Broken Trusts - Purity 1322

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 a pile of broken rocks in the foreground of a sea of light green treetops, with a sunbeam shining over a mountain in the distance, comes to us from an unknown Facebook friend who shared this scene from an unknown location on social media on or around May 18th. 2021. If this is a scene from your life and you would like the photo credit, give me a heads up and I'll update the blog with the pertinent information after the fact. Well, it's Wednesday and I share this photo to free it from my phone's photo archive and to visually represent our arrival at the midpoint of another work week. And although I am enjoying a staycation at my place down by the river, I wouldn't say I haven't been working, as my days off— my off days thus far have been positively filled with yard maintenance, data management, educational training, and ministry, as I have been raking, mowing, completing a mental health coaching course from Light University, and have been answering emails and providing advice, feedback, and discipleship and spiritual warfare materials as part of my ongoing community freedom ministry. Just yesterday I provided bondage breaker materials to a pastor in South Africa and gave some discipleship and spiritual warfare advice to a couple that has been harassed by a demonic spirit that has been cast, cast out twice only to return, pointing out that when there is ongoing sin in one's life, like sex outside of marriage, the enemy can use that as legal ground from which they can claim to have permission to afflict you. And the enemy says, "They give me a foothold and I don't have to leave. I'm back!" Uh, putting your trust in Jesus to receive a new life and the Lord's protection is more than saying a simple prayer and then going about your normal sinful business. Or at least it should be. Um, when we trust Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, we're supposed to pick up our crosses and follow Him with the way we live. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, and when we fail to be faithful to follow the Lord and live in sin, we can suffer the consequences for breaking that trust, both by the natural negative consequences of doing the wrong thing or failing to do the right thing—sin works both ways, remember—and we can suffer the spiritual, supernatural consequences of attracting what Neil Anderson analogously referred to as flies. Demons. Anderson described sin as bags of garbage that we should get rid of but decide to keep in our lives. And just like garbage attracts flies, sin attracts demons. So the first step of spiritual warfare should be to repent of any known sin. And when we examine our lives for the trash we need to clean up, we need to make our evaluation based on what the Bible describes as sin and not what may be acceptable in our postmodern, post-Christian, confused, and depraved society. While anything may go morally in this brave new world we live— uh, the brave new world we live in these days, we are still accountable to what God says is right and wrong, whether we believe in him or not. And we are vulnerable to the demonic spiritual forces of darkness whether we believe in them or not. When we break the trust we have put in Jesus with our sin, we need to take corrective action and repent. It may not be easy, but it's what we have to do if we want to be free from fear and the risks we make ourselves vulnerable to by doing nothing. I'm glad I was able to present this little message on some basic principles of faith and spiritual warfare this morning because I've been absolutely busy protecting myself from possible negative consequences because of broken trust in my personal life. I have recently fallen out of relationship with someone whom I love and have helped, and have helped financially in the past. But now that our relationship currently seems to be on the outs, communication is shut down. So I, I took steps to prevent a possible breach of trust this morning by reporting my credit card as lost, which I let them use once in the past. While I still consider them to be trustworthy, because of the break in our relationship and the conditions in their lives that preceded the break, I don't want to leave the opportunity open for them or their creditor to use my payment method to pay their expenses. I don't believe this person would use my card without permission, but I don't trust the company paid previously to not utilize a working payment method that was used in the past if a balance becomes due. So just like our communications, I cut it off. I'll never know if they would have violated my trust or if their creditor would have, but now I, but now I know they can't. And just like cutting off the enemy by repenting of our sins, when our human relationships fail, we have to be proactive to ensure our mutual protection. I'm protecting my financial accounts, but I'm also protecting them from further damaging our relationship with an unauthorized charge. I may not be in a good relationship with them currently, but I still care for them. And while I am not offering any financial help to them currently— they owe me a few thousand dollars as it is— it doesn't necessarily mean I wouldn't offer help if they asked for it. And for that to happen, they would have to communicate with me. And possibly reestablish our relationship. There are consequences for broken trust. If God would allow the enemy to utilize the permission I give him through my sin, I can allow— I can allow a loved one to suffer the consequences for their poor decisions. In these two scenarios, the lack of protection or help does not indicate a lack of love. I know God loves us, but he does— he does want us to believe in Jesus and do what's right. And as his child, I feel the same way about the person whom I have— I had to take preventative measures against. I love them and want them to believe in Jesus and do what is right. And while I can't make them do either, I can limit the damage they do to our relationship. Tough love isn't easy. Making someone responsible for the pain they caused you isn't easy. And walking— and when we walk in the Spirit, we not only have to repent and stop doing what is wrong, we have to keep our eyes on the road ahead to lovingly prevent ourselves or others from further suffering. The pathway of Christian discipleship is a pathway of peace, and sometimes to ensure we stay in that peace, we have to be wise and discerning. To maintain it. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Crews. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on death and eternal life, and today's verses are from Philippians chapter 1, verses 22 through 26. And the word of God says, if I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus. Because of my coming to you again. Today's verses fall under the fourth point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on death and eternal life. And that fourth point is: Paul wanted both to remain here and to go home to be with the Lord, which is far better. Today's verse— verses show us that the disciple's life should be spent in service to the Lord and others. Paul, uh, saying that remaining in the flesh is more necessary on your account means that he knows that even though his eternal destiny with God is secured, it is better to live and help those he can materially and spiritually, to help them to know God and to, and put their life in the trust of Jesus. So even though a disciple's vacation can look a lot like work, We know that spending our time and effort serving the kingdom of God is the best use of our time. As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org 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 According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Allford.. And in his devotional, Alford directs us to read a chapter of Scripture. And today's chapter is John 14. And from John 14, he shares a portion of verse 2, which says, "If it were not so, I would have told you." And Alford writes, personally, this is a very wonderful thought. Christ says, "If all the things about which I have been talking were not so, I would have told you." Of course, this primary application is in connection with the few preceding words concerning the Father's house, and what a certain seal this was and is to the reality of a home in heaven for those who are His. But I like to apply the above verse to more than just the preceding few words. I like to take the whole revelation of Christ as recorded and add Were this revelation not so, he would have told me. This precious thought seems to seal home to my own heart the essential truth of all he has said in his word. For were it not so, he would have told me. And he ends in prayer by praying, your word stands on its truth, Lord. Amen. Amen. Yeah, you know, that's, you know, uh, in Christianity there's a certain portion of people who more or less swore off, swear off the Old Testament, don't bother with the Old Testament, don't want to read the Old Testament, don't want to know the Old Testament. But Jesus affirmed the Old Testament, and if those things in the Old Testament were not so, he would have told us. And, you know, likewise, anything he did in the New Testament, if it wasn't true He would have told us. So we trust that the word of God is true and that Jesus is who he said he is and that we have a hope in him. And as for me, I've gotten lots of experiential proof of the Lord changing my life, transforming me and directing me on a new path where even on my vacation, I'm continuing to do ministry of encouragement that I have, to just speak a word, to encourage people to follow Jesus and to live according to God's wisdom found in the Word of God. It's not because I discovered, you know, if I do these things, it will bless my socks off, although I did discover that. It's because I realized there was a living God who interacts with us when we do so. He speaks to you through His word and your heart and your mind. And amazing things happen when you consider that God is sovereign, that everything happens in your life is more or less under His care and control, even the bad things that are used for good. Have his hands on it. When we consider that, we know we're not alone, and it's best to walk in harmony with him and have the peace that you can have and the joy that you can have knowing that even if he calls me home to eternity, I'll be safe in his presence. So a great peace. And although I felt unsafe from an unauthorized charge of my credit card, I took took action against that. And if you don't feel safe in your life and your purpose, I would take action and put your trust in Jesus. Um, yeah, anyway, it is vacation. I got a really late start today because my alarm didn't go off, and, uh, I don't know why that is. I think I know, but so And so it's been a scrambling morning, and I'm just happy, happy to be on vacation, happy to be in Christ, and happy to be alive and well in the kingdom. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We pray for, for anyone who's listening today, Lord, that they'd be blessed, that you would guide them in the way they should go, and that you'd come alongside them in their prayer requests. Uh, Lord, and as for us, we just pray for you to go before us today. Give us rest, give us peace, give us purpose, and give us joy. Um, open our eyes to things you want us to see. Keep us safe on our path and, uh, guide us in the way we should go. It's all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom, Lord, and point other people's life in Christ. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.