Our Daily Bread: "Testimonial Tuesday: Liberty to the Captives" 5-13-08

Hello everyone!

I'd like to implement something I'd like to call "Testimonial Tuesdays," where instead of a message, we'll have a testimony from someone whose life God has blessed. In fact, I would like to invite you all to take part in this as well, if you feel led to do so. If you have a testimony of something special that the Lord has done in your life - big or small - we'd love to hear it and share it with everyone else! You may choose to remain anonymous or not; it is completely up to you, but we would love to hear from you regardless! Remember, the power of a testimony knows no bounds!

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, (2 Timothy 1:8-9 NKJV)

Today's testimony comes from a web-ministry I've shared on occasions past called Setting Captives Free, and I enjoy this particular testimony because it shows us that no matter the depth of our sin, no matter how long we have been held captive by its deceitfulness, the Lord can and does lead to true repentance and salvation without regret - praise God for that, and for this testimony of His grace from a gentleman who recently completed the "Way of Purity" course.

"At age 16 I was introduced to pornography by my uncle. That began a downward spiral through college and my twenties into sexual sin. My mind was on fire and I could not stop...or would not stop!

When I was 30 I revealed the sin to my wife and she demanded that I get counseling. I went to counseling and later SAA, but nothing really helped over the long term because Christ was not the center. 10 years later my marriage ended in divorce, which began another spiral downward into more porn, selfish gratification and lust.

One day, after crying out to the Lord and begging him to help me, I Googled the words "sexual addiction" on my computer and up came the Setting Captives Free website. I visited it, but did not start the program until 5 months later due to my pride and hardness of heart. Finally, by Gods grace, and after much more pain, I started the course.

Since that time God has been so gracious to lead me through this process of true freedom - He is restoring the years the locust have eaten. I give him all the glory! For the first time in 30 years, I have hope, true peace of mind and God is giving me freedom from the slavery of pornography and the devil. All praise to his holy name!"

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations." (Isaiah 61:1-4 NKJV)

Let us all rejoice in our God, who indeed has the power to free the captives, comfort those who mourn, and to give them "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness!" And please remember, if any of you have a testimony you'd like to share, please do! It does not have to be as "weighty" as the one I shared here; simply something wonderful the Lord has done in your life.

Blessings,
Andrew

"Purity: To Proclaim Liberty To The Captives" 4-1-08

Here let's dig deeper into Matthew 5:8 and talk about purity. Specifically, we're going to discuss the dangers of an impure life, and learn how to live purely in Christ.

But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die. "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. (Ezekiel 18:24-26 ESV)

And of course, this raises the age-old question: can we lose our salvation? And this is a very good question to ask (indeed, I would encourage you to seek God to find the answer to this); however, it is not the purpose of this message. Rather, the purpose of this message is to bring to light the impending doom of living an impure lifestyle, turning from our righteousness, doing injustice, and committing the same abominations of the wicked.

Remember that Christ is our righteousness - when we turn away from Him, as this verse makes clear, we shall surely die. Without Christ we are nothing! But I would like to pose the question: is not remaining in an impure lifestyle in itself turning from Christ? Is not seeking satisfaction from "broken cisterns" that cannot satisfy, rather than from the Lord who is the spring of living water, turning from Him? I am not talking about momentary turns or stumbles, either; I am talking about a steady pattern of sin, a kind of lifestyle. Habitual sin, you could say. This is a question to which I do not know the answer, for only God sees the heart of a person and is able to make that judgment (and He is the only one who should), but one thing we know for sure: sin, especially this "habitual sin", can separate us from Him and will leave us unsatisfied and longing for more.

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 3:2)

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." (Isaiah 55:1-2)

Truly, why spend money on what is not bread, and labor on what does not satisfy? The deceitfulness of sin is indeed very tempting - just look at the story of the adulteress in Proverbs 7. She offers promises of satisfaction and joy - and the foolish youth follows her, "like an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know it will cost him his life." Sin is deceitful, and it is tempting, which is why many times people fall into this pattern of sin - and often times, they hide it away deep within themselves, and even those closest to them may not have any idea of the struggle within - but God knows. Nothing is hidden from His sight. We may be able to fool our church, our friends, even our family, but we cannot fool God. Or maybe, we aren't even aware that we've adopted a kind of sin lifestyle, and we need the Lord to reveal this to us.

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14 ESV)

Are you currently drinking from broken cisterns that cannot satisfy? Are you turning from the living waters of Christ to the deceitfulness of sin? Is there a portion of your heart that is hidden in the darkness? Ask yourself this. Indeed, sin takes many forms - Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 ESV) All of these can become idols in our lives, places that we turn to for momentary comfort which, of course, never lasts.

But in the Lord, there is hope. Are you currently struggling with sin in this manner, or is there some place other than Christ that you will turn to in times of trouble? If so, remember that there is hope in Him. Focus your eyes upon Him, and He will satisfy your soul. There is hope in none other. If you would like further study on this topic, I would recommend you to a ministry I know of called http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/, a Christ-centered web-ministry that offers Bible studies ranging from regular Christian living to freedom from living a lifestyle of sin. I can tell you from experience that they exalt Christ and His Word above all else.

"You have exalted above all things your name and your word." (Psalm 138:2)

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:18-21 ESV)

Watch these chains fall from my hands Then you will understand, then you will understand. Watch me walk through these prison bars Then you will know my heart is free, Then you will know my heart is free.

~Watch, by Seven Places

Blessings,
Andrew

"The Pure In Heart" 3-31-08

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

This is a very interesting verse. There are really so many directions this message can go in. There are two things that I think of when I read this. First, I think of the day when we will literally see God with our very own eyes - a privilege only the pure-hearted sons and daughters of God will be able to experience. We will eventually enter into the kingdom of heaven and into the presence of the Lord, having had our hearts completely purified from all sin.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:2-3 NKJV)

And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:3-5 NKJV)

And boy, what a hope we have in this, wouldn't you say? I can hardly wait for the day! But there is something else that comes to mind when I read Matthew 5:8 that has a little bit more to do with how we live our lives in the here-and-now.

"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:17-8:1)

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. (Psalm 4:3)

Christ is truly the "Lamb of God that has come to take away the sin of the world" - His cleansing blood purifies us from all unrighteousness, which is the only way we could see God face-to-face as we talked about above. But there's more to this as well. Christ's death, which reconciles us to God, also enables us to live pure today. As we see from the two verses above, a pure life now, abstaining from things which defile us, will result in a closer relationship to God. This puts Matthew 5:8 in a totally different light: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." So now, let's ask the question:

How can a young man keep his way pure? (Psalm 119: 9a)

Well, here's the answer, in the second half of this verse:

By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. (Psalm 119: 9b-12)

Of course, this is referring to the Law given to Moses, in which we have a tremendous blessing. While we no longer live under Law but under grace, we can still use the Law - and indeed, the entire Word of God! - as a guideline of the things which build us up in purity, and the things which tear us down. Praise God for the revelation of His Word to us, without which we would be so pitifully lost in this world! I pray that we would all earnestly seek purity, so that we can grow closer to God today, and truly see God in the days to come.

See the Daily Bread "Purity: To Proclaim Liberty To The Captives" (4-1-08) for further examination of this topic.

Blessings,

Andrew