Back to Work and Being His Workmanship - Day 5 – 21 Day Prayer Challenge - Purity 1423

Welcome to the MT for Christ 247 podcast. I'm M.t. Clark, and this is today's photo. Uh, to see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter, or watch us on YouTube. Uh, today's photo of a row of large pieces of freshly cut pine logs on a grassy embankment comes to us from yours truly, as I decided to send my wife Tammy Lynn this picture of the finished work of my efforts to deal with a problem that had been left untouched for well over a year. The tree fell last year, and while Scott Salvador and crew helped me, uh, take away some of it a couple of weeks ago, I decided yesterday to make a big problem smaller, and I'm happy to report I didn't injure myself too badly in the process. I thought I was on skate, but, uh, did scrape my leg on a log during my chainsawing frenzy. Showing us we should always thank God and pray for his protection. Well, it's Friday, thank God. And while most of us are probably going to celebrate the fact that it's the last day of the workweek, I'll be rejoicing over the, over the first day of a shortened-shifted 2-day work tour, as I have been out of work with a short-term disability since July 27th. And return to work just in time to work on Saturday tomorrow. But believe me, I am not griping, although admittedly I would rather not have to work on Saturday. I am so glad to be going back to work to get back to my normal routine. My minor but significant injury in my left index finger— 4 sutures, uh, prevented me from working, and unfortunately I indulged my flesh before and while I was compelled to do nothing. And gained approximately 8 pounds since my last weigh-in on July 10th. Fortunately, uh, I knew I was off the rails with my health goals and was convicted to repent. And Pastor Vlad, Vlad Satchuk's 21-day prayer challenge, which started Monday— this is day 5— gave me a vehicle to drive the spiritual dimension of my repentance process. And I'm happy to report today that I have been obedient to crucifying the flesh. I've been on plan food-wise since— I was on plan food-wise Monday, and by doing it, and I've done a modified fast since Tuesday. I almost gave in to reward myself with some food last night, but I saw the compromise for what it was, told my body no. And am committed to continue the fast until tomorrow evening, at least, and to keep on walking and talking with God until I arrive at my health plan goal of 185 pounds, prayerfully, sometimes later this year. That's my goal, and we've begun the slow walk toward it after, you know, compromising so badly. As for the prayer challenge, I have to admit that while I did my regular spiritual practice of prayer and studying in the morning yesterday, my prayers less zealous than I would've hoped for yesterday, as I prayed mostly for my safety while I was chainsawing that pine in my backyard. And know that the Lord heard me because, uh, much to my shock, the chainsaw slipped off the chainsaw's bar at one point, making me very thankful that I didn't get injured on my, uh, for my lack of awareness, uh, because the chain had gotten loose. Um, so today's photo was sent to my wife as evidence, uh, for my finished work and my assurance that I was done and was safe. Uh, after sawing and moving those large logs into a somewhat organized pile, I was beat and truthfully was feeling a little sorry for myself as my time off was slip-sliding away. And I still had life coaching appointments, uh, later in the evening yesterday. Uh, so I didn't pray, I didn't study, I just rested and watched a couple of Christian programs as I contemplated what I was going to say to my life coaching clients. Uh, Pastor Vlad's, um, day 4 message yesterday focused on what not to do in prayer, and it caused me to remember that while I am my life coaching clients guide, I can't manipulate them even with prayer. That's what not to do. Point number 4 in Vlad's message, no manipulative prayers. And I can't fix them. As we teach at Celebrate, at the Celebrate Freedom support group, we are here to support one another, not fix one another. So I reviewed my prior sessions. Before our meetings, uh, to prepare for our meetings, but took the pressure off myself and decided just to ask and listen more than speak and teach, as I should in my sessions later with my clients. As it turned out, it was exactly what I should do, as I was encouraged to hear positive, encouraged to hear positive reports of progress and their commitment to draw closer to the Lord and use his guidance to address their personal and spiritual goals. I was able to relax and just encourage them to keep doing the good work they were doing and was reminded why I became a Christian life coach in the first place. Um, the Lord had— has guided me to freedom in Christ, and I love encouraging others to follow him, to, to learn what I've learned. So, um, you know, my job as a Christian life coach isn't to fix my client. It's to coach them. My role is to know my place as just someone who has been blessed by the Lord and to guide people to follow Jesus's example and the Holy Spirit's leading to the place where he and they want to go. Uh, as it turns out, David Jeremiah's Turning Point devotional, uh, for today touches on this point of knowing your proper place before offering yourself as a guide to others. And I'm sharing a portion of it, uh, on the blog today. Uh, David Jeremiah writes, one shouldn't trust a guide unless he knows exactly where he is going and how he is getting there. Before we can demonstrate God's love to others, we need to make sure we know him and his wonderful message. When we know Jesus Christ and are growing in our relationship with him, he becomes our guide. As we guide others. We recognize that we are his workmanship, created to do good works. Ephesians 2:10 uses that very phrase to describe us, his workmanship. Other translations say that we are his handiwork, his masterpiece, his creation. Uh, praise God for the mercy he has lavished on you and the value he has given you. Then tell someone else how valuable they are to Christ as well. Let's be guides who lead others to the Savior. And then he shares a, a quote from John Maxwell, which says, leaders are meant to help others become the people God created them to be. Amen. You know, my purpose in Christ is to coach. And encourage others to become disciples of Jesus Christ and to follow his lead to become the people that God created— God has created us to be. Because I've learned that God's plan for our life is a lot better than what we have in mind. God challenges us to grow and invest ourselves into his work. And while the Christian life may not be easy, The fruit of the Spirit that manifests in our lives when we follow the true guide proves that his is the best path for us. Um, today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse, uh, verses actually come from the section on the forgiveness of sins or God's forgiveness. And today's verses are Psalm 32:1-2. And the word of God says, blessed, blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Today's verses fall under the second point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on the forgiveness of sins. The second point is David sang joyfully after he repented of adultery and God forgave him. Yeah, today's verses tell us just how happy or blessed is the one whose sins are forgiven by the Lord and should remind us that that's us because of the work of Jesus on the cross and God's revelatory gift that opened our eyes to his amazing grace. My pastor Roscoe Lilly is doing a series on God's amazing grace, uh, and last week he preached about David. And how he should have known better to sin against the people he had in his life. Bathsheba was the daughter of one of his mighty men, Eliam, and the wife of another of his mighty men, Uriah, whom he arranged to have, you know, have killed to hide his sin. This relational aspect of David's sin, betraying his friends he fought with and for him, just made it seem so much worse. We often hurt the people we love, and David's sin caused much pain and should have cost him his life. Uh, but God was merciful and forgave David, causing him to become the psalmist of Israel, singing God's praises and serving him the rest of his life, and, um, by amassing materials for the temple. Like David, we are worthy of death for our sins, but God has forgiven us. When we put our faith in Jesus. And so, like David, we should rejoice and serve the Lord for the rest of our days. As always, we encourage people, everyone, to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights and, and teachings from prominent Christian theologians and pastors to assist our 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. Allford.. And in Alford's devotional, he prompts us to read a chapter of Scripture, and today's chapter is Colossians 4. And from Colossians 4, he shares a portion of verse 17, which says, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it. And Stephen Alford writes, here is an exhortation for my own heart. How failing one can be in the work of the ministry. It is possible to compromise. It is possible to bury the talent altogether. But here is a message which warns, take heed. You have received, fulfill it. Take heed. Here the apostle warns to take heed that no one may take your crown. It is going to be tragic to find that after having preached to others, one is found to be a castaway. And he also writes, you have received the Holy Spirit is the direct source of the spiritual gifts, and all believers possess a gift. Fulfill it. The responsibility of the believer is to use it, exercise the gifts. And Alfred ends by praying, teach me, Lord, to make full use of the gifts you have given me to further your kingdom. Amen. And that's, uh, that's what we're supposed to do when we come to the Lord. We receive a gift and we're supposed to use the gift. You know, this morning I was reading Matthew 25, and they— where Jesus told the parable of, uh, the, the three servants that were given, uh, given something by their master. One was given— in my version, it was bags of silver— one was given 5 bags of silver, one 2, and one, and one, 1 bag of silver. And the first two servants invested their bags and got a return on their investment. The last one was afraid and buried it and then was later chastised by the master for being no good servant, basically, and not using the talent that he gave them for his glory. And in the end, he was judged for it. And, uh, you know, part of our walk is, is understanding what we've been given in Christ and to use it, to fulfill it, as, uh, Stephen Alford says. So that's what we're supposed to do, is, is what we've been given, we're supposed to give back. Um, and in my life coaching, um, uh, practice, I, I just give encouragement because that's what I was given. People encouraged me to follow the Lord. And they gave me a space where I could learn and grow into the person God created me to be. I might still be a work in progress. But I'm so much more free and filled with peace and joy than I used to be. So much that it's, it's caused me to sing God's praises and to thank him and to you know, make this, make this podcast and this blog a regular part of my daily practice. And now I ask the question, have you fully surrendered to God? When I surrendered to God, he led me to repentance, and he led me to speak, and he led me to try to guide others, uh, to become the people that he created them to be. And all I do is point to the scriptures, point to Jesus, and encourage people to follow the Holy Spirit, um, to do something, uh, with that, with what God's word says about them. And, uh, what it's led me beyond the blog is to do the Celebrate Freedom support group Wednesday nights to encourage people to get free of their hurts, habits, and hangups. If you're in the Capital District, we invite you to come join us for the Christian fellowship where we try to teach you how to walk in the spirit. And to, uh, get free in Christ. Uh, we also offer, uh, discipleship— uh, discipleship class. Um, actually it's Freedom in Christ Ministry that offers a class. I'm just facilitating it, uh, this fall, um, starting on September 3rd, 6:30, for men. Um, however, there are other classes out there if you're a woman. Um, you can sign up at ficm.org. And the Mexicans that are there too. But yeah, it's just we've been given this great gift of freedom in Christ, and, um, it's our— we believe fully that it's our purpose to give it back and to be productive, um, and, and, and our walk with God. And so we ask the question, you know, are you empty for Christ too? Um, if you are, we say keep on walking and talking with God. If not, we invite you You know, take a look at your life, uh, ask the Lord to reveal himself and to, to lead you in the way you should go. Uh, because like we said, we've discovered just how good life can be when we live in the presence of the Lord 24/7. And, uh, you know, that's really where we are. God is over and above all reality. There's no escaping the Lord. So our lives become better when we recognize that fact. We don't draw away from God, but we draw close to God to follow his purpose for our lives. So that's the message for today. I do have to run out the door and work today, which should be quite the culture shock after such, you know, inactivity over a week. But I'm thankful for the opportunity to work. It really is a blessing to be able to work and contribute to, you know, how the Lord provides for us. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this day. Thank God it's Friday. Um, and thank you, Lord, for the healing you've given me to make me able to go back to work today. Well, we pray for you to bless anyone who's listening or reading today's message, um, or watching today's message, that you'd come alongside them and their prayer requests. That you would help them, um, to be more like you and to walk in your ways. And Lord, we're praying for your help today. We're praying for your protection as always, but we're also praying for you to guide us and lead us in the way we should go. So all we want to do is represent you and your kingdom, and we need a lot of help with that. Um, you know, so we just pray that you go before us, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, lead us in where we should go. We thank you, Lord. We praise you, Lord. We love you, Lord. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.