Accept No Substitutes – Simple, Pure, Relational Joy - Purity 1185

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Today's photo of the silhouette of a tree being set ablaze by the rays of the setting sun comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene Saturday afternoon while out taking a walk with my canine friend Harley, my wife Tammy Lynn, and her daughter Elizabeth as they took me up on an invitation to go and see a place nearby that they have never been before. When I have the time and feel the inclination, I've gotten in the habit of taking Harley for extended walks down the dirt and gravel farm road that runs perpendicular to Waite Road and have come to really enjoy it. And as relational beings, when people find something good in life, we have a tendency to want to share it. So after having a most magical experience between the setting sun and the full moon on Friday, I invited Tammy Lynn to check it out, and Elizabeth, being an aspiring photography— a photographer, uh, decided to join us as well. A chore of walking the dog turned into a nice family outing where we all were able to appreciate the beauty of God's creation and share in the joy of the experience. Well, it's Monday, and even though that moment in the sun is over, because it was a moment of relational joy, it qualifies as a joy memory. A memory that was simple, pure, and shared that can be recalled upon demand to remind us that there was a good time where things were good. In my studies with Deeper Walk International School of Ministry, uh, we are examining helping those with prayer ministry that are dealing with addictions. In the lecture that we are assigned to examine and discuss, Dr. Marcus Warner explains that people were designed by God to run on joy. But unfortunately, when we lack for simple, pure relational joy that we are to have in our relationships, uh, in our relationships, people have a tendency to find and rely on joy substitutes. The things, experiences, and behaviors that provide a measure of comfort or pleasure that lack the resilience-building power of simple, pure relational joy. Warner calls addictions joy substitutes because they are not simple, pure, and although they may involve other people, they lack that relational joy aspect, and thus they fail to provide lasting satisfaction. Often lead to a crash when the experience wears off; guilt and shame when the activity we are addicted to is morally impure, unhealthy, or selfish; or feelings of pain when our minds or bodies suffer withdrawal or from the bumps and bruises that we encounter during our addictive escapades. Let's see, the cost of addictions include financial, mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and relational consequences. That demonstrate to us why addictions are joy substitutes. The cost of taking a walk to enjoy the company of others and the beauty of God's creation on a pleasant afternoon are minimal, and the joy it produces can be re-experienced as we fondly bring the experience back into remembrance. Unlike the fast times of a life of addiction, the, the recall of simple, pure, wholesome moments of relational joy— aren't blurred by foggy memories while under the influence or by the negative cost of the crash— guilt, shame, and pain— that follow the addictive episode. And so, one of the recommendations that Dr. Warner made in his lecture on dealing with addiction is to encourage those who are suffering from addiction to get off of their joy substitute and to enter into a supportive community where they can form joy bonds with people, where they can develop relationships, where they can encourage one another in practicing quieting and appreciation to increase the ability to return to joy and build emotional resilience, and they can share experience— experiences of simple, pure, wholesome relational joy. I love the way the Lord guides me through life because as I decided to pursue being educated and trained in deeper Walk's heart-focused discipleship model and prayer ministry techniques, the opportunity arose at my local church to lead a recovery growth group. I added the caveat that I would infuse it with Christian discipleship principles that went beyond Celebrate Recovery's, uh, recovery curriculum. And since May, have been encouraging the members of Starpoint Church Celebrate Freedom growth group to not only ask God to help them with their Hurts, Habits, and Hangups, but to develop their abilities to build joy and emotional resilience and have moments of simple, pure relational joy at our meetings. While we do cover the CR lesson each week, even that is relational as volunteers from the group do their part as the lesson is read through and presented together as a group. Beyond that, we have been developing the joy bonds with one another as our weekly check-in invites the group members to share what's happening in their lives and receive the support of one of the others who are quote-unquote happy to see them each week. As sad as it may sound, the world is a rough place and you aren't often told that people are happy to see you. And I know that the group members appreciate the community that we have built, because the thing that many people report on being grateful for is the group itself. Our group encourages its members to appreciate who they are in Christ and the good things that the Lord— sorry, I'm trying to edit as I speak— the good things that the Lord has given us in life. So we develop our joy bonds with God as we develop them with one another. And we also keep it real by honestly reporting what, what we are going through and encourage one another to be responsible in working out solutions to the things that are not so good. As we receive the support and start to improve things by doing things God's way, things tend to get better, which in turn increases our peace and joy. And each week we worship and praise the Lord in song, a spiritual practice that draws us closer to God and one another that just happens to increase our ability to build joy. And I see the fruits of what the Lord has done through the, through our group, as some of the group members' lives have been radically transformed. So don't seek out joy substitutes and stay locked in bondage to addiction. Seek the simple, pure relational joy with God and man that can be— that you can have when you put your faith in Jesus, decide to live as God directs you to live, and share the joy of it with, with other Christians on a regular basis. That's right, keep on walking and talking with God and invite others to join you as you go. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on bitterness, resentment, and hate. Uh, and today's verse is Proverbs 10, verse 12, and, uh, that's from the English Standard Version. And the word of God says, hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Today's verse falls under the 14th point of our Counseling Reference Guide resource section on bitterness, resentment, and hate. And that 14th point is: Hatred stirs up dissension. Today's verse keeps it pretty simple. Hatred stirs up strife, which means angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues, or conflict, another word for dissension. And these words and definitions are not exactly synonymous with peace, whereas love is reported to cover all offenses. Why? Because love would cause us to be patient, kind, and forgiving. Love would cause us to not think too highly of ourselves and would lead us to think of the good of others first. Love would call us to, as much as it depends on us, to make peace. Of course, fundamental issues like believing that the Bible is true, is the true inspired word of God, and that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can be saved should not necessarily be compromised in the name of peace. But we are to speak the truth in love and never sink to the depths of hatred in delivering our message of love. So, try to resolve strife with kindness. Gentleness, patience, and love that tells others that although you may disagree on certain things, you represent the God that loves them anyway. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where we share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink's The Holy Spirit as we continue sharing from chapter 32. In the second section of Worshipping the Spirit Directly. So if you want the conclusion of working— worshipping the Spirit directly, go to mt4christ.org and you'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. As always, we encourage a lifestyle of Christian discipleship where you forsake your sin and decide to live the way God would have you live, and that you seek the community of like-minded Christians to encourage you along the path of Christian discipleship. We're never meant to do this thing alone, and, uh, you know, part of the reason we can overcome is when we have a deep joy bond with the Lord through connecting with him relationally by knowing his word, praying to him, talking to God, and, you know, trying to live according to what he would call us to. And having bonds with other people who believe that too. And by sharing that message of hope with people who desperately need it, um, when we apply God's word to our life, we can really overcome every problem we have, or at least put it in perspective to where we can have peace with it. And so that's what we do here. We encourage people to to live a simple life of Christian discipleship where you connect with the Lord and you connect with others and you can have simple, pure relational joy. You know, it's a big part of your new life when you, when you leave the world behind and leave your addictive joy substitutes behind. You have to start a new one, and Jesus gives us a different way to walk. And when we walk his ways, things are different and so much better than the way they were before, as we follow the truth of what God's word says about us and what God's word says to do with our lives. And they become expressions of God's meaning and purpose for us. So when you do that, when you walk in the Spirit, you discover the fruit of the Spirit, one of which is joy and peace and love. So we encourage that even on a Monday, uh, where we have to keep it real and go to work. But, uh, we can have joy in that because the Lord's provided it for us, a way to support ourselves and our families, and given us the ability to work. And not everyone has that, and so we should rejoice with whatever we have. And be content in all things and always give praise to God for his goodness. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for the life you've given us in Christ. And Lord, we just pray for anyone who's listening or reading today's message, and you would come alongside them and their prayer request and their walk of faith, Lord, because we all need your help. We all need your help. And each other's help in walking this thing out called the Christian life. Um, we don't know which way to go, so we want to follow you, and your way is the best way. So help us to do that today, Lord. Open our eyes to the things you want us to see and move us in the way we should go. Help us to do the best job we can and to accept the challenges of the day and We can't accomplish something, help us to find peace in knowing that we're— we'll always be accepted regardless of our performance by you. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.