In this devotional talk, M.t. Clark opens with a detailed winter storm forecast for the Adirondacks, Catskills, and Capital Region, noting expected snowfall, wind gusts, and potential power outages. He shares his personal experience of preparing for such storms, describing his fully automated Generac generator system at his river house, the decision to invest in a permanent solution rather than a portable generator, and how this preparedness reflects a broader principle of proactive planning. Clark then transitions to spiritual reflection, emphasizing that regardless of external circumstances—whether power fails or a blizzard hits—believers can rely on God’s presence and the truth of Scripture. He cites Psalm 34:5 (NLT) to illustrate that looking to God brings radiant joy and freedom from shame, and warns against persistent sin that can cast a shadow of shame. He references the book Building Bounds by Marcus Warner and Stephanie Hinman for practical strategies to cultivate emotional resilience from a Christian perspective, and underscores the role of biblical counseling. The talk continues with a brief study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship (Chapter 11 on the visible church and the Philemon‑Onesimus relationship), inviting listeners to read the full commentary on his website. Clark concludes with a heartfelt prayer, specifically lifting his father (who is undergoing surgery) and Bob Griffin (cancer treatment), and asks for God’s peace, healing, and guidance for all listeners. Throughout, he weaves personal anecdotes, practical advice, and theological insight to encourage Christians to “batten down the hatches” spiritually and practically, trusting in God amid life’s storms.
Chapters
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 a December sunrise over Inlet Community Church comes to us today from a friend who shared this photo on social media yesterday with the caption, "Red sky at morn, sailors be warned." While our friend was taking delight in the gorgeous morning before her, she also was uh, anticipating a change in the weather as a winter storm warning is in effect until Saturday, advising that heavy wet snow is expected, uh, storm total snowfall amounts of 8 to 16 inches for the Southern Adirondacks, Eastern Catskills, Mohawk and Schoharie Valley, and Helderbergs, with locally around 2 feet possible, especially in the high peaks of the Eastern Catskills and Southern Adirondacks. Uh, total snow accumulation of 6 to 12 inches expected for the Lake George-Saratoga region, which I'm in, and 4 to 8 inches in the northwest parts of the Capital Region. Uh, gusting— winds gusting as high as 35 miles per hour, especially in the higher terrain. Some downed tree limbs and power outages may occur due to the heavy wet snow. Yikes. No mention of the Hudson Valley where my river house is, but I think it's like, uh, 2 to 5 inches there. Um, anyway, well, it is Friday, and as I write this, and, um, and from what I can tell trying to peer out into the pitch black darkness from my countryside office, we don't have any snow yet. But no matter how much or how little snow or when we will get it between today and tomorrow, the good news is that I actually had a personal day left at work and decided to use it rather than running the risk of having to travel to my countryside home in the midst of the storm. And while the possibility of a power outage does not appeal to me, I don't have much anxiety about the coming snowstorm. As long as the power doesn't go out, I'll be okay, uh, maybe the mantra that many will repeat today. But the truth is that even if the power goes out, we will be okay. All of history that came before us testifies to the fact that human beings can survive without electricity. I know, it shocks and disgusts me too. In fact, one of the wonderful amenities at my place down by the river is a fully automated Generac generator system. I jokingly and seriously told my wife last night that I Truly must love her because I have ventured into the great white north of Easton with a snowstorm coming just to be with her when I could be secure from the possibility of a power outage at River House. And I do love her dearly, so much so that I would be willing to suffer in the dark and cold with her than to be at my place with electricity, with electricity. As long as the power outage doesn't last too long. Monday comes quick and I may have to abandon ship for my other place if the going gets too tough, though. And that's my right, and that's smart. While there are many negative situations that can be— can befall us in life, we are not powerless in terms of the choices we make and the solutions to problems we can develop Rather than being consigned to suffering because "it is what it is," we can rage against the storm, or the machine of this world system, to be prepared for contingencies and ready to respond if things go south. My place down by the river in Stuyvesant is subject to semi-regular power outages due to the large trees that line State Route 9J. So rather than just sit in the dark at odd times throughout the year, the previous owner of my place installed a generator switch. So if the power went out, they could roll out the portable generation— portable generator they had and have electricity. Unfortunately, when they moved out, uh, the generator switch remained, but they took the portable generator with them. So when I moved into River House, um, I I highly suspected we, we could expect power outages, and within the first few months of living there in the summer of 2020, the power went out, um, on 3 or 4 separate occasions. While I contemplated getting a portable generator like the previous owners, I imagined myself dragging out a portable generator during a raging blizzard by myself and decided that I wanted to pay the cost to enact a solution that wouldn't require me to do anything. So I ordered the Generac generator to be installed, and although it was delayed because of COVID-19, it was installed and fully operational as my children and I enjoyed our first winter at our new home in 2020. So if the going gets too tough, I might just get going. But this is obviously something I had to plan and pay for ahead of time, and I got the Full House option, so it cost me much more than some portable generator would have, but I determined that it was worth it, and it is. However, there are— there will be situations in life that we cannot prepare for because we don't, or because we don't have the resources to enact the plan like this, or we will face things that we could not anticipate. And we will just have to muddle through somehow. Um, but even if we face negative circumstances, we can still find the strength to endure and actually maintain— and we can maintain our peace and joy regardless of the circumstances, uh, when we are walking and talking with God. Whether it is snowy or not, whether I am at our countryside home or down by the river by myself, or whether I'm with my wife or not, I am never alone and always prepared to trust in God to see me through. In recent days, I've been increasingly reminded that our walk of faith on the path of Christian discipleship is a continuous journey of adaptation. We don't know what we are going to walk through in this life, but when we are grounded in our identity of who we are in Christ know what the Word of God says, and maintain a robust relationship and continuous conversation with the Lord, we will have everything we need for life and godliness and every storm that blows our way. Now, don't get me wrong, I have not "arrived" yet. I am not perfect and can still be surprised by how feelings of anger, anxiety, and threats of depression can blow into my life. And take me off my feet. Things can still happen where I recognize that I am entering into old reactive patterns that are similar to my pre-Christ days. But the good news is that as I have been following the Lord and have learned through my walk and education, I have learned what the answers are for every situation. No, I am not claiming that I know it all, and when I tell you the answer key for life, you will either either say, of course, because you know it too, or you will either think I am insane— this guy is nuts, walking and talking with God, cuckoo— or, uh, will think I am full of it because you don't believe in God, not for the, for real things, real life things, not for life beyond the four walls of a church building. The answer, of course, is to trust the Lord. We do this by applying His Word to our lives, by obeying His commands and believing everything it says about us. That is all. Do you actually do that? I doubt it! may be a worldly response to this. While I have already admitted I am far from perfect and still am surprised to see old patterns attempt to run their course, my whole walk with God has been the ongoing saga of trying to be real in my faith walk, to believe and do what the Word of God says. And this is the path that I encourage every Christian to walk because it is the path less traveled, but it is also the path that leads to peace and can continually be taken to lead you back to joy. The book Building Bounds by Marcus Warner and Stephanie Hinman speaks of developing strategies to return us back to joy. They offer practical methods of changing our perspectives and taking control of our thoughts to develop emotional resilience. And they also offer the advice from a Christian worldview. True biblical Christian counselors, counselors know that good mental health comes from doing what is right, knowing who we are in Christ, and how to apply God's Word to our lives. Um, but you actually have to do it in order for it to work. We must believe and do what the Word says. We must practice what we preach in all the aspects of our lives, and we surrender our will and lives for the better plan that God has for our lives. So batten down the hatches if you are in the storm's path, or enjoy the nice weather if you are not.. But let me encourage you to follow the Lord so you can be prepared for any contingency that this life brings and that you can continually find the peace and joy the Lord— that, that God wants you to live in every day. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Psalm 34:5, and it says Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces. That— today's verse just so happens to line up perfectly with what I was trying to express. That is what some would call coincidence, but after I have been following the Lord and seen His presence in my life in all kinds of ways, I prefer to say that is tracking with the Spirit. If we look to God for help by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we will be radiant with joy. Why? Because we will live forever and we are forgiven in Christ. We receive the forgiveness of sins and are promised an eternal place in his kingdom. Hello! That's something that should be a continuous source of joy. So don't lose that joy of your salvation. However, the second part of this verse from Psalm 35— 34:5 may depend on how you choose to live your life. While faith in Christ forgives you of your sins, you— your life choices could continually bring the darkness of the shadow of shame to your face if you decide to persist in your sins. While we will not be sinless, we can sin less And let's face it, while even one sin would be enough to make us guilty of breaking the whole law, some sins are darker than others. However, all of them need to be repented of, and I suggest that you deal with the darker sins first. Your adultery, your fornication, your sexual immorality, your lies, your drunkenness, your theft, your cursing, and your hate of your fellow man are all pretty dark areas that you can take on first. But even if somehow these works of the flesh are not a part of your story, there is still work to do, because if there is something that you are doing or are not doing that brings you shame, God will reveal it to you if you decide to follow Him. So as today's verse— let us say, as today's verse says— go, you know, suggests Go to God for help and ask Him what you need to know and what you need to do. While I can't tell you the specifics for your life and purpose, I can tell you that God's Word, the Bible, has plenty in it to help you to learn what God wants you to know. God wants you to— wants you to never feel ashamed again, and He can help you to experience that life of joy and peace when you decide to keep on walking and talking with him. 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. And, um, today we continue sharing from, uh, um, chapter 11, the visible church Community, and it starts with the, the disposition of the consideration of the slave Onesimus and his master Philemon. So if you want to read what Bonhoeffer has to say about that portion of Scripture, go to M.tforchrist.org and you'll find that resource at the end of today's blog post. Well, um I have the day off, um, so I don't have to worry about commuting. It's lighter outside and I still don't see snow. Could be raining, I don't know. I'm going to find out soon because the dog is going to want me to take him for a walk. So I've heard him whining already and, um, I'm going to have to go out there, man. Um, so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you do. In our lives. Lord, we pray for the people listening today, that they'd be safe during the storm. We pray specifically for my dad, um, as he has the surgery today. We also pray for Bob Griffin as he's continuing to go through cancer treatment. So we ask for your healing touch and grace to be upon those two people specifically. And as always, Lord, we ask you to come alongside of the prayer requests of the people who are listening today or reading the message. And we pray for you to be with them as they go through their day. Uh, Lord, today show us everything you want us to see, um, and lead us into everything you want us to do. Lord, we just thank you so much for what you've done in our lives and how you've showed us that if we know your word and apply it to our lives, we don't have to be depressed, we don't have to be angry, we don't have to be anxious. We don't have to fear. And, um, you know, that's— I mean, wow, if we don't have to be angry, depressed, or afraid of anything in life, that sounds like peace to me, Lord. And we just thank you for that. And we just pray for the peace of the Lord to be with everyone this Friday. Um, and, and as always, Lord, we want you to know that we love you. And We thank you and we praise your name. And all these things we pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
