In this devotional monologue, M.t. Clark opens by sharing a sunrise‑over‑sunflowers photograph taken by his wife Tammy Lynn Clark, inviting listeners to view it on mt4christ.org and to join her Facebook group “Art for Him,” which showcases original Christian artwork across media. He promotes the upcoming Freedom in Christ men’s discipleship course beginning the first Tuesday after Labor Day, describing the participants’ motivations and his excitement to facilitate the class. Clark then reflects on the 1998 coming‑of‑age film Can’t Hardly Wait and similar teen party movies, arguing that the glorification of alcohol, drugs, and sex often leads to spiritual and emotional bondage rather than true freedom, citing brain‑science findings on addiction and immaturity. He counters this with biblical assurances of freedom in Christ, quoting John 15:5, Luke 18:27, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8, and John 8:36, and emphasizes dependence on, searching for, and waiting on the Lord (Lamentations 3:25‑26). Clark directs listeners to various resources on mt4christ.org, including podcasts of past Freedom in Christ classes, the “Victory Over the Darkness” series, and Clinton Arnold’s Powers of Darkness material. He concludes with a heartfelt prayer asking for God’s guidance, grace, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the listeners’ lives.
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 the sun shining above a stand of sunflowers comes to us from Tammy Lynn Clark. She captured this scene back on July 15th in literally her backyard. My wife has an eye for seeing the simple good things in life that God has provided and shares photo and artwork, uh, that gives glory to God on her Facebook group Art for Him. She created this group as a platform to share original works of art to give God glory. I sent out invites this morning to virtually all my friends to join her group, where she invites others to share their own original artwork for the glory of the Lord in whatever art form you use, including photography, painting, drawing, written word, poetry, song, dance, and more. And she also asked that if you like to share something from this group, to reach out to the artist first, and if sharing is approved, credit the artist in your post. My wife has started this group— had started this work group a while ago, and I had failed to utilize the wonderful photos she has shared for use on my blog, but, but no more. Sometimes I'm at a loss of which photo to share each day and worry about whether or not the artist will approve of me using their work. I've had relationships broken over assuming my friends would want me to share their work. But I have given— I have given Tammy Lynn credit this morning, and I know she supports my work fully, as I do hers. So I invite you all to join Art for Him and encourage you to share your original artwork to help lift someone's spirit and to give God glory. Well, it's Monday again, and although I am sure most of us could have waited for another work week to begin, I can't hardly wait, uh, for the next round of Freedom in Christ discipleship courses to begin. I know back to school may be a taboo phrase to drop around the youth and teachers who are enjoying their summer vacations, but friends in different parts of the country are already living it And I look forward to the first session of the Men's Freedom in Christ course that I will facilitate, uh, that will meet, uh, the first Tuesday after Labor Day in 3 weeks. Uh, this morning I received an email from Freedom in Christ Ministries Eastern Regional Course Coordinator Sue Huber where she anonymously shared some of the comments of the participants who have registered for the course of why they want to take the course, uh, I will lead, and order that I could begin praying for them before we begin. Whether their reasons were— are to deepen their faith, to get encouragement for their ministry work, to get help in renewing their mind from negative mind states, or to receive assistance in overcoming personal and spiritual conflicts of the past, I am super excited at the prospect of being able to encourage these men and to help them either experience their freedom, maintain it or to deepen their walk with God. As I— let's see— as I thought about the fact that I can't hardly wait for the new session to begin, I remembered that there was a 1998 coming-of-age party movie of the same name. I don't really recall the details of the plot, but basically a bunch of teens graduate high school and go to a party. This film is an ensemble film, and it follows different characters as they struggle with personal dilemmas, relationship issues, and the fears that surround facing the prospect of facing the future and finding love and purpose as they leave adolescence for adulthood. This movie came out when my college days were over, but before I had my kids with my ex. And although I still drank and did drugs like a college coed in my pri— in the privacy of my own home, in many ways the party was over. That youthful exuberance sort of goes by the wayside. No matter how much you drink or think you are cool, when the classes stop and the school seasons are less meaningful because you have entered the working world and are full-time adulting, There are lots of coming-of-age party films that highlight the misadventures of youth, like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Animal House, Losing It, The Last American Virgin, Porky's, and Dazed and Confused, which unfortunately encourage youth to think that the rite of passage into adulthood goes through experiencing wild times with alcohol, drugs, and sex. Ironically, the effects of these things that we think will make us real men and women can actually do the opposite. Instead of freedom, they can lead to bondage. Instead of liberation, they can result in situations where you are stuck dealing with the negative consequences of momentary decisions for years. Instead of growing up, scientific studies and brain science indicate that addicts get locked in the stage of maturity they are at when they first start using. Ever wonder why some full-grown adults are as immature as they were in high school? Not only, uh, not only is it possible that they never learned anything from school, according to those studies, they can be emotionally and mentally stuck in a mindset where they are grown-up adolescents. Oh, that's not good. If science says that, I guess there is no hope for some people. Well, that's what the world would say, I guess. They would tell you that at that once an addict, always an addict, or you can't teach an old dog new tricks, or that there are some things that we will just have to live with as you will always struggle with them. But God's Word says something else. Jesus said in John 15:5, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me You can do nothing. If you've been trying to live without Christ, is it surprising that not much has changed since high school in your mind, in your emotions, or in your soul? Without him, you can't do much. He says, without him, you can do nothing. The cast of Can't Hardly Wait were in their 20s when that movie came out, and even though we could watch that movie today and see them go through their wild misadventures of their youth, the party has long been over and now they are in their 40s. I didn't do the research in depth, but you have to wonder, did any of them grow up? I did a quick, a couple of quick Google searches of some of the cast members with the word rehab with, uh, and wasn't surprised that life imitated art in some cases, as fortune and fame and youth comes with many worldly temptations. So even if you are famous, you can struggle. But I got good news for the famous or the virtually unknown among us that struggle with the transition of adulting and dealing with the lies we believed in our youth that told us what it meant to be free or what it meant to be a real man or woman. I have good news to those who falsely believe that they will always suffer or those that believe they can never change. Although it may seem like you will never change and that some things are just impossible to get past or to overcome, Christ said that in Luke 18:27, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. The Lord can set you free. God's word declares in 2 Corinthians 5:17, therefore, if Anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Romans 8:12, uh, 8:1 and 2 say, there is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death. John 8:36 says, therefore If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. So I can't hardly wait for the prospect of encouraging some men who were bold enough to ask God for help to discover the person that God created them to be. There are, there are Freedom in Christ courses available for anyone seeking help, and they can register now, and I'm sharing the link at ficm.org. For those fall classes. But I understand that not everyone will be able to get this help. The class sizes are limited and the times might not work for you. But hey, I podcasted the classes I taught in 2021, so you don't have much of an excuse in my book. I didn't have an online class to go to. All I had was the Word of God, a desire to follow the Lord to freedom that His Word speaks about. And I had faithful men and women at a local church to encourage me to keep coming to church and to keep walking and talking with God. So it's Monday, and we might have a lot of work to do in the days ahead, some of which may seem impossible, but with God we have hope and power to persevere and to accomplish all that He has for us. If we simply abide in Christ and follow where he leads. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Lamentations 3:25-26, and they say: The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. Today's verse speaks the truth that the Lord is good to those who depend on him, who search for him and who wait on him. Talk about discipleship instructions, enough said. Uh, depend on the Lord, uh, pray to— pray to him for help, listen for his still, quiet voice to guide you. Search for the Lord, read his word, apply it, seek to do the good works he has prepared for you. And wait on the Lord, abide in him to give you peace and strength to endure as you wait for him to work in and through you. Um, I am pressed for time today, but today's verses are keepers to encourage you to keep going where God calls you to. As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we are sharing the first part of part 3 of Clinton Arnold's, um, uh, Powers of Darkness. Uh, and it says part 3 is interpreting the powers for today. And I'm sharing a very short section, basically just the introduction to part 3, um, before chapter 13 of Clinton Arnold's book. But if you want to see that, go to mtforchrist.org and you can, uh, you know, get introduced, uh, to, uh the meaning of today, the powers of darkness in today's world. As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org to, you know, to get encouraged, to check out, you know, basically our highlight, you know, on the web page there's different topics you can click on to get help and be referred to resources such as Clinton Arnold's book for various topics from recovery to depression to grief to everything really. So many different labels I've made. And obviously I already encouraged people to check out the Freedom in Christ course that I podcasted in 2021. I also podcasted Victory Over the Darkness and the Bondage Breaker. So if you want to, you know, get encouraged in your faith to get set free, we provide those resources. On the M.t. for Christ 24/7 podcast and the M.t. for Christ 24/7 YouTube channel. So if you don't have time to podcast but like to sit in front of a TV, you can listen to the teachings there too. We do all this because we got set free, and, um, you know, and we encourage people to be set free from the past and to live a life of purpose and meaning in Christ. And to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit. Because when you walk in the Spirit, they just— the peace, joy, love, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and patience and self-control all manifest in your life as the Lord gives you those things. Gives you a meaning and a purpose. We don't have to worry about growing up anymore. God has made us complete in Christ. And when we seek to become who he made us to be, that's when we really know that we found what we were looking for. We found the purpose and meaning in life. And it leads from here to eternity, as God will never leave us or forsake us. So it's Monday, so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for all that you've done. Thank you for showing us the truth and for freeing us indeed. Lord, we thank you for the people listening today. We pray for you to come alongside them in their walk. Lord, whatever they're experiencing, we pray for you to guide them and encourage them along the way and to give your grace, your divine favor to them in their situations. Lord, we thank you for them, and we also pray that you go before all of us today, me included. That you open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and that you lead us to do the things you want us to do. Lord, let us not forget who we are in Christ, and let us remember that we're, we're here to represent you here on the earth, and that our faith isn't a drudgery, our faith isn't a bummer, our faith is a vibrant experience because we have a vibrant relationship with you where we're connected to you at times through the Holy Spirit Spirit in us. Um, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
