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Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Broken Trusts - Purity 1322

Purity 1322 04/10/2024 Purity 1322 Podcast

Purity 1322 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a pile of broken rocks in the foreground a sea of light green treetops, with a sun beam shining over a mountain in the distance comes to us from an unknown FB friend who shared this scene from an unknown location on social media on or around May 18, 2021. If this is a scene from your life and would like the photo credit, give me a heads up and I will update the blog with the pertinent information after the fact.

Well, It’s Wednesday and I share this photo to free it from my phones photo archive and to visually represent our arrival at the midpoint of another “work week”, and although I am enjoying a Stay-cation at my place down by the River, I wouldn’t say I haven’t been “working” as my “off days” thus far have been positively filled with yard maintenance, “data management”, educational training, and “ministry” as I have been raking, mowing, completing a Mental Health Coaching Course from Light University, and have been answering emails and providing advice, feedback, and discipleship and spiritual warfare materials as part of my “ongoing” Community Freedom Ministry. Just yesterday I provided Bondage Breaker materials to a pastor in South Africa and gave some discipleship and spiritual warfare advice to a couple that has been harassed by a demonic spirit that has been cast twice only to return – pointing out that when there is ongoing sin in one’s life – like sex outside of marriage – the enemy can use that as “legal ground” from which they can claim to have permission to afflict you. And the enemy says: “They give me a foothold and I don’t have to leave. I’m back!”

Putting your trust in Jesus – to receive a new life and the Lord’s protection – is more than saying a simple prayer and then going about your normal sinful business, or at least it shouldn’t be. When we trust Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, we are supposed to “pick up our crosses” and follow Him with the way we live. A covenant is an agreement between two parties and when we fail to be faithful to follow the Lord and live in sin we can suffer the consequences for “breaking that trust” – both by the natural negative consequences of doing the “wrong thing” or failing to do the “right thing” (sin works both ways, remember?) and we can suffer the “supernatural consequences” of attracting what Neil Anderson analogously referred to as “flies” – demons. Anderson described sin as bags of garbage that we should get rid of but decide to keep in our lives, and just like garbage attracts flies, sin attracts demons. So the first step of spiritual warfare should be to repent of any known sin. And when we examine our lives for the “trash” we need to clean up we need to make our evaluation based on what the Bible describes as sin, and not what may be acceptable in our postmodern – post-Christian confused and depraved society. While anything “may go” morally in this brave new world we live in these days, we are still accountable to what God says is right and wrong, whether we believe in Him or not, and we are vulnerable to the demonic spiritual forces of darkness, whether we believe in them or not.

When we break the trust we have put in Jesus with our sin, we need to take corrective action and repent. It may not be easy but it’s what we have to do if we want to be free from fear and the risks we make ourselves vulnerable to by doing nothing.

I’m glad I was able to present this little message on some basic principles of faith and spiritual warfare this morning because I have been absolutely busy protecting myself from possible negative consequences because of broken trust in my personal life.

I have recently fallen out of relationship with someone whom I love and have helped financially in the past but now that our relationship currently seems to be on “the outs” – communication has shut down - so I took steps to prevent a possible breach of trust this morning by reporting my credit card as lost – which I let them use once in the past. While I still consider them to be “trustworthy”, because of the break in our relationship and the conditions in their lives that preceded the break, I don’t want to leave the opportunity open for them, or their creditor, to use my payment method to pay their expenses. I don’t “believe” this person would use my card without permission, but I don’t trust the company paid previously to not to utilize a working payment method that was used in the past if a balance comes due.. So just like our communications, I cut it off! I’ll never know if they would have violated my trust, or if their creditor would have, but now I know they can’t. And just like cutting off the enemy by repenting of our sins, when our human relationships fail we have to be proactive to ensure our mutual protection – I am protecting my financial accounts, but I am also protecting them from further damaging our relationship with an unauthorized charge. I may not be in a good relationship with them currently, but I still care for them and while I am not offering any financial help to them currently, they owe me a few thousand dollars as it is, it doesn’t necessarily I wouldn’t offer help if they asked for it. And for that to happen, they would have to communicate with me… and possibly re-establish our relationship.

There are consequences for broken trusts. If God would allow the enemy to utilize the permission I give him through my sin, I can allow a loved one to suffer the consequences of their poor decisions. In these two scenarios, the lack of protection or help does not indicate a lack of love. I know God loves us, but He does want us to believe in Jesus and do what’s right, and as His child, I feel the same way about the person whom I had to take preventative measures against, I love them and want them to believe in Jesus and do what is right. And while I can’t make them do either, I can limit the damage they do to our relationship.

Tough love isn’t easy. Making someone responsible for the pain they caused you isn’t easy. And when we walk in the Spirit, we not only have to repent and stop doing what is wrong, we have to keep our eyes on the road ahead to lovingly prevent ourselves or others from further suffering. The pathway of Christian Discipleship is a pathway of peace and sometimes, to ensure we stay in that peace, we have to be wise and discerning to maintain it.

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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 verses come 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 Death and Eternal Life

Philippians 1:22-26 (ESV)
²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
²⁶ so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Today’s verses fall under the fourth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Death and Eternal Life.

4. Paul wanted both to remain here and to go home to be with the Lord, which is far better.

Today’s verse shows us that the disciple’s life should be spent in service to the Lord and others. Pail saying that remaining “in the flesh is more necessary on your account” means that he knows that, even though his eternal destiny with God is secured, it is better to live and help those he can materially and spiritually to help them to know God and to put their life in the trust of Jesus. So even though a “disciple’s vacation” can look a lot like work, we know that spending our time and efforts serving the kingdom of God is the best use of our time,

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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 “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: JOHN 14

“If it were not so, I would have told you.” – John 14:2

Personally, this is a very wonderful thought. Christ says, “If all the things about which I have been talking were not so, I would have told you.” Of course, this primary application is in connection with the few preceding words concerning the Father's house. And what a certain seal this was and is to the reality of a home in heaven for those who are His. But I like to apply the above verse to more than just the preceding few words. I like to take the whole revelation of Christ as recorded, and add, “Were this revelation not so, He would have told me.” This precious thought seems to seal home to my own heart the essential truth of all He has said in His Word, for were it not so, He would have told me.

Your Word stands as Truth, Lord. Amen.^{^[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).

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Moving Out and Moving On - 40 Day Journey with Martin Luther – Day 38 - Purity 1311

Purity 1311 03/28/2024 Purity 1311 Podcast

Purity 1311 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of green grass, a winding path, and a stand of trees near the shore of what I suspect to be Lake Ontario comes to us from an unknown FB friend who shared this scene on social media on or around May 23^rd, 2021. If this beauty is yours, give us a heads up and we will update the blog to give you the photo credit you deserve after the fact.

Well, It’s Maundy Thursday, and tonight I will lead one of the men from the Freedom in Christ Course through the Steps to Freedom in Christ. While any day is a good day to go through that prayerful repentance process, I have to admit that choosing the day when we remember the night that Jesus humbled himself to wash the Apostles’ feet is a good choice as this man will seek to be washed clean of any spiritual or personal conflicts from his past that he has been carrying and he will be able to walk into Resurrection Sunday knowing that he has renounced the lies and defilements of this corrupted world and fully committed himself to his identity in Christ and following Jesus.

When we decide to get right with God and choose to walk in the Spirit with the rest of our lives, the joy of our new life in Christ is palpable but at the same time, we should also realize that there may be tough roads to travel ahead because of our decision to walk the way of Jesus. You might think that the decision to “do what’s right according to God’s word” and to attempt to live a righteous and holy life would be applauded, but if we look at the life of Jesus, we can see that some people will hate us for it. If people hated Jesus who was without sin, they will probably oppose us too – in fact Jesus told us they would. In

John 15:18-19 (NKJV) , where Jesus said:
¹⁸ "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

When people are living a fleshly or sinful life and don’t have a relationship with the Lord, our Christian witness can cause people to dislike us. People don’t like the idea that they aren’t living as they should, and some will vehemently rebel and oppose any attempts on our part to encourage them to “get right with God” or even to “do what is right”.

Yesterday, my son decided to move out of my home. He doesn’t have any visible relationship with God as he stopped going to church when I left that decision up to him. Recently, he quit his job and has been suffering from what looked like clinical depression at times but I think it is just a depressed state because he doesn’t know what to do with his future, he didn’t prepare himself for it, and his situation demands that he work to support himself, but he doesn’t want to work. The answer to his problem is the cause of his problem. Working would give him the means to support himself and thrive but he doesn’t like it. So he quit. He needs to work but work depresses him. But the fact that he doesn’t have any money depresses him also. It’s a really “double bind”. Having to work bums him out but not working doesn’t solve the problem. In January, he stopped working and I gave him 60 days’ notice to get a job or to move out of my house. I wanted to motivate him to “do what was right”. But after much drama and no action, my son decided to move out of the house because I ordered him to clean up his act by getting a haircut and to get a job. The haircut was the deal breaker. Although my son will periodically cut his hair cut short because I basically told him to do it, he decided to move out and move in with his sister. So before the 60 days was up, and even though I was willing to give him another 30 to get a job, Brennan moved out.

And although I don’t like the way things transpired, I have peace about Brennan hasn’t living right and he is free to continue to live the way he chooses but it doesn’t have to be under my roof. He was destined to move out someday and someday was yesterday. I still love my son and wish him well and pray he will make good choices, get a job, and support himself.

We can’t control anyone and all we can do is try to encourage them to do what we know to be right and let them make their own decisions. Brennan’s problems are his problems, and he will have to figure out how to solve them. I release him to the Lord and the care of his sister.

Well, it’s Lent - the season of letting and letting God and drawing close to Him and asking him to take our burdens. And speaking of Lent…

It’s the thirty-eighth 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 of 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 38

What is confession?

Answer: Confession consists of two parts. One is that we confess our sins. The other is that we receive the absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the confessor as from God himself and by no means doubt but firmly believe that our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.

(As to Confession) I refer to the practice of confessing to God alone or to our neighbor alone, asking for forgiveness. These two kinds are included in the Lord's Prayer when we say, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Indeed, the entire Lord's Prayer is nothing else than such a confession. For what is our prayer but a confession that we neither have nor do what we ought and a plea for grace and a joyful conscience? This kind of confession should and must take place continuously as long as we live. For this is the essence of a genuinely Christian life, to acknowledge that we are sinners and to pray for grace.

Biblical Wisdom

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1: 5-10.

Silence for Meditation.

Pause the podcast, or stop reading, and sit quietly for 60 seconds, a few minutes, or 10-15 minutes, or however long you feel comfortable with and have time for. Focus on your breath and the calm stillness in the present moment that is always available to us in God’s creation. Meditate on Martin Luther’s comments for the day, and the content of today’s Biblical wisdom.

Questions to Ponder

· Why is confession the “essence of a genuinely Christian life”?

Confession is the essence of a genuinely Christian life because it involves our acknowledging that God’s ways are good and holy, and we have deviated from His ways and separated ourselves from His presence – and so we confess to be made right with God and to restore the harmony of our relationship with Him. We will all invariably make missteps on the path of Christian discipleship and so we will need to confess our faults and come back to God’s good graces continually as we attempt to walk with Him.

· Why do we need to be exhorted and encouraged to confess our sins either to another or to God alone? What is the role of the church?

We need to be exhorted and encouraged to confess our sins because the tendency is to hide our shame, guilt, and continue to stay in our sins. When we confess to God or other Christians we not only admit that we “did it” we are agreeing that God’s ways are right and that we will try to walk in them. The church’s role – the body of Christ- is to encourage us to walk by faith and to make us accountable to do so – to provide support, instruction, and fellowship to help us to live a Christian life.

· The reading from 1 John points to our ability to deceive ourselves when it comes to sin. How does our culture encourage such self-deception? How can we learn to avoid such self-deception?

Our culture encourages self-deception by either denying that there is anything wrong with what we are doing or that Jesus’ blood gives us a license to sin. The best way to avoid such self-deception is to know and live by the truth of God’s word and to make ourselves accountable to God and a trusted Christian or group of Christians to do so.

Psalm Fragment

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5.

Journal Reflections

· Meditate on the word “confession”. What feelings does it evoke in you? Do you resist the idea or embrace it as a positive spiritual practice? Why?

The word confession used to evoke feelings of fear, guilt, or shame as “confession” in the Catholic church meant going before the priest and getting “punished” with penance to be clean. It gave one a real sense of “being in trouble”. But now I know that I can confess my sins and not be punished. Confession is the means by which we get right with God and reestablish the harmony of our relationship. So I don’t fear it. I embrace it and keep a short list of things to confess by doing it on a continual basis. It’s a positive spiritual practice because it gives me peace.

· Meditate on the Lord's Prayer and then journal about how this prayer can be used as a daily experience of confession and forgiveness.

The petition to “forgive us our debts” or sins can be seen as a confession. God knows what we have done so we don’t necessarily need to list our transgressions to receive a measure of peace when we sincerely pray the Lord’s Prayer.

· Meditate on what it means to “walk in the light”. Have you ever experienced light breaking over your soul after an experience of confession and forgiveness? If so, describe the experience and what you learned from it.

Walking in the light means forsaking our sin and living according to God’s will. I have experienced the joy and peace of God’s light and I have learned that God’s ways are the best ways to live by, regardless of the opposition we may face from the world for it.

Prayers for the Life of Faith

Pray that you will learn to live in daily confession and forgiveness so that you will be able to walk in the light with Christ.

Lord, I pray that I will continue to live in daily confession and the forgiveness You give me so that I will increasingly walk in the light with Christ. So help me God, Amen.

Prayer For Today

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me. Teach me to revel in your grace.

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).

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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 verses come to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.

This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Contentment, Coveting & and Priorities.

2 Kings 5:19-27 (ESV)
¹⁹ He said to him, “Go in peace.” But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance,
²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
²¹ So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”
²² And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’”
²³ And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi.
²⁴ And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.
²⁵ He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”
²⁶ But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
²⁷ Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.

Today’s verses fall under the twenty-second point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Contentment, Coveting, and Priorities.

22. God chastised Gehazi severely for his covetousness.

Today’s verses teach us that our greed and lying can have far reaching effects that could curse us and our descendants. While Gehazi’s fate is immediate, we too could be cursed by carrying the leprosy of covetousness and deceit and suffer from it all the days of our lives and that in turn could be taught to our children who pass it on to the next generation.

Having to look over your shoulder because of the lies you have told or having to satisfy your greed continually is a burden that will cause us pain and so we should learn to always be honest and to be content with what we have.

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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 “According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.

MORNING READING: JOHN 3

“God does not give the Spirit by measure.” – John 3:34

It is quite obvious that the reference here is to the Lord Jesus Christ. But nevertheless, this is God's principle – He never gives by measure. He so loved that He gave His only begotten Son. He did not spare His Son. If He did not spare, it follows that He does not give by measure. For in giving His Son, through Him He now freely gives me all things (not by measure!).

The question of the “measure,” however, is governed by the life of the believer. Paul speaks of Christians who were not able to receive the meat of the Word because of carnality. The human vessel can only be filled in so far as it is emptied. The Lord was “The Empty One” for He emptied Himself (See Phil. 2). Therefore, the Spirit was given to Him without measure.

Lord, I empty myself entirely that I may be
filled to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit.^{^[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.

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).

Friday, March 1, 2024

Gifts of Appreciation and Love – 40 Day Journey with Martin Luther – Day 15 - Purity 1288

Purity 1288 03/01/2024 Purity 1288 Podcast

Purity 1288 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of roadside setting sun over the Hudson River comes to us from yours truly as I just had to pull over to capture this scene on my way home from work yesterday in Castleton NY,

Well, It’s Friday, thank God, and as I share this photo from a moment when I truly appreciated the shining sun and the fact that my commute makes moments like this possible, I encourage you to regularly practice appreciation and gratitude as part of your walk on the path of Christian Discipleship. If you are in Christ, you have received a new life but if you don’t remain grounded in an attitude of gratitude based on your new identity in Christ and take times to appreciate all that the Lord has done and is doing in your life, you could miss the abundant life of peace and joy that Jesus came to give you.

Beyond the essential practice of thanking and appreciating God, which would help you in being obedient to Jesus’ commandment to love the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, and mind, we should let the love and joy we have received from God be passed along to the other people in our lives, to fulfill Christ’s second great commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Our family, friends, and neighbors have been sovereignly placed in our lives by the Lord and while some of our relationships may be challenging, we shouldn’t take our good relationships for granted and periodically do something special to show our thanks and appreciation, or to offer help, to those we love.

This week I sent a surprise gift of appreciation to Julaine Kammrath because she has been graciously teaching me how to be a more effective prayer minister and counselor. She has sacrificed her time and shared her wisdom with me for several weeks of Immanuel Prayer training and I felt moved to spontaneously send her a book I thought that she would enjoy. She received the book yesterday and texted me her thanks and I felt great because I really wanted to show my appreciation for what she has done for me and for our friendship.

I also sent a book to someone I love, who shall remain nameless, who is going through a major trauma, and who hasn’t been exactly wise in how they reacted to the losses they have faced. I sent them June Hunt’s “How to Handle Your Emotions” to encourage them to press into their faith and to process the complex emotions of what they are going through according to the Lord’s wisdom. I was nervous about how that little gift was going to be received because this person isn’t the most faithful Christian but was pleasantly surprised to receive their thanks and genuine appreciation for the book and was able to offer my best advice on how to apply the books wisdom and to take proactive steps to help move them through their current crisis with dignity and hope.

I have received so much from the Lord and the body of Christ through the years and now I encourage others to follow the Lord to get what I got – a new abundant life of freedom, peace, and joy – that comes from following the Lord – and my giving these gifts of appreciation and love is part of that process.

When we surrender to God’s will for our lives and live according to the ways of Jesus, we thrive because we come into harmony with God and His love flows through us.

Well it’s the season of Lent, and there is no better time to draw close to God than right now, and speaking of Lent…

It’s the fifteenth 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 15

Now, as we said before, these words, (the Ten Commandments), contain both a wrathful threat and a friendly promise, not only to terrify and warn us but also to attract and allure us, so that we will receive and regard God's Word as seriously as he does.

For God declares how important the commandments are to him and how strictly he will watch over them, namely that he will fearfully and terribly punish all who despise and transgress his commandments; and again, how richly he will regard, bless, and bestow all good things on those who prize them and gladly act and live in accordance with them.

Thus he demands that all our actions proceed from a heart that fears God, looks to him alone, and because of this fear avoids all that is contrary to his will, lest he be moved to wrath. Conversely, he demands that our actions proceed from a heart that trust in him alone and for his sake does all that he asks of us, because he reveals himself as a kind father and offers us every grace and blessing.

Biblical Wisdom

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5: 17-19.

Silence for Meditation.

Questions to Ponder

· Are the commandments a cause of terror, a means of grace, or both? Explain.

The Ten Commandments are both a cause of terror and a means of grace because they convict us of our sins, cause us to fear God’s wrath, and show us our inadequacy to save ourselves causing us to put our faith in Jesus to receive our forgiveness and peace with God.

· Is it possible to have a heart that “trusts” in God alone? If so, how is such a heart developed and nurtured? If not, why not?

I have to believe that it is possible to have a heart that trusts in God alone. Christ was fully man and He trusted in God alone and as God has called us to put our faith in Jesus and to become more like Him I have to believe that such a heart can be developed and nurtured in us and the way that we do so is by abiding in Christ and to progressively surrender to living like Him. Luckily, God blesses our efforts to be more like Christ and the further we come to know and love God the more our hearts are changed to trust God alone.

· How might a community of faith help us to know that the law is kind and God is a kind father, as Luther says?

The community of faith can help us to know that the law is kind and God is a kind Father by teaching from the whole counsel of God’s word that clearly teaches that God is love and by demonstrating the love of God through providing acommunity of love and fellowship.

Psalm Fragment

O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart, who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors. Psalm 15: 1-3.

Journal Reflections

· Do you experience God's law primarily as a “wrathful threat” or a “friendly promise”? Explain.

I would say that I formerly thought of God’s law as a wrathful threat but since I have put my faith in Jesus and have the assurance of my salvation, I now look at it as a friendly promise. God’s commandments will convict us of sin, but Jesus pays the cost and when we put our faith in Him we no longer need to fear the punishment of the wrath of God, instead we can see that the law reflects God’s love for us as breaking the Ten Commandments always results in suffering. God doesn’t want us to suffer and so His love causes Him to teach us how to live wisely and purely.

· Meditate in writing on how you imagine God to be. What are your primary images of God? How do these images shape your faith and your life in the world?

I don’t have enough time or wisdom to write sufficiently on how I imagine God, so I point to the word of God and its descriptions of God as a Loving, Just, and Holy Father to shape my relationship with Him and to guide my life in the world. I spend the days of my life now in a continuous dialog with God where I express my thanks and love for Him and ask for His guidance as I walk through this world. Like a smitten child, I confess my love to God throughout the day because I imagine Him to be wise and kind.

· Meditate on whether you “receive and regard God's word as seriously as he does.” Does your meditation suggest any changes you might need to make?

It’s not possible to take God’s word as seriously as He does because if I did I would live according to it perfectly, which I don’t. I am continually trying to apply the wisdom of God’s word to my life. I do take it seriously, but I am sure it wouldn’t take long to show me the many ways in which I fall short of following it perfectly. Yes, my meditation on this fact does cause me to contemplate many changes I need to make to be more like Jesus – being a good steward to my body, finances, and relationships being one, and finding my purpose for God’s kingdom in the future, being another.

Prayers for the Life of Faith

Pray that you and others in your community will try to live as God has commanded so that life will flourish, and you may walk blamelessly in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, I pray that I and others in my community will try to live as You commanded so that our lives with flourish and that we may walk blamelessly in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Prayer For Today

Dear Lord Jesus, you claimed to be the fulfillment of the law and to give me life. Make my heart pure and obedient to you.

Amen.

(Gracia M. Grindal. 40-day Journey With Martin Luther. Kindle Edition.)

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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 verses come to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.

This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Contentment, Coveting & and Priorities.

1 Timothy 6:7-10 (NASB)
⁷ For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
⁸ If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
⁹ But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Today’s verses fall under the second point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Contentment, Coveting, and Priorities.

2. Learn contentment, for love of money brings misery.

Today’s verse warns us of the love of money being the root of all sorts of evil and tells us that if we have the bare necessities of life we should be content.

One of the most eye-opening experiences we can have as Christians is going into the economically depressed areas of the world in missionary service. Going into the mission field challenges our Western ideas of what the “bare necessities” are and can show us that it is possible to be quite happy with next to nothing materially. Today’s verses tell us to be content with food and covering as those two things are really all we need materially to survive.

However, being in survival mode would not bring us joy if we don’t have the hope and love of the Lord in our lives. Meeting just food and shelter needs would not satisfy if we were striving for circumstantial happiness but when we have peace with God and the assurance of life with Him forever, those two things and the abundance of joy we have in the Lord is more than enough to make us content.

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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 “According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.

EVENING READING: LUKE 4

“I must preach.” – Luke 4:43

These were the words of the perfect preacher, the Lord Jesus Christ. His very heart burned with a holy passion for souls. “I must preach,” it was imperative. His great love compelled Him. His holy ministry was characterized by His devotedness to His ministry. He was to seek and to save. Therefore:

• He must be about His Father's business (Luke 2:49).

• He must preach (Luke 4:43).

• He must go through Samaria (John 4:4).

• He must be lifted up (John 12:32).

The apostle Paul burned with the same spiritual zeal. He therefore could say, “Necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16). And, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved” (Rom. 10:1).

Create this passion within my soul, O Lord.^{^[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.

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).

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