“Saying Grace” with our Lives- Purity 901
Purity 901 11/29/2022 Purity 901 Podcast
Purity 901 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of an outlet of the Hudson River in
the shadows of the fading light of day comes to us from yours truly as my wife
and I decided to enjoy the last bit of daylight this past Saturday in each
other’s company on a walk at Hudson Crossing Park, in Schuylerville NY. I had spent most of the day indoors working
on power point presentations for the Bonhoeffer series I am producing while
TammyLyn went to lunch with her mother and daughters but upon her return, with
the day disappearing, I just had a sudden impulse to “do something!” and off we
went and I’m glad we did. Not only did Isnag this spooky beautiful photo but I
got to spend some simple “quality time” with my wife, where we didn’t necessarily
say or do much but enjoyed the simple fact that we were together and that we loved
one another.
Well, It’s Tuesday, and I guess recalling this past
weekend’s little excursion is my attempt to encourage you to be cognizant of
the time you have and to utilize it, where you can, to enjoy your life and let
the people you love know you appreciate them.
At that late afternoon hour, we could have just surrendered to the
regular routine of getting ready for dinner and watched the daylight wane from
the inside of our country side home but instead we enjoyed the last brightness
of the day on the drive to Hudson Crossing and at a time some may have
determined to be “too late” to go on a walk, we were on our way out, having
seen every bit of daylight in a place where we could enjoy God’s creation in
each other’s company rather than indoors.
I think about this “stuff” often, the fact that
although God gives us His word to guide us, He also gives us a lot of “free
time” to decide what to do with our lives. We can work. We can study. We can
sleep. We can stay indoors. We can go out. But the thing is, even though I do
enjoy my times walking and talking with God outside, I have pondered the fact
that much of our human existence would seem to be “a wash” in terms of the
impact that our decisions make on our lives.
In the grand scheme, one single day in our lives may not mean that much,
and in hindsight, we can analyze similar days and see no difference between a
day spent indoors or a day spent outside.
There is little in and of itself of certain experiences
that make them “better than others” and God’s word is rather silent on what we
should do with the particulars of each and every day of our lives. We can do
anything and one thing isn’t necessarily better than another!
However, the reason I write this blog and do this
podcast is that I have discovered, and continue to learn, that a life spent, regardless
of our particular activities, in the “presence” of the Lord and in the context
of who we are in Christ is a life that is spent in peace, love, and joy.
Anybody looking on the outside at TammyLyn and I during
our walk in the park, would have counted two in our party, but they would have
been missing Someone. Yes, we were alone
but the love and gratitude that we expressed towards each other at various
times in our little stroll was replete with mentions of the God that we credit
with bringing us together and with thanks given in His direction.
As easy as this is to do when you are surrounded by the
glory of God’s natural creation outside, it is also something you can do inside
too.
I have to admit that before TammyLyn, I never was
much of a “saying grace” Christian but early on in our relationship I saw that
it was a regular practice for her. Or at least I guess it was because since I
have entered her life, the “saying grace” thing seems to have fallen to me!
But social awkwardness aside, its easy to do. What
could be more appropriate than thanking the Lord for providing the food that
you are going to eat, and in my case, for the beautiful woman who lovingly
prepared it?
So, that’s just one way we can keep the Lord in the
midst of our presence while indoors, but the truth is that I am continually “saying
grace” over my life as I literally thank God moment to moment for all the
things I encounter. When I say “keep walking
and talking with God”, I really mean it, like literally.
Yes, like “Wow that dude’s crazy”, walking and
talking with God. While I can’t say that
all of my life is without problems, a lot of which I create myself, walking
through life and recognizing the beauty of just being with the people we love,
just being where you are, and just being alive is something God never tires of
hearing about, or at least He hasn’t complained to me about my constant awe and
thanks!
So if you are not doing this already, start living
with and start loving the Lord. There is much to be thankful for and unlike
some of our human companions, He never tires of hearing us “point out the
obvious” or in telling Him about how we feel.
The constructs of society and just the “business as
usual” way we do things can make us “less free” as we are absorbed into the
mundanity of the humdrum, when the truth is that our lives are a miracle and a
mystery and there’s nothing humdrum about them. But you have to open your eyes
to see it and open your heart to feel it, the One that you never have to be ashamed to share
your “silly thoughts” with is the Lord.
So it’s another boring Tuesday again… or it is
another day of living the adventure of our lives?, where we can do almost
anything we want, with consequences of course, but even in the tight confines of
doing what we “need to do” we can still find wonder and joy.
So look around and appreciate where you are, or go “DO
SOMETHING” and appreciate that, but no matter what you decided to do with this
last Tuesday of November in the year of our Lord 2022, turn aside and thank the
Lord for what you encounter.
The pathway to peace isn’t a destination, its
determined by the way you walk and the company you keep.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible
Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Philippians
4:8 (NLT2)
8 And now, dear brothers and
sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and
right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are
excellent and worthy of praise.
Today’s verse highlights the
importance of what we think about in our Christian walk. I can’t recall exactly what I was thinking
about on my Saturday afternoon walk with my wife TammyLyn, but I can tell you
this: I wasn’t thinking about my problems, my work, or the “bad state of the
world” and because I didn’t think on those things I recall the walk quite
fondly.
But let’s not get that twisted, okay?
We are not to walk through life in denial.
The world is out there and the failure to recognize our surroundings and
our responsibilities will eventual cause us to suffer. We are to be stewards of what God has given
us and care for it.
However, at the same time we can
manage that quite well without dwelling on the things that will lead us into
sin or that will disturb our peace.
As much as we are “world citizens”
and care for our fellow man, in truth there
is not much we can do about the events that are distant from us, or even near
to us, unless we choose to get involved with them.
So, there you go. If you choose to
think on things that disturb you, I would like to hold you accountable by suggesting
that your thoughts should not just be something that will steal your peace, but
that you would seek to solve the situations that disturb you. Oh yeah, I’m no political pundit but if the
way of the world bothers you so much, I’m going to call you out and tell you to
“do something about it”.
I have had friends that would spend hours
telling me about political situations or conspiracy theories and I would listen
for a while but then would always ask: “So what should I DO?”
Unbelievably, or perhaps very
believably, other than getting obsessed or angry like them, they didn’t have many
helpful suggestions or a course of action that would correct the situations other
to hand the problems over to someone else.
Thinking about problems will steal
your peace but figuring out solutions and ENACTING THEM is another matter.
Solving problems is what we are supposed
to do on earth as Christians. But the biggest
problem is sin and the fact that we are hopeless without Jesus.
So that’s my suggestion every time:
put your faith in Christ and apply God’s word to the way you live your
life.
And listen today’s verse’s advice: think
on “what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and
admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
The
world is fading away, and our lives on it every moment. There is only so much we can do, but we
should do it, if we can. But the way to peace,
no matter what we accomplish, is the way of the Lord and to think on those
things that He would have us think about.
___________________________________________
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 Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s
“Discipleship”, also known as “The Cost of Discipleship”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
The Messengers
(An Interpretation of Matthew 10)
The Suffering of the Messengers
“See,
I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as
serpents and innocent as doves. Beware [the people], for they will hand you
over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged
before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the
Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or
what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;
for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through
you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children
will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by
all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When
they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you
will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
¶ “A disciple is not
above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple
to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his
household!” (Matt. 10:16–25).
Lack of success and
enmity cannot dissuade the messengers from the fact that they are sent by
Jesus. As a mighty strength and consolation, Jesus repeats: “Behold, I send
you!” It is not their own way or their own enterprise; they are sent. In this
the Lord promises that he will remain with his messengers when they will be
like sheep among the wolves, defenseless, powerless, fearful, and in great
danger. Nothing will happen to them that Jesus does not know. “Therefore be
wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” How often the servants of Jesus have
misused this statement! How difficult it is even for the willing messenger to
understand this rightly and remain obedient! Who can always distinguish between
spiritual wisdom and worldly cleverness? How tempting it is, therefore, to
renounce all “wisdom” and only be as simple as doves, which, one-sided, is
disobedience. Who tells us when we avoid suffering out of fear and when we seek
it out of recklessness? Who shows us the hidden boundaries drawn here? It is
the same disobedience, whether we use the commandment to be wise against
innocence, or the other way around, whether we use innocence against wisdom.
Because no human heart can fully know itself, and because Jesus never called
his disciples to uncertainty, but always to greatest certainty, this warning by
Jesus can only call the disciples back to the word. Wherever the word is, that
is where the disciples are to be. That is their true wisdom and their true
innocence. If the word must retreat, because it is obviously being rejected,
then the disciples should retreat with the word. If the word remains in an open
struggle, then the disciples should remain. They will have to act wisely and
simply at the same time. But the disciples should never set out on a road out
of “wisdom,” when that road cannot be approved by the word of Jesus. They
should never justify with “spiritual wisdom” a way which does not correspond to
the word of Jesus. Only the truth of the word will teach them to recognize what
is wise. But it can never be “wise” to break off the smallest piece of the
truth, for the sake of some human prospect or hope. Our own evaluation of our
situation cannot make us see what is wise; only the truth of the word of God
can do that. The only thing that is always wise is staying with the truth of
God. Here alone is the place where of God’s faithfulness and aid are promised.
At all times it will prove to be the “wisest” for the disciples at this time
and in the coming time to simply stand by the word of God.
The word will give
the messengers true knowledge of the people. “Beware the people.” The disciples
should not show fear of the people, nor evil mistrust, least of all hatred
toward human beings, nor should they show thoughtless trustfulness or faith in
the good in all people. Instead, they should show true knowledge of the
relationship of the word to the people and the people to the word. If they
understand this soberly, then they will not be scared by Jesus’ announcement
that their path among the people will be a path of suffering. Rather, they will
be able to endure it. A wonderful strength resides in the disciples’ suffering.
Criminals suffer their punishment in hiddenness. But the disciples’ path of
suffering will lead them before princes and kings, “for my sake, as a testimony
to them and the Gentiles.” The good news will be propagated by suffering. That
is the plan of God and the will of Jesus; and that is why in the hour of
accountability before courts and thrones the disciples will be given the power
to give a good confession, to offer a fearless witness. The Holy Spirit itself
will be with them. It will make them invincible. It will give them “a wisdom
that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict” (Luke
21:15). Because the disciples hold fast to the word in their suffering, the
word will remain with them. Self-sought martyrdom would not have this promise.
But the promise is absolutely certain for those who suffer with the word.
Hate toward the word
of Jesus’ messengers will remain until the end of time. Hate will pronounce the
disciples guilty of all the divisions which will come over cities and houses.
Jesus and his disciples will be condemned by everyone as destroyers of the
family, as forces leading the people astray, as crazy enthusiasts and
troublemakers. Then the temptation to fall away will be very near to the
disciples. But the end is also near. Until its coming they are to remain
faithful, to endure, to stand fast. Only those who stand fast with Jesus and
his word to the end will be blessed. But when the end comes, when the enmity
toward Jesus and his disciples is revealed for all the world to see, then and
only then should the disciples flee from one city to another, in order to
proclaim the word where it will still be heard. Even in this flight, they are
not separated from the word, but stand fast with it.
The promise of Jesus
that he will come again soon has been kept for us by the church-community in
the belief that it is true. Its fulfillment is a mystery, and it is not a good
thing to look for human ways to evade the issue. But what is clear, and the
only thing important for us today, is the fact that the return of Jesus will
come quickly. His coming is more certain than our being able to complete our
work in his service. It is more certain than our death. Jesus’ messengers can
receive no greater consolation in all this than the certainty that in their
suffering they will be like their Lord. Whatever happens to the master will
happen to the disciple; whatever happens to the lord will also happen to the
servant. If Jesus is called a devil, then that will happen even more to the
servants of his house. So Jesus will be with them and they will be like Christ
in everything.[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available
on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and
Audible.com.
These teachings are also available on the
MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247
Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and
to be encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship,
ed. Martin Kuske et al., trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss, vol. 4,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 192–195.
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