In this devotional video, M.t. Clark shares a personal visit to the Berkshire Museum, using the museum’s art, mineral displays, and a mummy to illustrate the fleeting nature of human achievements and physical existence. He frames the message around "Lie #19: I am my work," a recurring theme in his series "The Lies of the Enemy," which he argues is a deceptive belief that ties a person’s identity to their career or productivity. Clark refutes this lie by citing Scripture—John 11:25‑26 (Jesus as the resurrection and life), Ephesians 2:8‑9 (salvation by grace, not works), and Isaiah 60:18‑22 (future peace and divine illumination). He critiques modern "workism" and psychology that promote finding purpose solely through employment, emphasizing that true identity and purpose come from Christ. The talk also promotes various discipleship resources: June Hunt’s book on Satanism, Dr. Neil Anderson’s Freedom in Christ series, the "Bible Study with the Zinkatis" podcast (noting its 100th episode on "Right Alignment with God"), and invites listeners to engage with his website mt4christ.org, email, and upcoming ministry events. The video concludes with a pastoral prayer asking for guidance, healing, and the ability to represent Christ in daily work and ministry.
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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 Arthur Parton's oil-on-canvas painting of a scene on the Housatonic River comes to us from yours truly as I captured this work of art on film while visiting the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on Saturday. While the weather was rainy on and off all weekend, my wife and I decided to seize the day on Saturday and do something. So we enjoyed each other's company while exploring the modest exhibits that highlighted man's innovative and artistic spirit, but was also tempered by the harsh reality of our physical impermanence. While we can appreciate the beauty of Arthur Parton's painting, the artist departed this mortal coil over 100 years ago, dying in 1914. Similarly, while we could appreciate the unchanging beauty of an impressive display of rocks and minerals at the Berkshire, the collection of stuffed or mummified remains of what used to be living and breathing animals or people reminded us that although preserved, the flesh didn't fare so well over time or after death. Some of the displays were positively creepy, but paradoxically they made me thankful for my faith in Christ, because regardless of what happens to my physi— physical remains after I die, I know that although I may die, because I believe in Jesus, I shall live. Well, it's Monday again, so it's back to work for most of us. But even though most of us have to make the, uh, ends meet and will spend a good deal of our lives at work, today our current series will challenge the common belief that our work defines who we are. While there is a fair amount of truth that our work lives will say a lot about us as people, we are here to contest the lie that I am my work. Although we could preserve some of our handiwork in a museum like Arthur Parton's scene on the Housatonic River, the thing that will endure forever is not the work of our hands or imaginations. And ironically, there is no amount of work we can do to secure our place in eternity. As a reminder, we are currently working on a continuing series, The Lies of the Enemy, which is an examination of some of the common lies, sometimes sneakily whispered into our minds as first-person statements, that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, lose our peace, cause division, or or influence us to not follow the Lord with the way we live our lives. Today's big lie is lie number 19: I am my work. While our work can be a large part of our identity here on Earth, we are not our work. Many a retiree discovers just how valuable their hard work is after they are no longer doing it. After they retire, they discover just how disposable they were as the next generation comes in to take their place. Similarly, shifts in economic and business trends over the passage of time have shown us how entire industries that once defined the way of the world fade away as new technological innovations or new companies make the big and mighty small and obsolete. This was highlighted to me during our visit more than once during well, was highlighted to me more than once during our visit, um, to the Berkshire Museum, uh, as the antiquities on display testified to the things that once were but that are no— are now no longer. There was a display on children's literature, and I marveled over how Little Golden Books, which began in 1940s, was such a huge and impactful industry affecting the lives of generations of children's and the decades since then and how, uh, and how they are now, while they are still available, are not the cultural force they used to be. While everybody had those books when I was little, they are, they are not as prevalent today as things, as things have changed. While Little Golden Books, um, is still out there, other industries have gone the way of the dodo altogether. And I am sure there are retired people who are still alive today that can tell you about how their jobs are no longer what used to define their working lives, and a big part of who they are— they were is now gone with the wind. I don't mean to depress anyone by the fact that we are not our jobs, but, but only seek to encourage us, or others, us, to seek our identity according to the one who made us, God. All those displays at the museum testify to the fact that things don't last. So in order to have peace, we need to seek our meaning and purpose in the one who, who will last forever, God. While various cultures have different ideas about what happens when you die, Uh, the museum had a mummy on display to testify of this. Um, the Lord sought to give us the truth about life and death, meaning and purpose, by sending Jesus to tell us like it is and to show us that he is God incarnate by defeating death in the grave. And amazingly, Jesus came to tell us that we could be a part of his eternal kingdom and we don't even have to work for it. In John 11:25-26, Jesus said to Martha and all of us, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" While we could disagree with someone who just said things like this, Jesus proved he was the resurrection and the life by rising from the dead, ascending to heaven, and giving new spiritual lives to those who put their faith in him. And Jesus' words tell us we receive this new life by just believing in him. The Apostle Paul seeks to make, uh, the way to, to live ever, uh, to life everlasting, uh, clear in Ephesians 2:8-9, which tell us, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. It's not our work, uh, that will save us. It's by faith alone, in Christ alone, that we will receive and enjoy eternal life. As faith in Christ in our society is becoming increasingly rare and disparaged, people increasingly seek to find their identity and purpose in their work. I'm including a couple of links to articles on the blog today to testify to the failure of the gospel of workism to save us, and even modern psychology's assurance that we are not our jobs. But no matter what insights and/or assertions those articles share about buying free time or identifying your own personal purpose, I want to encourage you to look beyond yourself and to seek the Lord and his wisdom to discover who you are, what really matters, and what God's purpose is for your life. So as we go into another work— a week of work, um, do a good job and get those ends met and do your best to meet your professional goals. But remember that you are not your work. You are a piece of God's creative work, and he made you for a purpose in his kingdom. And in Christ, you will never find yourself out of a job or declared to be obsolete, as he has a future and a hope for all who trust in him and decide to follow where he is leading. Um, and that moves us along to the Today's Bible Verse. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible, Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are Isaiah 60:18 and 22, and the word of God says, violence will disappear from your land. The desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on your lips for all who enter there. At the right time I, the Lord, will make it happen. Today, today's verses assure us of the future and the hope that we have in Christ, as Isaiah prophesies about life beyond the millennial kingdom, as God will someday make a new heaven and a new earth. Yeah, this passage of scripture is looking at the end times because although it sounds like these verses just point to the end of war, the intervening verses of 19, 20, and 21 talk about cosmic changes as the Lord will somehow replace the sun and moon and become our everlasting light. This verbiage is reiterated in Revelation 21:23 that tells us, and the city has no need of sun or moon, for For the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. So when God brings peace on earth, he will be the light that shines upon us and illuminates our meaning and purpose, taking away all that is warped, evil, or broken. We don't— we won't have to work to know who we are or to be accepted, as the Lord will show us what to do and how to live in the new heaven and new earth. And our praise of him will never leave our lips. As always, we invite all to go to mt4christ.org, where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from, uh, Satan, Demons, and Satanism: A Sinister Reality by June Hunt. And today we continue in that work by examining, um, Point B in her book, which asks the question, what is Satanism? And it asks the question, if God is so powerful, why doesn't he destroy Satan and Satanism? So if you want to see June Hunt's definitions and answers to those questions, go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see that passage at the end of today's blog post. As always, we point to a life of Christian discipleship because, you know, God made us for a purpose and he defines who we are. And as much as we want to be somebody here on the earth, possibly through our careers or relationships, the relationship and the career that the Lord has for us is what will really matter., as we age and are called into eternity. So we need to just find our peace with the Lord by putting our faith in Jesus and seeking his will for our lives. And when we do that, that's called walking in the Spirit. And amazing— and well, not too amazingly, as the word of God indicates, when we walk in the Spirit, we'll discover the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives, that fruit of love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. And that's why we— that's why we recommend it, because we have eternal assurance of our lives everlasting in the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And, you know, while we're here, um, we have a measure of peace And that measure of peace is directly proportional to the amount we believe in and follow the Lord. If you don't know what that's like, because I sure didn't know what living a Christian life was like, we encourage you to pursue it. And one way you can do that is by checking out our discipleship classes that we recorded on the podcast and present on the— our YouTube channel. For Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. Those works are all basically by the, um, are the work of Dr. Neil Anderson and are based on the word of God. And they teach you all about who you are in Christ, um, the spiritual forces of darkness that exist, uh, that seek to lead us, uh, astray, and how to experience your freedom in Christ. And so we, we recommend you check those out. And if you wanted to receive the printed materials that I handed out during the, uh, during class, you contact me at mtforchrist247@gmail.com and I'll email you the Word docs that I handed out with the class so you can take a deep dive in the material. As always, we also encourage Bible study. It's not my opinion, it's, it's the truth of God's word that we try to live by. So we, we recommend a daily spiritual practice of prayer gratitude and Bible study to know the Lord, know his will for our lives according to his truth. And, um, we, we encourage Bible study on the podcast by doing a topical Bible study once a week with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti. Yesterday, um, Arthur and Susanna and I and Tammy Lynn sat down to do another study, and, um, the Lord put it on my heart to, to take a look back, and we discovered that yesterday was our 100th Bible study. We've been doing the Bible study on podcast for, for two, over two years, and it just so happened that yesterday when I decided to look and, and see, we discovered that we were doing episode 100. So if you wanted to check out the 100th episode of Bible Study with the Zinkatis, you can find that on our YouTube channel, our podcast, and the blog, all under Bible Study with the Zinkatis. And yesterday's topic was our alignment with, with God, you know, being aligned— Right Alignment with God, I believe, was the, uh, the title. And I can confirm that really quick. Yeah, Right Alignment with God. And some people have already checked out the study, so we invite you to do that as well. Well, it is Monday and things are a little hectic this morning as we prepare for work, so let's pray, um, to send us off right. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for the people who listen or read this message. Lord, we pray for you to come alongside them, um, in their walk of faith. We pray for you to be along, uh, come alongside them and their prayer requests. And Lord, we pray for the people that we know that are suffering medical issues. And, um, you know, we, we have someone who's grieving Um, and, uh, Lord, we also pray for the people who have signed up for the recovery ministry, uh, that we'll be doing in next week. Um, Lord, we just pray for you to bless the ministry work that we're going to do, uh, at Starpoint Church, uh, with Celebrate Freedom. And, uh, and, and, well, we pray for you to bless it, Lord, and to prepare our hearts to, uh, to, to teach what you would have us teach. Lord, because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom. We want to lead people into their freedom in Christ and to encourage others to, to find their identity and purpose in you, Lord. So today we ask for you to go before us, to lead us into what we should do, prepare us for to take on the challenges of the day, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and lead us in the way we should go. Because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom, Lord, and, uh, and to let you know that we thank you, we love you, and we praise you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
