Acting Funny and Furry Friends - 28 Day Joy Challenge – Day 25 – Purity 1081

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of the boat launch at Ananda Park at sunset comes to us from Lisa Warner, who shared this stunning scene from a weekend glamping trip to Canadagua Lake. Well, it's Thursday and I decided to share this photo today because of its awesome, awesome beauty, and because it highlights a pathway of sorts. And Thursdays are the day I share pictures of pathways as a visual reminder and encouragement to get on or to stay on the path of Christian discipleship. Now, don't get the idea that I'm telling you to take a long walk off a short pier here, uh, but I feel I have to be completely honest by saying that sometimes walking on the path of Christian discipleship can mean stepping out into the unknown. That most progress comes from taking the plunge and going all in with our efforts to repent and seek the Lord's will for our lives. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we have to jump into the depths of our hurts, habits, or hangups alone. Last night, the Celebrate Freedom discipleship/recovery growth group met again at Starpoint Church, and we discussed getting the help of a sponsor or an accountability partner to help us in our recoveries, because we could use a guide to walk beside us who has been there and done that in terms of experiencing freedom and who can call you out when you are acting funny or staying put when you should be moving forward. Second set of eyes on, uh, on our situation can reveal what we need to see and help us to make a plan of action to overcome. Also, a person who knows what it's like to live in the darkness of addiction can warn us when we are walking into shady territory and call us out of the shadows of denial and into the light of transparency. In recovery circles, we have to be aware of changes in one another's demeanors, personalities, and dispositions, because any deviation from who we are could be a sign that someone is headed for trouble or has already gone astray. When someone is suddenly quiet when they were talkative or suddenly animated when they were somewhat reserved, we have to ask why there are— why there was such a sudden change. Are they not acting like themselves because they have relapsed and are trying to cover up, or is something else going on? While we could endlessly wonder about the reasons why, it's best to simply ask them directly. About the sudden change. If you see something, you should say something. But instead of saying something like, "Hey, are you high?" we should present our concerns in the envelope of our relationship first before trying to address a problem. We could say something like, "I really value our friendship and I want to see you happy and doing well. I notice that your behavior seems a little different from what I'm used to." You don't seem quite like yourself. I care about you and was wondering if there's anything going on that we could talk about. I want you to know that I care about you and that you can be honest with me because we are friends. This envelope conversation puts the problem inside the context of our relationship. Our relationship is bigger than our problem is the message we want to send to others when we feel they are acting funny. We want to make others aware that we care about them and that we are concerned when we see— when they seem— when we see them, sorry, when we see them not acting like themselves. When sudden changes in our demeanor or personality come up, it's a red flag that indicates something is going on that is not being exposed to the light of truth. And that we should try to bring it out in the open because we are only as sick as our secrets. Changes in demeanor also may indicate that we need to be trained to increase our emotional resilience and learn to bounce back, to develop the skills to return to joy and start acting like ourselves again. And that brings us to our current series where we are walking through the 28-Day Joy Challenge because we are encouraging ourselves and others— you— to find peace in our lives by increasing our capacity for joy and by building our emotional resilience through simple practices of quieting and appreciation. The 28-Day Joy Challenge is based on Dr. Marcus Warner and Chris Courcy's latest book, The Four Habits of Joy-Filled People, and you can sign up to take it for free and purchase a variety of books from Warner and Courcy on the topic of joy by going to 4habits.org. So let's jump into Day 25, which will direct us to reflect on a furry friend or pet in our lives that has given us joy. And the word, uh, the 28-Day Joy Challenge says, Day 25: The Joy of Furry Friends. Welcome to Day 25 of the 28 Days to Joy Challenge. Today's Encouragement: Today's activity is another exercise you can modify to make it work for you. Are you getting better at practicing joy and quieting in your daily life without the prompts? We're so glad you're still with us on this journey. Today's Practice, Exercise 25: Today we practice remembering joy in specific moments. How this exercise will benefit you: Pets and animals can be a source of joy. They help us quiet ourselves and feel more connected to joy and peace. Exercise steps: Think about a favorite pet and focus on what you enjoyed about this pet. If you do not have a pet example to draw from, focus on a favorite animal interaction. Do you have a favorite story about your pet or an animal? If so, tell that story to someone else. Have fun with this exercise. We pick up tomorrow with more joy practice. That's from our friends at 4habits.org. And, uh, for today's practice, I reflected on my childhood dog, a beagle named Jenny. Jenny was the first pet my brothers and I had as children, and became— and because we grew up in the '80s, there were virtually no restrictions on our movements. Uh, Jenny was our constant companion, and she followed us all over the surrounding blocks of our neighborhood. She was unleashed and allowed to roam free as we were. She was a good-tempered dog and never barked in anger, with the exception of howling at my father, who seemed to take delight in tormenting her and getting her to growl and bark at him. Some people. Anyway, Jenny was a friend to the end. She was there to give us companionship and comfort and good times times and bad, until she eventually passed away when I was away at college in my freshman year. Thankfully, I was away when she died. I mourned her loss with tears but was thankful I didn't have to see my beloved dog suffer in her final hours. Jenny was a good dog, and I, I will never forget the joy she brought to my childhood. And, you know, honestly, I've never had a dog since. There's been dogs in my life, other people have had dogs, but I, I wouldn't say any of them were my dog. And frankly, since childhood, it's more or less been cats. And I guess my— I have a friend in Harley the dog at my countryside home, but I don't have a dog of my own. And if I ever choose to get a dog, it'll be a beagle. Um, because of, because of Jenny. Anyway, I don't plan on getting a dog though. Um, yeah, they're always there, which is a good thing, and you know, can be a bother. Anyway, so what about you? What furry friend or not furry pet or animal experience did you have in your life that gave you joy? I hope you remember them fondly and share the joy they brought to your life with someone else today. Um, today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. Uh, this morning's meditation verse comes from the section on adultery, um, as we're starting from the beginning to the end. Um, so, uh, today's verse is Hebrews 13:4, and it says, let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled. For God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Today's verse is used by our resource to point out God will judge the adulterous. In contrast to today's society's penchant for sexual liberation with no restrictions, the Bible tells us that our sex lives matter to God. He made us for a purpose and gifted us with our bodies, and he gives us guidelines for proper use. Sexual sin is any sexual activity, hetero, homo, or solo, that happens outside of a marriage covenant. Mental, emotional, and spiritual soul ties happen when we join our bodies to another physically and sexually and become one flesh. So the word of God repeatedly advises us to flee sexual immorality because of the pain that sex can cause when it is not used as an expression of love for one's life partner. Hebrews tells us in no uncertain terms that our marriage bed is to be undefiled, and warns that the sexually immoral and adulterous will be judged. If our sexual sin is not covered by the blood of Jesus, there are eternal consequences—hell. If we fail to repent of them after a profession of faith, we could suffer the torment of negative consequences to our relationships and personal peace as we choose not— choose to not live as we should and according to who we are in Christ. So take sexual purity seriously and keep sex for what is it was intended for: the love of a man and woman in marriage. Or woman— man or woman in marriage, I guess. You can only be married to one, right? The opposite of your sex. Anyway, as always, we invite all to go to mt4christ.org where we always 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, and today we continue in chapter 11, which is on the Spirit's quickening. And, uh, today's section is Quickening Imparts Life. So you want to know what A.W. Pink means by quickening, uh, go to, go to mt4christ.org and you'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. And as always, we encourage a life of Christian discipleship, and part of discipleship is repentance. Being a disciple is being a student, and who are we a student of? Not some preacher or pastor. We're a student of Jesus Christ. So we should know what the Word of God says and obey what it says. And, uh, and it extends to our sex lives. So yikes. So if there's sexual sin or anything that's not outside of your marriage, um, today's message is to repent. Um, you know, only when we fully surrender to the Lord, or progress— you know, we progressively surrender to the Lord, can we experience the freedom and peace that he wants us to know. When we live by the Spirit, we forsake the sins of the flesh, and we experience the fruit of the Spirit manifest in our lives. So we have to know what the Word of God says. Thus, we encourage a daily spiritual practice that includes prayer and Bible study so you can, you know, prepare your hearts and minds to live as a Christian. And, you know, we We also recommend our, our, our discipleship classes, um, that we've done— Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ— to help you resolve any personal spiritual conflicts that you might have, to help you experience your freedom in Christ, to help you to know who you are in Christ, and so you can live according to it. We've discovered this is the pathway to peace, the one that's made by the Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ. He gives us eternal peace by, you know, giving us eternal life when we put our faith in him. And then he wants us to walk into the kingdom of God here on earth by living, living according to kingdom principles by the word of God. So we encourage that. And sometimes you have to go in recovery to renounce and to, you know, change the way you live and discover who you are and start living according to who you are. In Christ. So it wasn't easy, but it's easier when we do it by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. That means staying relationally connected to God and to one another by being truthful and honest and, uh, and repenting, turning from our old ways to God's ways. It's the pathway to peace, and it's paved with joy when we experience the victory and the freedom that God has for us. So, um, today is Thursday. We have to work just like that. We're not set free of everything. Um, we still have to take care of our physical needs. And, uh, you know, in our society, it's a matter of having a job and money. So that's what I do. Um, so let's pray and get out there. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for all that you've done for us, that you've taught us how to, how to walk in your ways, and how you encourage us to keep walking and talking with you and, and to seek your will in all things. We're not perfect. We need your help every day, and that's why we pray to you, Lord, so you can know that we, we, all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom, and we need your help and guidance and strength to do that. Um, Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening today or reading today's message. We pray for them to be blessed. We pray for you to come alongside them and their prayer request and their walk of faith, because we're not in this alone when we walk with you. But we, we need to know that you're with us. So show us the things you want us to see today. Lead us into the things you would have us do. And, uh, Help us to, uh, to encourage one another as we go. Um, we start acting funny, show us that and get us back on track. And, uh, let us be bold and courageous to do that with our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.