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Showing posts with label Truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Truth. Show all posts

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Propelling One Another in Our Faith - Purity 1265

 

Propelling One Another in Our Faith - Purity 1265

Purity 1265 02/03/2024 Purity 1265 Podcast

Purity 1265 on YouTube: 



Good morning,

Today’s photo of waves crashing on a rocky shoreline while the setting sun blazes on the horizon of Lake Ontario comes to us from Celestial Blue Photography, as Rocco Saya shared this scene on social media back on January 15th, commenting that the “sun actually made an appearance today!” Rocco’s comment reveals the overcast reality of upstate New York winters and how the “gray days” can make us appreciate it all the more when the sun comes shining in. 

Well, It’s Saturday and regardless of the weather the light of the weekend is shining joy into my heart because I am at my countryside home with my wife for the weekend, and because I walk in the Spirit there are seemingly endless sources for peace and joy when I focus on the Lord and all He is and all He has done for me which includes bringing more people than I can shake a stick into my life to encourage and to be encouraged by.  

Before coming to Christ, I spent a lot of time in a basement entertaining myself and seeking to satisfy my own selfish and fleshly desires but since answering the Lord’s call to faith in Jesus, I’m not alone anymore. I have not only found the love of my life, in my wife TammyLyn, but I have made all kinds of friends and acquaintances along the path of Christian Discipleship as I have sought to grow and to encourage others in their faith.  

Yesterday, I received a text message from a phone number I didn’t know asking the question “Is this Marc?” and because of the spammers and scammers out there in the world, my defenses immediately went up because for every genuine brother and sister in Christ that I encounter in the social media universe who are simply looking to encourage or be encouraged in their faith there are just as many – whether the requests are genuine or not is hard to discern – people looking for money, my money and sometimes these simple inquiries – “Is this Marc?” are even more sinister as they seek to lead me into sexual temptation with invitations to private chats or wish to share explicit photos of videos to fulfill the secret desires of the flesh.   Those requests are usually followed by “This is _________” – a woman’s name that you may or may not know but that has the unspoken promise for intimacy and lurid companionship. 

As someone who has overcome sexual immorality and is walking in purity – all my intimate times are reserved for my wife and her alone,  I have learned to not even respond when I suspect that these inquires might be a financial scheme or a trap of the flesh.  But yesterday, instead of exchanging texts to go through the process of trying to figure out this texter’s intentions, I decided to be bold and actually call the person who sent me the text to cut to the chase – fulling expecting the person to either not answer the call or to be someone I obviously didn’t know and whose intentions would be revealed to be malicious.  

But much to my surprise and delight, the person on the other end of the text was not only not trying to scam or seduce me, but it was also someone I knew, and they were a Christian too!   

It turned out to be Brian Dugan (forgive the spelling if incorrect Brian) who was someone I met back in 2020, I believe, in passing when I was working nights in the hardware department at Walmart where I occasionally provided customers with Christian encouragements as well as customer service.  I’m not sure how our conversation turned to the spiritual but in our exchange way back when I discovered that Brian, like me had been a man of the world, but who had found also found peace through His faith in Jesus Christ and was doing his best to live as a Christian despite the world’s attempts to call him back into the dark. Back in those days, I was sending out daily text messages of my “Purity series” to encourage my brothers in Christ, before I decided to put them on the blog, and was surprised when Brian gave me his number and invited me to add him to my list to receive the texts daily.  Eventually, I started sharing the “Purity” message on my blog and stopped sending out the text and Brian got lost in the transition, and for whatever reason he thought about that yesterday and decided to see “Whatever happened to those texts?” and reached out to ask.  

I excitedly told Brian how the texts moved to the blog in 2020 and how I started the mt4Christ247 podcast in 2021 to share my Freedom Ministry Classes, and how that led to my meeting TammyLyn, and getting married on New Year's Day of 2022, and starting the mt4Christ247 YouTube channel in 2022 and how I have continued to follow the Lord and to encourage people to keep “walking and talking with God ever since.  I thanked Brian for reaching out and invited him to check the blog and subscribe to the YouTube channel to receive daily encouragement as I intend to do so for the foreseeable future – sharing something to point people to Jesus every day.   

After our conversation, I texted Brian the links to the blog, podcast, and YouTube Channel and told him that our exchange would probably be the topic for today’s message – and it is!   I also wanted to thank him again for reaching out because it encourages me to know that there are others – brothers and sisters in Christ – out there trying to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit – one day at a time – by living a simple and righteous life.  

Brian texted “I honestly can say that meeting you propelled my faith and assisted me in staying the course. There have been a ton of miracles in my life since deciding to let go and let God. The path is so much easier now. I always believed but I look back now and see that I was forcing a lot of things that I wanted instead of just being patient and accepting better things that He had planned for me. His path has way less picker bushes. Lol.”  

Amen to that Brian, God’s path and plan for our lives is better than ours could ever be and when we learn to follow Him we suffer a lot less. 

Ironically, I have been exchanging texts with one of the guys from the Freedom in Christ course that I am leading currently and am encouraging him to change the way he thinks. Like Brian used to do, I think this man is trying to force things into the way he wants when he just needs to “let go and let God” and rest in His presence and be patient as God renews his mind and turns his heart of stone into a heart of flesh.  

But there is hope – after admitting to struggling and not knowing whether his distressing thoughts were coming from his fleshly lusts or from the enemy himself, this man I am discipling realized that he had peace when he sat down to study and prepare for a Bible Study class he is going to teach today at his church.  I pointed out that we find peace in the Lord’s presence and that when we seek to win the battle for the mind the way we overcome is not in just trying to “not think about bad things” but to fill our minds with the good things of God.  I shared:

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.

I pointed out that these verses indicate when we pray and give thanks, we won’t be anxious, and that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. We can’t think of two things at once and when we are busy thinking about God and giving Him thanks – we won’t be anxious or be afflicted by the things we don’t want to be thinking about. 

And encouraged, again, by trying to encourage others as this man seemed to “get it” and responded that he realized that his focus was on “what not to do” and he was going to be patient and focus on the truths from God’s word that give him peace. 

I know the Lord guides us and helps us, but we can “propel” one another in our faith by encouraging one another and teaching one another about how we can be set free and live a life that is defined by peace and joy through our faith in God.

So keep walking and talking with God, I’ll encourage you and when you tell me that you are seeking and following the Lord’s will for your life, believe me when I say, you will encourage me.

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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 verse come from the section on Communication, Gossip, and Lying.

Ephesians 4:25 (NASB)
25  Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.

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 Communication, Gossip, and Lying.

7.     God forbids us to lie; he wants us to speak the truth.

Today’s verse instructs us to lay aside our lying ways and to speak truth to our neighbors – for we in the body of Christ are members of one another.  As my testimony of speaking to Brian Dugan should convey, even though I don’t know Brian well, at all and have only had a few exchanges, and hadn’t heard from him in years – I immediately rejoiced when I realized who it was that was reaching out to me and that he had a simple and faithful testimony of his continuing to follow the Lord to share.  We in the body of Christ are members to one another and so we shouldn’t lie to one another or to put on a false front to appear more holy than we are.  We are not only supposed to speak the truth because God commands us to speak the truth, but it is also the basis for every good relationship that we can have. We have to be real with one another to really help one another and that means telling the truth. 

I shared yesterday that Telling the Truth is the first rule of Christian Discipleship because we not only want to be authentic with our relationship with God, and in our representation of the kingdom of God as disciples, but we also want to enjoy the peace of open and honest relationships in the body of Christ.  So put away all falsehood and tell the truth because we belong to one another.

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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.

MORNING READING: MATTHEW 25

“To each according to his own ability.”
– Matthew 25:15

What an encouraging fact this is! Yet, it is one which carries with it a real responsibility. For “according to his own ability,” the Lord requires His portion. There is no genuine servant of the Lord who has not been given his talent or talents. To suggest that there is would be to refute the Word of God and to cast a doubt on the grace of God.

The Word declares, concerning gifts, the “Spirit … [distributes] to each one individually as He wills” (1 Cor. 12:11). Moreover, as is emphasized in this parable, God never expects interest from what He has not given. It is true the slothful servant tried to cast a doubt on the love and justice of God by calling Him “hard” (Matt. 25:24), but his own injustice condemned him in the end. The Lord Jesus says, “My yoke is easy” (Matt. 11:30).

May I be abundantly faithful with the precious gifts God
has entrusted to me, for His Name's sake. 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


Friday, February 2, 2024

Goals with God – A Mindful of Christ Encouragement - Purity 1264


Goals with God – A Mindful of Christ Encouragement - Purity 1264

Purity 1264 02/02/2024 Purity 1264 Podcast

Purity 1264 on YouTube: 



Good morning,

Today’s photo of a blazing sun obscured by palms and other trees over a Florida forest pathway comes to us from yours truly as I reached back into the I phone’s photo archives to retrieve this scene from February 20, 2022, from my honeymoon trip to Tampa.  

Well, It’s Friday and I am thinking about Florida this morning because two weeks (2 WEEKS!!?!) out from, prayerfully, getting on an airplane to return to the sunshine state for a mini-blended family vacation to the Magic Kingdom! That’s right, in 2 weeks, I’m going to Disney World! So not only am I thanking God that it is Friday, today, I am also thankful for the ability to make plans and accomplish goals.  I can’t claim that Disney was a long-term goal because it wasn’t, and it is only by the grace of God and His sovereignly moving earthly events that a Disney World vacation is possible. It costs a lot of money to go to Disney but when the Lord blessed me with the sale of my old house, I got the inspiration to celebrate with a February Florida trip and to take my wife and two youngest step kids to the Magic Kingdom. No sooner did I have the inkling of an idea that “we could do this” than I was booking the trip and making the dream come true.   If you want something you have to plan for it, and if you want to travel, you have to book it!  

But I want to encourage you today to be responsible with the plans you make.  I walk in the Spirit and frankly, a lot of the things I do come suddenly – but as my journey from my former life of addiction and brokenness to the light of freedom and victory can attest some times our goals have an undetermined end date and will require walking and talking with God through deep dark valleys for tribulation before we make it to the promised land – but even when you are walking on a trail of tears you can have peace and joy with the Lord when you pray and follow what you believe to be God’s plan for your life.  

So to encourage you in establishing godly goals, I am sharing Mindful of Christ’s Lauren Roskilly’s “Word for Wednesday” from this week which is based on.

Proverbs 19:21 (NKJV) which says
21  There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the LORD'S counsel--that will stand.

Lauren’s message is called: Gods Will Not Yours. Lauren writes:

 

“How are you getting on with the goals or New Year's resolutions that you set at the beginning of the month?  Did they align with God's plan for you?

 

If they did then you may be experiencing each day with God in His purpose and one that is becoming more and more exciting. If that’s where you are we would love to hear what you’re up to. Do comment or reply here and let us know.

 

On the other hand, if they aren’t aligned with God's will and purpose then you may  experience one of two things:

1.    You strive each and every day to hit those goals/ resolutions, perhaps you’re even feeling overwhelmed.

2.    You are ploughing through full steam ahead in your determination and enjoying the feelings of being independent and self-sufficient.

 

Either way, if you’re not planning your life, year, month, or day according to God's purpose, then his purpose will catch up with you in the end. Whether he uses you or someone else.

 

Surely it’s better to align with Him and His purpose? Then you will experience His love, peace and abundance. More importantly, you will be walking in the purpose of the creator of the world! Wow!” 

 

Lauren invites you to learn how to set Godly Goals by clicking on the link on the blog today (https://mindfulofchrist.net/how-to-set-godly-goals/) where you can see her teaching on how to be a piece of PAPAS ART .PAPAS ART is Lauren’s an acronym for a process of setting goals with God that involves Prayer, Aligning with God’s Will, having Peace, and setting goals with God that are Assessable, Specific, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

 

As Lauren states: It’s better to align with God and His purposes for our lives and Mindful in Christ offers you a free download of Lauren’s teaching that includes charts where you can be specific in writing out what you hope to accomplish, and it even includes a calendar to track your progress.  So go to   (https://mindfulofchrist.net/how-to-set-godly-goals/ to get yours.  

 

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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 verse come from the section on Communication, Gossip, and Lying.

Exodus 20:16 (NASB)
16  "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Today’s verse is the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the seventh point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Communication, Gossip, and Lying.

7.     God forbids us to lie; he wants us to speak the truth.

Today’s verse is one of the Ten Commandments, and it is what I paraphrase when giving the first “rule of Christian Discipleship” which is “Stop Lying”.  As Christians, we are to be obedient to God’s law and because we are trying to become more and more like Jesus and represent The Truth, the Way, and the Life, we should be honest and forthcoming in speaking the truth even if it is hard or isn’t pretty. 

Not only is telling the truth the right thing to do, but it also just happens to give you an enormous sense of peace. When you stop lying you don’t have to cover your tracks anymore. You don’t have to look over your shoulder and be burdened with remembering which lies you told to who. When you just tell it like it is – the truth will set you free.

That’s why it’s what I call the first rule of Christian Discipleship – walking in the Spirit is supposed to set you free and when you speak the truth you walk out of darkness and begin to experience the righteous, good, faithful, and holy life of peace and joy that the Lord wants you to know.  So keep it real, tell the truth, and keep walking and talking with God.

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

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: MATTHEW 24

“My master is delaying his coming.”
– Matthew 24:48

It is one of the Devil's greatest achievements to perpetrate this falsehood. For falsehood it is. The Scriptures declare “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise [of His coming], as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). The apostle says, “The time is short” (1 Cor. 7:29). The Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming quickly” (Rev. 3:11).

Nevertheless, there are those who are controlled by their own lusts and by the Devil, who say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as … from the beginning” (2 Peter 3:4). The apostle replies that these people are willingly ignorant of the Word of God.

O Lord, make Your coming a living reality
in my life; that the Hope may purify my heart
even as You are pure.[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

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Honesty, Humility & Humor – The Way of Truth - Purity 1175


 Honesty, Humility & Humor – The Way of Truth - Purity 1175

Purity 1175 10/18/2023 Purity 1175 Podcast

Purity 1175 on YouTube:



Good morning,

Today’s photo of a majestic view of treetops, mountains in the distance, and a cloud-filled blue sky comes to us from Katie Fisher McVeigh who shared this scene from the Buck Mountain fire tower on social media yesterday reporting that her first trip to an Adirondack fire tower wouldn't have been complete without falling on her posterior.

Well, it's Wednesday and while Katie's photo doesn't share a huge mountain peak prominently to visually represent hump day, her view from the mountain and her humility is more than enough to inspire us and to remind us to be humble as we ascend to the midpoint summit of another work week. I love my friend’s humility as I can imagine others may have left out the embarrassing moments when reporting their achievement of an inaugural ascension of an Adirondack Fire Tower.  While others in Katies’s shoes may have chosen to share a few flattering selfies to visually show everyone “I did it!”, Katie chose to share a less than flattering photo of the evidence of her fall -on her backside into some Adirondack mud apparently – that reveals her honesty, humility, and humor. She really did fall on her… you know what!  

And you know what, God bless her, because Katie’s FB post teaches us an important lesson on how honesty, humility, and humor are necessary attributes of the attitude that we need to go through life with peace and joy.       

That radical honesty – or total transparency – is something that liberates us. When we just tell it like it is – and honestly report the good, the bad, and the ugly of our lives, we walk in the joy of the freedom from deception or trying to put on a happy face.  

Instead of hiding in embarrassment or shame and concocting some false narrative to “save face”, we should just “be real” by being honest about what we have done, what we thought, and how we feel.   When we communicate the truth of our experience to others, we avoid the pitfalls of being misunderstood or having people interpret our words and behavior.  Although people could always second guess your intentions, when you build your relationship on “always telling the truth”, they will eventually learn that they can trust you and will be relieved to find someone who isn’t a phony.  

Now this is a big step for most people – and it would be my second instruction for those I encourage – (always tell the truth – or simply – STOP LYING) – because the world teaches us to “never let them see you sweat” and “the ends justify the means”.  While the world’s phony and deceptive ways may help you to avoid trouble or manipulate people or situations, the cost to your soul and peace of mind is not worth the benefits of lying or covering up.  

Lying and pretending or portraying to be something that you are not is not only a sin and possible foothold for the spiritual forces of darkness to oppress you, but it is also a peace killer as the lies we tell lead to other lies that all must be remembered and maintained to avoid detection.

Instead of telling lies, we tell the truth.

Sounds simple but it’s not, UNLESS -you base your sense of worth on who you are in Christ – rather than basing it on the world’s standards – of beauty, power, money, prestige, and performance. 

In Christ, we are forgiven, accepted, secure, and significant.  We have been accepted and forgiven by the Highest Authority in the Universe – the Creator of All Things – GOD – and are not only forgiven but are made citizens of heaven and co-heirs with Christ as we are adopted into God’s royal family when we put our faith in Jesus.   That makes us totally secure – we are not going to hell, and we are never going to die – we are going to live with God forever – Wow! The most powerful person in the universe, God, is our Father and nothing can separate us from His love – that’s security!

As for significance, by showing us the truth of Jesus Christ and welcoming us into His kingdom, we have been “chosen” and called worthy of a gift of inestimable value – God’s grace. God sent Jesus to die for us so we could live – “we” individually were deemed worthy Jesus’ work on the cross – that’s significance!

So why does this matter?

It matters because -when we know this about who we are in Christ – it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of us. It doesn’t matter if we make mistakes or do something embarrassing. We are forgiven and free and we have no reason to hide what we have done or who we really are anymore.  And so we can tell the truth – we can admit to what we think, and feel, and the mistakes we make.  

Although I was hoping to stand on the mountaintop of another successful report regarding my fight over food addiction today, the scale decided to throw me a curve ball.  I last reported 2 weeks ago weighing in at 214.8 lbs., and even though I had some food failures during my travels over the Columbus Day weekend, last week’s unreported weigh-in showed the trend of weight loss continued. The scale shows 212 something but I didn’t quite trust it – as my scale goes up and down and all around from day to day, so I didn’t report the “supposed success” figuring I would track my progress this week just to be sure the results were accurate. Well this morning, the scale has me at 215.6lbs and rather than second guessing the scale – I just logged it into the My fitness Pal app – to honestly report my progress, even though it is reporting a move in the “wrong direction.” 

I try to be honest and transparent in my life so even though I have my doubts about the accuracy of my scale – I am just going to “tell it like it is” – regardless of circumstances – each week going forward.  Being honest in all our ways is just easier. 

So even though part of me would like to demand a recount, I am just going to tell it like it is because my value is not determined on by a number on the scale or a continuous track record of progress, my value is determined by the Lord, and I don’t have to prove anything.  Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life. So because I’m His disciple, I am going to live my life in the Way of Truth.  

And the truth is for this week, even though I “did everything right” with my food plan and exercise regimen – I didn’t lose weight this week. I’m not perfect. I make mistakes and don’t always achieve what I hope to. In fact, I sometimes mess things up royally and have to work harder to make it right or humble myself by having to ask others for help or their forgiveness or both.  

But I have learned, like my friend Katie, that I don’t have to be destroyed when I make a mistake – I can admit it and can even laugh about it because I know that the mistakes I make, or even the success that I accomplish don’t,  define who I am or determine my value.  

I can be honest, humble and have humor about my situations in life – because the Lord calls me to be honest and because He has chosen me as His beloved adopted son, and no mistake on my part will ever change that.  

So discover the peace and joy of an honest and humble life, but if you haven’t done so already be honest about your sin and your need of a Savior and place your faith in Jesus Christ so you can live with God forever, and walk in Jesus’ Way of Truth with honesty, humility, and humor.  


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

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

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

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

Hebrews 12:15 (NIV2011)
15  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

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

 4.  Let no bitter root grow.

Today’s verse warns of the subtle dangers of bitterness as a “root cause” of trouble and defilement.  

Here the writer of Hebrews states that letting a “bitter root” grow will cause us to fall short of God’s grace.  God doesn’t want us to walk around with bitterness that would grow into anger and hatred and all kinds of sin.  

Honesty can expose the light on bitter feelings so living in the truth coupled with a forgiving heart would nip bitterness in the bud.   

So instead of holding on to resentments, we should speak honestly about how we feel to resolve conflicts and offer forgiveness to reestablish peace with others and with God.   

Bitterness leads to trouble and sin that defiles us. So pull out the root of bitterness with truth, forgiveness, and 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 continue sharing from  The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

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

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

31 - The Spirit Endowing

Gift of Prophecy

It was well said by John Owen nearly three centuries ago that, “The great deceit and abuse that hath been in all ages of the church under the pretense of the name and work of the Holy Spirit, make the thorough consideration of what we are taught concerning them exceedingly necessary.” The most signal gift of the Spirit for the benefit of His people in Old Testament times was that of prophecy. The Prophets were men who spoke in the name and by the authority of God, giving forth a Divinely inspired message from Him. It is not surprising, then, that many pretended unto this gift who were never inspired by the Holy Spirit, but rather were filled by a lying spirit, Satan making use of them to accomplish his own designs: see 1 Kings 22:6, 7; Jeremiah 5:3, 1, etc. Those facts are recorded for our warning!

This same gift of prophecy occupied a prominent place in the early days of the Christian dispensation, before the New Testament was written. The Gospel was at first declared from the immediate revelation of the Spirit, preached by His direct assistance, made effectual by His power, and accompanied in many instances by outward miraculous works, the whole of which is designated “the ministration of the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:8). Those extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit were then so obvious and so acknowledged by all Christians that those who wished to impose and deceive found no more successful method than by claiming to be themselves immediately inspired by the Spirit. Consequently we find such warnings given by God as, “Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:20, 21); “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you” (2 Pet. 2:1); “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).[1]

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be encouraged.

My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)   

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

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship



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

Friday, September 15, 2023

Suicide, Destructive Ideas, and the Truth - Purity 1148

Suicide, Destructive Ideas, and the Truth  - Purity 1148

Purity 1148 09/15/2023 Purity 1148 Podcast

Purity 1148 on YouTube: Coming Soon!

Good morning,

Today’s photo of this “cool tree” on the shores of Crater Lake comes to us from Chris Oswald who shared this scene, that he captured during his recent visit to Oregon’s only national park, on social media back on September 10th.  Crater Lake is located in southern Oregon and is the product of a destroyed volcano, Mount Mazama, and beneath its pristine stillness lies hidden depths, 1,949 feet at its deepest point, making Crater Lake the deepest lake in the United States!  I have never been to Oregon but if TammyLyn and I ever get a Minnie Winnebago, I would like to see Crater Lake and maybe this “cool tree” for myself.   

Well, it’s Friday, and while going on some cross-country trek isn’t in the plans for 2023, I appreciate it when friends share the views from their travels to inspire me to boldly go where I have never gone before.  Before this week, I didn’t even know Crater Lake existed and now I can imagine going to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and seeing it, along with some other places I spied in Oregon, and in Washington, on Google Maps for myself.       

Yeah, we can’t really plan on doing things or going places unless we know about them. One of the biggest traps that the enemy likes to lay for us to keep us locked in depression or despair is to convince us that we have “seen it all” or there is “nothing to do” or “nowhere to go”.  After he starts that dialog in our minds, it isn’t long before Satan will cause us to question the point of living and will suggest suicide as a final solution for our blues.   

The Colson Center’s Breakpoint shared an article this week that highlighted the Associated Press’ news that nearly 50,000 people committed suicide last year, which is an “absolute record in terms of raw numbers and is the highest rate in nearly a century. I am sharing a link to their article on line today which examines the possible causes for this increase, highlighting how our post-Christian culture encourages despair and suicide through “destructive ideas”  (https://www.breakpoint.org/suicide-rates-at-all-time-high/).  Colson Educators is doing their part to fight the lies that would lead us into despair with a free online course – “Hope Always: How to Be a Force for Life in a Culture of Suicide” (https://courses.colsoneducation.org/products/hope-always-how-to-be-a-force-for-life-in-a-culture-of-suicide) and I am sharing the link for that on the blog as well. 

As a former volunteer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I know how devastating and far-reaching the effects of suicide are to our communities and while I applaud the AFSP’s efforts at raising awareness and educating people about suicide, I thought that the organization’s focus on suicide prevention alone wasn’t enough and that my time was better spent encouraging people to discover the meaning and purpose to life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.  

The AFSP addresses the struggles of various populations of people that are at risk for death by suicide, like the elderly, military veterans, and the LTBGQ community, but their well-intentioned efforts to encourage people to be a community that discourage suicide,  and stresses diversity and inclusion, fails to deliver the Truth about life and death that is presented in the Bible and the solution that doesn’t discriminate: faith in Jesus Christ.  

Ironically, the AFSP actually encourages “faith communities” as a support to suicide prevention but because their focus is only on people not ending their lives, they are silent when it comes to which faith community would actually lead to life everlasting.  As much as diversity and inclusion is heralded as a “good thing”, the truth is that it muddies the waters of knowing the TRUTH  because by refusing to evaluate the truth claims of different religions and philosophies of life they validate ideas and philosophies that are contradictory to one another and as the Colson Center points out in their article – some of these diverse ideas are actually destructive. 

I don’t know about you but with the confusion of what is right and wrong and how our society trumpets the idea that “no one can know the truth” or “there is no Truth” or that we can all have our “own truth” it’s no wonder why people are depressed and feel there is no point to living. Our society echoes Pontius Pilate’s question, What is Truth?, but it is too worried about offending anyone to proclaim it. 

But Jesus didn’t have that problem.  

John 14:6 (NKJV)
6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus told us boldly that He was the Truth and the only way to God.  What we believe matters and there is only hope in Jesus.   Speaking of Himself, He said:

John 3:14-21 (NKJV)
14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Jesus not only claimed to be the way of salvation, He also wasn’t afraid to call evil for what it was and encouraged us to be people who would come to the light and do the truth.  Jesus taught repentance and salvation through faith in Him as the way to eternal life.  Anything that goes against this is a destructive idea. 

The idea that we could believe in another religion or philosophy is destructive. The idea that we could live contrary to the moral provisions of God’s word is destructive.   We are to turn from the darkness of these ideas and trust in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ and follow Him to discover the meaning and purpose of life that will cause us to choose life and to live to love and serve our fellow man by sharing this life-giving truth.  

So, speak the truth in love and encourage people to live today, tomorrow, and forever by following Jesus.

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

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

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

This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Anger, Hot Temper.

Proverbs 12:16 (NLT2)
16  A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

Today’s verses fall under the third point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Anger, Hot Temper

 3. Love covers a multitude of sins and overlooks many offenses.

Today’s verse is the second of five passages of scripture that our resource provides to demonstrate love's power over anger. And rather than presenting them all at once, we are doing them “one at a time, one day at a time.  

Okay, this verse emphasizes that wisdom dynamic regarding anger. Fools are quick-tempered, whereas wise people stay calm when insulted.  Now, I have to admit that “love” is not necessarily seen in the text, but it does demonstrate the second aspect of this third point – it clearly demonstrates the “overlooks many offenses” by suggesting that the wise stay calm when they are insulted. 

Hey if we are going to share the truth, we should be ready to be insulted and temper our responses by forgiving those who offend us because they know not what they do, just like Jesus.   Jesus didn’t defend Himself and didn’t fight back and even when he displayed anger it resulted in righteousness and healing.  

Unfortunately, we are less skilled in expressing our anger and so we need to practice patience, gratitude, and forgiveness to slow down our quick tempers and stay calm when insulted.

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we continue sharing from  The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

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

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

24 - The Spirit Sealing, concludes

The “sealing” or assuring operations of the Spirit are known to the believer in two ways. First, inferentially: by enabling him to perceive His work in the soul and from it conclude his regeneration. When I see smoke I must infer a fire, and when I discern spiritual graces (however feeble) I reason back to the Producer of them. When I feel a power within combating my corruptions, and often thwarting my intentions to indulge the lusts of the flesh, I conclude it is the Spirit resisting the flesh (Gal. 5:17). Second, intuitively: by a Divine light in the heart, by a Divine authority felt, by the love of God shed abroad therein. If I have any hope wrought in me, either by looking to Christ’s blood or perceiving grace in me, it is by the power of the Spirit (Rom. 15:13).

The Spirit brings to the mind of the Christian the sacred promises. He shows us the good contained in them, the grace expressed in them, the perfection and freeness of Christ’s salvation declared by them; and thereby He seals them on our mind and enables us to rest thereon. He shows us the veracity and faithfulness of God in the promises, the immutability of the everlasting covenant, the eternity of God’s love, and that He hath by two immutable things (His word and His oath), in which it is impossible for Him to lie, given a firm foundation for strong consolation to us who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us in the gospel (Heb. 6:18). It is in this way that “the God of all grace” doth, by the Spirit, “stablish, strengthen, settle us” (1 Pet. 5:10). It is by the Spirit’s operations that the Christian’s fears are quietened, his doubts subdued, and his heart assured that a “good work” (Phil. 1:6) has been Divinely begun in him. The Spirit indwelling us is Christ’s seal (mark of identification) that we are His sheep; the Spirit authenticating His own blessed work in our souls, by revealing to us our “title” to Heaven, is His sealing us.[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)

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

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

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship



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