Red Eye Repentance - 40 Day Journey with Martin Luther
– Day 9 - Purity 1282
Purity 1282 02/23/2024 Purity 1282 Podcast
Purity 1282 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the sun nestled in the branches of
a huge and gnarly popular tree comes to us from yours truly as I captured this
scene yesterday during my short visit to Lake Eola Park in Orland.
Well, I’m back home but that was a journey in itself
as some renovations at the Philadelphia airport and “no heads up” from the
folks at American Airlines caused me to miss my connecting flight to Albany last
night, and when they shared the good news that while I couldn’t get a flight to
Albany the next day because of the size of our party, they could put us on a
flight to Hartford or Worchester. That unbelievably
obtuse suggestion caused me to scramble and arrange for a rental from the good folks
at Avis and a midnight run back to my
countryside home. We made it and it was
so late that I decided to wish everyone a good day before I went to bed. So this message might be a little shorter than
normal, but I am happy to be back home and ready to forsake the sweet tweets I
ate at Disney World and am ready to repent! You could finally say that I’m
giving up sugar-laced snacks for Lent! Better
late than never I guess. But that’s okay
our walk on the path of Christian Discipleship is about progress not perfection
and I hope that encourages you that it’s never too late to change – it’s never
too late to repent. So this red eye repentance edition of the mt4christ247 podcast
is brought to you by American Airlines who I will choose to avoid in the future
and Avis rental cars who I am truly thankful for!
Anyway speaking of repentance, making progress, and
dealing with things you need to give up, it’s the ninth day of Lent and so we
continue my personal walkthrough of Gracia Grindal’s 40 Day Journey with
Martin Luther to observe and celebrate the Lenten season. In this walkthrough Grindal’s
devotional, it is our hope that we will
get to know Martin Luther a little better as we seek to draw closer to the Lord
on our journey to Resurrection Sunday – Easter.
And so we continue.
“Journey
Day 9
YOU
ARE TO HONOR YOUR father and your mother.
What
is this?
Answer:
We are to fear and love God, so that we neither despise nor anger our parents
and others in authority, but instead honor, serve, obey, love, and respect
them.
First,
then, learn what this commandment requires concerning honor to parents. You are
to esteem them above all things and to value them as the most precious treasure
on earth. Second, in your words you are also to behave respectfully toward them
and are not to speak discourteously to them, to criticize them, or to take them
to task, but rather to submit to them and hold your tongue, even if they go too
far. Third, you are also to honor them by your actions, that is, with your body
and possessions, serving them, helping them, and caring for them when they are
old, sick, feeble, or poor; all this you should do not only cheerfully, but
also with humility and reverence, doing it as if for God.
BIBLICAL WISDOM
Honor
your father and mother"-this is the first commandment with a promise:: so
that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. "And,
fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the
discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:2-4
SILENCE FOR MEDITATION
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
•
To whom is this commandment addressed-very young
children or older children with feeble parents who need their help?
Yes – this commandment is addressed to young and older
children alike. Your parents will always
be your parents and the Lord commands us to honor them because He used them to
give us life. And just like with any
form of repentance – it’s never too early or too late to honor your mother and father.
•
Luther extends the commandment to honor your father
and mother to "others in authority." Who are those others? Does it
make sense to bring them under this commandment?
Others in authority who are worthy of honor would be
mentors, grandparents, or other friends or family who fulfilled the role of
father or mother in some aspect of our lives. If we consider them as a kind of
mother or father to us, I feel it is appropriate to bring them under this
commandment. Unfortunately, estranged
relationships are a problem in our post-divorce culture and while I would never
excuse someone from giving honor to their natural mother or father, I certainly
wouldn’t prohibit someone from giving honor to someone they feel is a “mother”
or father to them in some way. Admittedly,
this is my opinion and I can understand if someone, particularly estranged
fathers or mothers would disagree.
•
In what ways does your faith community encourage and
support people in keeping this commandment? What more might be done?
Bible-believing
faith communities usually encourage obedience to God’s word and that would
include the commandment to honor your father and mother. However, more typically this sentiment is
displayed in the church on Mother’s Day & Father’s Day, and not specifically
mentioned all that much from recollections in various church congregations.
PSALM FRAGMENT
The LORD
is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have
fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. Psalm 16:5-6
JOURNAL REFLECTIONS
•
Meditate on how the commandment to honor your
parents might become a spiritual practice for you.
This commandment could come into practice in a
variety of ways depending on the circumstances surrounding one’s relationships
with their parents. For myself, I could make
honoring my parents a practice by scheduling more time for visits with them and
thanking them for all they have done for me and my brothers throughout the
years as our parents.
•
Reflect on what you have done or are doing for your
parents to honor and help them. Were (or are) these duties burdensome to you or
a pleasure for you? Explain.
I
just recently went to my mother’s church on Ash Wednesday and ended up having
breakfast with Mom and Dad and have made tentative plans to get together with
them again when all my brothers can be in attendance. These things are not burdensome, and I feel
it is right to give honor to the ones who gave us so much.
•
What "others in authority" in your life
would you bring under the umbrella of this commandment? Why?
I guess
I would bring this umbrella to my mentor, Pastor Bob Costello. Bob is somewhat of a spiritual father to me
and although I don’t really plan visits with Bob whenever I do see him I try to
express my appreciation for the time He spent teaching and encouraging me to
live as a Christian.
PRAYERS FOR THE LIFE OF FAITH
If
your parents are still living, pray for strength to continue to honor them.
Whether living or dead, give thanks for whatever good they provided you, and
pray for the power to forgive them for whatever wrongs they may have done you.
Lord God, I pray for the strength to continue to
honor my parents. I thank you for
providing them to me as good examples of faith, hard work, and love. As you
know Lord I forgave them for any bitterness I may have held against them due to
the turmoil in my life before Christ and pray you bless them continually. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Dear
Heavenly Father, thank you for being faithful to me, even if I have not honored
either you or my parents as I should. Help me to give honor to you and them and
show me how to care for the young who need my help.
Amen
(Gracia M. Grindal. 40-day
Journey With Martin Luther. Kindle Edition.)
(We encourage you to purchase Grindal’s book and
take the 40 Day Journey with Martin Luther for yourself by purchasing Grindal’s
book wherever books are sold. You can find it online at many different sites
and purchase it new, used – paper or electronic for less than $15.00).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Conscience.
1 Timothy 3:9 (NLT2)
9 They must be committed to
the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience.
Today’s
verse falls under the third point of our counseling reference guide resource’s
section on Conscience.
3. Hold to the truths of the faith.
Today’s
verse tells us that we as Christians must be committed to our faith and live
with a clear conscience, presumably because we obey what the word says and try
to live a shame-free existence as we become more and more like Jesus.
-----------------------------------------------------------
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. Olford – A
Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available online
for less than $10 at many sites.
EVENING READING: MARK 14
“She has done a good work for Me.” –
Mark 14:6
What a blessed commendation! Such was given in response to
the outpouring of the sweet and precious spikenard – a token of true heart
love.
The Lord called it a “good work.” Good because it was seen
by the Lord from the spiritual side. Man, like those who murmured saying, “Why
this waste?” (v. 4), looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the
heart. And as He looked, He saw that it was the true expression of
unadulterated love. God looked at creation and said it was “very good.” The
Lord looked at this woman's heart and saw that His work in her heart was good.
When You look at my heart, Lord,
I pray You find this same quality of love.[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]
Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your
Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional
Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).