Following God and All Things for Good - Happy Anniversary, My Love - Purity 1236

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 people waiting online for a New Year's Eve improv comedy performance comes to us from yours truly as I decided to capture a quick selfie of the Mrs. and myself on the last night before our anniversary, or and the beginning of a new year. Happy New Year, everyone, and happy anniversary, my love. Happy anniversary, Tammy Lynn. Well, it's Monday, and even though I begin the new year in a place I would have never expected I would be, in a quaint B&B on the shores of the Franklin Falls Flow Pond outside of Bloomingdale in the Adirondacks, I am not surprised by the company I'm in. Tami Lynn and I have made a vow to be together for the rest of our lives as man and wife, even if we decided to do so in an unorthodox way at the beginning. Due to the circumstances of our former lives, Tami Lynn and I decided to be married two households, but I can say that we are, are closer now to realizing the dream of being together in one place permanently, more than we've ever been before. And I am more in love with Tami Lynn than I was yesterday. I know that may sound cliché, that I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow. But I suppose that's why that song by Spiral Staircase was a hit in 1969. The more we spend time with someone and the more love, uh, and the more love, and the more the love Oh boy. And the more our love for them has the potential to grow. And with Tammy Lynn, perhaps because I am thoroughly believe that she is the answer to my prayers and a gift from God, uh, from God to me, the potential for the growth of my love for her seems to be infinite. There seems to be no end in sight of how much I love, uh I love Tammy Lynn, and even though I don't know completely, I don't completely know the specifics of God's plans for my life, I'm convinced that part of my purpose in life is to love her as my beloved wife from here to eternity, and if I'm allowed, allowed to beyond that. Our story has the makings of a Hallmark romance movie. And even though it may seem over the top and hard to believe because of how we met and the things we have seen and done together, it's a true story. It's— and it is a testament to our faith in God and demonstrates the truth of Romans 8:28, as both Tammy Lynn and I have experienced how God works things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Our purpose to follow Jesus and to try to live as God would want us to, uh, live. And even, um, and even though we didn't know each other at the beginning of 2021, our mutual love for the— of the Lord and the intention to be faithful Christian was the catalyst that put us on a collision course where our lives would meet and we would never be the same in a good way again. In 2021, I decided to launch a community freedom ministry at my local church. And Tammy Lynn decided to grow in her faith. If neither one of us is faithful to those decisions, we never meet, we never fall in love, and we never marry. But God called us and drew us to follow those calls on our lives and join our purposes to help each, each of us to grow and receive the love we so desperately needed. While the only one who completes us is Christ, and God stands at the center of our marriage, Tammy Lynn and I would agree that we complement one another well, and even though we are both far from perfect, God knew how perfectly his love could draw us together and make us one. So I'm not only celebrating the new year today, but I'm also rejoicing over my marriage to Tammy Lynn and thanking God for giving us the opportunity to move through another year as man and wife. Thank you, Lord, for the life and love you have given us, And thank you, Tammy Lynn, my love, for faithfully following the Lord's call on your life, for loving me, and for deciding to walk with me as a wife for another trip around the sun. If anyone is looking for dating advice or looking for advice on finding your soulmate, all I can do is to encourage you to do what Tammy Lynn and I did. Follow the Lord faithfully, seek to know him more, don't compromise by giving into your fleshly desires, and stay committed to loving God first. Allowing him to guide your path. It may lead to marriage, it may not, but the love that God has for you is more than enough to see you through the rest of your life here on Earth, and just may lead your path to join with someone else that God specifically made for you. It is my prayer that all who read or hear this message have the happiest of years in 2024, and that you stay faithful to following the Lord through the next 365 days to see how God can move of all things together for your good when you put— when you answer the call and pursue the purpose that He has for your life. Tammy Lynn and I are simple people who did that, and now our lives have become together into an amazing journey of faith, hope, and love. Keep walking and talking with God Come and see what the Lord has for you. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on comfort. And, uh, today's, today's verse is, uh, Romans 8:28. And the word of God says, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and those who are called according to his purpose. Today's verse falls under the 8th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on comfort. And that 8th point is: God works all things together for our good. Today's verse proves God has a tremendous sense of humor and destiny. I did not look ahead and plan out my message for the first of the year and arrange just, arrange just the right verse for the circumstances I am going through. I didn't know that I would paraphrase Romans 8:28 in my comments, but God did. God knows everything, and God's word is true. He sees the end from the beginning and is moving the events forward, uh, in space and time to fulfill his purposes. And, and today's verses tell us— today's verse tells us that God's plan is good, is for good, for those who love him. Of course, that's the key here, guys. Our relationship with God isn't some game or something we can skillfully manipulate for personal benefit. Life isn't as simple as if you want good, do good. Well, that works to some degree. There is a major problem with the idea: us. Without God, we wouldn't know what good is. And if we think we know what is best, we are wrong. We will eventually suffer from doing things according to our ideas of what's best. God's ways are higher than our ways, and destiny is crafted by him. While we can manipulate circumstances to some degree to have happiness, God is playing the long game, the big game, the eternity game. And the only way we have a good outcome in eternity is to have God on our side, and the nature of God doesn't afford us to just form an alliance with him for our benefit. To know God is to love him, for he is love. All good things flow from him, and thus our experiencing the truth of Romans 8:28 is based on our love and God's call and purpose on our lives. Without God calling us out of the darkness, we are headed for destruction. Without our love for him, we would question, doubt, and resist everything that God is working together for our good. So thank God that you know him and his goodness, and be thankful— and be faithful to follow all those things that he is putting together for your good. His plan is best, and it leads to the good of all who love him. So follow him and watch his good plan play out all the days of your life. 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 are sharing from God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And today's message for the first of the year is at the beginning of a new year. Bonhoeffer writes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. This saying, which is found in a broad variety of lands, does not arise from the brash worldly wisdom of an incorrigible. It instead reveals deep Christian insight. At the beginning of a new year, many people have nothing better to do than to make a list of bad deeds and resolve from now on How many such from-now-ons have there been, already been, to begin with better intentions, but they are still stuck in the middle of their paganism? They believe that a good intention already means a new beginning. They believe that on their own they can make a new start whenever they want. But that is an evil illusion. Only God can make a new beginning with people. Whenever God pleases, but not people with God. Therefore, people cannot make a new beginning at all. They can only pray for one. Where people are on their own and live by their own devices, there is only the old, the past. Only where God is can there be a new beginning. We cannot command God to grant it. We can only pray for to God for it. And we can pray only when we realize that we cannot do anything, that we have reached our limit, that someone else must make that new beginning. And finally, uh, well, there's a text here, says New Year's text from Bonhoeffer writing to Renate and Eberhard Bethke in, uh, From Tegel Prison, January 23, 1944, Bonhoeffer wrote, "If we survive during the coming weeks or months, we shall be able to see quite clearly that all has turned out for the best. The idea that we could have avoided many of life's difficulties if we had taken things more cautiously is too foolish to be entertained." for a moment. As I look back on your past, I am so convinced that what has happened hitherto has been right that I feel that what is happening now is right too. To renounce a full life and its real joys in order to avoid pain is neither Christian nor human. That was from Bonhoeffer from Tegel Prison on January 23, 1944. And finally, our resource share 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, the word of God says, from now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view. Even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. Everything old has passed away. See, everything has become new. And that concludes our sharing for Bonhoeffer's God is in the Major for January 1st, 2024. Yeah, so I'm in the Adirondacks on my anniversary with my wife, and I'm going to enjoy the day. I pray for everyone who has the day off from work to enjoy it. With their loved ones. Set the intention to follow the Lord if you want to change. As Bonhoeffer pointed out, we can only pray for a new beginning, and God can give it to us. So I pray for a new beginning. As I compromised my food plan in celebration over the last couple of days, I want to continue in health. So I pray to the Lord to help me with that. I pray for him to help me with my consumption of finances, you know, buying personal possessions and being wise with my money this year. And I pray for me to faithfully follow Him in whatever call He has in my life for life and ministry. I fully intend to do that, but I need You to do it for me, Lord. I need You to help me because without You, we can accomplish nothing. Um, yeah, so I prayerfully pray that, uh, deliver Tammy Lynn and I back to our homes safely today, and that we'll enjoy our day, the time we have together as man and wife today and forevermore. So that's my prayer for the New Year's. And, uh, so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, we just pray for you to go before us today Lead us in the way we should go. Open our eyes to the things you want us to see. And Lord, we also pray for anyone listening or reading today's message, that you come alongside them in their walk of faith, and that you would guide them and protect them through the next year, and to lead them into a deeper knowledge of you and deeper into their purposes for your kingdom. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.