In this devotional, M.T. Clark opens with a vivid description of a mist‑filled river and early snowfall, using the changing weather as a metaphor for life's shifting circumstances and the need for spiritual vigilance. He warns against a complaining spirit, citing Philippians 2:14‑15 and a list of biblical verses that discourage grumbling, emphasizing that complaints steal peace. Clark shares a powerful testimony from a participant in his Freedom in Christ course, illustrating how the course helped a former complainer reorient his desires from worldly success to a Christ‑centered relationship, resulting in true satisfaction and peace. He then reflects on Romans 10:13, explaining its promise of salvation for all who call on the Lord, linking it to Old Testament faith and Hebrews 11, and clarifying that salvation is by grace, not works. Clark invites listeners to explore further teaching from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship on Matthew 7 via his website, encouraging discipleship as the path to overcoming a contentious spirit. The devotional concludes with a heartfelt prayer for protection, guidance, and spiritual insight for listeners as they navigate the day’s weather and life’s challenges.
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 Skodak Creek/Hudson River shrouded in mist comes to us from yours truly as I captured this haunting scene before pulling out of my driveway yesterday as the cold air temperatures and the relative warmth of the waters came together to create something that neither of them could produce on their own. Well, it's Wednesday, and while the Lord was gracious to me in that my driveway's blacktop remains black, I will have to remember the green grass in today's photo fondly because it is currently covered in a thin veil of white snow. However, just like yesterday's river mist didn't last, I don't expect the white stuff to remain as the temperatures will rise to 41 degrees today and rain is in the forecast. After seeing the snow this morning, I had to ask my electronic personal assistant whose name begins with A when the first day of winter was. It's not until December 21st, of course, but when the temperatures fall and the snow comes, it doesn't really matter what the calendar says. Winter has come, even if it is early, and even if this sudden appearance doesn't exactly mean we'll be living in a winter wonderland. I knew the change to winter had come Monday morning as the morning temperatures were below or right around freezing, 32 degrees, and the high was around 40. Hearing my personal assistant announce that forecast caused me to get out my waterproof winter boots and switch to my insulated hoodie and long-sleeve work shirt. And now snow has fallen. The times can change in an instant, and this really points out our need to be aware of what is happening around us and to be diligent to roll with the changes. One of our local news channels shared an expected snowfall map yesterday, and while I have to admit I did petition the Lord with prayer to have mercy on us, a prayer I believe has been answered— thank you, God, thank you, Jesus, thank you, Holy Spirit— I still accepted the forecast with with, with being certain of two things. One, the forecast is not guaranteed and subject to change because God is in, is in charge. And two, I'll be able to meet the challenges of the day regardless of the weather or any other circumstances because God is with me. However, other people in the comments section of this post were honestly expressing how they felt about the snow. Even though what most of us in the Northeast know is, is that snow is inevitable, many in the comments section were proclaiming their hate for the white stuff and their desire to, to move away from it all. The mere mention of snow had caused these people to lose whatever peace they might have had. Of course, it is doubtful that those who were offering their complaints about the possibility if they had any peace in the first place. Because when you are giving a voice to a negative comment or complaint, it is probably not the first thing you have spoken against. It is more likely that you have— you may be oppressed, if not fully possessed, by a complaining spirit. Philippians 2:14-15 reminds Christians to do everything with without complaining and grumbling, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. What, I can't complain about the weather? Well, it does, it does say do everything without complaining, and before you give rise to your contentious spirit that would like to debate the matter, The rest of the verse tells us to do everything without arguing as well. Just so you know, I didn't cherry-pick this verse. Okay, maybe I did do a quick Google search for a verse about complaining. I'm going to share the fruit of that search by providing a link to openbible.info's 100 Bible verses about complaining to show that the Lord encourages us not to see our lives with a critical eye and dwell on the negative circumstances and give voice to your complaints. Uh, why? Uh, because it doesn't help. Complaining steals away our peace and the peace of others. My little ministry here is one of encouragement, and I know that while it can be difficult to see the bright side on a cloudy day, because of the Lord, there is always something we can give thanks for rather than complain about. Things that challenge us. Last night I hosted the last regular session of the Freedom in Course— Freedom in Christ course on Zoom, and the power of God's word to transform someone's outlook on life was on display in its full glory. One of the participants of our group testified in the beginning that he only joined the group because he had attempted to go through the course material on his own but it had left him cold, and he ended up discontinuing the study because he wasn't able to receive what the Course had indicated he would get from it, namely freedom in Christ. In our first sessions, he openly admitted that he wasn't— he just wasn't feeling it. But in his desperation and depression, he had committed himself to stay the Course. One of the tools the Course uses to identify our views of our situation is the What I Believe questionnaire, in which the participants are to rate how successful, significant, satisfied, etc. they feel, and to answer a fill-in-the-blank question about how they could be more successful, significant, satisfied, etc. This man had confessed that he had taken that questionnaire before the course, and he had answered those more questions with pretty worldly— with a pretty worldly attitude. Stating that he would be more satisfied by winning the lottery or more successful by obtaining certain positions or tangible rewards of success. But last night, although he admitted, uh, he, he felt he was learning and felt he was making some progress, he didn't think much was happening from one week to the next during the course. But when he went to answer those more questions this time something amazing had happened. He had come to view, he had come to view that the only way he could be more successful, etc., was now in reference to his relationship with the Lord and would be determined by his ability to obey and follow the Lord's will for his life. He was as shocked as anyone. Here was this cynic who had begrudgingly decided to step out in faith with a somewhat flinty heart of stone, testifying to how simply agreeing with the word of God, the truth of God's word, and what God said about who he was in Christ had changed the way he sees the world and had changed his heart to a heart of flesh that sought to please the Lord and to serve others. Before the course, he was a complainer, and saw his situation as depressing and lacking the things that he needed, uh, he needed to satisfy him. But now, even though he didn't win the lottery or gain any worldly rewards, he felt he had found the way to satisfaction through just doing the small things that God put before him and knowing that being in harmony with God was the pathway to peace. So it's Wednesday. There is snow on the ground and it's supposed to rain. But instead of looking at what some could consider negative, if not horrible, circumstances, I choose to remember all that God has done and how he has empowered all his children to overcome any obstacles in our paths and to walk through this life with peace, the peace and joy that go beyond understanding. So keep walking. In talking with God. Every step you take in his direction leads you closer to him and closer to the person he created you to be. It may not seem like you are making a lot of progress, but if you stay true to keep going in the way the Lord leads you, one day you will look back and be amazed at how far you have come and how your heart, which was once so hard and cold, has become alive because of the love that, that God has poured into you. Today's Bible verse comes to us from New— the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. And this morning's meditation verse says, uh, is Romans 10:13, and it says, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Today's verse reminds us that salvation from the Lord was the same in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament, as all who calls— call on the name of the Lord will be saved. The gospel of grace cannot be emphasized enough in our walk. It is the hope for all of us that, that if we simply call on the name of the Lord, for us, Jesus, we will be saved. We just have to put our faith in God and trust in him. The Apostle Paul knows Christ But he quotes Joel 2:32 here to show that the Lord has always saved those that surrender to him in repentance. People in the Old Testament had the promise of the Messiah, and if they placed their faith in God, God and his, and in his coming, even though they didn't know his name, they were considered righteous. Those who trusted and obeyed the Lord in the Old Testament were saved by faith. The writer of Hebrews makes this point in Hebrews 11. So God hasn't changed. In Christ, he has revealed what was hidden, and quite frankly, makes it a lot easier to know his will. We have Jesus to put our faith in and to show the way to live. Uh, and while we should rejoice over having Christ's example of how to live as a Christian, we should never forget that our salvation doesn't come from our obedience. We are only saved because of God and His mercy and grace that heard us cry for help and who showed us the truth. We don't have to accomplish anything to be saved. It is freely given. Our obedience is not the way to salvation, but it naturally grows out of our salvation. And while it is our purpose to become sanctified and to be pleasing to God, We should never forget that we already are pleasing to our Heavenly Father, and that no matter how we fail or how we succeed, nothing can separate us from His love, because one day, because of our great need, we called upon the name of the Lord and have been saved ever since. 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 we're continuing in Matthew 7, um, where we are in the section on the disciple and the unbelievers. And so if you want more of that commentary on Matthew 7, um, from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, go to m.tforchrist.org and you'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. As always, I encourage people to live a life of Christian discipleship. Why? Because I discovered it was possible and it was the pathway to peace, and is the pathway to peace, that we can overcome a complaining or contentious spirit by knowing who we are in Christ according to what the Word of God says. And when we apply the wisdom of God's Word to our life, things happen. Good things happen. We stop becoming complainers and we become overcomers. We stop becoming— being a problem and we solve problems. Or, you know what, if we can't solve them, we still have peace. How about that? It doesn't make any sense. Yeah, well, peace in this world is difficult to come by. The gospel of grace doesn't make any sense. But it's true. And when we have Christ in our lives and accept him as our Lord and Savior, the Lord empowers us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to live as he would have us live and to experience all the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives. So it's Wednesday, happy hump day. We encourage you to keep on walking and talking with God, brave the weather, and do what you're supposed to do. Um, so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, we thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for your mercy and grace, and we thank you for, um, your protection as we go about this day. Uh, Lord, protect us as we get on the roads, uh, that might be slippery, and, uh, guide us in all the situations that might be slippery, uh, to keep us, uh, on the path that you would have us walk on. Lord, we pray for the people listening today, Lord, that they'd be blessed, Lord, that you'd protect and guide them and come alongside their prayer requests, Lord, as we are calling on the name of the Lord and we need to be saved. Uh, and, and usually that goes beyond our basic salvation, Lord. Even though you save us, we still need your help. And so, Lord, we pray for you to come alongside, um, our prayer requests today and the prayer requests that that the people out, uh, out in podcast land are— have made, um, where we know that you're alive and well and that you're in our lives and that you are trying to lead us into all truth and, and to good circumstances. So we just pray that you open our eyes to show us the things you want us to see today, and we pray that you guide us in the way we should go. Show us the things we have to do and help us to do the best job we can in being representatives for your kingdom. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
