or standing, and, uh, kneeling is, is not, not a normal posture. And, um One of the things we do when we kneel is, is we pray. And, you know, there's, there's something about coming into that position that we're going to get together with God in prayer as we kneel. Now, when you kneel, doesn't make you immediately connected to God. You can look like you're praying, but it's, it's a matter of your body should be reflecting the submission of your soul. Admitting that you need the Lord's help. And if you need to, you know, if you can't, if you don't like the 1-minute pause app and whatnot, you can kneel to pray. You can kneel to take a pause. You know, that would certainly show everyone you're taking a pause. But there is power in that. I have to give Alfred his due on that one. You know, that, that posture of prayer is, uh, big. And like he said, it's about surrendering. And my— we ask the question, have you fully surrendered to God? Well, um, maybe a little bit. Uh, we keep— we, you know, and we're a work in progress, so we'll have to, you know, continue to follow. Um, the Lord will reveal more to us as we go, and we'll— that's how we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, is, um You know, wow, we get saved, we feel joy, and then he leads us to repentance and we get free, and then he shows us something else we can, you know, grow in. Um, this is a relationship between us and God, and when we do something with God's word, um, that shows we're in the relationship, that we're, we're honestly surrendered and seeking the Lord and following him. Um, so that's why, that's why it's the whole M.t. thing. Uh, the things I've surrendered to is service to the kingdom, and we do that with our encouraging word, uh, 6 days a week and a Bible study on Sunday. You know, that's the 247, 24/7 ministry of Empty for Christ, um, because I never want to leave the Lord's presence. And so, you know, I might as well do something, do something for the Lord, even if you know, um, has mixed results. Um, but, uh, we do, we do serve at, uh, Celebrate Freedom, our support group, on Wednesday nights in the Capital District. I'm thrilled to say we got another registrant yesterday. I'll be sending them out an email today to welcome them to our support group. And, um, if you want to join, you know, go— you can just show up, but, uh, we love, we love when you, uh, let us know you're coming, uh, by going to Starpoint Church's website and going to the support groups and sign up for Celebrate Freedom so you can join our fellowship of recovery and discipleship where you get to learn how to walk in the spirit, live a new life for God that's free of, you know, all those hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Um, we were meant to be free, and if you're not living free in Christ, we will, we will walk with you, brother and sister, until you understand what I'm talking about. Um, that's what we do. You know, and, um, that's one way you can do it is by joining our support group. Um, the other way you can do it, like, hey, I don't live in New York, thanks a lot, thanks for nothing. But guess what? Freedom in Christ Ministries offers online discipleship classes, and they only offer them twice a year, um, so far. So now is the time to register for a Freedom in Christ course or one of the other course offerings at ficm.org. So you can go to ficm.org, look for courses and sign up. And if you're a man who's available at 6:30 PM Eastern time in the fall, you can sign up and you can be in the class I facilitate. Um, and you know, and you can hear, hear this in class, uh, basically as we go through. We'll lead you through this good material that teaches you who you are in Christ and leads you to the steps to freedom in Christ to resolve your personal and spiritual conflicts. Um, the demons can't, you know, uh, torment you when you're free in Christ. Um, and, you know, you can get rid of all the pain and grief of the past, uh, when you put it in the Lord's hands. And that's what, uh, the Freedom in Christ course does. It directs you to prayer and repentance and, uh, sets people free. Uh, I've seen it happen in my life, and I've seen it happen in other people's lives. So we highly recommend, uh, going through the steps to freedom in Christ, and, uh, these courses prepare you for that. And finally, we ask the question: are you empty for Christ too? Uh, if not— well, if you are, keep on walking and talking with God. If not, make a prayer, you know, say a prayer today to make Jesus your Lord and Savior. And, um, that's emptying yourself. Lord, I put my faith in you. Uh, I'm a sinner, I need your forgiveness, I want the new life that you have for me in Christ. Please, Lord, I make you my Lord and Savior. And after you do a simple prayer like that, Holy Spirit comes into your life and things start to happen. Um, when you empty yourself for Christ, the Holy Spirit comes in. And that's after you come in too, because we come into the kingdom and then we're supposed to follow. And we might just do— we might do one without the other, but it's never too late to enter fully into your faith. Um, or progressively, as it is, because it's all about progress and not perfection. But, um, the good thing is when we, when we take a step toward God, that he takes a step towards us and he leads us in the way we should go. So let's follow him together. And with that, we'll pray. Uh, Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you so much for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for the gift you've given us of life eternal in your kingdom and the freedom over sin and death, and, uh, the way you've changed our lives. Um, you've made us a new creation, and we are experiencing that more and more every day as we follow you. Well, we thank you for that. And, uh, Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening or reading or watching today's message, that you come alongside them and their prayer requests and their walk of faith, because we need your help, Lord, and we know that you're good and faithful to give it when we ask for it. So we're asking and we're ready to receive. Lord, uh, all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom. We need your help with that. And so we ask you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and lead us in the way we should go. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.