In this devotional, M.t. Clark recounts a recent 17‑mile white‑water rafting trip on the Hudson River Gorge, focusing on a daring jump off a rock that he and his wife Tammy Lynn took together. He uses the physical plunge as an extended metaphor for Christian discipleship, urging listeners to have faith, be prepared, and take spiritual risks in obedience to God. Clark shares the story of how he and Tammy met, courted, and married, emphasizing the role of purity, integrity, and divine guidance in their relationship. He warns listeners about the permanence of Facebook Messenger conversations, urging caution in digital communication. The meditation then turns to Proverbs 10:9, highlighting the security that comes from walking in integrity, and encourages believers to ask “What would Jesus do?” as a practical guide. Clark references John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life and directs listeners to his website mt4christ.org for further resources. The piece concludes with a heartfelt prayer for guidance, protection, and the spread of the gospel.
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 group of people lining up to take the plunge into the depths of the waters of the Hudson River comes to us from a friend who wisely packed his GoPro camera to capture stills and video of his 17-mile whitewater rafting expedition down the Hudson River Gorge this past Saturday. That guy in the yellow helmet looking towards the photographer before mustering up enough courage to jump into the dark river waters below, that's me. And the next person in the yellow helmet in line behind me, that's my wife Tammy Lynn. Uh, this photo was actually a captured image from the video of us jumping into the river that our friend shot from the boat. We were lucky to have him on the trip because not only was he a was an experienced kayaker, but he had the equipment to capture all the images I am sharing today on the blog. But, uh, but he also had the presence of mind to, to bring it and use it, um, meaning the camera. Yeah, okay. Um, well, it's Monday again, and my friend's preparedness and my wife and my willingness to take the plunge— as me thinking of how when we are walking on the path of Christian discipleship We not only have to have faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and have faith in who we are in Christ, but we have to be prepared, ready, and willing to use it wherever the Lord should lead us. And yes, I may have said a silent prayer when we hit the first set of rapids, and I definitely inwardly called on the Lord to protect me when I made the plunge off, off of that, off of the rock. That seemed a lot lower from the safe confines of the boat into the dark river waters below. To tell the tale, as we approached the rock, our guide asked if anyone in our group— asked anyone in our— if anyone in our group would like to jump off of that rock that was still in the distance. Remembering my youthful experiences of jumping off of cliffs in the quarries on Newman Road near Hudson, New York, and considering the query to be somewhat hypothetical, I said, "Yeah, if the water is deep enough," to which our guide assured me, "Oh, it's deep enough, so do you want to go?" Before I could adequately process a response, my quote-unquote timid wife Tammy Lynn surprisingly said, "Yeah, we've all come this far, let's do it!" To which I enthusiastically astutely added, "Okay, let's go!" So with another friend and Tammy Lynn following behind me, I clumsily climbed through another group's raft and pulled myself up on the rock above and was immediately hit by a sense of dizzying vertigo and unreality as I realized that the rock had to have us about 15 feet above the dark and steadily moving waters. And that we were actually doing this and there was no turning back. After a brief moment of joking and negotiations between the group of who was going first, I was prompted to take the inaugural leap of faith with an inward, "Okay, Lord," trusting that he would see me through this plunge of faith just like he has seen me through all the other leaps and bounds that have come through the 12 years since making Jesus my Lord and Savior. The water was deep enough and nice and cool, and our guide and our friends in the boat were faithful and true to retrieve the 3 of us who took the plunge. And we continued on down the river for more adventures on what was truly a spectacular day and an epic journey that covered a lot more than 17 miles of river. I didn't think it was possible, but But the jump off of that rock into the waters below wasn't the only deep expedition that happened that day, as I fell deeper into love with my Lord and with the woman that he brought into my life, my wife Tammy Lynn. Throughout the trip, I was basking in the wonders of God's creation and how he had moved time and space to bring me to where I was that day. With temperatures in the 80s and sunny blue skies above, uh, above, the weather was perfect and the views on the Hudson River Gorge throughout the journey were magnificent and continuous as we made our way downstream. Remembering that God has made all of this and put me there raises the bar of the joy of the experience as good things become great things, as they are highly meaningful and purposeful when they are considered in the context of our journey with the Lord. God moves us and puts us where we end up when we listen to his voice and answer his call. The weather, the views, the company of my friends, and the realization of the constant presence of God would have been enough to make this day one of the best of the year so far. But the joy that, uh, that day was raised even higher as I deeply appreciated the person my wife is. Her daring to take the plunge off the rock, which was her being bold and overcoming a few fears, and and her hard work paddling at the front of the boat made me proud to know her and had me keep looking at her adoringly throughout the trip as I repeatedly thought, "That's my wife, and she is beautiful," in a sense that went way beyond her physical attributes. Her actions and determination reflected the beauty of her faith and character. That will always be the most precious aspects about her to me and will endure regardless of what changes, um, that come as we age in the years ahead. She is my forever love, and the heart of wonder, kindness, and faith that she displayed in small ways throughout the trip makes me extremely humbled that she has agreed to walk with me from here to eternity in the bonds of marriage. Unexpectedly, she shared some screenshots from our from some, some of our Facebook Messenger conversations that we had about a year ago. Uh, note to all who use Facebook Messenger: unless both parties delete their conversations on all devices, those conversations are accessible. Uh, Tammy Lynn has the archives of all our conversations since our friendship began last year. So watch what you say on Facebook Messenger, brothers and sisters, because your words could be preserved and can and may be used against you. The portions of conversations that she shared with me were undoubtedly sweet in her eyes because I was sheepishly indicating my interest in her could possibly maybe beyond that of just friends. My words were part flirtation, part warning, and part confession as I was desperately trying to walk the thin line between discipleship teacher friend and possible love interest. Uh, because my love interest was apparently welcomed by Tammy Lynn, those experts were undoubtedly sweet memories of how we began to come together to her, and they are to me as, uh, to me as well. But in seeing those messages, I remember the desperate state I was in at the time. Uh, while I had growing affections for Tammy Lynn and great hope that we could be together, I was also somewhat terrified of the possibility of compromising my sexual purity of doing something to ruin our friendship than just by the mystery surrounding Tammy Lynn. I mean, who is this woman? Should I go there? What am I doing? Uh, luckily, in the weeks and months that followed, I got to learn more and more of who Tammy Lynn is. And after my desperate— after many desperate hours of consideration, I had the revelation that there is no other. Tammy Lynn was the one for me. So soon after some real conversations about our past and our willingness to be a part of each other's futures, I bought a ring and asked her to marry me, and she wanted me too. She was willing to think outside the box and how we could come together as a couple and not shy in proclaiming that she, that she needed me in her life. Um, she was willing to trust me, and just like on that rock in the middle of the Hudson River Gorge this past Sunday, uh, she was willing to overcome her fears, have faith, and to take the plunge with me. Uh, our love for one another continues to grow as we keep walking and talking with God. Many times in life you will find yourself in the desperate hours between what the world would have you do and what the Lord would call you to do. In those— in these desperate hours, you will need your faith. And not only will you have to have it, you will have to bring it with you and use it. So as we move into another work week, make sure you know who you are in Christ and be sure in your intention to live by faith. Just like jumping into unknown depths, living by faith can have— can be a scary proposition, but But the Lord is faithful, and he will lead you into some amazing places to do amazing things and to meet some amazing people if you trust in him and keep walking and talking with God. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Proverbs 10:9, and it says, he who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known. Today's Bible verses, uh, verse speaks of the security that comes from a walk of integrity and, and how those who pervert their ways or compromise their convictions will become known. The great thing about walking in integrity is the security that comes from it. Walking with integrity includes making the decision to do what is right according to the word of God and to basically do what you say you will do. There is great relief in having nothing to hide. There is security when you do nothing wrong. There is peace when you don't have to make up stories to cover your lies or your wrong actions. Security and peace of mind and of conscience comes to us when we do the right thing. For Christians, the simple rule of thumb to follow to walk in integrity is to ask ourselves, what would Jesus do? I always considered that to be some childish slogan meant for met for vacation Bible school, but recently I saw this question as the path to great wisdom and integrity. We feel bad, guilty, or shameful when we go against our consciences, when we, when we know what to do, when we do what we know is wrong or unwise. So yeah, when you go against your conscience, it's what you, you know, doing what you know is wrong or unwise. Why do we do that to ourselves? Because, because like today's verse tells us, when we pervert our way, we will become known, meaning our sins will become known. We will be exposed for doing the wrong— doing wrong. And I don't care how well you cover your tracks, you can never hide from yourself or God. So choose to enjoy the security and peace that comes from walking into— in, in integrity. Ask yourself what Jesus would do, and you will realize quite simply that he would do what was right and what was appropriate to the situation and morally righteous. So why not decide to leave the guilt, shame, and just plain bad feelings behind by choosing to do what is right and distance ourselves from the perverse ways of the world and of our own selfishness by doing what is right and by walking in integrity? When we do that, we won't have to worry about being found out and instead can rejoice in being secure in the harmony that comes when we live as God would call us to live and to walk the way he would call us to walk. 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 continue sharing from John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life, and today's sections are: Wasting Life Means Losing Our Lives by Trying to Save Them and wartime at the microbiological— biological level. So if you want to see what John Piper's talking about in that excerpt from his book Don't Waste Your Life, go to mt4christ.org to check it out. Well, time is wasting and I gotta pray and go to work, so let's do that. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Thank you for safely seeing us through all the trials of our life as we made the decision to walk by faith. Lord, we pray for everybody out there who might be listening to this message today, um, to encourage, uh, we pray for you to bless them and to heal them and to guide them in the way they should go. Um, Lord, we pray for the Holy Spirit to go before all of us today and to open our eyes to what you want us to see and to move us to take the steps you want us to take, to do the things to represent you here on earth. Lord, let our actions and our thoughts be turned to you as we seek to do your will on the earth and to, to make people know the great hope that comes from walking and talking with you. Lord, we thank you, we love you, and we praise your holy name. And all these things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
