In this devotional, M.t. Clark reflects on a silo‑art photograph from Kimba, Australia, using it as a springboard to discuss the simple beauty of rural life, the fellowship of believers across the globe, and the comfort found in Christ amid grief. He shares a poem and testimony from Philip Hand, who mourns his grandparents but finds hope in the promise of eternal life. Clark then connects the scene and the poem to Sting’s song “Fields of Gold,” drawing a parallel between earthly love and the everlasting love promised in Scripture. He emphasizes the biblical teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure hidden in a field, urging listeners to surrender to Jesus Christ alone. The devotional explains John 14:15‑16, describing the Holy Spirit as the ever‑present Advocate given to all who obey Christ. Clark also summarizes a passage from Clinton Arnold’s Powers of Darkness on the threefold nature of evil influence (world, flesh, devil) and warns believers to guard against these forces. He promotes resources on mtforchrist.org, past discipleship classes based on Neil Anderson’s works, and invites listeners to study the Word, pray, and seek transformation. The session concludes with a heartfelt prayer for listeners’ spiritual insight and salvation.
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 painting of a child walking through almost colorless waves of grain while adoring the light of the heavens that illuminates just the top of the wheat comes to us from Dave Vaughn Photography, who captured the scene back on July 13th while traveling through Kimba in South Australia. Dave shared this photo on Facebook with the following comments: Today's images are of the silo art at Kimba. We were rolling into town just before sunset, so the golden hour light and the color of the sky really made this one a keeper. I love how these little blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort of towns have these beautiful paintings on the silos. Me too, Dave. I love the fact that someone had the vision and artistic ability to transform what could have been something common, ignored and missed while driving through a small town, and made it a thing of beauty that speaks of the simple beauty of life in their rural community. I spend my weekends at my countryside home in rural eastern New York, and I, although I was raised, born and raised in a small city town, I am continuously, continually surprised how I have found peace with country living. I thoroughly enjoy my short walks with the dog where I can enjoy the beauty of the fields, the quiet, and the big sky that covers it all. I love it. I also love how that through social media I can have friends that I have never met in person from all around the world and how they expand my vision to see things I simply would never see. Although one would think that these Facebook friends are more like acquaintances, I know that they are actually my brothers and sisters sisters in Christ, and that although we are separated by vast distances, we have been introduced to one another because we all have the love of art, nature, and the Lord Jesus in common. Just yesterday, my friend in the UK, Philip Hand, spontaneously shared the following Bible verse and original poem with me, and so I share it with you. Philip shared Matthew 5:4 from the New King— from the King James Version. It says, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." And then he shared the original poem that he entitled "Tender." Tender. When the touch of love's sweet tender hand gently slips away, when the bitterness, bittersweetness in my heart is pulled apart again, The wonder of you, as I remember, helps me face another day. The tender kiss of time will wash away the pain. Till heaven gently beckons and angels call my name, I know the touch of love's sweet tender hand will gently guide me home. Cherishing the tender memories, I will dance and sing in love forevermore before God's throne. Philip is mourning the loss of his beloved granddad after— who, after 93 years on this earth, went to heaven to be with his wife. Philip's grandparents had been married nearly 70 years when his grandmother passed in September of 2020, and now Philip's grandfather has joined her, having gone into eternity earlier this month. Philip is assured of their, their destination and reunion in eternity because they were quote, "the most amazing, beautiful Christian people Philip had ever known," and have been a blessing to Philip his whole life. So while Philip is still feeling the pain of the loss, he is comforted because of the memories of the love he experienced from his grandparents and because he knows that his loved ones have eternal life because of their faith in Jesus Christ. As I consider Dave's photography and Philip's testimony and poem, I thought about Sting's song Fields of Gold and the sweeping beauty of the images and feelings that the lyrics paint of a couple's love for one another among the fields of gold and how it endured through the years. The song concludes saying, many years have passed since those summer days among the fields of barley. See the children run as the sun goes down. Among the fields of gold. You'll remember me when the west wind blows, moves upon the fields of barley. You can tell the sun in its jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold, when we walked in fields of gold, when we walked in fields of gold. I'm sharing a link of the song on YouTube if you want to check it out. I always thought that song was beautiful, but how it was also sort of winsome and sad because it was incomplete. It tells a beautiful story of love between a man and a woman among the fields of barley that endured through the years, but it sort of indicates that the lovers who walked in fields of gold have been separated as the west wind moves, leaving one alone to remember the other and the days when they walk through fields of gold. But as Philip's testimony indicates, the love story doesn't have to end. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we have eternal life, and although death may temporarily separate us, we can rejoice as we walk on streets of gold in God's future kingdom, as Revelation 21:21 assures us. But you have to follow the one who will bring you there. You have to follow Him alone. You have to follow Jesus Christ, the one who said in Matthew 13:44, again, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid. For joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.' Jesus came to earth to show us that He was the only way to God the Father. He is the only way to have peace with God and to be adopted into God, into His eternal kingdom. As we walk through fields of gold on this earth, the seasons change, we age, and one day our life will be called into eternity. And only the ones who have found Christ will have life with God for all eternity. Christ has shown us that He is the treasure hidden in the field. It is only Christ that can give us an abiding peace on earth and an entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. The question is, will you surrender everything you have to the Lordship of Jesus Christ to experience it? Through the Word of God, my life experiences on this path of Christian discipleship with the manifest presence of the Lord, and from the testimony of other Christians throughout the ages and who are still alive today, I know the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that truth has set me free and given me the assurance of my place in eternity with God. So enjoy your work— your walk through the fields of gold and all the beauty that surrounds us on this earth, but put your faith in Christ and in him alone to have the assurance that your journey through life will have a meaning, a purpose, and a glorious final destination. So start or keep walking and talking with God, study His Word and pray to get to know Him more and to be transformed into a person of peace that has the hope of heaven and the words that lead to eternal life in your mind, heart, and soul that will point others to the treasure that is Christ alone. Today's Bible verse comes from us— to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses, verses are John 14:15 and 16, and they're the words of Christ, and they say, "If you love me, obey my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you." Today's verses are Christ's instructions to his apostles and his promise of the Holy Spirit to all who submit to to his lordship and obey. Um, the advocate spoken about here, of course, is the Holy Spirit. Although the third person of the Godhead, the Trinity, and who thus has the attribute of God's omnipresence, the Holy Spirit is somehow present everywhere but somehow also takes up residence in everyone who makes Jesus their Lord and Savior. Before the work of Christ on the cross, the Holy Spirit only came upon select individuals to empower them for God's special purposes. But after the power of sin and death was broken by Christ's perfect sacrifice on the cross, and after he took his seat at the right hand of the Father in heaven, the Holy Spirit has been given to empower every person who obeys God's call to repent and to put their faith in Christ. Jesus' instructions are clear: If you love me, obey my commandments. Not anybody else's commandments or philosophies of life, His commandments, His way. As the only person who ever lived who never sinned, Christ is our example. He was encouraging His disciples to live the way He lived. Um, that may seem to be a tall order, but the fantastic news is that through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we have all been empowered to be able to follow Christ's example. When we abide in Christ through continuous communication, worship, and service to the kingdom of God, and through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we can walk the walk as well as talk the talk and live the Christian life. So show your love for Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to obey his commandments. Christ's burden is light, and because the Holy Spirit is with us forever, it is a burden we can bear. 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 Clinton Arnold's, um, Powers of Darkness, and we are currently in chapter 9, and the section we're going to share today is entitled The Threefold Nature of of evil influence. This is a summary teaching on how the powers of darkness can impact or influence even believers. And so we have to be, you know, and we have to be aware about that and how we can defend ourselves against the enemy's attacks and influences. So that's why we share that section today. And it highlights the world, the flesh, and the devil in all the ways. So it's not just, you know, Satan, it's also the world system that would tell you that you can follow any religion to get to God, that there's— you should keep an open mind and consider other faith paths. But Christ didn't tell us that. He told us if we loved him, we'd follow his commandments. And that we'd make him our Lord and Savior to eternal life, that he was the only way to the Father. And so we reject the other world religions, we reject the, the enemy, and we reject the flesh that would lead us into sin. And so we, we do our best to follow the Lord because he's given us eternal life, the forgiveness of our sins. And because of the love we have for him, we want to follow his commandments. It's not a heavy burden, it's a light one, and he's given us the power of the Holy Spirit to, to accomplish it. So we do our best. It might not be perfect, but, uh, we're trying to walk his way. And that's why we, we share the blog and we share these resources and, uh, we share the podcast. And we also share our teachings that we did in 2021 and our discipleship classes as part of our Community Freedom Ministry. We taught, um, we taught Freedom in Christ, The Bondage Breaker, and, um, and Victory Over the Darkness. They're all available on the podcast and our YouTube channel. So we encourage people who, you know, may be new to this, or maybe more into the concept of their freedom in Christ, to check them out and to learn, or to read Neil Anderson's books, which the classes are based on. Neil Anderson is a Christian counselor who examined the Word of God and life and, and applied God's wisdom to our spiritual and personal conflicts and need to developed these many books, uh, that are geared to help Christians experience the abundant life of freedom that Christ wants every believer to enjoy. So that's why we share them, because we've been transformed from the darkness of our past and addictions and broken relationships. Now we walk in the victory of overcoming and the peace of a Christian marriage. So, why do I insist on Christ alone? Well, because Christ did, and because I know it's true through several reasons. Because I applied the faith to my life, but more importantly, God has touched my life in many real and significant ways through His manifest presence throughout the years as I walked with Him. So, I don't have any doubts. I don't have to keep an open mind because I know the truth. My open mind is to maybe how to share the gospel and share the love of God in new and dynamic ways, but the message will remain the same, that it's through Christ alone that we're saved. And our eternal destiny is the most important thing, but then it's also of how to live on this earth. And so we're hated by some people because of that message, but Christ was hated because he said that message too. So we'll suffer and be called names and, you know, be rejected by people who would call us a bigot because we say there's only one way. We know they don't, you know, well, they don't know what we know. They don't know the person of Christ in, in the way that we know them, know him personally. And we pray that more people will come into his kingdom because it's the only way to life everlasting, and it just so happens to be the answer to everything on, on this that has to do with life and godliness. So Let's apply it. Yeah, I'll be preparing stuff for my upcoming classes today and, you know, having a restful day in my countryside home. And it's my prayer that everyone listening to this will have a wonderful weekend. And so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you for the blessings of this life. Life. But more importantly, we thank you for the revelation of Jesus Christ, um, that has given us the assurance of eternal life in your kingdom and the power to follow Christ's commandments, to live a life of peace and righteousness. And, uh, Lord, we just pray for everyone listening today, that you would come alongside them and their prayer requests today. And to— we also pray for you to open the eyes of the blind, uh, to see the truth of this gospel, um, of salvation through Christ alone, um, for more people today. Lord, we pray for you to go before us, to show us the beauty of our lives and the beauty of your word, and to lead us into the good things you would have us do. We love you. We thank you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
