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Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Jesus’ Revolutionary Way of Living - Discovering New Levels of Freedom - Purity 1182


 Jesus’ Revolutionary Way of Living - Discovering New Levels of Freedom - Purity 1182

Purity 1182 10/26/2023  Purity 1182 Podcast

Purity 1182 on YouTube: 



Good morning,

Today’s painting of an Autumn forest pathway comes to us from Phyllis Seguin who shared a photo of her finished work of art on social media a couple of days ago and generously gave me permission to share it on the blog. Thank You, Phyllis!  

Well, it’s Thursday and it has been my habit to share photos of pathways as a visual encouragement or reminder to get on or to stay on the path of Christian discipleship and I thought sharing Phyllis’ beautiful fall painting of a pathway through the woods could meet that purpose and simultaneously give honor to Phyllis for her artistic talents. 

About a year ago Phyllis led members of her family through a “paint and sip” activity, and I was the only male member of the family to give painting a try.  It was the first time I ever had done anything like that, and I was glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and was pleased with the results as that dark full moon scene painting is currently hanging in my bedroom in my place “down by the River”.

That experience, along with many others I have had since putting my faith in Jesus Christ, demonstrates the great benefits that we can experience when we step out in faith and try something new.    The old adage of “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” may have an abundance of evidence to support it but the exceptions prove that saying to be a lie.  I’m not sure about dogs – maybe we don’t have the patience to train them or retrain them properly – shots fired – but I know that people can change, usually for the worse, unless of course they allow the Lord to transform them into the people He created them to be.   

Last night, I led another meeting of the Celebrate Freedom Growth Group at Starpoint Church, and although we had a lot of no-shows due to illness and other obligations, I was reminded of the value of giving people a place to be able to honestly report on the activities of their lives and to be given an environment in which they can ask God for help and receive support as they choose to make a change with the way they live their lives.   As a leader of a group like this, I reap the benefits of watching people discover that the Lord is alive and well and encouraging them to experience their freedom.

As people report on receiving new insights and new levels of peace, patience, joy, or self-control, I assure them that these things have been found because they decided to trust God and seek to live a good and righteous life. By choosing to trust God to take them out of the darkness, the Holy Spirit turns the lights on – illuminating truth – and filling their lives with the fruit of the Spirit. I point out that what they are experiencing is God working in their lives and I encourage them to keep following the path they have started on because if they “keep on walking and talking with God”, they will progress and grow day by day and eventually realize that they and their lives have been transformed.   

It is a blessing to be able to encourage people to discover their identity and freedom in Christ, but as a leader I also have to realize that my value or worth doesn’t depend on the weekly meeting attendance or the progress of the people in the group.  I can’t fix anyone or make anyone have faith so I have to be content just to speak the truth in love and trust that the Lord will move in the lives of those who choose to follow Him. 

It’s quite simple. If you earnestly follow Him, renew your mind, and seek to do His will with how you live your life, you will be changed. If you hold back or refuse to agree with what God says in some area or set a limit on what you are willing to do in following the Lord, or other or simply decide to stop following Him, you won’t be changed.  And those who think that there is nothing more to change or to grow in often end up going astray and losing the freedom they had.  So seek the Lord, love the Lord with all your heart mind, and strength, and don’t stop surrendering yourself to following His will for your life.

Make no mistake, following Jesus is a revolutionary pathway. Accepting Jesus’ way is accepting a different way of living, the way of truth and love. His light exposes the world’s lies, corruption, and hypocrisy and exposes just how blind we were to it all – and the revelations we receive when we choose to follow Jesus are progressive – we see more and more of the truth about the world, about ourselves, and about God, as we go.  

In my testimony, I progressed from an agnostic/atheistic/eastern mysticism practicing unbelieving addict – to a believer, then to a follower, then to a sober follower, then to a sexually pure sober follower, and no I have taken on my food addiction earnestly in such a way where, unlike in the past where I would Yo-Yo back in my weight and dive back into binge eating and overeating in general – I feel that I have been given a new opportunity to remain free and to progress further into personal physical health then I have ever gone before.

 I see the “sin” of not taking care of my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit,  and I see the lies of “calling evil what is good” in terms of food.  I see how “comfort food” doesn’t provide comfort.  I see how the foods I thought of as “good” are not good – not just intellectually but on an experiential basis.  Recently, I told my accountability partner that I had “cracked the code” of my food addiction because I have discovered the foods that I can eat on a regular basis that satisfy me and that don’t leave me feeling bloated, guilty, or heavy. I know the “cost” of the foods I choose and the “costs” of not monitoring what I eat. The awareness of what I eat and how much I eat and how it affects me has been somewhat of a breakthrough and even though I could have probably told you how I “knew” these things in the past, this time it feels like I have the option of not “forgetting” and going back into the darkness of a lifestyle that is defined by guilt, shame, and obesity.   I have been walking down a pathway of increasing peace, joy, and physical health, and it looks like I can choose to stay on it,  and that’s what I intended to do.

It seems only fitting that the guy who is leading a small group that encourages change and growth to experience it for himself.  

I have to be honest because of some of the disappointments I encountered with recovery ministry in the past – I had more or less confessed that I was done with “recovery ministry”. And I suppose, with the blend of discipleship/freedom prayer ministry techniques I try to bring to the table at Celebrate Freedom, I guess you could say I am done with “recovery ministry”. But apparently, the Lord knew I wasn’t done with recovery yet. I still had battles to fight. I still had victories to win. He had more freedom for me to experience. And here I am in the best physical shape I have ever been in my life, because I was willing to lead the charge toward freedom only to discover I was also called to take on a new challenge to experience a new level of freedom, peace and joy. 

So don’t believe the world’s lie that you can’t change – while there may be some truth to the adage that people don’t change – the higher truth is that God can transform people when they put their faith in Jesus, receive a new life, choose to follow Him to experience it.   

So don’t follow me, follow Jesus and see just how much freedom, victory, truth, peace, and joy He has waiting for you on the pathway He invites you to take.

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.

( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )

This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Bitterness, Resentment, & Hate.

Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV)
43  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Today’s verses fall under the eleventh point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Bitterness, Resentment, & Hate.

 11. Jesus commands us not to hate our enemies but love them and pray for them.

Today’s verses display the revolutionary ways of thinking that Jesus invites us to consider and to apply to our lives.  Love your enemies. Talk about a paradox! Jesus calls us to follow Him in His pathways of peace and the only way it is possible is through knowing Him.  

Only when we have come to faith in Jesus, can we experience the peace of being forgiven and being reconciled to God.  It is only with this eternal insight can we see the true state of our enemy – as not someone to be hated – but as someone who was much like us in our broken state – and who is to be pitied, prayed for, and shown compassion. 

In Luke 23:34 (NKJV)
34  …Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

when he was being crucified! Christ’s compassion shows that he understands that evil is ignorance of reality.  IF we realized the evil of what we do, we would repent and so we are called to love where there is hate, we are to forgive where there is offense, and we are to pray for the ones who seem to have no hope.  

I don’t know about you, but I considered myself to be spiritually hopeless – a sinner on the highway to hell who was unwilling and incapable of change, but the Lord knew that even the likes of me only need to know Him and to see the truth of His love to be changed.   So love your enemies and pray that they too will see the light and one day become a member of our heavenly family and they see the error of their wicked ways and put their faith in Jesus.

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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  The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available online for $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

32 - Honoring the Spirit

It seems fitting that we should close this lengthy discussion upon the Person, office, and operations of the Holy Spirit by dwelling upon what is due Him from those in whom He has wrought so graciously, for it is very evident that some recognition and response must be made Him by us. There is, however, the more need for us to write something thereon, because there are quite a number who belong to a company which refrains from all direct worship of the Third Person in the Godhead, deeming it unscriptural and incongruous to do so. It seems strange that the very ones who claim to give the Spirit a freer and fuller place in their meetings than any branch of Christendom, should, at he same time, demur at prayer being immediately directed to Him. Yet it is so: some of them refuse to sing the Doxology because it ends with “Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

From time to time one and another of our readers have written, taking exception to occasional statements made by us, such as “what praise is due the Spirit for His grace and goodness unto us!” challenging us to point to any definite passage wherein we are bidden to worship or pray to the Spirit distinctively. First, let us point out that there are many things clearly implied in Scripture which are not formally and expressly stated, and to assert we must for that reason reject them is absurd—some have refused the canonicity of the book of Esther because the name of God is not found therein, yet His superintending Providence, His overruling power, His faithfulness and goodness, shine forth in each chapter! We build not our faith on any isolated texts, but on the Word of God as a whole, rightly and spiritually interpreted.

We have begun thus not because we are unable to find any definite statements in the Word which obviously warrant the position we have taken, but because we deemed it well to refute an erroneous principle. Even if there were no clear cases recorded of prayer and praise being offered immediately to the Holy Spirit, we should surely require some strong positive proof to show the Spirit is not to be supplicated. But where, we ask, is there anything in Holy Writ which informs us that one Person in the Godhead must be excluded from the praises that we make unto the Lord? Here we are meeting the objector on his own ground: if what we are about to advance fails to convince him, he must at least allow that he knows of no texts which refute or condemn us, no verse which warns us against rendering to the blessed Spirit that recognition and honor to which we consider He is fully entitled.[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 YouTube 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 Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  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)  

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship



[1] Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).

Friday, August 11, 2023

Projection and “Reframing Our Experience” - Self-Deception Series 29 – Purity 1118


Projection and “Reframing Our Experience” - Self-Deception Series 29 – Purity 1118

Purity 1118 08/11/2023 Purity 1118 Podcast

Purity 1118 on YouTube: 



Good morning,

Today’s work of art, “Going Out: Deer Hunting in the Adirondacks” comes to us from Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait who put oil to canvas back in 1862 to share the beauty of a “wilderness experience”.  Tait hailed from New York City but from his work, we can assume he had some love for the great outdoors. I captured Tait’s work with my iPhone camera while at the “Adirondack Experience Museum on Blue Mountain Lake” and I thought I would share this artistic portion of my experience with you. The caption that accompanied Tait’s painting, written by Samantha Lafond, owner of Naturally Wild Taxidermy, stated: 

“One must truly experience nature to fully appreciate all it has to offer.”

I guess looking at paintings of it just won’t do. Sorry, Lafond goes on to write:

“An outdoorsman, or woman, is always excited about the next pilgrimage that may lay ahead. Adventures in the great outdoors allow us to thrive. They allow us to embrace new challenges and become a superior self. After a successful day’s hunt, good company, and a night’s rest, A. F. Tait shouts “see you down the line” to his good friend while his Adirondack guide “Captain” Calvin Parker prepares the boat for another great day in the wilderness”.  

Can I tell you; I love the great outdoors, I love looking at paintings of it, and I love the captions that inform us of some of the details about the artists and the scenes they create but if we consider their words honestly, we can realize that Tait isn’t the only one painting a picture here.  If we read into Lafond’s comments, we may question whether or not we are really an “outdoorsman” because we are inside, looking at “art”  of all things, and could walk away a little dejected if we aren’t “always excited about the next pilgrimage that may lay ahead” or don’t feel our outdoor excursions are making us into a “superior self”. 

And I guess we will just have to take it on faith that the people in this painting are who Lafond says they are – is that really Tait and Parker near that guide boat – is that really what they looked like, really? I wonder…  

And is Tait really saying, “see you down the line”? – because the look on those other men’s faces don’t seem too friendly, and that guy in the front of the other boat seems to be holding his oar as if he is responding to a curse from some “city slicker” more than he’s waving “howdy”… or at least it looks that way to me. 

But maybe my view and interpretation of this painting is a little clouded because I don’t hunt and don’t feel I have attained to my “superior self” as a great outdoorsman yet, and as someone who was raised as a small town “city dweller”, fear I never will!

I may be attributing thoughts and feelings to this painting that aren’t necessarily true.

How we “frame things” can really affect how we see them.  If you notice, I tried to crop out the frame that was around this painting because I didn’t want the border to affect our appreciation of the original work.  For better or worse, I wanted to present the painting as much as I could as it was.

One of the exhibits at the Adirondack Experience Museum demonstrates what a difference “framing” makes. The exhibit presents three different paintings and three different colored frames that you can remove and place as you see fit.  The quality of the presentation was positively or negatively affected depending on the color scheme of the painting and how it was complimented by or clashed with the color of the frame.

But that judgment of quality too was subjective, as we would project our preferences and the way we “saw it” to determine what frame went best with each painting, making us “like it” or “hate it.”

And that brings us to our current series on Self-Deception, where we have decided to investigate some of the ways we deceive ourselves by walking through Step 2, Deception Vs. Truth, of the Steps to Freedom in Christ to see what ways we may have been deceived by “the world” and ourselves and in what ways we have wrongly defended ourselves. 

So we present the sixth of the  “Ways to Wrongly Defend Yourself”:

6. Projection

The Steps to Freedom in Christ describes projection as “attributing to another what you find unacceptable in yourself.”  

To give an example of projection, I share the following passage about parenting teenagers from Meier, et al’s book, introduction to Psychology and Counseling – Christian Perspectives and Applications. 

“Parents generally view a teen-age son or daughter in one of three ways. Some parents project their own sinful impulses onto their teenagers, suspecting their teenagers of doing things of which they are not guilty. Other parents automatically assume that their teenagers are extensions of themselves. Both attitudes are unrealistic. The third, healthy, way is empathy. Parents who empathize with their teenagers accept them as separate individuals and try to understand them and their struggles. Especially in discussing sexual matters with their teenagers, parents should be sure they are not projecting unwarranted suspicion or assuming that their children think exactly as they do.[1]

Projection is associated with deception because it wrongly assumes something is true about someone else.  Although this passage and the Steps to Freedom’s description lead us to associate projection with negative, sinful, or unacceptable attributes, the opposite is also true. In our example, the second error that parents can make about their teenage children is that they are extensions of themselves, i.e. “they are just like me” in a good way – holding the same values, preferences, etc. – is also a form of projection.

To quote a Susan Kolod’s article (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychoanalysis-unplugged/202105/how-spot-projection-are-those-their-feelings-or-yours)  on projection: 

“People project all the time and it’s neither good nor bad, depending on which qualities are projected and whether or not they are denied in the self.

Projection can be the basis of wonderful qualities such as empathy, generosity, and romantic feelings—or negative qualities such as rage, greed, and contempt.

Projection both helps people to fall in love and also to hate and revile others.”  

So in the example of parenting teenagers, we could think the best or worst about them based on our projections.  The “best practice” of any relationship is to accept others as separate individuals and try to understand them and their struggles for what they actually are, not what we assume they are. A healthy dose of truth and insight into what one another is thinking can really help our relationship because we often project, assume, and react to things that aren’t true.   

Beyond our relationships, understanding projection can also help us to understand ourselves as an examination of our projections can reveal to us unconscious emotions are desires that we are denying.  So the way we view and respond to others may have a lot to say about ourselves.   

In regard to the way we live as Christians, we need to judge things according to the truth and whole counsel of God’s word, accepting God’s, not man’s standards, for what is right and wrong and balancing it with the love of Jesus who paradoxically taught us to love our enemies. In our dealings with our neighbors, we need to understand the propensity for sin in the hearts of our fellow men but be sure to “not judge others”.  Jesus tells us.

Matthew 7:2 (NLT2)
2  For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

Jesus is in effect telling us that the standard we project on others will be projected on us, and He directs us to take our high level of critical discernment and to look at the man in the mirror, to concern ourselves with taking care of the “plank” or “log” in our own eyes before concerning ourselves with the “speck” in our neighbor’s eye. The indication is, that when we repent and successfully overcome our own sinful inclinations, we will have more compassion, empathy, wisdom, and care in encouraging others to overcome theirs.   

So to put that in terms that people of my hip-hop-loving generation can understand check yourself before you wreak yourself.  Endeavor to live by the truth of God’s word and be sure to examine what you are thinking about someone else to see if it’s true, and to see if it might be reflecting the struggles of your own mind and heart.     

And if you are projecting, harsh or negative attributes onto God that more accurately reflect your earthly father or other imperfect figures of authorities from your life, be sure to “check yourself” there too because our God may be just, righteous, and holy but He is also good, faithful, patient, gently, loving, and kind. 

When it comes to correcting projection, we need to seek the truth and allow it to set us free.   

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.

( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )

This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, & Trials.

Isaiah 38:15-19 (NIV2011)
15  But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul.
16  Lord, by such things people live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live.
17  Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.
18  For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19  The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness.

Today’s verse fall under the fifteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, & Trials

 15. “King Hezekiah praised God for loving discipline.

Today’s verses show us how the right view of God can give us an interpretation of our suffering that is contrary to the reality of the experience.  Suffering is a bad thing after all. Pain hurts. Loss hurts.  In and of themselves, it is difficult to view pain or loss as a “good thing” and to keep us from becoming masochists who would proclaim that it “hurts so good” let’s keep it real by admitting to the reality of the negative aspect of our pain and loss. We don’t want to live in denial after all by saying bad experiences are really good, because they are not. 

However, at the same time, when we can look past the pain of our suffering and see that it resulted in some positive effects, like our maturity or simply learning to “never do that again”, or that it is part of God’s purposes in some way the pain is “reframed”, so it doesn’t continue to be a source of anguish or bitterness. 

The loss of our loved ones hurts like hell, but in reality we are all destined to die – we couldn’t live forever after all. 

However, in Christ, we do live forever. 

So the loss of our loved ones, if they were in Christ, could be, and gently say should be, “reframed” so it:

·       isn’t a constant source of anguish – for our good, God wants us to accept the way things work in His kingdom and trust that He has things in control.

·       Is seen as a good thing for our lost loved one – they are no longer suffering on the earth and are in the splendor of God’s kingdom, their pain is gone, their suffering is gone, they know the truth of the mystery of God’s kingdom, they are with God, they have joy, and we will see them again.  

·       Is seen as a part of God’s purposes.  It may seem tragic to us, but it all went (oh even the pain and suffering) went according to God’s plan, we were meant to experience this way because that way it was supposed to be.

When we reflect on the details of Christ’s passion, we could second guess the Lord and wonder why Jesus had to suffer the things he did, to that extreme, etc.  – but Jesus knew what the plan was and because of the JOY set before Him (of the Father’s, Son’s, and Holy Spirit’s will being done and for our salvation) and suffered the cross.  God’s plan included suffering but when we realize the results we realize it was good one all the same.  

As for those who reject the Lord, we know they wouldn’t have been happy in His presence after life – they didn’t seek His company on earth so why condemn them to be in His company in eternity? Those who reject the Lord make themselves God and rightly are punished for their iniquities. They freely chose their path away from the Lord and they must walk it out. 

King Hezekiah was suffering greatly and was on the verge of death, but He knew that God was good. Even though He suffered He considered it good because, despite his physical pain and death that would eventually stop his time on earth, Hezikiah considered the discipline of the Lord to be a good thing because God’s love kept him from the “pit of destruction”.  

So know that God is good and do your best to “reframe” your suffering to look beyond the pain and loss to rest in His peace, here on earth and in eternity forever more.

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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  The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available online for $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3) 

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

19 -The Spirit Teaching

Tests for the Spirit’s Teaching

From all that has been said above a very pertinent question arises, How may I know whether or not my teaching has been by the Holy Spirit? The simple but sufficient answer is, By the effects produced. First, that spiritual knowledge which the teaching of the Holy Spirit imparts is an operative knowledge. It is not merely a piece of information which adds to our mental store, but is a species of inspiration which stirs the soul into action. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). The light which the Spirit imparts reaches the heart. It warms the heart, and sets it on fire for God. It masters the heart, and brings it into allegiance to God. It molds the heart, and stamps upon it the image of God. Here, then, is a sure test: how far does the teaching you have received, the knowledge of Divine things you possess, affect your heart?

Second, that knowledge which the teaching of the Spirit imparts is a soul-humbling knowledge. “Knowledge puffeth up” (1 Cor. 8:1), that is a notional, theoretical, intellectual knowledge which is merely received from men or books in a natural way. But that spiritual knowledge which comes from God reveals to a man his empty conceits, his ignorance and worthlessness, and abases him. The teaching of the Spirit reveals our sinfulness and vileness, our lack of conformity to Christ, our unholiness; and makes a man little in his own eyes. Among those born of women was not a greater than John the Baptist: wondrous were the privileges granted him, abundant the light he was favored with. What effect had it on him? “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose” (John 1:27). Who was granted such an insight into heavenly things as Paul! Did he herald himself as “The greatest Bible teacher of the age?” No. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8). Here, then, is a sure test: how far does the teaching you have received humble you?

Third, that knowledge which the teaching of the Holy Spirit imparts is a world-despising knowledge. It makes a man have poor, low, mean thoughts of those things which his unregenerate fellows (and which he himself, formerly) so highly esteem. It opens his eyes to see the transitoriness and comparative worthlessness of earthly honors, riches and fame. It makes him perceive that all under the sun is but vanity and vexation of spirit. It brings him to realize that the world is a flatterer, a deceiver, a liar, and a murderer which has fatally deceived the hearts of millions. Where the Spirit reveals eternal things, temporal things are scorned. Those things which once were gain to him, he now counts as loss; yea, as dross and dung (Phil. 3:4–9). The teaching of the Spirit raises the heart high above this poor perishing world. Here is a sure test: does your knowledge of spiritual things cause you to hold temporal things with a light hand, and despise those baubles which others hunt so eagerly?

Fourth, the knowledge which the teaching of the Spirit imparts is a transforming knowledge. The light of God shows how far, far short we come of the standard Holy Writ reveals, and stirs us unto holy endeavors to lay aside every hindering weight, and run with patience the race set before us. The teaching of the Spirit causes us to “deny ungodliness and worldly lusts,” and to “live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12). “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). Here, then, is a sure test: how far does my knowledge of spiritual things influence my heart, govern my will, and regulate my life? Does increasing light lead to a more tender conscience, more Christlike character and conduct? If not, it is vain, worthless, and will only add to my condemnation.[2]

---------------------------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 Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  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)

For those who require the assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge     

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship


[1] Paul D. Meier M.D. et al., Introduction to Psychology and Counseling: Christian Perspectives and Applications, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1991), 210.

[2] Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).

Monday, April 3, 2023

The Path of Reconciliation - Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 35– Purity 1007

 

The Path of Reconciliation - Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 35– Purity 1007

Purity 1007 04/03/2023 Purity 1007 Podcast

Purity 1007 on YouTube: 



Good morning,

Today’s photo of a sunlight pathway on pouring through brick windows over hardwood floors comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene while visiting the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams on Saturday.  I was moved to take this photo because I was happy to see something pure that the Lord decided to put on display after being somewhat disillusioned and disturbed by what man would call art.  Some of the displays were man’s best attempts to create beauty out of things that had been broken and discarded and some of the themes revealed that the artists may have felt that way about themselves. Other displays were a distortion of things God created and others wittingly or unwittingly paid homage to “gods that were not God” or to Satan himself.  While I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone from paying a visit to the very impressive venue of Mass MoCa, I would suggest keeping your spiritual eyes open and see the subtle but inherent dangers that come from man forcing their vision and definition of beauty on the world and in the ways the enemy spurs on that prideful self-expression of rebellion and how he can tempt these “artists” to give him glory to him by including symbols and images that represent him in their work.

I guess that’s what happens when the Lord calls you to follow Him and to pick up the mantle of a spiritual warfare ministry: you can’t help but see the subtle and not so subtle ways the enemy attacks us and actively seeks to steal, kill, and destroy the things God has created. I was moved and impressed by many of the exhibits at Mass MoCa but I also said a prayer of repentance this morning to cleanse myself of any demonic permissions or assignments that may have tried to attach themselves to me through the more sinister elements on exhibit at the museum.

Well, It’s Monday again and while I have to prepare for another week of work at my day job at a telecommunications company, I had to pray that prayer of repentance to prepare myself for a possible confrontation with the spiritual forces of darkness this evening as I will be leading another man from the Freedom in Christ course through the Steps to Freedom in Christ this evening.  And considering this man was oppressed with nightmares that involved bears, imprisonment, chaos, and sexual temptations the evening after he submitted his paperwork for his freedom appointment, the enemy may not be happy with this man’s decision to repent and could attempt to resist our efforts this evening.  

If we had to face off against the enemy in our own strength I would have serious concerns but because we are relying on the power and authority given to us by God because of our faith in Jesus Christ, I am relieved and confident that no demon could stop us from performing what God wants us to accomplish.  So we will trust in the Lord and the power of His might and follow where He leads us.  

Well, after Palm Sunday yesterday, we are in the midst of Holy Week and I looking forward to Resurrection Sunday this weekend but we have to take this journey through Lent one day at a time.  So let’s continue by taking one more step into the 35th day of Lent, and into Day 35 of our current series, the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

As a reminder, and as we will say each day of this journey, we take this path to mark the season of Lent and to draw closer to God in anticipation of the celebration of Easter, knowing that if we take this journey of repentance seriously, we will not only see the days and seasons change, the Lord will use it to change us too. 

You can sign up to get this devotional yourself by going to the Biblegateway link on the blog ((https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/40-Day-Journey-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/today)) . 

Day 35

Bonhoeffer writes:

“Thus there remains only one path for those who in following Jesus want to truly serve God in worship, and that is the path of reconciliation with their sisters and brothers.

Anyone who comes to the word and sacrament with an unreconciled heart stands judged by doing so.

Such a person is a murderer in God’s sight.

That is why you must “first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

It is a difficult path Jesus imposes on his disciples.

It includes much humiliation and dishonor for the disciples themselves.

But it is the path to him, our crucified brother, and thus, it is a path full of grace.

In Jesus, service to the least brother or sister and service to God became one.

He went and was reconciled to his human kindred, and then he came and offered himself, the one true sacrifice, to his Father.”

Biblical Wisdom

“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother and sister, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24

Questions to Ponder

  • Bonhoeffer states that: “It is a difficult path Jesus imposes on his disciples.” What makes it difficult?

M.T. Clark: The path of reconciliation that Jesus imposes on us is difficult because it requires our complete surrender to His Lordship which in turns requires our humility, our profession of faith publicly, and our sincere efforts to be “peacemakers” in a world that is hostile to God.  Just yesterday, I was accused of being either an “idiot or a liar” for sharing the belief that the Bible is the word of God.  Our natural inclination as men is to fight fire with fire but because of my skeptical and atheistic past, I know that the  criticism that would call me dishonest or ignorant is coming from a place of ignorance and dishonesty (they either “don’t know” God’s word or are stating that they “know” for certain it isn’t His word – which I would think they couldn’t honestly say). While I don’t think I will be reconciled to this person, I still felt moved to respond, thanking them for their honest feedback, and tried to encourage them to seek out the veracity of the claims regarding God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ for themselves by asking the question: Could the One who created the universe be unable to share His story and reveal His will to those He created? Obviously, I had to humble myself to respond to someone who laid such obvious criticism at my feet.  And even though this is extremely mild treatment on the persecution scale, it demonstrates in a small way the difficult path that Jesus imposes on his disciples to be reconciled to our brothers and to make peace where and if it is up to us.        

  • He also states that, “it is a path full of grace.” Where is the grace?

M.T. Clark: This path is full of grace because it is established by the grace of God.  God’s grace saved us, giving us mercy and favor, and it is only though God’s grace are we able to forgive and offer mercy and favor to others.  The grace is in me as I seek to be reconciled to others, but it comes from God, and if God moves within the situation, it can be received by the other as well. 

  • How did Jesus model the truth that, “service to the least brother or sister and service to God became one”?

M.T. Clark: Jesus’s earthly ministry of proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through faith in Him, His miracles, His acts of service, and His death on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins all model the truth that He is servicing the least brother or sister and simultaneously performing the service that God called Him to do.   All the things Jesus did was in service and obedience to God the Father’s commands, but they also serviced to men’s physical and spiritual needs.  Thus we can service God and man by answering the call to do good works in the name of God here on earth.

Psalm Fragment

O guard my life, and deliver me;
   do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
   for I wait for you. 
Psalm 25:20-21

Journal Reflections

  • Is there someone with whom you need to be reconciled? Write about the circumstances that led to alienation from this person.

M.T. Clark: Need to be reconciled?  Yeah, I would have to say because I still have unfinished business regarding the terms and conditions of my divorce, I need to be reconciled to my ex. While our marriage covenant has been broken and legally severed, our marriage home needs to be sold in order for the terms of our divorce agreement to be fulfilled and to be able to move forward with our lives independently of one another.  I have taken what legal action I can to move things to completion but am waiting for this matter to be resolved. It’s a difficult situation and I await the day we can be reconciled in this matter because I know that even though it may be difficult to get there, both parties will be better off when it is finished.

  • What step(s) might you take to begin the process of reconciliation?

M.T. Clark: I don’t taken the right steps with legal action but I know that I wasn’t getting anywhere without it.  I could try to extend an olive branch of peace but the other party has made it clear that they don’t wish to speak to me and I fear that further actions on my part to be reconciled in this matter would only make this matter worse.  So we wait.  It is difficult path, right?  

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, thank you for reconciling me to yourself; now make me a reconciler.

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. 

 

(40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Copyright © 2007 Augsburg Books, imprint of Augsburg Fortress.)

***As we are being provided with Bible verses from the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we will are taking a break from sharing a verse of the day from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”. We plan on resuming that normal installment of the blog following Easter.*** 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 A.W. Pink’s “The Sovereignty of God.”

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’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 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

By  ARTHUR W. PINK

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE VALUE OF THIS DOCTRINE continues

 

We shall now consider the Value of the doctrine in detail.

3. It repudiates the heresy of salvation by works

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12). The way which “seemeth right” and which ends in “death,” death eternal, is salvation by human effort and merit. The belief in salvation by works is one that is common to human nature. It may not always assume the grosser form of Popish penaces, or even of Protestant “repentance,” i.e., sorrowing for sin, which is never the meaning of repentance in Scripture; anything which gives man a place at all is but a variety of the same evil genus. To say, as alas! many preachers, are saying, God is willing to do His part if you will do yours, is a wretched and excuseless denial of the Gospel of His grace. To declare that God helps those who help themselves is to repudiate one of the most precious truths taught in the Bible, and in the Bible alone; namely, that God helps those who are unable to help themselves, who have tried again and again only to fail. To say that the sinner’s salvation turns upon the action of his own will is another form of the God-dishonoring dogma of salvation by human efforts. In the final analysis, any movement of the will is a work: it is something from me, something which I do. But the doctrine of God’s sovereignty lays the axe at the root of this evil by declaring “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Rom. 9:16). Does some one say, Such a doctrine will drive sinners to despair. The reply is, Be it so; it is just such despair the writer longs to see prevail. It is not until the sinner despairs of any help from himself that he will ever fall into the arms of sovereign mercy; but if once the Holy Spirit convicts him that there is no help in himself then he will recognize that he is lost, and will cry, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” and such a cry will be heard. If the author may be allowed to bear personal witness, he has found during the course of his ministry that the sermons he has preached on human depravity, the sinner’s helplessness to do anything himself, and the salvation of the soul turning upon the sovereign mercy of God, have been those most owned and blessed in the salvation of the lost. We repeat, then, a sense of utter helplessness is the first prerequisite to any sound conversion. There is no salvation for any soul until it looks away from itself, looks to something, yea, to Somone, outside of itself.[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 Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  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)

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

 



[1] Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 227–228.