First things First - Purity 935

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 over a stream or inlet of Cliffside Lake in Highlands, North Carolina comes to us from Fred Dimmick, who shared this photo on social media on the first of the year. This is the third and final photo that Fred shared from that first day trip, and it may be only 7 days into the new year, and it may seem that the photo of the day has been dominated by Mr. Dimmick lately, but I thought they were all more than worthy to be used to give God glory. And that is the first thing we always want to do when we are appreciating nature, to recognize the beauty that we see as the Lord's handiwork and to give credit where credit is due, to worship the Creator and not the creation. And we're struggling this morning because we don't have a mouse. So patience, my dear friends. Well, it's the first Sunday— Saturday of 2023, and although I have to work today, I'm still staying positive because my job provides for my financial needs. And even though I could imagine better ways to make a living, this is the way that I'm making a living, so I will be content and remember all the ways my job has blessed me. And continues to bless me rather than pine away for something else. Yes, if we are discontented with our current situations in life, I suppose we have 3 choices. We can ruin our mental health by lamenting over our current state, we can decide to be content with it, or, or we could set goals and take action to change it. 2 out of the 3 of those choices will provide the space needed for peace and joy in your life. So whether you decide to stay or go, don't you— don't lose your peace by dwelling on the negative aspects of life. That's the enemy's trap to deceive us by painting everything in a negative light. I can also be content today because I am in relatively good health. Sure, I still need to do some work and be disciplined, and if I ever want to accomplish my health goals to change that BMI number to a normal range and to possibly lose enough weight to make my need for a sleep apnea machine to disappear. But I can't change that overnight, and the truth is that I am in better shape now at 50 than I was in my 20s, 30s, or 40s. So, I, I may not be where I want to be yet, but I can rejoice over where I am today. I can be content with where I am but still endeavor to make things even better. Um, as for our health, things can change quickly. Today we are asking for prayers for Fred Dimmick because his health turned south quickly, and we learned yesterday that he is slated for surgery today for appendicitis. So we will be praying for Fred's surgery, healing, and recovery today, and we'll continue to pray for him until he's back on his feet. My other friend Bob Griffin is battling cancer. We are also praying for Bob daily. So yeah, I work today on a Saturday, boo-hoo, but I am not going in for surgery and I'm not battling cancer. The point is that no matter what our situations are, there are most likely other people who are going through things that would make our plate seem to be a walk in the park. The point is not to point— the point is not to figure out who has it worse, but to encourage all of us to recognize the positive aspects of where we are, no matter what our circumstances are. Um, if we have Christ, we have everything we need. And if we look at our circumstances truthfully, don't take our blessings for granted, and may— and maybe do some comparative analysis, we will see that we have many things to be thankful for, and thus we have things to thank God for. Um, as I meet As I each day, as I rise each day, uh, the, uh, the practice— yeah, I don't know what I was trying to say there, um, but, um, every day I do a practice of gratitude, uh, giving thanks to God keeps me grounded in the reality of just how wonderful my life is regardless of the problems and trials I may have to face. Um, when you stay close to God and continually give thanks gratitude for him, what he has done, and what he— and what we have received, we can not only face trials with strength and hope for good outcomes, we can be content and be at peace with whatever we receive. That's why I make gratitude one of the first things I do each morning. Gratitude is a form of prayer as we are thanking God, and after I thank him for a new day and the continual good things in my life, I go to the Lord with the challenges I I and others face. Um, I pray for my friends who, who are facing things. I pray for people who are asking for prayer through my local church. I pray for my family, and I pray for people to either put their faith in Christ or to follow him. I have discovered that it is by abiding with God and by following his lead that our lives are transformed from exercises in frustration, bitter disappointments, to to lives of peace, wonder, and joy. And so it is my prayer that other people trust the Lord enough to follow him so they discover this too. That's what this blog is all about. I'm pointing to the truth, the way, and the life, to Jesus, and the new abundant life that results from our decision to follow him, come what may. Uh, another thing I like to keep first is Bible study. My musings and speculations are compelling, and I can figure out some things from the cause and effect results of my actions, but God's word tells us the truth. The Bible tells us what is right and wrong and gives us the wisdom we need in life. God's word is our guidebook, and when we follow it, we tend to prosper. But even if we don't, it reminds us that God is still in control and is somehow working all things together for good. So because I ran out of time to share the Bible verse of the day over the last few days, I'm sharing it now. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are 2 Timothy 2:10-13, and they say, so I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory to Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. This is a trustworthy saying: if we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. Today's verses encourages us that our attitudes towards life is that we should be willing to endure anything if it could possibly bring salvation to others or glory to God. Ironically, our endurance itself can give God glory. Uh, give glory to God. Bob Griffin, who is in pain and battling cancer, took it— took to Instagram the other day to encourage others to take their pains to, to God in prayer. His endurance and his faithfulness to point others to the Lord gives God glory. Bob is no stranger to pain, to pain, as his testimony that I share on the M.t. Clark for Christ 24/7, uh, YouTube channel can tell you. But it is because Bob has walked through the fire with the Lord before that he can still trust him and encourage others to put their faith in Jesus and follow him. As these verses say, if we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. But if we deny him, he will deny us. But even if we are unfaithful, God doesn't follow suit. God remains faithful because that's who he is, faithful and true, and he can't deny who he is. Um, these are just a few verses from the word of God that can give us the joy, uh, the hope to endure through our trials and can remind us of our eternal relationship with the Father. When we know this, we can endure, we can be content, and we can face possible death and whatever hardships this world may throw at us with peace and confidence because we know that God is faithful. The life-giving wisdom from God's Word is the reason why Bible study is one of the first things I do each day. Right now there's a worship song on the Christian stations that speaks the truth to keep the first things first. God's the first thing, and He is the one we need to connect with. The song is "First Things First" by Consuming Fire. And the lyrics echo my heart's intention. A portion of that song that speaks to God says, I don't want to love what the world loves. I don't want to chase what the world does. I only want you. I only want you. And the chorus says, first things first, I seek your will, not my own. Surrender all my wants to you. Keep the first things first to live your truth walk your ways. Set my eyes, Lord, I fix my face on you. All my desires reversed to keep the first things first. And we had a disaster apparently, uh, in the blog because I had written more, um, but, uh, apparently got deleted somewhere and all that clicking and shifting. So if I recall correctly, it was a general encouragement to keep the first things that first, that God's— our relationship with God needs to be the first thing. And, uh, yeah, I'll be scrambling to edit that, uh, this morning. Um, uh, just got to love life. Sometimes you get thrown a curveball by just the smallest click. Uh, anyway, um, that's basically it, you know, basically to keep walking and talking with God and keep the First things first: prayer, Bible study, a practice of gratitude, and praising God's name. So, you know, when we do that, we can, we can connect with the Lord and, uh, and know our hope, know our peace, uh, regardless of what we face. So I'll be scrambling to correct this. Um, you'll never know it if you just read the blog, but you know, this is the bonus content you get with the podcast. To see behind the scenes, and yikes, that's a little scary sometimes. Anyway, I'm gonna wrap it up because that's it, but you know, I have to do a little more work before I can get this up. I'm glad I started early. Anyway, these are the trials of our lives, and like I said, relatively, that's— my trials are nothing. But as always, I encourage 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 A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God as we're sharing chapter 2, the conclusion of The Sovereignty of God in Creation. So if you want to read that, to be encouraged by Arthur— A.W. Pink's work, and to consider God's sovereignty in different aspects, go to m.tforchrist.org and you'll find that resource, The end of today's blog post. Well, it is Saturday. I do have to work, and I have a little more work to do. I'm glad I started early to get the blog correct. And so I'm gonna pray for, for all of us, I think. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you that our sufferings are temporary and in this world, and that, um, if we keep the first things first, um, we'll be okay. And you're the first thing, Lord. So we thank you for what you've done in our lives. We know we're more than blessed because you, you showed us the truth, the way, and the life. You showed us Jesus, and you showed us that we could be at peace with you and be welcomed into your eternal kingdom. Lord, we pray today for our friends, uh, Fred Dimmick, who's going into surgery today. We We lift up Bob Griffin today, uh, in prayer as well, uh, as his battle with cancer is continuing. Um, it's in progress, in process, and, uh, we know that you're in it because he's calling on your name in prayer and encouraging others to do that too. So Lord, we pray for the people who might be listening or reading this message, um, that they would be blessed by you and that you would come alongside them in their prayer request. Um, Lord, we also pray for you, as always, to go before us today. Lord, we need your help, we need your guidance. All we want to do is be surrendered to your will and ways, and we need help with that because we're not, we're not perfect, and we need your guidance and your strength and your wisdom. So Lord, please go. We pray that you go before us and that you open our eyes to what you want us to see today. And that you lead our paths, uh, to do the things you would have us do. Because, Lord, all we want to do is represent you and your kingdom here on earth and to point other people to the life that you give through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. As he struggles to turn off the recording. All right, God bless everyone. You have a good day.