Changes in Direction and a Prayer for Everyone - Purity 1478

Welcome to the MT for Christ 24/7 podcast. I'm M.t. Clark, and this is today's photo. To see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter, or watch us on YouTube. Good morning. Today's photo of a sunrise autumn view from Waya Bald, a high-altitude treeless open area in Nantha— Kalah National Forest near Franklin, North Carolina, comes to us from Fred Dimmick, who shared the scene on social media yesterday. Well, it's Wednesday, and I have to thank Fred Dimmick for his active lifestyle and faithfulness in sharing his views with his Facebook friends, because I was somewhat hurried in getting things together this morning, and when I began searching for a mountainous photo to visually represent our arrival at another hump day, I, I stopped what could have been a long search in my iPhone's photo gallery and immediately thought of Fred and the fact that he can be counted on for sharing inspiring photos on a regular basis, and that a good amount of them feature the mountains near where he lives. So thank you, Fred. Anyway, happy hump day. It's good to have friends we can rely on, but the reality is that in this world broken by sin and death, We can't really, we can't really trust that our friends or family will always be there for us. Death, disease, and distance will someday separate us all. And that is, that is until, you know, we see each other in eternity. So we should appreciate our loved ones and let them know we appreciate them. But we should also appreciate the one who will never leave us or forsake us, the Lord our God. And who will walk with us through all the days of our lives. One of the few things we can count on in life other than God is that things will change. And not surprisingly, when we decide to follow the Lord and begin to allow his truth to affect us, we will be challenged to let the truth change how we live our lives. When we learn the truth, we are given the choice to live by it. When we say yes, the transition to a new life based on God's truth might not be easy, but it always leads to a more Christlike, holy, and righteous life. As we walk with the Lord, more truth is revealed to us in meaningful ways that have the potential to change us. Recently, the Lord has used Dr. Michael Brown's Breaking the Stronghold of Food and Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat for Live or Eat for Life, to present me with some hard truths and a possible pathway to a longer and healthier life. But will I take that pathway? Will I choose to change my lifestyle to a nutritarian lifestyle where I will make a radical shift to 90% plant-based dietary way of life? In my heart, I've said yes and amen. But similar to other times in my past where I have made a radical change for the better, right now I'm in the great in-between where I am preparing my heart and mind for the new life while I slowly eliminate the trappings of the old life. Unfortunately, in the transition, it can appear that I am double-minded and unstable in all my ways, as I have been talking about the benefits of making a change to a mostly vegetarian diet while I begin the arduous process of cleaning cleaning out my pantry and freezer of all animal-based foodstuffs as a final goodbye. Thinking of Fred's photos, I guess you could say in my mind I'm going to Carolina, but reality, I'm very much still in upstate New York. But sometimes you have to get ready to get ready and walk through the last vestiges of your old life before you begin the new life. And that's where I am now, patiently impatient because I can see how it will be living in a new way. But I also know that thinking about it and actually doing it are two different things. I have been eating salads and fruit again, and my body seems to enjoy the nutrient infusion. And my spirit seems to confirm this new lifestyle by showing me Genesis 1:29 in a new light. Genesis 1:29 says, and God say— God said, see, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed. To you, to you it shall be for food. It tells us that God gave us herbs, herbs or plants, and fruit for food. In the beginning, and it was, and it was good. It was all we needed. But sin came in and changed things. And even though we are permitted to, quote unquote, kill and eat anything as Christians, I have received the call to go back to basics food-wise. And I look forward to the day when the last of the animal-based products have been consumed and I can fully enter into a lifestyle where I am nourished by natural and whole foods only. I consider this transition as a goodbye, sort of like smoking the last of your cigarettes before you quit for good, taking responsibility for what you did, and then walking away from the past, never to look back again. With God, we can, we, we can do these things. Uh, he wants us to prosper in life and be good stewards to our bodies. And when we walk and talk with him, he will help us. So it's my prayer that he will help me get there., and I pray that the Lord moves you further along the path to where he wants you to be. Um, today's In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional shares a prayer for everyone drawn from scripture, and I'm sharing it on the blog as an encouragement, as a, and as a prayer for all of us. Um, Dr. Stanley writes, uh, prayer for everyone: to pray according to the will of God, begin with his word. Sometimes we want to pray for another person but aren't sure what to say. Let's look at Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9-14. Every word fits perfectly with God's will, so you can present these requests with confidence, both for yourself and for others. To be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. We need to follow God daily, and we also need discernment to distinguish his guiding voice. To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing him in all ways. Our life should be patterned after the one we follow. To bear fruit in every good work. Instead of being wrapped up in our own circumstances, we should have a productive kingdom mindset. To increase in the knowledge of God. When we read his word and to apply its principles, our understanding of him will be deepen. To be strengthened with his power so we can remain steadfast. The Christian life can be lived only with the Holy Spirit's power. To joyously give thanks for all God has done for us. Believers should be characterized by joy and gratitude. Imagine how effective your prayers will be when you shift the emphasis of your petitions to the Lord's desires. He will transform you and the people for whom you intercede. And that was all from Dr. Charles Stanley. And, you know, I felt so busy this morning, but I had to share this. You know, I was inspired because this spoke to me, but I had to let it— I had to let you know that this is my prayer for you too, my brothers and sisters, that you would be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding. That you would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing him in all ways, that you would bear fruit in every good work, that you would increase in the knowledge of God, and that you'd be strengthened with his power so you can remain steadfast, and that you would joyously give thanks for all God has done for you. Hey, you know, they, they said it was a prayer for everyone, so this is my prayer that you would receive this for you and your walk with the Lord. When we start following the Lord, we invariably will have to make course corrections as we go. But when we keep these fundamentals of our faith first, we will realize that God blesses everyone that he calls to him, and that even though our individual paths will be different, he has a prayer and a plan, uh, life in Christ and his will for our lives that covers us all. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on forgiving others, and today's verses are from Genesis 45:4-5. And from the New Living Translation, the word of God says, please come closer, he said to them. So they came closer, and he said again, I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. Today's verses are the first of three passages of scripture that fall under the 15th point of our Counseling Reference Guide resource section on forgiving others. And that 15th point is Joseph forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery and treated them kindly. Today's Bible verses present the big reveal moment of Joseph's story in the Old Testament, uh, where he shocks his brothers with the knowledge of his life and perhaps, uh, the more amazing fact of his forgiveness. Uh, this story has been rewritten by Hollywood thousands of times, but the ending is different. Nearly every action movie tells, tells a story of the main character being betrayed or mistreated by his enemies sometimes those closest to him, and often being left for dead, only to be— to somehow survive and to later be restored and empowered to wage his war of revenge on those who abused him. Joseph's reveal could easily be the culmination of a revenge story with a simple command of "Off with their heads!" But this is God's story, and Joseph sees that the evil that befell him was all for a higher purpose. And rather than seeking his revenge, he shows the love of God by forgiving his brothers, as God so graciously forgives those who repent and submit to him. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors 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 devotion, he shares, you know, he prompts us to read a chapter of scripture every day, morning and evening. And today's chapter is 3 John chapter 1. And from that chapter, he shares a portion of verse 11, which says, imitate what is good. And Stephen Alford writes, the Apostle John was writing to Gaius, an upright, spiritual, and loving man. He first rejoices in the character and conduct of Gaius and then writes rebukingly of Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among men. Of this man, the apostle says some very scathing things. John knew very well that in all things there was only one who was entitled to preeminence, and that was the Lord Jesus. Thus, contrasting Diotrephes with the Lord, he calls one evil and the other good. There is one that is good, and that is God. He therefore sums up his letter by exhorting Gaius to imitate what is good. And Alfred ends by praying, 'Oh Lord, help me to ever follow and imitate you in definite preference to Diotrephes.' Yeah. Um, yeah, I, I don't know if that pronunciation is right, uh, but there it is. Um, anyway, the idea is that guy, you know, Dio— we'll just call him Dio, you know, like Ronnie James Dio, because it's D-I-O is the beginning of his name. Call him Dio for short. And, and, you know, like Dio is the Spanish word for God, um, you know, this guy thought he was worthy of the preeminence, right? Uh, he was a little full of himself, and Uh, the Apostle John basically says not to be like that guy, uh, to be humble and to do what is good, you know, and not prefer the preeminence or being held up, you know, to lord it over the other believers. So, you know, that, that's the picture that we get, that we get this humble, humble goodness versus, you know, prideful preeminence. And, uh, that's how we're supposed to be, even though we have been given the keys to the kingdom in terms of truth and a new life and, um, all that. We're to share that truth, you know, lovingly. And that's not always easy, um, you know, because we can see the evil of sin and the desperate wickedness of this world. And if we're not careful, we can look at it, you know, through a lens of self-righteousness and, and, uh, like a Pharisee And when in fact we're supposed to humbly, you know, uh, tell people the truth, not to compromise the truth, but not to use our Bibles to beat people up. Um, we're not the Holy Spirit. We can— we're to present the truth and let the Holy Spirit do his work anyway. And when he does, you know, when he does that work, when those revelations come, people surrender to God and So we ask the question every day: have you fully surrendered to God? Do you think you have? About a little bit or not so much? Um, I'm still a work in progress, obviously. Um, where I have some great victory and freedom in my life over different areas that I've overcome, um, God's challenging me to, uh, be a better steward of my body with, uh, real nutritious food instead of processed food. And disease-causing food, you know? So if you don't know what I'm talking about, I invite you to read Eat for Life by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. And if you can get past the science, you'll see that everything, you know, 90% of what we eat causes cancer or heart disease, like yikes. And the things that don't are those green things in the produce aisle. So that's where I'm going. And so that's just a, you know, one example. Of what the Lord can lead you into, you know, the truth he reveals and how it can hit your heart differently. Um, you know, had me walk away from drunkenness and sexual immorality and, you know, to follow him. And now it's doing this thing in my life to be a better steward of my body so I can live longer and, you know, not have, you know, cancer, heart disease, or dementia when I'm older, uh, prayerfully. So we're going to try to follow that. And, uh, when you surrender to the Lord, he has all things, all kinds of things for you to do, and some of those things might include ministry. Speaking of ministry, uh, tonight we'll be hosting the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church for anybody in the capital district of these New Yorks, this New York State, um, and who can make it to the church tonight. We'll be there at 6:30 PM to welcome you for Christian recovery and discipleship and to teach you how to walk in the Spirit and to come into a community where you can grow., uh, and overcome the hurts and habits and hangups of the world. Um, so we invite you for that. And if you're not in Upstate New York, that's okay, because, uh, we also offer— we believe that you can find or increase your freedom in Christ by joining one of our podcast classes on YouTube. Um, you can check out the Bondage Breaker, Freedom in Christ, Victory Over Darkness, or, uh, our very own Celebrate Freedom Discipleship course. Um, all of them are, you know, based on the word of God and teachings of Dr. Neil Anderson and no other thing. I'm, you know, teaching on my own, um, to encourage you to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. And, uh, when we decide to follow Christ, uh, amazing things can happen. We can overcome. And so we encourage everyone to check those things out. And, you know, finally, we ask the question, are you empty for Christ too? Being empty for Christ is just surrendering yourself to the Lord and his will for your life. And allowing the Holy Spirit to fill you and move you as you go. So if you are empty for Christ, we say keep on walking and talking with God. And if you're not, we just suggest you pray, ask for the Lord to reveal himself to you, start seeking the Lord, and guess what? You'll find him. And, uh, you know, it all can start with a prayer, and that's why we pray every day, like right now. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you so much for all that you do for us, Lord, all that you've done for us and all that you will do, uh, Lord, because we know, we know you and we trust you, and we know that your plan is best. Even if we can't fully understand it or know what's going to happen next, we can trust that you'll be with us through it all. And Lord, we just pray for you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, lead us in the way we should go. And we also pray for anyone who's reading or listening or watching today's message, that being— they'd be encouraged in your faith, and that you come alongside them in their prayer request, um, because we all need your help, Lord, and, um, we're asking for it, so we're ready to receive. And, um, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.