Hurricane Ian – The Storms Reveal What Matters Most Purity 850

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 sunset over the Gulf of Mexico somewhere in the Tarpon Springs area of the— on the west coast of Florida comes to us from a friend who shared various scenes of the Sunshine State while on their family vacation back in June. After Hurricane Ian has blown through Florida, our prayers are with our friends and all the residents in Florida who are in the process of cleaning up the devastating damage in the aftermath of the Category 4 storm that caused millions of dollars in damage and took the lives of 12 people, and may continue to cause more damage as it moves up the coast near South Carolina today. In events like this, the lives lost show us how fleeting our lives can be. I don't know the details, but I am almost certain that none of the people, uh, of the 12 people lost ever thought that they would be killed because of a hurricane. And as devastating as the losses to people's homes and businesses may be, these events show us that our human lives are far more valuable than any possessions. The lessons of life and death that are taught through instances of traumatic losses show us that things, no matter how cherished they are, are only things. And whether our stuff is destroyed, broken, or lost throughout our lives, or if they survive and are passed on to others after we go to the grave, our possessions' values— value our possessions' value is limited in comparison to our lives. And my men's Freedom in Christ discipleship group, one of the men has reported that he has been suffering from debilitating aches and pains and exhaustion for months. And just the other night, he commented on the extreme value of our physical health, stating that he would willingly sacrifice his possessions in a moment to have his health and strength restored. But because he is a Christian, he was still thanking and praising the Lord for all that He has provided for him in his life, even though he is suffering. When our wealth— when our health fails and things are torn asunder in our lives, where will we find our hope? Well, that is why our personal relationship with the Lord through our faith in Jesus Christ is so important. When we know who we are in Christ, we know we are accepted into God's kingdom and we are secure in God's love no matter what negative circumstances we will face. In Christ, we know that we are citizens of heaven, and that our place on earth is temporary, and that when death comes or when Christ returns to reclaim the earth, we will be safe and secure in the company of our Heavenly Father and the community of saints who put their faith in Christ. Also, in Christ, we know we can receive God's strength, grace, and mercy when we call out to Him. To help us. We don't know what help will come, but in Christ we know that we are not abandoned, we are not forsaken, and that the Lord is with us and will help us. For God works all things together for good for those who love him and who are called according to his purposes. So even in the wake of disaster, we can thank God it's Friday today, and we can thank him for so much more. So if you are short on hope, peace, or joy, draw close to God and he will lift you up. Put your faith in Christ and you will never have to walk through this life wondering about your safety. Keep walking and talking with God and you will know that even if our health fails or we lose everything we have, we will not be alone and we— and, and God will give us the strength to endure our sufferings. And possibly rejoice as he gives us the will to survive and build our lives new again. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are John 15:4-5, and they say: Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit, fruit, if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. In today's Bible verses, Jesus tells his disciples to remain in him and he will remain in them, and that apart from him we can do nothing. Christ's words encourage us, encourages us to remain in his presence with the indication that if we do that, he will be with us. That he will help us to produce much fruit. Uh, fruit could be seen as good works done for others for the glory of God, to give compassionate care, or to guide people out of the darkness by showing them the light of Jesus. Or it could be the fruit of righteousness as our spiritual disciplines of repentance, Bible study, and prayer transforms our character. This passage of scripture is perhaps one of the best examples of how Christ isn't just telling us to follow the rules of God's law, but is inviting us into a dynamic personal relationship with him. And he assures us that there will be the benefits of much fruit. So don't focus on the fruit of doing good works because you quote unquote have to now that you're a Christian. Um, instead, abide with Christ and experience the peace of his presence and Follow the call that he puts on your life and watch as the fruit grows naturally from a being attached to the vine of Christ. 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, uh, today we conclude chapter 4, Discipleship and the Cross. Um, So if you want to see what the last bits of chapter 4 have to say about discipleship and the cross according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, go to M.t. Clark.org and check out that resource at the end of today's blog post. And as always, um, in good times or bad, we recommend a lifestyle of Christian discipleship. And if you don't know what that is or you're not really getting good teaching at your church, that goes beyond Bible stories, um, and you need something to help with the application of our faith to our lives, we invite you to check out our teachings that we have put on our podcast and the YouTube channel M.t. for Christ 247. Um, basically we've, we've provided playlists of our Victory Over the Darkness, the Bondage Breaker, and our Freedom in Christ teachings. Um, that, uh, that use the teachings of Dr. Neil Anderson and the word of God to help Christians have peace in their life, to overcome their spiritual and personal struggles, um, and conflicts. And so we invite you to check those out and get built up in your most holy faith and, and experience the peace that goes beyond all understanding, that can even transcend the devastating losses that we face in life. So we invite that. We also invite people to read the Word of God. It's the Word that'll transform us and renew our mind, and we really should study it. So as an encouragement, we share a little program called Bible Study with the Sankattis, in which Arthur Sankatti creates a weekly Bible study, a topical study. About various topics, and we discuss them from a Christian worldview, utilizing the Word of God as our source and our standard for the way we live our lives. So we invite you to check those out as well. Well, it is Friday, and my heart goes out to the people in Florida, as I've been reviewing some of the information about the, uh, the damage and the loss of life this morning. Um, you know, when you live in another state and you don't watch TV, you don't know all these things are happening in the world. And I don't know if it makes you, you know, safe and secure or, or, or makes you uncaring, but if you're not, you know, concerned with others in this world, it's we're missing something. Um, we need to be connected to people. Um, the Lord didn't bring us to faith in Christ so we can just sit in our rooms and, and rejoice over the awe and love of Jesus just in our lives. He wants us to help people, and sometimes that's not pretty, and sometimes people will judge. Um, just the other day I discovered that somebody who I thought was a compassionate Christian had disparaging comments about someone else who was transparent and sharing their pain and their struggles with sin. But because of the content of this message, This person said he prayed he never had to hear another person speak like that again. And, you know, I could understand it because it was somewhat graphic, the things that were confessed, but it showed a lack of maturity. And I was a little disappointed, but we forgive. And we— and, and so we have to be aware of how we, we deal with people and aware of how if we are taking offense at something, that that might, that might mess up somebody's walk. Um, you know, when people are transparent and honest with us about what they're going through, we need to be listening and not judging. Um, and we can offer, you know, uh, advice and help. Um, but, uh, to, to stand out there and just say, I just want to know about the love of Jesus, and just sit in my room and, and talk about the awe of my salvation and my gratitude for the Lord. That's all well and good, but, um, you know, the Lord wants us to abide in him, to receive his peace, but also to produce fruit. And the fruit is to, you know, to do those, those two commandments of loving God and loving others. And when we put up barriers between ourselves and others because of our self-righteousness, or, you know, we don't want to get our hands dirty, we're really missing something. So I encourage anyone who can help the people in Florida in whatever means to do that and to reach out to loved ones and friends down there and make sure they're okay and see what you can do. When we have— no, we can't— When we have problems, we don't know what we can do, but doing nothing usually isn't a big help. So we invite people to, to help. The Red Cross is always a good, a good thing to give to because they help people in disaster zones and people lose stuff to fires and stuff like that. And so we, we encourage you know, if your heart's moved to help people, and certainly pray for people to find Christ in the midst of this latest storm. Anyway, uh, today is Friday, so we will rejoice as I'm reunited with my love, um, you know. And that's the thing about our lives, our relationships with one another, very important, um, you know. Our families and our friends are a gift from God that we should show our appreciation for. Um, and, um, and our jobs are important too. Um, so it is Friday, we have to work. Um, so, uh, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you so much for the, the good things you have done for us, Lord. And we thank you that you never leave us or forsake us, and that even in the midst of trauma and a storm and loss of life, that You're still good because you're still present and you're still working and you haven't left us. And Lord, we just pray for the people that are affected by Hurricane Ian, Lord, that they would turn to you for strength and that others would, would act and help their neighbors as they rebuild and mourn the loss of those who've died. We pray for people to draw close to you because we know that you're the only one who can give us peace on this planet. And can give us new life. So we pray for that, you know, even in this devastation, we pray for the good things that you're going to do through it. And, um, Lord, we pray for everyone who's listening, that they'd be blessed with your divine grace and favor, that you would come alongside them and their prayer requests, and to help the people who are suffering, like my friends who are sick and We just pray for you to go before us today, Lord, to, to open our eyes to the beauty of this world and to the pain, and, uh, and, and to, um, to look for the things you want us to do. And we pray for you to guide us into the good works that you have for us to, to walk into, and that we would be wise and discerning and loving as we, uh, we, we go about the earth to best represent your kingdom. Well, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.