A Time For Everything Purity 845

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of the sun over cornfields and the woods on the horizon just before, before setting comes to us from yours truly as I stop for a moment to capture its blazing glory while I accompanied my canine friend Harley on our walk back to our countryside home Yesterday afternoon, I'm not sure what the weather was like in your neck of the woods yesterday, but in Upstate New York, a brisk chill was in the air throughout the day that pointed to the undeniable fact that autumn is here. While the sun was still shining, the chill in the air caused me to don my Carhartt hoodie for all but a few moments of the day, and the seasonal turn to colder temperatures sent a shiver into my soul as my life experience, and perhaps the enemy, whispered, "Winter is coming." But first things first, even though there is Christmas stuff in the stores already, and it's wise to see the changing signs of the times and to be prepared, let's slow it down a little so we can enjoy the current season rather than fearing what will come. While our direction as travelers on the path of Christian discipleship is always forward-looking, uh, the way we experience the fruit of the Spirit of peace and joy is not to be overly focused on the days ahead and its uncertain destinations, so much that we fail to enjoy the journey in the here and now. This morning's Bible study brought me to Ecclesiastes chapter 3, and the text points to the fact that there is a time for everything, that man is to enjoy his life and labors on the earth, but is to do so in the fear of the Lord, knowing that our lives are finite, and that the content of them will be judged by the One who gave them to us. I was so moved by the wisdom of the text that I'm sharing it today, because I know that the wisdom of the Word of God is the best thing I can share, and I share it with the hope that it will encourage others to seek the Lord's presence, wisdom, and ways. Uh, let's see, Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verses 1 through 22 from the New King James Version. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to gain and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to take— tear and a time to sow. A time to keep silence and and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace. What profit has the worker for that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given tasks with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts. Except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. It is the gift of God. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before him. That which is, is, has already been, and what is to be has already been, and God requires an account of what is past. Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness was there. And in the place of righteousness iniquity was there. I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. I said in my heart, concerning the conditions of the sons of men, God tests them that they may see that they themselves are like animals. For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals. One thing befalls them; as one dies, so dies the other. Surely they all have one breath. Man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men which goes upward, and the spirit of animal which goes down to the earth? So I perceive that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? Well, I am not as wise as Solomon, who wrote this, or the Holy Spirit who inspired it, but I have the answer. Who knows that the spirit of the sons of men go upward, And who can bring us to see what will happen after we die? The Lord knows that, and the Lord can bring us to see what will happen. And God gives us this knowledge through his word and through the Holy Spirit revealing its truth to us. But the Lord was even more gracious to man by sending his living word, Jesus Christ, to earth to tell us the truth and to make a way to reconcile us to God. We don't have to go down to the earth to hell when we die because Christ came to earth to pay for our sins. And when we place our faith in him, just like he ascended into heaven after his resurrection, we can be lifted up to a new life in God's kingdom forever when we put our trust in Jesus. So enjoy your life this weekend. It is a gift of God, but fear the Lord and respect his righteous righteous judgment, by acknowledging His sovereignty, and by surrendering to His will for your life, by making peace with Him through faith in Jesus Christ, and by pursuing His purposes for you. Have a wonderful autumn weekend, and keep walking and talking with God. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation, uh, Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are Psalm 46:1-2. And they say, God is our refuge and strength, always, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Today's Bible verse, verses assure us that God is our refuge and strength and that we need not fear the calamities that we will face on the earth because he is always ready to help us in times of trouble. As someone who has walked through the fires of tribulation and trauma at various times in my 50 years of life, I can attest that it is much better to have a relationship with the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ in times of trouble rather than being all on your own. Other Bible verses tell us that God is close to the brokenhearted, and I know that is true. As trauma breaks out— breaks us out of the normal conceptions of our worldview of how life is and reveals to us the harsh realities of life and death in times of loss. In the stark shock of our world being torn apart by loss, God, who is omnipresent, is available to comfort and to help us. And we have a decision to make: will we come to him and seek his help, or will we turn from him in bitterness and anger? I lost my infant son Holden, to pneumonia in 2020, in March of 2002, as our nation was still overcoming the national tragedy of 9/11. And this personal loss ripped away the final shreds of any illusions I may have had about our lives being safe or secure. These losses brought, uh, woke me up. Yeah, and brought me— they woke me up to the ice-cold world of life and death. But in the midst of my grief and the stark clarity of my new view of the world, I simultaneously felt all alone but also had that— the sense that I wasn't alone, that there was a presence with me that sought to comfort me. At the time, I think I thought I was just seeing the world with eyes wide open. Uh, but in hindsight, I know that the feelings I had, had of how I was all alone but somehow wasn't can easily be explained as God being present in my brokenheartedness, and that he was patiently sitting with me in my grief and would further reveal himself to me when the time was right and I had stopped being angry and running away from him. Of course, I was very angry. And very stubborn and very rebellious and purposely shut God out of my life by abandoning all semblances of Christianity in my life. But after the darkest days of my depression, I sought meaning again, and even though I went in the wrong direction, my search for truth was rewarded in an instant by God's grace. The truth of the gospel was allowed to come to me and to come into my life by a seemingly chance encounter. As in the midst of my confusion of following the philosophies of Buddhism, I happened upon a gospel radio message and decided to mock it, only to be brought to my knees in humble surrender to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when I understood that faith in him was all that was required to live. So, 8 years, uh, which I just put together this morning— 8s are a very significant number in my walk apparently— again in the month of March, just put that together this morning, the Lord showed me that he could be my refuge and strength and be my constant help in times of trouble. I didn't have to be alone anymore. I didn't have to keep him at a distance anymore. And so that day in March of 2010, I invited God the presence that I have, have known to be with me at various times throughout my life, to save me through his Son Jesus Christ. So let me encourage you, no matter how the earthquakes or the mountains crumble into the sea, either literally or figuratively in your life, the Lord can be your strength and refuge. He is always ready to help us in times of trouble. He may not stop the tragedies from happening, but somehow— sometimes he will. But either way, he knows the end from the beginning, and he knows that even the traumas we suffer can be used for good, to help us to grow and to know him and our place in his kingdom. So trust the Lord with your life by putting your faith in Jesus Christ, and seek him at all times for his strength, wisdom, and love. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.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 Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, also known as The Cost of Discipleship, where we continue in chapter 3, Simple Obedience, or Single-Minded Obedience, depending on your version, uh, of the book. Um, as I discussed with Peter McCabbage, there's, uh You would think, like a book, there would be one translation, but we, you know, we just, we discovered that because Discipleship, or The Cost of Discipleship, was written in German, that there's a few different, you know, the English versions of it can vary a little bit in their presentation, just like the Word of God can vary because of the various translations. So we present the the, um, the version that is from the, um, the Works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Volume 4, Discipleship. So if you're curious of why your, your book doesn't match what's on the, uh, the website, that, that's the reason why. Um, so, um, yeah, that was something we discovered. And just like, like I said this morning, I just, I just put it together this morning that it was 8 years after I lost my son that I was saved, and it was in the same month. My son Holden died in early March, and I got saved in mid-March, and so it was the same month, 8 years later, that the Lord finally, you know, He either tracked me down or I finally surrendered to him. Like I said, he really did track me down because I had run away from church and everything to do with Christianity and was a Buddhist for years. Um, and then Christ came in and opened my eyes to his truth and the truth that You know, the teachings of Buddhism teach you about nature basically and how things are interconnected or impermanent, and that's all very wise. But, you know, for everything I learned in Buddhism, I came to understand that the truths, whatever was true in Buddhism, which wasn't much, you know, the basics of reality, you know, that are revealed by our observations, You know, those things that I was shown, you know, are clear in the Word of God, and we don't need another text. Everything is in the Bible, and unfortunately there's other systems— whatever religion that doesn't glorify the Lord Jesus is a lie. And it's been, uh, you know, people have been led astray. Um, it's based on the wisdom of men or the doctrines of demons, as, uh, the word of God would say. And that's, that's the truth. And why would, why would that happen? Because we're in the midst of a spiritual battle. There's an unseen realm of the good and evil. There's God, the Holy Spirit, and, uh, his angels. And there are demons and Satan. And, uh, they're alive and well on the earth, and they influence our walk. And when we come into faith from Jesus Christ, we're delivered from the, uh, the kingdom of darkness, but we're not free from its influences. Thus, we have to stand on the word of God and what it says, know who we are in Christ, and apply God's answers to our lives, and to not be torn asunder by troubles or trials or, or, you know, thoughts that come into our heads that don't necessarily line up with the Word of God. So that's why we do what we do, is we discovered life everlasting, meaning and purpose in, in Christ, and we discovered our freedom, and we try to encourage people to, to walk in it. Um, simple obedience to the word of God is the answer to our lives. Knowing who we are, knowing who we are in Christ, um, is a remedy for every— everything. Um, but you have to apply— you have to know it and apply it. And you don't know it unless you read the word of God and, uh, and follow the Lord and the Holy Spirit's leadings in your life. So that's what we do here at mt4christ.org and the MT for Christ 247 podcast. We encourage people to follow the Lord, to know him, and to know him more, and to follow him. I think I said that a few times. And we try to help people with that by teaching the things we've come to know and the things that have been taught through Dr. Neil Anderson, um, from Freedom in Christ Ministries. We, uh, we, we've shared our teachings for Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ are all available on the podcast and the— our YouTube channel, which is M.t. Clark 247 on YouTube. So if you want to check those out, they're all available for your edification and for you to experience your freedom in Christ. Um, they can lift you out of the darkest days and give you peace even in the midst of the storm. Ask me how I know. Um, so it's, uh, you know, but the, the temperatures are chilly, but there's always the, the warmness of the love of God in your life when you walk with the Lord. So, um, I wish everyone to have a happy happy, happy weekend, a good weekend. But you know, even if you can't work out happy circumstances, um, you can have peace and joy when you stay in the presence of the Lord and the way you live your life. So we encourage you to do that. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you so much for another revelation this morning as we read the book of Ecclesiastes and We saw, you know, some things that were, you know, part of our walk that we weren't quite aware of, that were sort of hidden from ourselves as we had walked through the trauma of coming through them. But your Holy Spirit shows us the things we need to know when we're ready for them, and we thank you for the revelations, Lord. So We thank you for anyone who's listening today, Lord, that you would bless them with your revelations. Let the Holy Spirit come into their lives to show them the truth they need to know and, uh, to encourage them to, to go, to go in that way. Lord, we, we pray for today. We pray for you to open our eyes to the things you want us to see and to guide us into the things you would have us do. To best represent you on the earth and to share your love and wisdom. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.