Covid, Death, and Heartbreak? I SAID: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! - Purity 1205

Covid, Death, and Heartbreak? I SAID: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  - Purity 1205

Purity 1205 11/23/2023 Purity 1205 Podcast

Purity 1205 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo my canine pal looking into the distance while the sun roars in its glory in the west comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene while walking down Wells Road homeward bound last Saturday.  

Well, It’s Thursday, and it’s the day that our nation celebrates Thanksgiving! So HAPPY THANKSGIVING everybody! It is my prayer that you are able to spend today with people you love and that your focus be on the many things that we can all be thankful for this year,  Thanksgiving is a choice. So let’s look at the good things we may take for granted, appreciate the calamities we didn’t suffer, and choose to be thankful to God, for others, and for ourselves for all we have.   

If you need an ice breaker I offer this joke: 

“What do you call the ghost of your Thanksgiving Turkey? A poultry-geist!” 

Okay, that was horrible, but I think it is actually better than the original that I stole from a list of 87 Thanksgiving Day Jokes on Countryliving.com. The link is on the blog as my Thanksgiving day gift – a gag gift for sure – to you.  (https://www.countryliving.com/life/a28522581/thanksgiving-jokes/)

But be careful where you joke about death today. Some may be grieving a recent loss or the anniversary of the loss and may not be in the mood to joke or give thanks.

Believe me when I say that I can understand if some of you may not be in the mood to give thanks.  I have SEVERAL people that I know who have recently lost loved ones to death, have broken relationships, have financial problems, or have health concerns.   Just this morning my son Brennan messaged me that both he and his sister have tested positive for COVID!  So I can understand why some of us might be a little bitter towards life in general as of late, and that is why I would stress, all the more, the need for a deep personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ!

Without God in your life, life is chaos because without Him you struggle to understand the meaning and purpose of life. If you deny the gospel of Jesus Christ, you effectively remove yourself from the God who loves us and you will suffer the consequences for your sin and pride. The Bible isn’t just a story – it’s HIS STORY – the story of God and man and the history of His interactions with us, that tells how He sent Jesus to reconcile us to Him. The Bible is true and it guides us to place our faith in Jesus to be forgiven and given eternal life in God’s kingdom. The Bible tells us that God loves us and plays an active role in the course of human events, our individual destinies, and the culmination of existence itself. It paints a big picture and the Lord invites to be with Him forever.  With God in our lives, we have hope for today, tomorrow, and forever.  

We tried to give good advice regarding setting your mindset for Thanksgiving with our previous messages, On Tuesday we suggested you could at least be thankful for the bad things that didn’t happen or that those things that didn’t happen could be worse,- and yesterday we share Lauren Roskilly’s thoughts from a 2020 message that encouraged us to “Always Give Thanks” – for God, for Others, and For Ourselves – But today I am PUSHING for more than “general thanks” to God. 

Have you ever seen that? Ever hear someone who has seemingly no relationship with God and lives contrary to His principles for a living say “Thank god”.  It gives you an experiential feeling of blasphemy! Like DUDE you are living in darkness, you need to KNOW HIM!

Or even if it’s the sweetest, nicest person in the world….. who denies Jesus… I’m like “OH LORD, open their eyes!!”  These very nice people don’t believe, they have abandoned Christianity, or believe in themselves or another religion or philosophy that will send them to hell.    OF course, I won’t necessarily be verbally condemning people to hell – that tactic didn’t work for me and so I will be silent with my fear and outrage and try to encourage people to seek the Lord through Jesus.

Ok, we can’t save anybody. That’s up to God, He opens the eyes of the blind and causes people to put their faith in Jesus. But as Christians, we can encourage people with the truth that they don’t have to earn their way into heaven.  People need to know and understand that the only thing that they have to do to be saved is to place their faith in Jesus. We can encourage people with the message of God’s love for us and how being right with God can happen in a moment. That was the game changer for me – knowing I didn’t have to “be good” or “earn” my way into God’s good graces.  

So when we give thanks today let’s be sure to be specific and name the name above all names, Jesus Christ, and be ready to tell anyone who is curious about why we are so crazy in love with Jesus.  Right now it’s a dark period in many people’s lives and I know and I understand that while the Lord may not solve all their problems in an instant I know that having the Light of the World in their life to guide them will lead them to a better place, on earth and one day in heaven.  

So be intentional and specific today when you give your thanks and be ready to give a defense of your positive outlook by letting everyone know that you have a relationship with God through the One who overcame the world, Jesus and that COVID, Heartbreak, or even Death, cannot separate you from His love. With that Good News defining our lives, there is always something to be thankful for. So give thanks, rejoice, and love the people you encounter today.

And, as always, keep walking and talking with God, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!  

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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 Church, Communion of the Saints.

Ephesians 5:25 (NIV2011)
²⁵  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

Today’s verse falls under the eighth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

 8. Christ loves the church.

Today’s verse points to the love relationship we have with the Lord Jesus.  Jesus loves us. He died for us. He extends an invitation to be forgiven of every bad thing we have ever done in our lives and to be with Him forever.  He gives us wisdom for living and the hope of life everlasting.  The analogy as Christ as the husband to His bride the church is made because He loves us!

Christ proved His love for us and we should prove our love for Him by following Him in the way we live our lives and by telling about the new life we found because of Him.  

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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 are sharing from “God is in the Manger- Reflections on Advent and Christmas” – By Dietrich Bonhoeffer.      

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available online for less than $10 at many sites.

God is in the Manger – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

ADVENT WEEK ONE

WAITING

DAY ONE

The Advent Season Is a Season of Waiting

Jesus stands at the door knocking (Rev. 3:20). In total reality, he comes in the form of the beggar, of the dissolute human child in ragged clothes, asking for help. He confronts you in every person that you meet. As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor, as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you, makes demands on you. That is the great seriousness and great blessedness of the Advent message. Christ is standing at the door; he lives in the form of a human being among us. Do you want to close the door or open it?

It may strike us as strange to see Christ in such a near face, but he said it, and those who withdraw from the serious reality of the Advent message cannot talk of the coming of Christ in their heart, either.…

Christ is knocking. It’s still not Christmas, but it’s also still not the great last Advent, the last coming of Christ. Through all the Advents of our life that we celebrate runs the longing for the last Advent, when the word will be: “See, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).

The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

We can, and should also, celebrate Christmas despite the ruins around us.… I think of you as you now sit together with the children and with all the Advent decorations—as in earlier years you did with us. We must do all this, even more intensively because we do not know how much longer we have.

Letter to Bonhoeffer’s parents, November 29, 1943,

written from Tegel prison camp

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.

Revelation 3:20^[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

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^[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas, ed. Jana Riess, trans. O. C. Dean Jr., First edition. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 1–3.

Always Give Thanks – A Mindful of Christ Encouragement - Purity 1204

Always Give Thanks – A Mindful of Christ Encouragement - Purity 1204

Purity 1204 11/22/2023 Purity 1204 Podcast

Purity 1204 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo of “the 3,000 acre Lake Santeelah, located near Robbinsville, NC in the beautiful Nantahala National Forest” comes to us from Fred Dimmick who shared this scene on social media back on October 17^th.  

Well, It’s Wednesday and I thought that Fred’s photo of Lake Santeelah with its green peaks in the background offered enough tranquility and peaks to visually represent our arrival to “Thanksgiving Hump Day” and to encourage us all to find some peace on what is one of the busiest travel days of the year.  According to the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday following Thanksgiving are the busiest travel days of the year, so it is my prayer that all my friends who take to the roads or to the skies today will arrive safely and remember to reflect on the reason why they are taking “trains, planes, and automobiles” to get to where they are going today.  Thanksgiving isn’t just an occasion to have a big meal, or to celebrate family – shots fired, or to watch football games, a dog show, or a festive parade- although admittedly many of those things may play a part in what goes on in our plans tomorrow. But the reason for the gathering tomorrow is to give thanks – that’s it, and whether or not you believe in God, have a family, enjoy dog shows, football games, parades, or big feasts – you should be able to participate in that.      Even the most dysfunctional life has had moments of mercy, grace, love, blessings, and peace that would encourage us to be thankful.   As I shared yesterday, we can even be thankful for the bad things that didn’t happen to us, or the fact that the bad things that did happen weren’t worse than they were.  So everybody should rightfully give thanks for something or someone tomorrow.    

Believe me, I can understand bitterness and depression, I used to live there. But I discovered a way out of the darkness – faith in Jesus Christ and a regular practice of prayer and thanksgiving.  When you are thankful – truly thankful – the focus shifts from you and your problems to the blessings you received and in that mindset there can be hope for more blessings to come.  It’s hard to be depressed or bitter when we are focusing on the good things we have received or ENJOY DAILY and are looking forward to the things we will be thankful for in the future.   

I am getting over cold symptoms and although – I am feeling much better this morning – and - declaring that the healing has come and I receive it by faith in Jesus Name, Amen? – and am thankful that it will be complete, Amen? – but I decided to “get a little help from my friends” this morning with the blog by sharing a message from Mindful of Christ’s Lauren Roskilly (https://mindfulofchrist.net/always-give-thanks/?utm_source=Mindful+of+Christ&utm_campaign=2daa8d1b29-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71432b340e-2daa8d1b29-537173128&mc_cid=2daa8d1b29&mc_eid=539e18b8b8 ), which she originally shared back in 2020, that reminds us to always give thanks.  

 

Always Give Thanks

By Lauren Roskilly

To have a grateful heart and to give thanks can bring so many benefits not only to God and others, but to our own mental health as well!

But why is this? And how do we do it?

Especially when life is tough, or we don’t understand why certain things happen in the world!

Always Give Thanks- To God

Being grateful and genuinely giving thanks can take our focus off of the negatives and can help us focus on God and everything He has done in and for the world and for us individually.

The Bible continuously tells us to give thanks:

Ephesians 5:20 Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalms 106:1 Praise the Lord . Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18  Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

We are told to give thanks in all circumstances.

All circumstances???

But what about through this pandemic and everything else going on in this world and our lives??

Everything, we are told ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

So, yes, through all of it.

We can always find something to be grateful for, whether it's a roof over our heads, food in the cupboards, or just simply the birds and the trees and most importantly what Jesus did for each and every one of us on the cross.

We can give thanks also for his grace…

2 Corinthians 9:14-15 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

And also for His faithfulness…

Psalms 100:4-5 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

As you can see, there is already a lot we can give thanks for.

Always Give Thanks- To Others

Other people deserve our thanks too. If they’ve done something good for us as individuals or not, there's always something to thank someone for.

How does it make you feel when someone thanks you for something or if someone shows gratitude for or to you?

Good, appreciated, loved?

It can give us the encouragement to carry on can’t it?

Then let’s offer this to others too.

Look at the people around you, your kids, parents, friends, and neighbors. Think about what you could be grateful to them for.

Then tell them.

Or when someone does something kind for someone else, tell them, give them thanks, show them that they are appreciated.

You could make someone’s day, you could even impact someone’s life.

Hebrews 10: 24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Romans 15:5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.

Always Give Thanks- For Ourselves

By thanking and encouraging others it can build people up and spur them on and by doing this it can encourage and uplift yourself.

Think of it as a change in mindset.

Focusing on the good in God and other people and giving thanks can take our mind and focus off the things we don’t have or are wrong in our lives and the world.

Therefore, always giving thanks can improve our own selves and our mental health too.

Perhaps think of, write down, and thank God and others for three different things every day.

Why not start now?”

Why not start today! Thank You Lauren! I love Lauren’s suggestion to think of three things to be thankful for each day and to write them down.  This spiritual practice of giving thanks is a “game changer”. Always giving thanks is an instruction to the church in the Bible because God knows this, loves us, and wants us to experience the benefits of living in a mindset of gratitude.  

As Lauren pointed out, we always have three things to be thankful for – for God, for others, and for ourselves. God has blessed all of us with our individual lives, the lives of others, and His presence which can be found when we seek Him.   So keep walking and talking with God and give thanks tomorrow and always.

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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 com from the section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

Ephesians 5:23 (NIV2011)
²³  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

Today’s verse is the second of two passages of scripture that fall under the seventh point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

 7. Christ is the head of the church, his body.

 

Today’s verse establishes the authority of the husband as the spiritual leader in marriage and declares that Christ is the head of the church.  

 

As much as I could go off on the desperate need that exists for the men in the body of Christ to be servant leaders to their wives and families, and not use verses like this as justification to be a tyrannical jerk – lording their authority over their spouses and children to do their will on earth – the emphasis from our resource guide is not on us – it’s on Jesus.

 

The point trying to be made is that Christ is the head of the church, his body, and by utilizing this passage in scripture to make it, we can see that although we serve the kingdom of God, our relationship to God is a love relationship.  Christ is the loving husband to His bride, the church and His love for His bride is so strong that He was willing to die to save us.   That’s love! That’s leadership! To have a heart of service and affection for the church to the point that He would give up His very life, shows us how Jesus wants us to love one another – sacrificially, beneficially – to the death and into eternal life.   We are to lead with love. 

 

 

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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 are sharing from A. W. Pink’s – The Arthur Pink Anthology  - a collection of A.W. Pink’s tracts brought together in one book and dispersed here on the blog for your encouragement.

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 free as a PDF at many sites, but printed copies of collections of A.W. Pink’s books are available for purchase wherever Christian books are sold. 

The Arthur Pink Anthology – 6

Christian Fools – Part 8 of 8

I am very much afraid that there are some here tonight who entertain the notion that all they have to do is just to sit still and wait until God comes and saves you. My friends, I do not know of a single promise of God that He will do so. I do not know of a single line in this Book that encourages you to continue in your sinful inactivity. I am going to speak very plainly now. The devil will tell you there is no cause for you to be concerned: there is not a bit of need for you to worry: if your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life you will be saved, whether you believe or no. That is the devil’s lie! It is not God’s truth. The devil will tell you that if you have been elected to salvation there is not a bit of need for you to be alarmed, disturbed or exercised; no need at all for you to seek and search after the Lord; that when God’s good time comes He is going to do it all for you: not a bit of good for you to read the Bible and cry out to Him: and if He has not elected you, well, there is no need for sure, for it’s useless.

Yes, the devil will speak in those tones and terms and he will come quoting Scripture to you. But there is no salvation for the sinner apart from his believing in Christ. I close with this quotation—2 Thessalonians 2:13, “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through—Through what? “Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” That is how God saves. That is how God carries out His purpose—by the sanctification of the Spirit and by your belief of the truth.

And my friends, I have not limited God. God could, if He so chose, make the fields to grow crops without the farmer plowing them and sowing the seed, but that is not His way; that is not the method He selects. God could keep us in health and strength without our taking any food at all or wasting time in sleeping if He so chose, but that is not His way. And God could save every sinner on earth tonight without them believing if He wanted to, but it is not His way! I am not limiting God, I am describing to you the plan and method that God Himself has set forth in His Word, and if you would be saved, sinner, you have got to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for yourself. I say it reverently: the Holy Spirit won’t believe for you. The Holy Spirit may put it into your heart and give you the desire to believe. If you have the desire it is because He has put it there, but He won’t believe for you: believing is a human act. It is the sinner himself, in all his wretchedness and need, coming to Christ, as a drowning man clutches a straw, and as the old hymn says—“Just as I am without one plea, But that thy blood was shed for me.”

O sinner, Christ is saying to you tonight, “O fools and slow of heart to believe all.” You do believe much as you sit there. There are some of you who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. There are some of you who believe that He is the only Savior who can save any sinner. You believe that, then why not believe all? Why not believe in Him for yourself? Why not trust His precious blood for yourself; and why not tonight? God is ready to save you now if you believe on Him. The blood has been shed, the sacrifice has been offered, the atonement has been made, the feast has been spread. The call goes out to you tonight, “Come, for all things are now ready.” And I say again, the devil will tell you as you are sitting there, “There is no need for me to come tonight; I will just wait till God gets ready to come and save me.” How do you know that while you are waiting death may not come and smite you down. “Boast not thyself of tomorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” The Holy Spirit saith, “Today if ye will hear His voice harden not your hearts.” Yes, man can “harden” his heart: God says so; and God calls to you: “Harden not your heart.” That is something you do yourself—not the devil—you do it. God is speaking to you through His Word tonight. O may His grace forbid that He shall say our text to any of you after you have left this room—O God forbid that you should be among those “fools” who believe not all. You do believe that Christ is God’s appointed Savior for sinners, why not your Savior? O may the Spirit draw you by the cords of love to that One who has said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”

Preached by Arthur W. Pink in Sydney, Australia—1927.^[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

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^[1] Arthur Walkington Pink, The Arthur Pink Anthology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2005).

Being Thankful for the Bad Things that Haven’t Happened - Purity 1203

 

Being Thankful for the Bad Things that Haven’t Happened - Purity 1203

Purity 1203 11/21/2023 Purity 1203 Podcast

Purity 1203 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo the setting sun on the horizon pouring out the last night of day over darkened grasslands while it illuminates the clouds above comes to us from yours truly as I capture this “country road” sunset while out walking last Saturday, November 11^th.  

Well, it seems like only yesterday that I was up at my countryside home in Easton, and as it turns out I will be returning there again today as circumstances have caused me to utilize a couple of my remaining personal days to make my shortened work week a single day.  My unprecedented weight loss has given me the hope that I can stop using my CPAP machine for my sleep apnea so I had scheduled an appointment to discuss that possibility and when I tried to figure out how I would manage that at the beginning of my work day, I wondered about the possibility of just taking the day off, and hey, if we could take off Tuesday, why not Wednesday too? It turns out I have the time to use and so I pulled the trigger and will now be enjoying an extended Thanksgiving stay-cation in Easton with TammyLyn.  

I was further motivated to make this decision as I was feeling a bit “under the weather” yesterday with what could be “cold symptoms” so I took the time off and started aggressively fighting my possible illness with prayer, rest, zinc, and vitamin C, which has been known to be an effective combination in the past. So even though I was a bit sluggish, I infused my system with fluid – a gallon of water and a gallon of orange juice and took some zinc tablets throughout the day.  I managed to make it through work but by the time I got home all those fluids, and some “MT chicken soup” – oh you don’t want the recipe-  purged my system and made for a fitful night sleep.  But even though I was dragging this morning, I felt I may have turned the tide in terms of the cold symptoms, it’s a fluid situation but I feel my remedy is working as I didn’t “feel sick” as much as I felt exhausted this morning. The occasion sneeze besides, I feel almost normal, tired but “normal-ish” so I pushed myself and am proud to say that I did my morning exercise routine, prayers, and Bible study as I would normally.  

Yup, even when you are “sick”, I can’t encourage you more to do your “spiritual daily practices”. These practices are an expression of who we are in Christ and when we do them even when we are tired or not feeling well, we show the Lord and ourselves how much our relationship with God means to us.  Hey, I’m tired and a little woozy and I don’t know what I may accomplish today – may be not much – but by God, I read God’s word, prayed to Him, and thanked Him for what He has done in my life.   This is who we are as followers of Jesus. This is what we do. 

It's Thanksgiving week, and even if our health isn’t optimal we should be thankful for the health we do have. I recently saw some friends who I hadn’t seen in a while and they were amazed at the amount of weight I lost. They were so amazed I could tell by the look on their face that they were concerned. I assured them that I was healthy and I lost the weight through being accountable for staying on a food plan and by exercising regularly.  ‘It’s not cancer” I joked.  But other people out there won’t be able to make that joke as there is nothing funny about getting that diagnosis.  So even though I am fighting off the symptoms of a cold, I am thankful for my health. We can and should be thankful for the bad things that haven’t happened to us yet.  

Likewise, I have several friends who have experienced the loss of a parent or spouse recently or in the last year, and while I’m giving thanks this year I will remember my mother, father, wife, children, brothers, and extended family that are all doing pretty well. My son, Brennan, has finally been forced into the working world and will be starting a job today.  While my kids aren’t perfect, neither one of them followed in their father’s footsteps when it comes to drugs and alcohol, and even though Brennan was a little slow in getting out in the world, he is on his way now.   So my family is good, overall despite some late-year transitions – they are alive and well and there is hope that the problems they face will be adapted to in time.  

So as we move into the big holiday come Thursday, remember that if you can’t make a list of a bunch of good things that have happened to you this year, I’m sure you could make a list of the bad things that didn’t happen or could have somehow been worse!  

Of course, those life circumstances will always be “a changing” so don’t forget to draw near to and give thanks for the One who never changes, the Lord. He’ll never leave us or forsake us and in Him, we can have peace and give thanks forever.  

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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 Church, Communion of the Saints.

Ephesians 1:20-23 (NIV2011)
²⁰  he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
²¹  far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
²²  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
²³  which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Today’s verses are the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the seventh point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

 7. Christ is the head of the church, his body.

Today’s verses remind us that God has given Jesus all rule, authority, power, and dominion over the earth and the heavenlies, for all time, and is the head of the church.  

Jesus declared this sentiment with the great commission in:  

 Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV) where
¹⁸  … Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus is not only the highest authority, he shares it with us and we are to use it to bring others into His kingdom and we can be assured at all times because He is with us, always.   

This is our purpose and our destiny – to serve the Lord Jesus and to live with Him forever.  So, we do what he says, we try to live like he lived, and we spend time in His presence to experience the power of His love and rest in His peace.  

 

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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 are sharing from A. W. Pink’s – The Arthur Pink Anthology  - a collection of A.W. Pink’s tracts brought together in one book and dispersed here on the blog for your encouragement.

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 free as a PDF at many sites, but printed copies of collections of A.W. Pink’s books are available for purchase wherever Christian books are sold. 

The Arthur Pink Anthology – 6

Christian Fools – Part 7 of 8

Now turn to Luke 7:50—“And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee.” He did not say thy faith is an evidence that you have been saved. “Thy faith hath saved thee.” Now in the light of those last two verses I make this assertion, that believing in Christ is the cause of the sinner’s salvation. But listen closely to this qualification. It is neither the meritorious cause nor is it the effectual cause! You must put these three things together to get the complete thing. The blood of Christ is the meritorious cause of salvation; the regenerating work of the Spirit is the effective cause of salvation; but the sinner’s own believing is the instrumental cause of his salvation. We believe to the saving of the soul. I repeat that. The blood of Christ is the meritorious cause: without that all the believing in the world could not save a soul. The regenerating work of the Spirit is the effectual cause: without this, no sinner would come or will believe with the heart. But the believing of the sinner in Christ is the instrumental cause—that which extends the empty hand to receive the gift that the gospel presents to him—and where there is no personal trust in Christ there is no salvation—“I did not say ‘quickening.’ ”

Now I want to make this very plain and I am going to weigh my words. If instead of you trusting in the sacrificial blood of Christ, you are trusting in something that you believe the Spirit has done in you, you are building your house upon the sand, which in time of testing will fall to the ground.

“On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.”

If you are building your hope for eternity on what you think or feel that the Spirit of God has done in you, instead of putting your trust in what Christ did for sinners, you are building your house on the sand. And that may apply to some church-members here tonight. O my friends, the gospel of God does not invite you to look inside and pin your faith to what you think the Holy Spirit has done in you; the gospel of God commands you to look outside of yourself, away from all your feelings and frames, to what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross for sinners as sinners.

Now my last word tonight is directed to the unconverted, for my text also applies directly to them. Last Sunday evening I said a good deal about the necessity of being quiet, of standing still, of waiting upon God; but I want to supplement those remarks in concluding tonight by saying that those are all admonitions that are given to the converted, and that the Holy Scriptures speak in very different terms to those of you who are unconverted. The Bible does not bid you to sit still, to wait and be quiet; the Bible commands you to flee from the wrath to come. It bids you to strive to enter in at the strait gate. I am quoting Scripture now. It bids you seek the Lord. It bids you come unto Him. It bids you believe in Him, and if you do not you will be damned, whoever you are.^[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 Arthur Pink Anthology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2005).

Denying the Lie of a “Very Bad Year” and Declaring the Truth with Thanksgiving! - Purity 1202

Denying the Lie of a “Very Bad Year” and Declaring the Truth with Thanksgiving! - Purity 1202

Purity 1202 11/20/2023 Purity 1202 Podcast

Purity 1202 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a spectacular pink, purple, and yellow sunset sky over what appears to be “smoke on the water” comes to us from Dave Baun Photography (https://www.facebook.com/DaveBaunPhotography) who shared this scene from his visit to Marino Rocks in South Australia last week on social media because it had been awhile since Dave had generously shared his work, apologetically stating that the six-day hiatus hadn’t been planned and that “not all things are planned nor do they always go to plan”.  Tell me about it brother.

Anyway, Dave is giving us all an opportunity to support his work and to own a piece of it, as he has recently announced that the Dave Baun Photography 2024 Calendar is now available to purchase (https://www.paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/A32QXWP8SEU96?fbclid=IwAR34qsFfygTm4CG_Y13ksI4v3dhWDto0S3gErizTmnrKTD9MiM5l3wUqs2U). I am including a link to Dave’s merchant page on Pay Pal on the blog today so you can purchase a copy for yourself or to give away for Christmas.  Dave has graciously allowed me to share his work on the blog and buying a calendar for myself and sharing the link seemed the least I could do to express my thanks and appreciation for Dave and his work.  

Well, It’s Thanksgiving Monday, and as we drag ourselves into what for me is a shortened work week, I am preparing my heart to be as thankful and appreciative as I can be to be completely surrendered to the Thanksgiving Spirit when we observe the National Holiday in the U.S. come Thursday.

Thanksgiving, or gratitude – or appreciation - is actually a regular practice on the path of Christian Discipleship and if you haven’t made it a part of your normal daily routine, I highly recommend it, and God sort of commands it – thank you very much, Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)
¹⁶  Rejoice always,
¹⁷  pray without ceasing,
¹⁸  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Colossians 3:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)
⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
⁷  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Those are all instructions to the church – us Christians – on how we are to act and so let’s be the most thankful bunch at the Thanksgiving dinner table come Thursday.  I am sharing a link to Open Bible . info’s 100 Bible Verses About Giving Thanks on the blog today in case you need some Biblical support or want an easy reference to pull up some Thanksgiving wisdom (https://www.openbible.info/topics/giving_thanks). 

Part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ – or is it the “whole thing” – is believing that what the Bible is the TRUTH and obeying what it says, regardless of the circumstances or situations that surround us. 

I say that because my encouragement to give thanks may be difficult for many of my friends to receive this year.  While I don’t like to echo negative reports and honestly don’t believe in “bad years”, because frankly I have noticed that come November or December the declaring of the current year to be a “bad year” has become a “yearly tradition” of sorts. 

I think I first noticed this tendency to lament over the current year being a “bad one” in 2019 because I remember the New Year’s Eve sentiments that year to leave behind the no good, very bad, terrible year that was 2019 with the hope to have a “clear vision” going into 2020.  Covid-19 sort of made things a little cloudy. But do you know what?  Regardless of the pandemic, the death, and the seismic changes of 2020, even that “very bad year” had its good points. For me 2020, was a stellar year as I rose above all of it, worked hard, and was able to purchase and establish my little home “down by The River” for me and my children – and it was after that year that I stopped listening to “the very bad year” laments that rear their depressed little heads in November and December.  

Quite frankly, looking at and declaring a “year” to be bad is a misperception and undoubtedly something that the spiritual forces of darkness, yes Satan and his demonic associates, support fully.  Think about it. In the season where we are to give Thanks and Celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the enemy wants us to focus on the negative and call what is good evil.   God warns us in

Isaiah 5:20-22 (NKJV)
²⁰  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
²¹  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!
²²  Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,

Yeah, I just had to include the “drunken verses” that follow the sentiment to not call good evil, or evil good – like it’s good to get drunk – no its actually evil – shots fired.  

Anyway, I do sympathize with those who have loved and lost and suffered losses this year, I am surrounded by people who have suffered the loss of loved ones to death, have struggled with finances, had health concerns, have had difficulties in their marriages, suffered broken relationships, and lost jobs.  I have even suffered a surprising disappointment and shocking failure this year.   

But the circumstances of this world and even my own performance, or lack thereof, do not define who I am, and they don’t need to be what controls my attitude or emotions as we go into the holiday season and into a new year.    

Yes, we have suffered losses. Yes, we will miss those who are gone. Yes, we may be in the midst of a trial that has us wondering about what we will do next or how we will survive in the future.

BUT we are alive, and we know God. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we live today and will live forever. We have been forgiven and are accepted, secure, and significant because of who we are in Christ. I’m sharing a link to the “Who I am in Christ” Statement PDF on the blog today if you need to remind yourself (https://www.ficm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/who-i-am-in-christ05.pdf ) of the truth.  

I use that list every day to ground myself in the truth of who I am in Christ as part or my daily spiritual practice.  Knowing who I am in Christ is an integral part of my daily practice of gratitude.  So even if I am going through trials or suffering heartache or loss, I can look at that list of what the Lord has done for me, and I can give thanks, knowing that I am cared for, and loved, and say it with me – accepted – secure – and significant in Christ.  

So deny the lie that “2023 has been a bad year” and declare the truth that because of your faith in Jesus, God is with you always and even though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we are STILL WALKING, and the LORD is WITH US.   So give Thanks to the Lord OUR GOD and Praise His Name! Draw close to Him in prayer for strength and guidance, ask for and seek His wisdom in His word, and keep walking and talking with God with the way you live your life because a life spent in His continual presence and love is a “good” one and there is nothing that can befall us that would make that untrue.  

Psalm 30:5 (NKJV) tells us that
⁵  …Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

And as that psalmist may have suffered but He found joy as He testifies to God that:

Psalm 30:11-12 (NKJV)
¹¹  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
¹²  To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

So give thanks to God today, Thursday, and every day.

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

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 Church, Communion of the Saints.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31 (NASB)
¹²  For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
¹³  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
¹⁴  For the body is not one member, but many.
¹⁵  If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.
¹⁶  And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.
¹⁷  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
¹⁸  But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
¹⁹  If they were all one member, where would the body be?
²⁰  But now there are many members, but one body.
²¹  And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
²²  On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
²³  and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,
²⁴  whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked,
²⁵  so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
²⁶  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
²⁷  Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.
²⁸  And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
²⁹  All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?
³⁰  All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?
³¹  But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.

Today’s verses fall under the sixth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Church, Communion of the Saints.

 6. Each member of the body is necessary. We need one another. All must have a deep concern for each other.

Today’s verses testify, at length, of how each member in the body of Christ is necessary and that we are to care for one another as we utilize the gifts we have received to serve God’s kingdom.  

Our resource offers up this entire passage to make the point that each of us is necessary for the service to God’s kingdom, but it highlights verses 25 & 26 to emphasize the fact that we aren't just brought into God’s kingdom to “work” – we are to also love one another and to show our care for one another and share in the suffering and joys we experience.  

Last week, my “Right Hand” Man at the Celebrate Freedom Growth Group, Scott Salvadore – our Men’s Discussion Leader- and 2 time Mullet Champion (you can’t make this up) – suffered the loss of his mother and while you could think of our relationship to be “function focused” as ministers to a small group community for recovery and discipleship, while we have “worked” we have developed a friendship of mutual trust, respect, and affection that goes beyond our “roles” of the ministry. 

My fondness for Scott makes me want to see him succeed and prosper in life.  I voted and contributed towards the campaign that made him the first-ever two-time mullet champion.  I have leaned on him for accountability with my food addiction and have experienced unprecedented success in return. We have rejoiced over one another’s victories. 

Our care for the growth group we serve has carried over to one another.   And so when Scott’s Mom died, although it might not have shown to much, I felt the pain of the loss for Scott and prayed for his and his family's comfort and healing in the wake of the loss.

So with the length of today’s passage, don’t forget the love that we are to have for one another as we seek to accomplish our purposes for God’s kingdom. Without God we can do nothing, so we should always remember that and seek to obey His command to love one another as we try to give Him glory.

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

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 are sharing from A. W. Pink’s – The Arthur Pink Anthology  - a collection of A.W. Pink’s tracts brought together in one book and dispersed here on the blog for your encouragement.

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 free as a PDF at many sites, but printed copies of collections of A.W. Pink’s books are available for purchase wherever Christian books are sold. 

The Arthur Pink Anthology – 6

Christian Fools – Part 6 of 8

Take the Universalists. I have met numbers of Universalists—several here in Sydney. I was going to say that I have less suspicion of the reality of their own salvation than I have of some of yours. At any rate they seem to give such evidence in their daily walk that they commune with Christ that it really makes one wonder where they are. Well now, the Universalists are staggered by the doctrine of eternal punishment. They say “God is love.” The mercy of God endureth forever.” God is good: how can a merciful, loving God send any to eternal suffering? The Universalist say they cannot both be true: if there is such a thing as eternal punishment, then God can’t be love: if God is love, there cannot be such a thing as eternal punishment. You see what they are doing? They are reasoning: they are walking by logic: they have drawn up their own scheme and system of theology and that which they cannot fit exactly into that scheme, somewhere, well, away with it!

But the Unitarians and the Universalists and the Arminians are not the only ones who are guilty of that. I am sorry to say that it is equally true, in some respects, of many Calvinists. They are unsound when it comes to the gospel. They are all at sea when it comes to the matter of believing. I am not going to keep you very much longer, but listen closely now. There are many Calvinists who say, Believing is an evidence of our salvation, but it is not a condition or the cause of salvation. But, my friends, I make so bold as to say that those who so teach take issue with this Book. Now I want you to turn with me to four passages in the New Testament. I am not asking you to take my word for anything. You turn with me now to four passages in God’s own word. First of all Romans 1:16–17—“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation.” The power of God unto salvation to whom?—“the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” Now I have no hesitation whatever in saying to every grown-up person in this room tonight, if you had read that verse just now for the first time in your life, and had never read a page of either Calvinistic or Arminian literature; if you read that verse without any bias one way or the other, it would only mean one thing to you.

Now turn to Romans 13:11—“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” The salvation that is spoken of there is the salvation of the body, the glorification of the believer, the final consummation of our redemption: but what I want you to notice is where the Holy Spirit Himself puts the starting point. “Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” THAT is when it begins, so far as our actual experience is concerned.

Now turn to Hebrews 10:39, and you have one there that is plainer still—that is outside the realm of debate—that has no ambiguity about it: “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” You cannot get around that if you live to be a thousand years old. “Them that believe to the saving of the soul.” The sinner’s believing does have something to do with his salvation: God says so! If you deny it you are taking issue with God. “Believe to the saving of the soul.”^[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 Arthur Pink Anthology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2005).